------- ------- RCRA Tribal Sub-Region FY2007 Region 10 RCRA Tribal Waste Team Report Regions 8 and 10 share a unique role as joint RCRA Tribal Sub-lead Regions. Under their leadership, OSW and RCRA Regional Offices have developed new management tools which are essential to a modern OSW Tribal Program: These management tools are: Two GPRA Strategic Targets for tribes which measure the number of open dumps which have been cleaned, closed or upgraded and the number of tribes which are covered by integrated waste management plans. The OSW and Regional Tribal Strategy. Tribal Integrated Waste Management Plan tutorials and models. A field survey form and data dictionary for characterizing open dumps. 2008 and Beyond: Continue to build Region 10 RCRA Tribal Waste Team capabilities Meet or exceed National EPA Solid Waste Performance Measure targets Seek to develop creative funding efforts to support tribal waste projects Build inter-agency efforts to address solid waste problems Provide technical assistance and training to tribes on grant writing and solid waste planning Manage Solid Waste Assistance Project Grants Collaborate on global climate change efforts in Alaska Contact Information: Fran Stefan RCRA Tribal Waste Team Leader Phone: (206)553-6639 Email: Stefan.Fran@epa.gov Description of the problem: Tribes in Region 10 have worked hard to tackle the problems of waste dumping, burning, and blight to the land. Despite these efforts, approximately 200 active open dumps continue to impact tribal lands in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. Dumping from off-reservation sources continues to be a problem for many tribes throughout the region. Tire Pile at Yakama Reservation Active Dump at Makah Reservation Tribal members are concerned about the harm wastes pose to the health of community members and the environment they rely on for subsistence food and drinking water. Hazards in many of these open dumps include household cleaners, paints and solvents, toxic metals from batteries, electronics and appliances, waste oils, medical waste, and sewage. Contaminants from waste can pose a threat to subsistence fish, game, and plants. Burning wastes can impact clean air and leaching waste can threaten drinking water. Burning Waste at Eek, Alaska Waste in Tundra Pond at Nunapitchuk, Alaska Tribes in Region 10 are organizing and voicing concerns about the impacts of waste on the health of their community members. They are placing waste management as a higher and higher environmental priority. At the same time, resources for solid waste work are often extremely limited, leaving tribes to struggle from year to year to maintain the staff and infrastructure needed to manage waste safely. Even more daunting are the costs of building transfer stations and landfills, and purchasing vital equipment. 8 ------- SWMAP Funds $1.6M Need Outweighs Available Funds The need for solid waste resources far outweighs the available federal funding. For example in 2007, the Inter-Agency Tribal Solid Waste Management Assistance Project (SWMAP) received approximately $10 million in grant requests from tribes. Available funding from the five participating federal agencies totaled only $1.6 million, just 16% of the need. Strategy to address the problem: In FY2007, the EPA Region 10 RCRA Tribal Waste Team continued to play a pivotal national role as a RCRA Tribal Sub-lead Region to raise awareness of the serious health and environmental threats that open dumps and solid waste play in Indian country. On the home front, the team built and leveraged an ever-growing capacity to provide technical, financial, and coordinating assistance to tribes to solve solid waste problems. The work we do helps further the Region 10 Tribal Environmental Health Priority and is guided by the Office of Solid Waste and Regional Tribal Integrated Waste Management Strategy. The outputs and outcomes of our efforts are measured through the National EPA Tribal Solid Waste Strategic Targets. Moving Waste at Kwigillingok, Alaska Incinerating Waste at Sand Point, Alaska The assistance we provide comes in many forms. For example, it can be providing grant funding to develop a much needed planning tool for sustainable waste management or to close unsafe open dumps. At other times, our assistance can take the form of facilitating partnerships among federal, tribal, state and local governments to solve specific environmental issues. Routinely, we offer Pacific Northwest and Alaska Tribes ongoing, direct on-site solid waste technical assistance. The St. Mary's Summit of 2007 marked several YRITWC 10-year achievements. Today, the YRITWC: Represents 66 Tribes and First Nations in Alaska and Canada Commands an environmentally sophisticated scientific, technical and political workforce Manages a $1.5 million budget and multiple environmental programs Works to increase water quality and environmental integrity in a massive ecosystem Monitors 2300 miles of River and millions of acres of land Runs a backhaul program which has removed 3+ million pounds of wastes from tribal communities since 2005 Offers a remarkable model of partnership among diverse peoples determined to preserve their lands and way of life Offers a superb example of what native peoples armed with a vision and capacity to work together can accomplish, not only for them but for us all Many EPA Region 10 programs, notably the EPA Solid and Hazardous Waste Program, Brownfield's Program, and Indian General Assistance Program have been partners and supporters of this ground-breaking organization. At the July 2007 Summit, the Yukon River Inter-tribal Watershed Council awarded EPA Region 10 