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tribal.NSF
Region 10 Tribal
Newsletter
LETTER
Vol. XIV No. I
January, 2005
Work Shops and Conferences
January 25-27 2005, Tribal Science Council, Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe, Reno, NV. See second article
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 18-22 2005. Tribal Leaders Summit 05, Sitka, Alaska. Info: Nathan Spees 907/271-6334
June 7-10 2005, 7th National Tribal Conference on Environmental Management in Traverse City,
Michigan. See first article.
Region 10 Tribal
Newsletter is published
monthly at no ch arge
To receive a copy call:
AK..Rob 907/271 -6323
ID..Arlene 208/378-5749
OR..Don 503/.326-50I5
WAAIison 360/753-8185
Tribal Office. Judy 800/424-
4372 ext. 401 I
7th National Tribal Conference
The Grand Traverse Band of
Ottawa and Chippewa Indians
(GTB) is pleased to invite you to
participate in the 7th National Tribal
Conference on Environmental
Management (NTCEM) in Traverse
city, Michigan June 7-10, 2005.
The NTCEM is being held at the
Grant Traverse Resort Spa, owned
by GTB.
The NTCEM is one of the
premier environmental events in
Indian Country. With
approximately 1000 people
expected, the conference provides
an opportunity for tribal leaders.
Tribal environmental managers,
tribal scientists, tribal
organizations, federal agencies,
and other interested entities to
share information about tribal
environmental programs, and
discuss issues of vital interest to
Indian country.
The National Tribal Conference
on Environmental Management
has generally been on a bi-annual
basis since 1992.
The GTB is actively seeking
agenda suggestions on
environmental issues of
importance in Indian Country and
will use selected ideas to shape the
conference agenda. You are
invited to submit your ideas on
environmental activities, issues,
and opportunities for participation
in the event. In addition, GTB
will have significant room for
interested vendors at the
conference.
For more information: Andy
Knott, GTB Environmental
Stewardship Director at 231/271-
7363 or aknott(S)gtbindians. com or
Suzanne McSawby, GTB Natural
Resource Director at 231/271-7104
or smcsawby(£)gtbindians.com.
Tribal Consultation
Government-to-government
consultation is a well-worn topic.
It shows up everywhere that the
relationship between EPA and
Tribal governments is discussed -
National Environmental Justice
Action Committee reports,
Working Effectively with Tribal
Governments training modules,
national workshops, Agency
policies and procedures, and even
Executive Orders. So why also
make it the theme of the next
Tribal Leaders' Summit?
The topic will be central to the
Summit in April 2005 for the same
reason it appears so frequently
elsewhere: consultation is not
merely a legal requirement, but is
in fact fundamental to the work we
do together. Conducting
government to government
consultation demonstrates a respect
for Tribal sovereignty and creates a
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
stronger partnership between the
Agency and Tribes. Early input by
Tribes in decisions affecting them
promotes better approaches to
environmental problems faced by
Tribal communities. And continued
collaboration on the development of
new rules, policies and programs
often leads to cooperative strategies
that make implementing changes
smoother and more successful. In
its best cases, the consultation
process fulfills EPA's trust
responsibility by using the
government to government
relationship as a tool to achieve our
shared goal of better health and
natural resource protection in Indian
Country.
But achieving a 'best-case'
consultation process, even when
everyone agrees on the importance
and makes a real effort, is difficult.
Why? Because, even when
resources are in good supply,
consultation competes with other
needs within the Region's and
Tribes' programs. A good
communication process demands
valuable time from Agency and
Tribal staff and leaders alike (with
additional time and expense for
travel). In addition, it is tempting to
take shortcuts, knowing that a truly
inclusive process will delay the
final outcome and prolong the
uncertainty for all involved.
These practical challenges mean
that EPA staff must develop real
skill at designing and conducting
consultation processes that save
everyone time, effort, and expense
without short-changing either the
opportunity for Tribes to participate
fully or the potential to reach the
best possible outcome through
cooperative thought and action. As
a foundation, most Regional staff
have a firm grip on the basics, as
expressed in the "Region 10
Working Definition of Tribal
Consultation," and its
accompanying "Guiding
Principles". (Available in full on
the Region 10 website.) But even
for experienced staff, lessons
learned from one consultation
process can't be directly applied
to another. Each issue that
triggers consultation must lead to
a process fitting the needs of the
program and the Tribes involved.
Staff and managers must decide
when consultation is required,
how early to start the process, how
best to communicate the
opportunity and gauge the level of
interest from the Tribe(s) affected,
how to organize calls and
meetings to maximize
participation while minimizing the
burden on all parties, and finally,
how to know when the process is
complete.
