&EPA
United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-162
May 1998
Assessment
Demonstration Pilot
Tohono O'odham Nation, AZ
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
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. Since 1995, EPA has funded more than 150 Brownfields Assessment
Demonstration Pilots, at up to $200,000 each, to support creative two-year explorations and demonstrations of
brownfields solutions. The Pilots 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 has selected the Tohono O'odham Nation for a
Brownfields Pilot. The Nation has a population of
almost 15,000 and is located in southwest Arizona.
The Tohono O'odham have lived in the region for
more than 10,000years. The San Xavier District, one
of eleven Nation districts, is the home of a famous
mission and several established archeological sites.
The San Xavier District has a tribal population of
1,400. The area's land use is a mix of industrial
properties and low- to very-low-income residential
units. The reservation has a very low employment
rate, although the San Xavier District maintains a
slightly higher employment rate due to its proximity to
the City of Tucson.
The Pilot plans to focus on a chemical manufacturing
plant located in the San Xavier District. The targeted
Minerec Mining Chemical Company is one of 13
tenants in the Nation's San Xavier Industrial Park.
The Nation has serious concerns about the Minerec
plant because of suspected environmental
contamination resulting from past manufacturing
processes and operations. The Nation will assess and
plan for cleanup of this property to protect the
environment and the health of the industrial park
workers and nearby residents.
PILOT SNAPSHOT
Date of Announcement:
May 1998
Amount: $200,000
Profile: The Pilot targets
a chemical manufacturing
property within the Nation's
San Xavier Industrial Park.
Tohono O'odham Nation,
Arizona
Contacts:
Planning and Economic
Development Department
Tohono O'odham Nation
(520) 383-2221 x208
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA-Region 9
(415)744-2237
Visit the EPA Region 9 Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/region09/waste/brown/
Forfurtherinformation, including specific Pilot contacts,
additional Pilot information, brownfields news and events, and
publications and links, visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/
-------
OBJECTIVES
The Pilot plans to develop and establish methods and
protocols for site assessment of tribal lands that will
create a self-regenerating environmental cleanup and
economic development process, a key part of an
environmentally sound land use planning process.
The Pilot will lay the foundation for quality site
assessments fortribalbrownfields. More specifically,
the Pilot plans to assess and prepare for cleanup and
redevelopment of the targeted property. In traditional
Tohono O'odham fashion, community involvement
will be a key for the Pilot. The Pilot also hopes to
serve as a model of sustainable brownfields
redevelopment for other tribes in the region.
ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND ACTIVITIES
Activities planned as part of this Pilot include:
• Conducting a Phase I site characterization and a
Phase II environmental site assessment at the
Minerec property;
• Developing plans to ensure proper and safe
assessment and cleanup of the property that is
acceptable to the community, including a sampling
and analysis plan, asite safetyplan, aquality assurance
plan, and an environmental justice plan;
• Developing a community involvement plan that
includes outreach through district and community
meetings;
• Developing a cleanup and reuse strategy; and
• Establishing protocols for future assessments based
on Pilot activities.
The cooperative agreement for this Pilot has not yet been
negotiated; therefore, activities described in this fact sheet
are subject to change.
Brownfields Assessment Demonstration Pilot Tohono 0 'odham Nation, Arizona
May 1998 EPA 500-F-98-162
------- |