and Fran Stefan plaques in recognition of their support. Grant Management: In FY2007, the RCRA Tribal Waste Team managed 18 grants and Inter-Agency Agreements totaling $1.4 million. The team participated in national grant competitions and reviews for both the Inter-Agency Tribal Solid Waste Management Assistance Project and the EPA Tribal Hazardous Waste Grant Program. Members of the team reviewed 32 grant proposals from Region 10 tribes comprising approximately 30% of the total proposals received nationally. Tribes in Region 10 continue to demonstrate increasing need for solid and hazardous waste project funding that far outweighs the current available funding through EPA. These grants are critical for safe tribal waste systems and meeting solid waste strategic targets. ------- reservation. After planning and design funding and technical assistance from EPA, USDA-RD has now stepped in to fund the final construction and equipment installation at the transfer stations. RCRA Tribal Team Sponsors 12th Annual Alaska Tribal Environmental Management Conference: In FY2007, the team continued to fund the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium (ANTHC) through an on-going Inter-Agency Agreement with Indian Health Service. The partnership project leverages the expertise of ANTHC personnel to provide technical assistance and mini-grants to tribes in Alaska for solid waste planning. Importantly, the project sponsored the 12th year of the Alaska Tribal Environmental Management Conference, a major gathering of tribes, federal, state, and local agencies, private sector, and community groups convening to share information on environmental and solid waste issues impacting Alaska. Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network Celebrates 10 Years of Success: Founded in 1997, the Tribal Solid Waste Advisory Network (TSWAN) is a non-profit alliance of 20 federally- recognized tribes from the Pacific Northwest and Alaska. EPA Region 10 played an instrumental role in funding the fledgling organization and working collaboratively with member tribes to build TSWAN's capacity. In 2007, TSWAN celebrated its 10th year of successful, ground- breaking work to strategize and implement solid waste solutions in Indian country. Successes include creating and implementing the TSWAN Integrated Solid Waste Planning Template - a unique tutorial to help tribes write integrated solid waste management plans which are suited to their localities, cultures and needs. The TSWAN template and technical support on using the template is in high demand throughout the region and the nation. This is just one of many TSWAN successes culminating in FY2007. TSWAN awarded plaques to Al LaTourette and Fran Stefan in recognition of their support of this tribal partnership for solid waste. The Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council 2007 Summit: The Healing Journey August 9 -13, 2007 the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council (YRITWC) celebrated its 10th anniversary with a 2300 mile paddle the length of the Yukon River, culminating in a 5-day Summit in St. Mary's, Alaska. The YRITWC began in 1997 when chiefs and elders from peoples living along the Yukon River gathered in Galena, Alaska. They came together to talk about growing health problems in their communities, inadequate environmental monitoring and loss of their ways of life. Out of this first talking circle they evolved a new alliancethe Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Councilwhose goal is to "once again drink clean water directly from the River as our ancestors before us." Key FY2007 accomplishments: Open Dumps and Integrated Waste Management Plans: Region 10 Meets and Exceeds Tribal Solid Waste Strategic Targets: In FY2007, EPA Region 10 partnered with tribes to close and clean up 2 significant open dumps impacting tribal lands, meeting our strategic target for the year. In addition, Region 10 worked with tribes to log 10 tribal integrated waste management plans, far exceeding our commitment of 4 for the year. Nikolski Completes Drum Cleanup/Creates Solid Waste Plan: The Native Village of Nikolski completed a drum consolidation and soil remediation project that may well serve as a model for other villages in remote parts of Alaska. Nikolski is a small, traditional Aleut community located in the central Aleutian Islands, 900 air miles from Anchorage, Alaska. Archeologists have recovered evidence from the Chaluka Mound, located within the Native Village of Nikolski, leading them to believe Nikolski may be the oldest continuously occupied community site in the western hemisphere (8,500 years). The Nikolski drum removal effort moved over 200 drums, junk vehicles, and scraps metal off- site for proper disposal and cleaned up contaminated soils. Through the efforts of Nikolski, EPA Region 10 Indian General Assistance Program, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the Chaluka Native Corporation, and the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association, the project serves to protect the villagers from potential health impacts from the waste. This is especially important because the Nikolski Drum Project in Process: village economy is almost entirely subsistence-based. This effort is monumental considering the remote location and harsh weather in Nikolski. Frequent terrible storms and dense fog visit the island, making it inaccessible during many parts of the year. In addition to the drum cleanup project, Nikolski worked with an EPA Solid Waste Management Assistance grant to draft a new solid waste management plan and ordinance for their community. The community rallied