ribal rO)cience
ouncil
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Milestones
Key Milestones in the Development of the US EPA Tribal Science Council
May 1999
Norine Noonan [former Assistant Administrator for the Office
of Research & Development (ORD)] was asked to address the
Tribal Caucus of the Tribal Operations Committee regarding
ORD's efforts to include tribes in their science programs. She
suggests the formation of a Tribal Science Council (TSC) that
would provide a structure for tribal involvement in the Agency's
science efforts.
December 1999
Hal Zenick (ORD) reiterates Norine Noonan's commitment to
forming a TSC and asks for Tribal Caucus assistance in
determining what such an organization would look like and how
it would operate. The Tribal Caucus designated Larry
Wawronowicz to work with ORD on the development of a TSC.
December 1999 - March 2000
Agency staff meet to develop a model for the TSC and reported
progress to the Tribal Caucus in their March meeting.
June 2000
Norine Noonan and Chuck Fox (former Assistant Administrator
for EPA's Office of Water) send memorandum to EPA Assistant
Administrators and Regional Administrators to solicit EPA
representatives to serve on the TSC.
August 2000
Claudia Walters (ORD) addresses the Tribal Caucus and updates
them on the status of the Agency's progress in identifying
members to serve on the TSC. At this same meeting, Tribal
Caucus members volunteer to participate in the further
development of the TSC concept. Tribal Caucus volunteers
included: Larry Wawronowicz, Steve Terry, Margaret Cook,
Derrith Watchman Moore, Ronda Azure, and Reggie Ward.
November 2000
EPA representatives to the TSC meet with the Tribal Caucus
volunteers at the Miccosukee Reservation in Miami to discuss
the mission, goals, and possible structure of the TSC. Based on
the results of this meeting, Claudia Walters and Steve Terry work
to refine a draft mission and goals for the group to review.
Spring 2001
The TSC planning team (consisting of the Tribal Caucus
volunteers and the EPA TSC representatives) meet via
conference calls to refine the mission and goals and to develop an
information flow diagram that illustrates how information and
priority science issues will be brought before the TSC.
June 2001
Hal Zenick, Larry Wawronowicz, and Claudia Walters meet with the
Tribal Caucus and present the draft mission, goals, and information flow
diagram for consideration and approval. The Tribal Caucus endorses the
documents and recommends that they be sent to all tribes as a form of
consultation and that a separate letter be sent to the Regional Tribal
Operations Committees (RTOCs) to solicit tribal scientists to participate
as members of the TSC. The Tribal Caucus agrees that, at least initially,
tribal membership should be limited to one member per EPA Region.
July 2001
Hal Zenick briefs the Tribal Operations Committee on the TSC, and it is
endorsed by EPA Administrator Christine Todd Whitman and Deputy
Administrator Linda Fisher. The Tribal Caucus sends consultation letters
informing all tribes of the status of the formation of the TSC. The Tribal
Caucus also sends letters soliciting tribal membership to the RTOCs.
September 2001
Tribes identify their Regional representatives to serve on the TSC.
Agency and tribal representatives hold an initial call with these new tribal
representatives to brief them on how the TSC was formed. TSC holds its
first full conference call with all Agency and tribal members.
December 2001
The first in-personTSC meeting with all Agency and tribal members is
held December 11-13 at the Ak-Chin and Gila River Indian communities
in Arizona. Discussion topics focus on key issues, including: tribal
perspectives on traditional knowledge, EPA and Regional
perspectives/capabilities regarding tribal science issues, and examples of
current EPA programs that integrate tribal science issues. The TSC
identifies the following four substantive tribal science issues on which to
focus their efforts initially: quality assurance (QA), subsistence, data
access, and inventorying existing tribal science information/activities.
January - April 2002
The TSC continues monthly calls to follow up on action items from its
December meeting. Subcommittees are formed to address priority issues
such as QA, data access, and subsistence. The QA Subcommittee
establishes a subgroup to work on QA tribal issues on a Regional level.
The group includes several QA Officers, which meet to discuss the tribal
issues identified at the TSC meeting in December and answer QA
questions from tribes within the Regions. The subcommittee also works
with Headquarters QA staff to make the Agency's training course on
Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) development more relevant to
tribal communities. The Data Access Subcommittee works with EPA's
Office of Pollution, Prevention, and Toxic Substances and Office of
General Council on the issue of data access.
April 2002
The TSC Co-chairs address the Tribal Caucus on April 25, providing a
history of the TSC and its activities to date as well as a brief explanation
of the mechanics of how the TSC functions. Specific issues relating to
TSC tribal representatives, including a request to include an additional
TSC tribal representative from Alaska on the Council, potential
budgetary and financial needs of the TSC tribal representatives, and the
establishment of ongoing coordination and communication between the
TSC and Tribal Caucus are discussed.
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June 2002
The Council participates in the June National Tribal Conference on
Environmental Management (NTCEM) and the National Tribal
Environmental Council (NTEC) annual conferences. TSC members
present on a number of issues, including: tribal subsistence and risk
assessment issues; endocrine disrupter science; and the TSC, its
mission, goals, and activities. The TSC QA Subcommittee works in
conjunction with EPA's QA staff to sponsor a short course on
QAPP development at the NTCEM conference.
