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Region 10 Tribal
Newsletter
LETTER
Vol. XIV No. II
February 1, 2005
Work Shops and Conferences
February 7-11.2005. ATNI Winter Conference, Embassy Suites, Portland, OR. 503/249-5770
February 7-11. 2005. 7th Annual Forum on the Environment, Anchorage Egan Convention Center. For
additional information: www.akforumcom.
April 4-8. 2005. Sustainability and RestorationrA Practical Partnership for the 21st Century. Washington
State Convention and Trade Center, Seattle, WA.. http://www. engr. Washington.edu/epp/ser
April 17-22. 2005. Tribal Leaders Summit 05, Sitka, Alaska. Info: Nathan Spees 907/271-6334 See ***
June 7 - 10. 2005. 7th National Tribal Conference on Environmental Management in Traverse City,
Michigan. Info Andy Knott 231/271-7363, aknottfaistbindiam.com or Suzanne McSawby 231/271-7104,
smcsawby(a)£tbindians. com.
Region 10 Tribal
Newsletter is published
monthly at no charge
To receive a copy call:
AK..Rob 907/271 -6323
ID..Arlene 208/378-5749
OR..Don 503/.326-5015
WAAIison 360/753-8185
Tribal Office. Judy 800/424-
4372ext.40ll
***Request for Session Proposals
Due February 14, 2005.
EPA Region 10 Tribal Leaders'
Summit, Sitka, Alaska, April 17-22,
2005, Hosted by the Sitka Tribe of
Alaska "Government-to-
Government Consultation: Effective
Use of Tribal Sovereignty". The
Sitka Tribe of Alaska is proud to be
hosting the 2005 EPA Tribal
Leaders, Summit in Sitka, Alaska.
We are now accepting proposals for
presentations for the conference.
The conference will follow six
strands, or tracks: Strand 1.
Traditional Foods & Resources;
Strand 2. Policy (such as EPA's
Trust Responsibility,
Environmental Justice, and Tribal
Capacity Building); Strand 3.
Solid & Hazardous Waste; Strand
4. Water Quality; Strand 5. Air
Quality & Climate Change; and
Strand 6. Grants Management If
you have a workshop or
presentation to share, please
submit a proposal by fax at
907/0747-4915 or by email to
jmorris(a)sitkatribe. org.
The form is available and can
be downloaded at:
www. sitkatribe. org. If you have
any questions, please contact John
Morris at 907/747-3207.
Compliance Assistance
The Small Local Governments
Compliance Assistance Policy (69
FR 31278, June 2, 2004), guides
the actions of the regulator with
respect to cooperating local
government entities. For this
reason, it applies to the actions of a
State, a Tribe that EPA has
approved for treatment as a State,
and to EPA where EPA directly
implements a federal program (69
FR 31278, at 31282; n. 1). Any
application of the policy by EPA
must be coordinated with the
Special Litigation and Projects
Division of OECA's Office of
Regulatory Enforcement.
Associate Director Susan O'Keefe
at 202/564-4201 would be your
initial contact.
Please note that the policy
requires participating small local
governments either to identify and
correct their violations, or to enter
into an enforceable agreement
(with a schedule) to do so. Failure
to correct violations or to take
corrective action in accordance
with the enforceable agreement
renders the local government
ineligible for penalty mitigation
under the policy.
Ken Harmon 202/564-7049
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
Hazardous Waste Grants
The EPA Office of Solid Waste
(OSW) is soliciting proposals from
Tribal governments and Intertribal
Consortia for the development and
implementation of hazardous waste
programs and for building capacity
to address hazardous waste
mismanagement in Indian country.
In accordance with the EPA Indian
Policy of 1984, EPA recognizes
Tribal governments as the primary
parties for managing programs for
reservations. The Federal grant
program is published in the Catalog
of Federal Domestic Assistance
(CFDA) (number 66.812 - Tribal
Hazardous Waste Grants).
This request for project proposals
outlines the purpose and procedures
for application and award of Fiscal
Year 2005 Hazardous Waste
Management Program Grants for
Tribes.
This grant program will support
projects designed to develop and
implement hazardous waste
management programs. These
programs must improve the
applicant's ability to properly
identify, manage, or dispose of
hazardous waste. All hazardous
waste management activities that
address the RCRA Subtitle C
"cradle to grave" are considered
central to a "cradle to grave"
program: 1-Hazardous Waste
Identification, 2-Hazardous Waste
Generator Siting, Monitoring, &
Compliance (Large Quantity, Small
Quantity, and conditionally Exempt
Small Quantity Generators),
3- Hazardous Waste Recycling,
Used Oil, and Universal Wastes,
4-Hazardous Waste Transportation,
5-Treatment, Storage, and
Disposal Facility Siting,
Permitting, Monitoring, 6-Land
Disposal Restrictions, 7-
Combustion.