One of the most valuable tools
for "tuning-up" our ability to
better meet this responsibility is
the willingness of our partner
Tribes in Region 10 to share with
us what consultation experiences
have been like for them, and how
we can adapt our practices to
improve the experience and
outcomes for everyone. The
Tribal Leaders Summit will
provide a number of ways to offer
insights, feedback and
suggestions, and for Tribal and
EPA leaders to discuss these
issues directly with one another.
The first of a three part series
by Mary Bell Austin, a Region 10
Tribal Coordinator. Look for
articles in the February and
March newsletters, as well as more
details on the Tribal Leaders
Summit.
Air Quality Grants
The EPA Office of Air, Waste
and Toxics is pleased to announce
the availability of FY 2005 Clean
Air Act (CAA) grant funding for
supporting tribal air quality
projects in Region 10. These
grants will range in size from
$50,000 to $125. Preference will
be given to proposals that show the
greatest prospect of addressing
serious air quality needs and
producing clear environmental
results, and where past grant
performance has been successful.
The purpose of this grant
program is to provide funding for
tribal air pollution control
programs, or projects that support
air quality assessment and
development of needed tribal air
program capacity. Activities
conducted under these grants often
include: Identification and
investigation of air pollution
sources, ambient air quality
monitoring, development of air
pollution control regulations and
ordinances, and community
education and outreach. All
activities must be related to air
pollution assessment, prevention
and/or control.
Stage 1 - Initial Proposal by
February 9,2005. Stage 2 - Final
proposal by May 18, 2005. Final
awards will be made by September
30, 2005.
For further information please
contact: Diana Boquist 206/553-
1586, Mary Manous 206/553-
1059, or Doug Cole 208/378-5764.
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
Internship Announcement
In 2005, the US Fish and
Wildlife Service and USDA Forest
Service will sponsor 60-80 paid
summer internships with a primary
focus on recruiting and exposing
freshman and sophomore Hispanic,
African-American, Asian and
Native American students to the
conservation field. The
Conservation Careers Diversity
Intern Program is a collaboration
between FWS, FS, and the
Environmental Careers
Organization.
Each summer internship offers: a
$4,800 stipend ($400/week for 12
weeks); $1,000 housing allowance
or free housing; $300 minimum to
help with relocation expenses.
Students who are currently
majoring in or have an interest in
the following or other related
academic fields are urged to apply:
Biology, Botany, GIS, Ecology,
Plant Science, Cartography,
Wildlife Science, Hydrology,
Forestry, Fishery Science, Geology,
Soil Science, Natural Resources,
Chemistry, Parks and Recreation,
Range Conservation, Physical
Science, Environmental Education
For more information, please
contact: Josephine Xiong Program
Manager 617/426-4783 x.142
jxiong(a)/eco. org or
www.eco.org/conservation .
EPA Land Preservation
EPAs Office of Solid Waste and
Emergency Response (OSWER)
has established the Innovation Pilot
Initiative to encourage innovative
thinking and "can do" approaches
about environmental challenges.
The initiative's primary goals are to
pilot and test new ideas that
support land preservation and
restoration. Deadline Jan. 14, 2005.
http://www. epa.gov/
oswer/iwg/announcement. htm.
Teaching Course
There is a 6 - week e-Learning
course available, "E-Teaching:
Preparing successful online
instructors." Classes begin
January 31st and space is limited.
January too soon? There will be
another that will begin in March.
For more: http://wmv.creative-
conservation, com/eteaching. htm.
EMS Help
EPAs Office of Water has
announced the selection of four
new Environmental Management
Systems (EMS) Local Resource
Centers to help local governments
learn more about and adopt EMSs
for their operations. These Centers
are part of the Office of Water's
ongoing Public Entity EMS
Resource (PEER) Initiative. The
new Centers are located at the
University of Missouri-Rolla,
Kansas State University, the
University of Colorado, and
EcoVenture in Oakland,
California. For more:
http://www.peercenter. net
An EMS is a set of problem
identification and problem solving
tools that local governments can
use, organization-wide or in a
specific department, to save
money and protect environmental
resources by reducing waste,
improving efficiency, and
integrating environmental
stewardship into everyday
operations. An EMS provides a
systems-based approach patterned
after the Shewart & Deming model
of plan/do/check/act. A EMS
helps organizations address their
regulatory demands in a systematic
and cost-effective manner. This
proactive approach can help reduce
the risk of non-compliance or
environmental liability and
improve health and safety practices
for employees and the public.
Benefits from implementing an
EMS can include improved ability
to meet compliance requirements;
increased efficiency; reduce cost
and greater operation consistency;
improved environmental
awareness, involvement and
competency throughout the
organization; better
communication about
environmental issues inside and
outside the organization; and better
relationship with regulators.
