United States Environmental Protection Agency Washington, D.C. 20460 Solid Waste and Emergency Response (5101) EPA 500-F-00-055 March 2000 www.epa.gov/brownfields/ &EPA Assistance Supplemental Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, ND Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5105) Quick Reference Fact Sheet EPA's Brownfields Economic Redevelopment Initiative is designed to empower states, communities, and other stakeholders in economic redevelopment to work together in a timely manner to prevent, assess, safely clean up, and sustainably reuse brownfields. A brownfield is a site, or portion thereof, that has actual or perceived contamination and an active potential for redevelopment or reuse. EPA is funding: assessment demonstration pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to assess brownfields sites and to test cleanup and redevelopment models; job training pilot programs (each funded up to $200,000 over two years), to provide training for residents of communities affected by brownfields to facilitate cleanup of brownfields sites and prepare trainees for future employment in the environmental field; and, cleanup revolving loan fund programs (each funded up to $500,000 over five years) to capitalize loan funds to make loans for the environmental cleanup of brownfields. These pilot programs are intended to provide EPA, states, tribes, municipalities, and communities with useful information and strategies as they continue to seek new methods to promote a unified approach to site assessment, environmental cleanup, and redevelopment. BACKGROUND EPA awarded the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians supplemental assistance for its Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa has a membership of more than 26,000. Approximately 18,000 Tribal members live on or near the reservation. The Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, a federally recognized Indian tribe, sponsors the San Haven Redevelopment Project. San Haven is a vacant and abandoned hospital for the severely mentally retarded residents of North Dakota. The state closed the hospital in 1987, and the surrounding community and reservation lostmore than 200 jobs. The reservation suffers from a 57 percent unemployment rate. The San Haven Redevelopment Project was created to redevelop San Haven into a tourism and economic development activity to replace some of the employment lost when the hospital closed. The Tribe acquired the property in 1992. They received a Brownfields Pilotproject grant in 1998. The Tribe has made significant progress in the project in the way of planning, networking, and community involvement. Additional funding will allow the project to continue PILOT SNAPSHOT Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, North Dakota Date of Announcement: March 2000 Amount: $150,000 Profile: ThePilotwilltargetthe cleanup and redevelopment of the San Haven property tomake the area environmentally safe and stim ulate the local economy. Contacts: Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa (701)477-0478 Regional Brownfields Team U.S. EPA-Region 8 (303)312-6803 Visit the EPA Region 8 Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/region08/cross/brown/brownf.html Forfutther information, including specific Pilotcontacts, additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at: http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/ ------- with assessing and planning for redevelopment and new development of the area. OBJECTIVES AND PLANNED ACTIVITIES The Tribe's goal is to rehabilitate the San Haven property, which would make the area environmentally safe for the surrounding community, stimulate economic activity, and provide employment opportunities for the surrounding community. This Pilot will continue the initial assessment work and conduct more extensive assessments. Most of the supplemental funding will be directed towards the cleanup and redevelopment plans. To accomplish these objectives, the Pilot plans to: • Complete initial environmental assessment; • Conduct additional assessments of the area; • Identify and develop a comprehensive cleanup and redevelopment plan; and • Conduct community hearings and meetings to ensure community involvement in future land use decisions. The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet are subject to change. Brownfields Supplemental Assistance Turtle Mountain Band ofChippewa, North Dakota April 2000 EPA 500-F-00-055 ------- |