Electronic copies of this
guidance are available from the
EPA Office of Solid waste (send
e-mail to: roy.denise(a)/epa.gov or
phone 703/308-8458.
Proposals are due to the
National Tribal Waste
Management Program
Coordinator by close of business
on Thursday, March 31, 2005
A Tribal Leader's Perspective
Consultation
W. Ron Allen has been a leader
within the Jamestown S'Klallam
Tribe for several decades, serving
as both Chairman and Executive
Director for 28 years. In addition,
he has served in leadership roles
for a variety of Northwest and
national inter-Tribal
organizations, as well as serving
on BIA committees and task-
forces at their request. Mr.
Allen's work regularly addresses
issues of protecting sovereignty,
treaty rights and the government-
to-government relationship. He
agreed to share a few thoughts
with us, in response to questions
posed regarding consultation.
Question -What aspect of
government to government
consultation do Federal agencies
seem to have the most trouble
'getting'?
Ron Allen: They have a difficult
time understanding how to deal
with so many Tribal governments.
The number overwhelms them and
they struggle with how to reach out
and communicate in an effective
manner. They usually don't know
how to engage with the Tribal
leadership to get the feedback or
guidance regarding the policy issue
they are addressing. They don't
know how to use the state, regional
or national Inter-Tribal
organizations to assist in
consulting on the
government-to-government
dialogue.
Question - How do you prioritize
consultation needs and
opportunities with all the other
demands on the Tribe's time?
Ron Allen: It depends on the
agency or governmental entity
seeking discussion. Some have a
higher priority because of the
importance of the services
provided by the agency. For
example, HHS with all its health
and social programs are a higher
priority than DOD even though
Defense contracts can be very
advantageous to the Tribe's
businesses.
Question - Are there agencies you
work with that you wish the others
would learn from ?
Ron Allen: I think that the Indian
Health Service does the best job of
any agency that I have
experienced, yet they have a lot of
room for improvement. For
example, they sometimes forget
that Urban organizations are not
governments and don't have the
same standing as Tribal
governments, even though they do
have an obligation to consult with
them regarding their
interests.
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
Question - In recent years, have
you observed changes in how well
EPA conducts consultation
(positive, negative, or mixed)?
Ron Allen: I believe that EPA has
improved their process and
protocols very well over the last 6
years or so. Even though
environmental matters are very
important to the Tribes, tribal
leaders have not focused on
working better with EPA because of
the demands from other federal and
state entities. Many Tribes have
become very successful with their
businesses and those activities are
consuming a great deal of the Tribal
leadership time and attention to the
disadvantage of agencies such as
EPA.
Question - What types of issues
are toughest to consult on; and
why?
Ron Allen: Water rights. There
are many issues in the
environmental arena that are
important, but resolving
fundamental water rights and
jurisdiction control relative to
state/local governments or private
interests is extremely challenging.
It is difficult to get all the
stakeholders together to understand
the other's perspective and find
common ground. Most
representatives of these interests
have a difficult time accepting the
authority or historical senior rights
of Tribes. One other difficult
challenge is getting consensus from
the Tribes because of the
differences between the Tribes such
as large vs. small tribes differences,
or regional differences for
example Alaska Tribes differ from
the Southwest Tribes. Even
within the Northwest Tribes you
will have differences of opinion
between the coastal tribes vs. the
plateau tribes, etc.
Question - Are there alternatives
to formal consultation that you
would like to see used more (or
substitutes being used when they
shouldn't be) ?
Ron Allen: The agencies need to
use the State/Regional/National
Inter-Tribal organizations more to
reach out to the Tribes. It is the
best way to get a larger audience
in general. If the agency needs a
full day or more of the Tribes'
attention to a policy matter, they
may need to pay for the travel
costs as an incentive. Many
Tribes have such a lean or limited
budget they can't attend meetings
because of travel budget
limitations.
Question - What about your
Tribe's participation in
consultation might be considered
unusual?
Ron Allen: The Jamestown
S'Klallam Tribe is unique as a
small Tribe being more active in
these type of meetings then most,
but even with our activism we
can't attend all the consultation
meetings that are being
coordinated throughout the United
States. I have engaged at the
White House level as well as the
various Federal Agencies and at
the State levels. We do try to be a
bridge between the differing
views, looking for common
ground, compromise and
consensus. As a leader who has a
great deal of experience in these
type of discussions, I have earned a
certain amount of respect from
many of my colleagues helping in
steering the discussion towards a
common ground. It doesn't always
work, but it helps. We are always
looking for solutions to problems.
