United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response(5105)
EPA 500-F-00-228
October 2000
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
Metlakatla Indian Community, AK
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 Metlakatla Indian Community (MIC) as a
Brownfields Showcase Community. MIC is a
federally designated Enterprise Community. The
Annette Islands Reserve is the only federal Indian
reservation in the State of Alaska. Its 86,000 acres
have supported timber and fishing industries for
more than 100 years for the 2,430 enrolled members
of the tribe, half of whom live on the reservation. In
1940, the United States Army established an air base
on 12,783 acres of land located six miles south of the
Town of Metlakatla.
Until that point, no
development existed
on the peninsula
outside of the town or
its immediate
surroundings. The
new construction
brought runways, taxi
routes, hangars,
storage tanks and
Community Profile
facilities, housing, docks, a hospital, and infrastruc-
ture improvements to water, sewage, and communica-
tions. These improvements also resulted in contami-
nation.
At the end of World War II, however, the installation
was quickly vacated. The Federal Aviation Adminis-
tration (FAA) leased the airport in 1948 for use as the
Ketchikan Airport. Control shifted to the U.S. Coast
Guard (USCG) in 1956, but by 1973 the airport had
been moved to a new facility closer to Ketchikan, and
all remaining airport support activity ceased in 1977.
A 1996 preliminary assessment of the Metlakatla
Peninsula identified more
than 80 sites associated
with former federal
facilities; 72 of these
have environmental
concerns, including
leaking drums, asbestos,
lead, pesticides, polychlo-
Metlakatla Indian
Community, Alaska
The Metlakatla Indian Community will
use its Showcase Community
designation to promote sustainable
economic development through the
assessment, cleanup, and
redevelopment of brownfields sites on
the Metlakatla Peninsula. The
industrial, commercial, and recreational
uses planned for these sites will result
in the protection of natural resources
and the strengthening of an economy
weakened by underutilized facilities and
unknown contamination.
rinated biphenyls (PCBs),
chemical and oil spills,
and leaking above- and
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underground storage tanks. As the result of a
devastating fishing season and the federal shutdown
of timber harvesting in 1995, the MIC Council
declared its community an "economic disaster area"
in 1997.
MIC is targeting three priority brownfields—the
Smuggler Cove Radio Relay site, which is currently
being used as a community-owned power utility
facility; a former power plant, which is currently
abandoned; and the main hangar building at the
airport, which is currently being used as a forest
products facility. The Showcase Community
partnership effort will facilitate environmental
cleanup and economic expansion at the sites
currently in use and promote cleanup and reuse at
the abandoned power plant.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
MIC has developed numerous plans and guidance,
including a Comprehensive Development Plan for
the community, a Land Use Plan, a Coastal Man-
agement Plan, a Master Plan for Environmental
Mitigation of the Metlakatla Peninsula, and a
Coordinated Comprehensive Cleanup Plan. Efforts
related to activities outlined in these plans include:
• Submitting 17 sites with redevelopment
potential to EPA in 1999 (Only four of the
peninsula's sites are zoned for industrial use,
but three of those have been identified as having
high redevelopment potential); and
• Establishing a community-based Environmental
Restoration Advisory Committee in 1997 to
provide guidance and channel community input
on all environmental issues facing the
community.
MIC has formed partnerships with federal, state, and
local entities to address brownfields issues. Partner-
ships include:
• EPA, which has conducted targeted brownfields
assessments in 1999 on three priority sites.
• Bureau of Indian Affairs and the U.S. Army
Corps of Engineers (USAGE), with which MIC
signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)
in March 1998 for investigation and cleanup of
contaminated sites in the community. USAGE
has removed a number of underground storage
tanks, drums, and debris.
• FAA, with which MIC signed an MOU in July
1998, has removed 500,000 pounds of PCB-
contaminated soil, 8,000 pounds of PCB-
contaminated oils, 200 transformers, 10,000
gallons of contaminated fuel, and 5,000 pounds
of asbestos, lead-based paints, and oil wastes.
• USCG, which has removed underground storage
tanks and a PCB transformer.
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry, which has made the Annette Islands
Reserve one of six communities in Alaska
considered to be a top priority for health
assessment work in 2001.
• Department of Defense, whose Native American
Lands Environmental Mitigation Program
provided funding for MIC to perform asbestos
abatement at seven sites in 1999.
Brownfields Showcase Communities
October 2000
Metlakatla Indian Community, Alaska
EPA 500-F-00-228
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SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
The Metlakatla Indian Community plans to use the
Showcase Community designation to create an
integrated brownfields plan with substantial federal
partner involvement. Completion of planning and
cleanup efforts at the three priority sites will spur
their redevelopment and/or expanded use, resulting in
10 to 20 new jobs. In addition, the reuse of these
sites will provide an economic shift for a community
that has been solely dependent on natural resources
for its survival. MIC further hopes to promote tribal
self-governance and determination and serve as a
model for other tribal communities addressing
similar environmental and economic transition issues.
Contacts
Project Manager
(907) 886-4200
U.S. EPA-Region 10
(206)553-2100
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
Metlakatla Indian Community, Alaska
EPA 500-F-00-228
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