together to undertake the difficult task of siting a new landfill. The village coordinated with the team, EPA Region 10 Alaska Operations Office, and the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation on permitting issues and partnered with the Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association to access key technical assistance. Yakama Nation Closes Medicine Valley Dump: In FY2007, Yakama Nation tribal solid waste managers successfully leveraged tribal and EPA Indian General Assistance Program funds to close a significant dump site. The Yakama Indian Nation reservation is 1.2 million acres - twice as large as the state of Rhode Island. There are approximately 8500 tribal members living on the reservation, however, they make up only 20% of the population within the reservation boundaries. Non-members, as a result of the Dawes Act, live within the ------- reservation boundaries on fee land creating a checkerboard pattern of land ownership. The Nation has revitalized its solid waste management program, in part due to serious problems with illegal dumping by non-tribal members. The Medicine Valley Dump contained municipal solid waste, electronics waste, and potential hazardous waste. The waste was primarily located on the surface with no cover. The site had become inactive and the tribe took action to control site access, remove the waste, dispose of the waste at an appropriate solid waste landfill, and actively monitor the site to ensure it remains clean. Circuit Rider Partners with Tribes to Inventory Dump Sites: In FY2007, Circuit Rider Al LaTourette continued to partner with and train tribal solid waste staff to systematically locate and record the unique attributes of illegal open dump sites of concern to tribes. In the process, Al programmed and field-tested a new piece of equipment, the hand-held Trimble Got Global Positioning System Receiver with built-in data logging capability. This technology allows the user to log location and descriptive information in the field and transfer it electronically to a dump inventory database and mapping software. This work is important because it allows tribes and EPA to produce electronic inventories and maps of open dumps to support efforts to garner resources to clean up and close illegal dump sites. Pacific Northwest and Alaska Tribal Waste Inventory Reveals Insights: Region 10 has compiled an inventory of waste management conditions in 229 Alaskan Native Villages and 42 tribes in the Pacific Northwest. In FY2007, the inventory was used to report and track strategic targets, develop a baseline of waste burning activities in Alaska, and track dozens of village site visits and technical assistance to tribes. In FY2007 the inventory shows: 10 tribes have solid waste management plans and 18 more are nearing completion -all plans address EPA-recommended elements 80 additional tribes have plans that are tailored for their communities or are under development 391 sites, including 261 open dumps, 95 landfills and 35 transfer stations are cataloged Tribes/communities are actively working to clean up/close at least 22 problem dump sites At least 98 tribes have voiced concern over health and environmental impacts from waste Approximately 114 Alaska communities are burning waste through open burning, backyard burn barrels, burn boxes, and/or incinerators Information on access road conditions for 73 dump and landfill sites in Alaska are logged Collaboration: Circuit Riders Visit 22 Tribes and Villages: In FY2007, the Region 10 RCRATribal Waste Team circuit riders provided in- person technical assistance to 22 villages and tribes throughout the region. Al LaTourette and Ted Jacobson, circled at right, traveled over 2700 miles, visited 16 dump sites and landfills, assessed and inventoried solid waste site conditions, and met with tribal and village contacts. The circuit riders act as solid waste liasons meeting face to face, fielding phone calls and providing technical support to tribal staff and leaders. The extensive on-the-ground experience and knowledge of Al and Ted is a key factor in their success and ability to build lasting relationships with tribes. EPA and Indian Health Service Launch Joint Open Dump Tracking System: In FY2007, the Region 10 RCRA Tribal Waste Team collaborated with Regions 8 and 9 and the Indian Health Service (IMS) to re-design the wSTARS Operations and Maintenance Data System to store and track tribal open dump information. The results of the cross-agency work include building a joint data system accessible to IMS and EPA personnel, creating a field form for engineers and site assessors to use when logging open dump assessments, and writing a field guide that defines a common understanding of the key terms and conditions needed to track the clean up of open dumps across the country. Sanitation Tracking and Reporting System (STARS) Welcome to STARS, a system of the Indian Health Service (MS). Overview of the Web Sanitation Tracking and Reporting System (wSTARS) EPA Region 10 Builds Partnership with US Department of Agriculture-Rural Development: In FY2007, the RCRA Tribal Waste Team hosted two meetings with the US Department of Agriculture-Rural Development (USDA-RD). State directors and staff from Idaho, Oregon and Washington met with the team to launch an effort to work more strategically together to support tribal efforts to build safe waste systems. An example of the benefits of working together is the staged funding provided by EPA, IHS and USDA-RD to the Spokane Tribe to plan for, design, build and implement a new transfer station system to replace two large, unmanaged open dumps on the 5 ------- |