United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5105)
EPA 500-F-01-282
April 2001
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA EPA Brownfields
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, OK
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other
stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, and safely clean up
brownfields to promote their sustainable reuse. Brownfields are abandoned, idled, or under-used industrial and
commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental
contamination. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years,
with additional funding provided for greenspace) to test assessment models and facilitate coordinated assessment
and cleanup efforts at the federal, state, tribal, and local levels; and job training pilot programs (each funded up to
$200,000 over two years) to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup
of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, cleanup revolving loan
fund program (each funded up to $1,000,000 over five years) to provide financial assistance for the environmental
cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and
communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified
approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment.
BACKGROUND
EPA has selected the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
for a Brownfields Pilot. Tribal lands are located in an
eight-county area in northwestern Oklahoma. They
include 10,000 acres of tribally owned trust land and
almost 77,000 acres of individual trust allotments
provided under the Dawes Act of 1887. Nearly
7,300 members of the tribes live on or near the
former Cheyenne and Arapaho reservation. The
annual income of tribal members is estimated to be
$ 11,000, which is less than half the median income
level for the state. The unemployment rate is about
53 percent.
The Pilot has identified potential brownfields sites
within the formerreservation, including four former
schools. The Pilot's primary location of interest is the
Concho School. The school was constructed in
1908 and contained a hospital and an industrial arts
school. Late in the 1920s, the school also began
providing training in dairying, farming, auto and farm
mechanics, and horse shoe and harness repair. The
site has been abandoned since 1982 and is now
owned by the tribes. Contamination from medical
wastes, pesticides, solvents, PCBs, lead, and
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes,
Oklahoma
Date of Announcement:
April 2001
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets three
brownfields sites within the former
Cheyenne and Arapaho
reservation, where tribal members
sufferfrom a 53 percent
unemploymentrate.
Contacts:
Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
(504)262-0345
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA - Region 6
(214)665-6736
Visit the E PA Region 6 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/earth1r6/6sf/bfpages/sfbfhome.htm
Forfurther information, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
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asbestos is suspected. Similar types of contamination
also are expected atthe other schools. The abandoned
and run-down condition of these and other potential
brownfields properties provides pathways for human
exposure to the contamination. The Pilot will examine
the potential sites and target the three considered
mostviable for redevelopment.
OBJECTIVES
The objective of the Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes
is to enhance the quality of life of tribal members
residing near the selected brownfields. The Pilot
hopes to accomplish this objective by assessing the
potential for exposure to contamination and by
planning for redevelopment of these historic lands for
the economic benefit of the tribes.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Soliciting input from the community through
quarterly meetings in the 10 tribal districts and
meetings at senior citizen centers;
• Prioritizing brownfields and selecting three target
sites;
• Conducting Phase I and Phase II environmental
site assessments of target sites;
• Developing cleanup plans for target sites; and
• Conducting a redevelopment study for target sites.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated;
therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Cheyenne and Arapaho Tribes, Oklahoma
April 2001 EPA500-F-01-282
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