egion 8 Brownfields Program
Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Cleans Up
Brownfields with Public Health Risks
ERA'S Brownfields Tribal Response Program and Cleanup grants are helping the Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe mitigate public health risks associated with brownfields.
Residents Help to Identify Brownfields
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe's 2.3 million acres stretch
across portions of North and South Dakota, with a population of
more than 10,000 enrolled members divided into eight districts.
The Tribe has received EPA Brownfields Section 128(a) Tribal
Response Program (TRP) funding since 2005 to create and
enhance its environmental response program.
One of the first activities the Tribal Department of
Environmental Regulation initiated with the TRP funding
was development of a brownfields inventory. Today, this
inventory includes more than 30 sites with known or potential
contamination, most of which are abandoned buildings
containing asbestos and lead. Quarterly public meetings
and a monthly newsletter help to promote the program to
area residents, who have been instrumental in identifying
brownfields. Once potential sites are identified, their status is
verified by Brownfields Tribal Response Program staff before
being added to the inventory. An Environmental Quality
Commission representative from each of the eight districts
prioritizes sites to determine which should be assessed further.
Environmental Assessments Determine if Risks Exist
To date, TRP funding has been used to complete environmental
assessments on seven sites; the Selfridge Cheese Plant, Old
Smee School and Bullhead Community Center were all
cleaned up as a result. In the summer of 2009, EPA Region 8's
Brownfields Program provided contractual support through its
Targeted Brownfields Assessment (TEA) Program to conduct
environmental characterizations on four additional sites around
Fort Yates, including the Fort Yates Landfill, the Old Teachers
Quarters, the Old Warrior Motel and the Old Stockade Building.
Based on the results of these assessments, the Tribe will apply
for EPA grants to clean up the contamination and return the sites
to productive use.
KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS
Cleaned up three sites with lead and
asbestos public health concerns
Conducted environmental assessments on
11 sites
Developed an inventory of more than
30 sites
Provided an asbestos and lead training
Developing a hazardous waste and tribal
response code
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Cleanup Mitigates Public Health Risks
The former Selfridge Cheese Plant represents the
Tribe's first cleanup success. This approximately one-
acre property was home to a cheese plant that was
abandoned in 1988 after nearly 30 years of operation. An
environmental assessment determined that the facility
contained asbestos and lead-based paint contamination.
Since the crumbling building was located on the main
street in town, adjacent to a head start school and
residential neighborhoods, there was a high risk of
exposures to the public. TRP funding was used to both
assess and clean up this property, which was successfully
converted to public open space in 2007.
The Old Smee School and Bullhead Community Center
were also partially collapsed buildings that presented lead
and asbestos contamination risks and were converted to
open space. The Old Smee School was cleaned up in 2007
using a $200,000 EPABrownfield Cleanup grant, while
EPA's Emergency Response Program conducted cleanup
at the Bullhead Community Center in 2009. Because of
the Reservation's rural location, transport of materials
during demolition and cleanup posed a significant
challenge; materials had to be transported to landfills 30
miles away for the Smee School project, and 70 miles
away for the Selfridge Cheese Plant project.
Capacity Building to Enhance Environmental Response
The Standing Rock Sioux Tribe has been focused on
enhancing its environmental response program beyond
brownfields assessment and cleanup. For example, since
most of the area's brownfields have lead and asbestos
contamination, the Tribe hosted a lead and asbestos
training in 2008, and six tribal members are now licensed
by the state to work on these projects. In addition, the
Tribe is in the midst of updating its solid waste code,
developing a hazardous waste response code, and is
establishing offices to implement its enforcement program.
continuing to assess and clean up high priority brownfields
prevent and enforce against future contamination.
"We are very excited about the cleanup [of the Old
Smee School]. By addressing the contamination, our
community is safer and cleaner."
Hans Bradley
Public Information Office, Standing Rock Sioux Tribe
LEVERAGED RESOURCES
$945,925 from the EPA Brownfields Tribal
Response Program
$200,000 from an EPA Brownfields Cleanup Grant
$153,000 from the U.S. Department of Health
and Human Services, Administration for Native
Americans
Technical assistance from:
$60,000 in contractual support from EPA Region 8
Targeted Brownfields Assessments
$500,000 in contractual support from the EPA
Region 8 Emergency Response Program
The Tribe plans to build on its initial successes by
that pose a public risk, and by developing policies to
For additional information, please contact:
Standing Rock Tribal Department of Environmental Regulation: (701) 854-3823 http://srepabrownfields.standingrock.org
EPA Region 8 Brownfields Program: (303) 312-7074 www.epa.gov/region8/brownfields
4>EPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Region 8
Brownfields
EPA 908-F-09-004
September 2009
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