Post-script: Mr. Allen gave
Marybell Austin one last piece of
advice. It applies well to all our
collaborative work, including
consultation: "Remember a good
sense of humor, a good listening
ear and a lot patience are essential
to success."
MBE/WBE Requirements
Definitions: MBE = Minority
Business Enterprise - a commercial
small business which is 51%
owned and operated by a minority
person (exception - Tribally owned
businesses do not have to be a
small business to qualify as an
MBE). WBE = Women Business
Enterprise - a commercial small
business which is 51% owned and
operated by a woman. Purchases =
any supplies, equipment, or
services you bought under this
grant from a commercial business
enterprise.
Requirements: In the terms and
conditions of your grant
agreement, there is one specified
for this program. Basically what it
says is that if you are going to buy
any supplies, equipment or
services for this grant, you must
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
make a good faith effort to give
MBE/WBE firms a chance to give
you a quote/price for those items.
You must try to locate them and
you must give them a chance to
compete for your business and you
need to document what efforts you
made in the grant file (give the
process you used and rationale for
selecting the vendor you did). The
condition also states that you must
report on EPA Form 5700-52A,
TOTAL purchases you made (in
block 5C) as well as purchases that
were made from MBE/WBE
vendors (in block 5D). If you hired
a contractor/consultant for this
grant, the same MBE/WBE
requirements for purchasing apply
to him also. These conditions
should be placed in his contract.
He needs to report purchases that he
made with MBE/WBE vendors, so
that you can in turn report that to
EPA (these figures are put into
Block 5E). Reporting is to be done
on either a quarterly basis or an
annual basis, depending on the
grant program. Refer to the terms
and conditions of the grant to
determine the frequency of
reporting. If you need help in
locating MBE/WBE vendors,
reporting, or have questions on the
program, please contact Marie
McPeak, Small & Disadvantaged
Business Utilization Officer for
Region 10 at (206) 553-2894.
PEYA
Since 1971, EPA has sponsored
the President's Environmental
Youth Awards. The program
recognizes young people across
America for projects which
demonstrate their commitment to
the environment. Young people in
all 50 states and the U.S.
territories are invited to participate
in the program.
Projects submitted in the past
have covered a wide range of
subject areas including recycling
programs in schools and
communities; construction of
nature preserves; major tree
planting programs; videos, skits,
and newsletters created by
students that focused on
environmental issues; and
environmental science projects.
To be eligible to compete, a
student or students, sponsored by
an adult, must submit to their local
EPA regional office evidence of a
completed project as defined in
the President's Environmental
Youth Award application, as well
as a completed application.
Office of Environmental
Education Contact for the
President's Environmental Youth
Awards Program - Michael Baker,
Acting Director 202/564-0446 or
http://www. epa.gov/enviroed/
awards/html.
Water Reuse Guidelines
EPA, in partnership with the
U.S. Agency for International
Development (U.S. AID), has
developed new guidelines for
water reuse. The 2004 Guidelines
for Water Reuse Manual
(EPA625-R-04/018) includes
recommendations and supporting
information.
"This updated toolkit will help
water managers advance water
conservation and sustainability
efforts at home and abroad" said
Benjamin Grumbles, Acting
Assistant Administrator for Water.
The document updates a 1992
Guidelines document published by
EPA. The new manual includes
expanded coverage of water reuse
issues and practices in other
countries. It was developed by an
EPA Cooperative Research and
Development Agreement
(CRADA) with Camp Dresser
McKee and an Interagency
Agreement with U.S. AID, along
with extensive contributions by
volunteers.
The manual features new and
updated case studies, expanded
coverage of indirect potable reuse
and industrial reuse issues, new
information on treatment and
disinfection technologies,
emerging chemicals, and
pathogens of concern, economics,
user rates and funding alternative,
public involvement and
acceptance, research activities and
results, and sources of further
information.
Manuals can be ordered at:
www. epa. gov/ttbnrmrl and has
been posted in pdf format:
http://www. epa, eov/ORD/NRMRL
/pubs/62 5r04108/62 5r 04108.pdf
Groundwater Guide
Trying to educate your
community about the importance
of source water protection? The
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• 5 February I, 2005
Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
Groundwater Foundation's (GF)
Source Water Assessment and
Protection Workshop Guide may be
just what you need.
The guide provides local leaders
and community members with the
necessary tools to educate and
motivate their communities to get
involved with source water
assessment and protection.
According to GF, the second
edition of this guide has been
reviewed, updated, and revised.