The TSC holds its second in-person meeting in association with the
NTCEM and NTEC conferences in Reno, Nevada on June 3 &c 5.
Discussion topics focus on the following issues: ensuring appropriate
access to tribal data under Agency policy, as dictated by the Freedom
of Information Act; discussion and finalization of organizational and
operational issues pertaining to the TSC; and discussion of
subsistence, as it pertains to current activities undertaken by the
TSC.
July - August 2002
The Council continues monthly conference calls to follow-up on
subcommittee action items and plans for the upcoming September
2002 TSC meeting. The Subsistence Subcommittee concentrates on
organizing an Endocrine Disrupter Workshop to be held in
conjunction with the September TSC meeting, responding to a
high-priority tribal need to better understand the current state of
endocrine disrupter science at the Agency. The QA Subcommittee
assists Region 9 with a QAPP training CD ROM proposal,
providing input to ensure its relevance to tribes and both regionally
and nationally.
September 2002
The third in-person TSC meeting is held September 17-18 in
Washington, DC. The TSC identifies the following priority science
issues: traditional lifeways, including tribally relevant risk assessment;
endocrine disrupter chemicals; EPA's dioxin reassessment and
reference dose; cumulative impacts; persistent bioaccumulative toxics
source reduction; black mold; pharmaceuticals in wastewater; and
tribal research, including global warming and climate change
monitoring efforts. Additional discussion topics include such key
issues as: administrative support for the TSC tribal representatives,
development of a Tribal Technical Support Center, and TSC review
of EPA's LifeLine project.
In conjunction with the September TSC meeting, the Subsistence
Subcommittee holds an Endocrine Disrupter Workshop on
September 19. The workshop brings together Agency officials to
provide information to tribes about EPA's efforts with regard to the
state-of-the-science and policy developments of endocrine disrupter
research. It also creates a forum for tribes to provide the Agency
information about concerns with endocrine disruptors resulting from
a subsistence lifestyle.
October 2002 -January 2003
The TSC Tribal representatives continue to work with their Regions
to identify priority science issues. The Council continues monthly
conference calls and begins planning for its next in-person meeting
in February 2003. During the December 2002 conference call,
representatives from EPA's Office of Pesticide Programs discuss the
LifeLine project with the TSC and plan how best to incorporate
TSC review and input.
February 2003
The fourth in-person TSC meeting is held February 18, 19, &.21 in
Albuquerque, NM. The Council shares updates and information on
upcoming events and opportunities for TSC involvement, including
the EPA Science Forurn 2003. ORD staff is present to discuss the
status of ORD's Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program
"Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risks
from Toxic Substances in the Environment" proposal solicitation, and
the TSC discusses how to broaden such solicitation efforts and
further tribal participation in future ORD research efforts.
In conjunction with the February TSC meeting, a workshop on risk
assessment and tribal health and well-being is held on February 19-
20. The workshop brings together Agency and tribal representatives
to exchange information regarding risk assessment and tribal
lifeways. The objectives of the workshop are to: (1) gain an
understanding of the risk assessment paradigm, as interpreted by
each of the various EPA Program Offices, (2) gain insights into the
tribal perspective on risk assessment and the health and well-being
paradigm, (3) seek commonalities between the two viewpoints, and
(4) identify how EPA and tribes can best work together to proceed
with the issue.
May 2003
TSC members participate in EPA's Science Forum 2003, which is
held on May 5-7 in Washington, DC. TSC Region 2 tribal
representative, Jim Ransom, is a plenary session speaker. A session
titled "Working with Tribes: Cultural Values and Tribal Lifeways
Inform Health Assessments" is held, and includes four tribal speakers
identified by the Council. The TSC develops a poster and display for
the event, one identifying Regional tribal traditional lifeways and
subsistence projects and the other providing information on the TSC,
its mission, goals, and current areas of focus.
EPA and the tribal representatives of the TSC co-sponsor the Tribal
Traditional Lifeways: Health 8c Well-being Approach Workshop in
Reno, NV, on May 13-15, 2003.The workshop is hosted by the
Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe. The goals of the workshop are to (1)
present the health and well-being paradigm being developed by the
TSC, (2) share stories about health and well-being topics and the use
of traditional knowledge and science by tribes, and (3) identify
approaches for moving the paradigm forward and opening up the
process to wider tribal input and involvement.
June 2003
After receiving input from the Tribal Operations Committee, the
TSC adds an additional tribal representative to represent Alaska
Native tribes.
July 2003
The co-chairs of the Risk Assessment and Health and Well-being
Subcommittee give a presentation on tribally relevant risk assessment
and theTSC's activities regarding the health and well-being
paradigm to EPA's Science Advisory Board.
June 2003 - October 2003
The TSC continues to hold monthly conference calls to share
information relating to ongoing subcommittee activities, plan for the
November 2003 TSC meeting and for the next TSC
workshop on the health and well-being paradigm. The QA
Subcommittee continues to assist EPA Region 9 with developing a
QAPP training CD for tribes. The TSC forms a Communications
Subcommittee to strengthen internal communications and improve
communication with outside organizations and entities.
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