Trading Water Quality
EPA has published "Water
Quality Trading Assessment
Handbook," which is designed to
help determine if trading can be
used to make cost-effective
pollutant reductions and determine
if trading may be the appropriate
tool. Using a hypothetical river
basin, the handbook illustrates a
framework that may be used as a
model in any watershed to evaluate
problems and determine if trading
could effectively address those
local conditions, http://www.epa,
gov/owow/watershed/trading. htm
Tribal Response Grants
Section 128(a) of the
Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
Liability Act (CERCLA), as
amended authorizes a
noncompetitive $50 million grant
program to establish and enhance
state and tribal response programs.
Generally, these response programs
address the assessment, cleanup and
redevelopment of brownfields sites
and other sites with actual or
perceived contamination. Section
128(a) grants are awarded and
administered by the EPA regional
offices. This document provides
guidance that will enable states and
tribes to apply for the use Section
128(a) funds in Fiscal Year 2005.
Requests for funding will be
accepted until January 31. 2005.
Watershed Guidebook
The EPA has released a set of
new resource guides designed to
assist local governments, watershed
groups, watershed management
agencies, and others in planning and
conducting effective watershed
outreach to improve water quality.
The guidebook, Getting in Step:
A Guide for Conducting Watershed
Outreach Campaigns, pulls together
principles, techniques, and
information for effective watershed
outreach into a single user-friendly
source. A 35-minute video
reinforces the six-step process
outlined in the guidebook and
showcases four successful outreach
programs around the U.S.
To obtain a free copy of the
guidebook and video, contact the
National Service Center for
Environmental Publications at:
800/490-9198 or
www. epa. gov/ncepihom and ask for
Publication #EPA841-B-03-002
and #EPA841-V-03-001. The book
may also be downloaded at:
www. epa.gov/nps/outreach. html.
For more information: Don Waye
at: 202/566-1170.
Superfund
EPA estimates as many as
350,000 contaminated sites
nationwide will require cleanup
over the next 30 years, costing
property owners and parties
responsible for the damage as
much as $250 billion, according to
a new EPA report that estimates
future market and technology
trends, http://www.eenews.net/
Greenwire/Backissues/1203 04/
120304sw.htm#l
Toxic Substances
Industry Support for HPV
Program Detailed; EPA Report
Says Final Test Rule Set for 2005.
More than 400 chemical
manufacturers, some of them
working in coordination with
industry groups and other
consortia, have agreed to make
available human health and
environmental data on more than
2,200 chemicals toward
completion of a public database
on high-production volume
chemicals, the Environmental
Protection Agency said in a report
released Dec. 2.
http://pubs. bna. com/
ip/BNA/den. nsf/is/aObOc8rOn9.
Someone Poisoned
The first thing to do is call the
national Poison Control Center
800/222-1222 atoll-free hotline
that will connect you to a center
near you. More than 75% of calls
to a poison centers can be
managed over the phone.
Do not induce vomiting unless
you are instructed to do so. It can
be dangerous.
Fish and Wildlife Assistance
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service is offering grants for its
Partners for Fish and Wildlife
Program. This program provides
technical and financial assistance
to private landowners, including
local governments, for habitat
restoration on their lands. A variety
of habitats can be restored to
benefit Federal trust species.
Normally the cost share is 50
percent (the Service and the
landowner each pay half of the
project costs), but the percentage is
flexible. There is no specific
deadline for these grants. For
more: http://www.fedgrants.gov/
Applicants/DOI/FWS/FHC/
Partners-05/Grant. html
Energy Saver
A typical household spends
about $100 a year, or more than
seven percent of its energy bill on
lighting. Replacing the five
highest use lights in the home with
ENERGY STAR-qualified models
will help the typical homeowner
save more than $60 every year in
energy costs. Generally, the most
frequently used light fixtures are
the kitchen overhead light, living
room table and floor lamps,
bathroom vanity, and outdoor
porch light.
ENERGY STAR fixtures and
bulbs last six to 10 times longer
than standard models and provide
the same amount of light while
running on two-thirds less energy.
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
In addition, qualified lighting
generates about 70 percent less heat
than standard incandescent lighting,
which means it's cooler to the touch
and can help reduce energy costs
associated with cooling the home.
In the last year alone, the
availability and variety of ENERGY
STAR qualified light fixtures have
increased dramatically and the
market share has risen to four
percent of all fixture sales.
Changing five lights is one of
five simple actions that EPA is
encouraging to make homes more
energy-efficient and help the
environment.