The latest version includes an
expanded collection of overheads,
PowerPoint slides, handouts, and
activities intended to engage
workshop audiences.
New additions to the guide
include: *more detailed information
about source water protection
strategies; *new insight into areas
where the Safe Drinking Water Act
and the Clean Water Act intersect;
and *a section of techniques to
evaluate the workshop activities.
To download a free copy of the
Source Water Assessment and
Protection Workshop Guide:
www. groundwater. org/gi/
swap/swap.html. Hard copies are
available on the site for $49.95 by
calling 402/434-2740.
EPA Asset Management
In the publication, Asset
Management: A Handbook for
Small Water Systems, The EPA
outlines a simple asset management
program. Although asset
management programs vary in
complexity, EPA suggests the
following five steps for
implementing asset management in
a small utility: 1. Taking
Inventory, 2. Prioritizing Assets,
3. Developing an Asset
Management Plan, 4.
Implementing the Plan, and 5.
Reviewing and Revising the Plan.
This handbook is useful for:
Small towns, Rural water districts,
and Tribal systems.
The guide may be obtained by
calling the Safe Drinking Water
Hotline 800/426-4791 and
requesting document number EPA
816-R-03-16 or it may be
downloaded at: www.epa.gov/
safewater/smallsys/ssinfo. htm.
Five Star Grants
The Five Star challenge Grants
Program develops knowledge and
skills in young people through
restoration projects that involve
multiple and diverse partners.
Partners can include local
government agencies, elected
officials, community groups,
businesses, schools, youth
organizations and environmental
organizations. Consideration for
funding is based upon the
project's educational and training
opportunities for students and at-
risk youth, the ecological benefits
to be derived, and the project's
social and economic benefits to
the community. Proposals are due
in early March. For details:
www. epa, gov/owow/
wetlands/restore/Sstar.
Effluent Guidelines
Aquatic Animal Production
The EPA is setting standards for
the discharge of wastewater from
concentrated aquatic animal
production facilities (known as fish
farms). This rule establishes
effluent limitation guidelines and
new source performance standards
for specific type of commercial
and non-commercial operations
that produce aquatic animals for
food, recreation and restoration of
wild populations, pet trade, and
other commercial products. Rather
than setting numeric limts, the
EPA is requiring best management
practices to control the discharge
of pollutants in the wastewater
from these facilities. EPA found
that it is not necessary to establish
pretreatment standards for existing
or new facilities.
Electronic copies of the
preamble, rule, and major
supporting documents are available
at www. epa. gov/edocket. Once in
the E-Docket system, select
"search" then key in the docket
identification number (OW-2002-
0026). For additional information:
Marta Jordan at 202/566-1049 or
Jordan. marta(a)epa, gov.
Nation's Beaches
As part of the Clean Beaches
Plan, the EPA has issued a
proposed regulation to improve
standards for water quality
monitoring at our nation's beaches.
EPA acted to ensure that more
protective health-based standards
are in place in all states and
territories bordering Great Lakes or
ocean waters.
The EPA is proposing E. coll
and enterococci criteria for their
coastal recreational waters. These
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
bacteria do not directly cause
illness, but are good indicators of
harmful pathogens in water-bodies.
Information about the beach
criteria proposal, a list of states and
their status as of July 1, 2004, and
the EPA's Clean Beaches Plan is
available at: www.epa.gov/beaches.
Fungus Amongus
Victoria, British Columbia - Four
people, dozens of dogs and cats, 11
porpoises and a horse have died
from a rare tropical fungus since it
was detected on Vancouver Island
in 1999, a study has concluded.
The research by an international
team that scientists from the
University of British Columbia and
British Columbia Center for
disease Control also concluded
101 island residents and visitors
have been infected by the rare
cryptococcus gatti fungs.
According to their report in the
journal Proceedings of the
National Academy of Sciences,
the fungus is 37 times more
infectious on the island than in
Australia, where it has long been
prevalent.
The fungus causes a potentially
life-threatening infection of the
lungs and central nervous system.
Invisible airborne spore from the
fungus have been detected over
more than 125 miles from Victoria
to Courtenay on the east side of
the island.
Scientists said there was no
cause for panic, nor should outdoor
activity be restricted. "It's a rare
disease. Its treatable and the
majority of the cases are in older
people over the age of 65, who
have other underlying conditions,"
said Dr. Perry Kendall, British
Columbia's provincial health
officer. "Now people with
unexplained fevers or lung lesions
for which there's no obvious cause,
the physicians are thinking
cryptococcus gatti a little bit
sooner than they would have
otherwise," he said.
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