United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5105)
EPA 500-F-00-227
October 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
Gila River Indian Community, AZ
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more coordinated
manner. In 1998, this multi-agency partnership designated 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating
the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. In October 2000, the partnership selected 12 additional "Brownfields
Showcase Communities" to continue the success of the initiative. The Brownfields Showcase Communities are distributed
across the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged, depending on
the particular needs of each Showcase Community.
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
the Gila River Indian Community as a Brownfields
Showcase Community. The Gila River Indian
Community (GRIC) is a federally recognized tribe
with a resident population of 15,084 members of the
Akimel O-odham (Pima) and Pee Posh (Maricopa)
Tribes. The community is located in south-central
Arizona in Maricopa and Final counties. The
northern boundary of GRIC is adjacent to the
Phoenix metropolitan area, which is a serious non-
attainment area for ozone and participate matter
under the Federal
Clean Air Act. In
addition, the
Maricopa County
portion of GRIC lies
within the non-
attainment area.
GRIC's economy
was mainly agricul-
tural-based during the
early 1900s until
agricultural produc-
Community Profile
tion was devastated by the loss of surface water due to
diversions by farmers upstream of the community.
GRIC established three industrial parks in the 1970s
and two casinos in the late 1990s. Because of dire
economic needs facing the community, many leases
for commercial or industrial activity on tribal land did
not include adequate assurances for proper cleanup
and, therefore, have been left abandoned with residual
contamination. As the community grows, progress
may be stopped or slowed by the threat of contamina-
tion at these sites. Further, many of the sites pose
threats to groundwater,
which is the only source
of drinking water for the
community.
The Gila River Indian Community will
continue its commitment to
sustainable development that
preserves the environment for
future generations. The tribe plans
to redevelop its brownfields,
including a closed military base, to
supportsustainablereusessuchas
agriculture and high tech production.
Gila River Indian Community, AZ
Before the first casino
opened, GRIC's unem-
ployment rate was greater
than 60 percent. Now
unemployment at GRIC
still remains six times
higher than the Phoenix
metropolitan area. The
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community will target several sites, including the
former Williams Air Force Base landfill, two of the
three industrial parks, seven agricultural air strips,
five abandoned farms, the Memorial Airfield (a
former military facility), and several old landfills.
The third industrial park—the Blackwater Industrial
Park—is being targeted by an EPA Brownfields
Assessment Demonstration Pilot awarded in 2000.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
GRIC has experience and growing capacity to
manage cleanups and redevelopment efforts. In
1995, GRIC established a Department of Environ-
mental Quality to manage environmental quality for
sustainable development. The community's
brownfields projects directly link economic redevel-
opment to key housing, commercial, and agricul-
tural needs.
The community has worked with EPA, Department
of Defense (DOD), and others to address contami-
nation at many of the sites targeted through the
Showcase Community project area, including
working to remove portions of the former Williams
Air Force Base—a base realignment and closure
(BRAC) facility—from EPAs National Priorities
List. Currently, GRIC manages approximately $1.3
million from more than 14 EPA grants. In addition,
environmental cleanup is a high priority for the
community and its leadership, which has allocated
more than $200,000 in cleanup funding since 1996.
Other highlights of GRIC's brownfields and related
economic development efforts include:
• Working with an intergovernmental stakeholder
group on the economic reuse plan for the former
Williams Air Force Base, including identifying
potential reuse options for the 41-acre landfill;
• Finalizing a revised road construction and
improvement plan through the community's
Department of Transportation;
1 Developing, with U.S. Bureau of Reclamation
funding, a major irrigation water delivery system
and, with funding from the community, a local
water delivery infrastructure in hopes of
expanding its current 40,000 acres of agricultural
land to 120,000 acres during the next 10 years;
1 Appropriating general revenue funds for loans to
community members for farm development
within the community;
1 Working with its Utility Authority Board on solar
and other alternative energy prospects, especially
in brownfields redevelopment projects;
1 Assisting potential entrepreneurs in the
community through the U.S. Small Business
Administration's pre-qualification office for
loans and guarantees;
1 Allocating other funds for educational
scholarships, infrastructure development,
housing, recycling, and long-term employment
growth;
1 Working to ensure accelerated compliance with
the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA),
which is relevant to most commercial, housing,
or industrial development because the U.S.
Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) must sign or
record most leases within GRIC;
1 Supplementing the accelerated NEPA process
with a "Business and Land Development
Procedure" that provides an integrated,
interagency review of every community and
commercial development at GRIC to help reduce
the risk of creating additional brownfields;
1 Spent $100,000 on the cleanup at the Blackwater
Industrial Park;
1 Updating the community's existing land use plan
to prepare for continued growth, particularly in
housing and recreational facilities and
agricultural development; and
1 Promoting active community involvement to get
input and set priorities on site cleanup and reuse.
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
Gila River Indian Community, Arizona
EPA 500-F-00-227
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SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
GRIC plans to use the Showcase Community project
to serve the very low-income, minority population of
the community. For all of its reuse projects, the
community has strong hiring requirements, consistent
with federal law, that provide preferences to qualified
Native Americans. The project anticipates continued
and expanded partnerships with BIA, the Indian
Health Service, EPA, U.S. Department of Energy,
U.S. Economic Development Administration, U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development,
U.S. Department of Transportation, and U.S. Depart-
ment of Agriculture. In addition, GRIC will continue
its own interdepartment and interagency working
team to implement this project.
The proposed landfill project at the former Williams
Air Force Base will serve as a model for full cleanup
and redevelopment of former bases, which often pose
considerable multi-jurisdictional challenges. It will
provide a useful model for other tribes that may want
to participate in base closure or other DOD redevel-
opment projects. From a broader perspective, this
Showcase Community project will serve as a model
for sustainable development because tribal govern-
ments have strong practical and cultural interests in
development that does not endanger the quality of the
environment for the future. The project will demon-
strate the wide range of approaches tribes can use to
protect their land, clean up contamination, and
stimulate redevelopment despite the special land
tenure and economic restraints faced by most tribal
governments.
Contacts
Department of Environmental Quality
Gila River Indian Community
(520) 562-2234
U.S. EPA-Region 9
(415)744-2237
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase
Communities, visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm.
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
Gila River Indian Community, Arizona
EPA 500-F-00-227
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