Funding Watersheds/Airsheds
The Natural Resources
Conservation Service (NRCS) is
accepting proposals for the
Conservation Partnership Initiative
(CPI), a voluntary program
established to foster partnerships
that will focus technical and
financial resources on conservation
priorities in watersheds (8-digit
HUC or smaller) or airsheds of
special significance. Applications
are due February 17, 2005. For
more: http://www.nrcs.usda,gov/
programs/cpi
Salmon Neurotoxin
According to a report from the
Raincoast Conservation Society,
based in British Columbia,
Canadian farmers use a drug
treatment known commercially as
Slice to protect farmed salmon from
getting infested with sea lice. Slice
contains emamectin benzoate as its
active ingredient, a chemical EPA
lists as a neurotoxin because it is
known to block neural transmitters
in the brain.
The report states that
documents from 2000 show the
Canadian Food Inspection Agency
began finding residues of Slice in
farmed salmon. At the time, the
agency had a zero tolerance for
Slice consumption but later
changed its policy to accept
residue from Slice up to 50 ppb.
EPA allows only two parts per
billion, but the Food and Drug
Administration has jurisdiction
over the import of farmed salmon
from Canada and does not test the
fish for Slice.
Toxic Release Inventory
To better inform communities,
EPA today for the first time is
releasing facility information
about toxic chemical releases as
reported to the agency. In the
past, this data was received,
quality-checked, analyzed and
released in the annual Toxic's
Release Inventory (TRI) report
that resulted from the Emergency
Planning and Community
Right-to-Know Act of 1986. The
TRI program requires industrial
facilities to publicly report
quantities of toxic chemicals
annually released into the air,
water and land. TRI is an
important tool that gives
Americans public information on
chemical releases for their
community, so that they can make
informed decisions about
protecting their environment. The
United States is an innovator in
providing this level of openness in
chemical reporting, and other
nations are using TRI as a model.
Many stakeholders have requested
that the agency share TRI data
sooner and in the basic format
received, without waiting for
further analysis. In response to
these stakeholder concerns, EPA
has set up the following site:
http://www. epa.gov/tri-efdr.
Diazinon
EPA has issued a notice to
remind retailers of a Dec. 31, 2004,
stop-sale date for all outdoor
diazinon home, lawn and garden
products. It will be unlawful to sell
diazinon outdoor non-agricultural
use products in the United States
after the end of this year. This is
part of an agreement between EPA
and diazinon registrants to phase
out and eliminate all residential
uses of the insecticide diazinon.
Discontinuing diazinon use in
home, lawn and garden care is part
of EPA's ongoing effort under the
1996 Food Quality Protection Act
to reduce the risk of pesticides,
especially to children. Diazinon
registrants are offering a "buy
back" program to assist with
removing these products from the
market and preventing further sale.
The registrants will repurchase any
unopened, unused outdoor
residential products from retailers
or formulators.
Diazinon should not be disposed
of in sinks, toilets, storm drains, or
any body of water. The local
government may recommend that
consumers take diazinon products
to a household hazardous waste
collection site. The
organophosphate pesticide,
diazinon, has been one of the most
widely used insecticides in the
United States for household lawn
and garden pest control, as well as
for indoor residential treatments.
All indoor use product registrations
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Region 10 Tribal Newsletter
have been cancelled and retail sale
ended on Dec. 31, 02. http://www.
epa.gov/pesticides/op/diazinon.htm
Proposals for Waste
The EPA's Office of Solid Waste
and Emergency Response
(OSWER) is accepting proposals
innovation pilots. OSWER has set
aside at least $500,000 to fund
creative projects testing innovative
approaches to one or more of the
following priority areas: recovering
energy or products from waste;
increasing recycling; reducing
waste; assessing, cleaning up, and
restoring contaminated sites to
sustainable and beneficial use;
fostering "green" consumer and
business decisions; properly
managing waste and petroleum
products; and enhancing homeland
security related to chemical
emergency prevention
preparedness and response.
Proposals are due January 14,
2005. More: http://www.epa.gov/
swerrims/iwg/announcement. htm
Lead Funding
EPA is making funding
available to prevent lead-based
paint related poisoning in
high-risk areas. Under a new
competitive lead grant program,
the agency will provide funding to
communities having high rates of
elevated blood-lead levels, as well
as to communities where there are
conditions associated with
elevated blood-lead levels. The
deadline for proposals is January
31, 2005. http://www.epa.gov/lead
OREGON
Umatilla Wind Power
The Confederated Tribes of the
Umatilla Indian Reservation and
the Columbia Energy Partners have
joined force to build a 104
megawatt wind power project near
the city of Arlington in
northeastern Oregon, tribal
officials said.
Under a partnership agreement
being developed, the Confederated
Tribes will invest in the project and
participate in a development loan
with the Oregon Department of
Energy in exchange for an
ownership stake in Columbia
Energy Partners' proposed project
according to a tribal news release.
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