908-F-03-003-C	Fort Belknap, Montana

initiating Positive Change

Efforts made by the Fort Belknap Indian Community's Brownfi elds Program are helping to cleanup and
redevelop abandoned and contaminated properties as well as provide necessary j ob training to the area's
people. EPAhas awarded two complimentary $200,000 grants to the Fort Belknap Indian Community: a
Brownfields Assessment Pilot and a Brownfields Job Training Pilot. The aid of the EPABrownfields grants
has allowed the Fort Belknap Indian Community to take the initial steps toward overall community
revitalization.

Located in north-central Montana, the 653,940 acre Fort Belknap Reservation is home to members of the
Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes. The reservation encompasses two counties, Blaine andPhillips, and
contains the F ort Belknap Agency, Hays, and Lodge Pole areas. Over half of the 5,13 8 members of the Fort
Belknap Indian Community reside on the reservation.

Several community-wide problems have been recognized by tribal members. Among them, several
brownfields properties of cultural significance have been identified as degraded sites of importance.
Degradation has occurred due to previous activity including landfill siting, illegal dumping, and abandonment
of buildings and quarries. It was determined by tribal members, that these properties could be utilized for
redevelopment purposes. Other community-wide problems identified by members are the70 percent
unemployment and 45 percent poverty rates suffered by the reservation's population. Area residents are often
unable to find work and lack the necessary training and skills to acquire j obs that would provide a suitable
living wage.

Creating Change

The Fort Belknap Brownfields Program has taken some important first steps
to address these problems. One of the initial steps was to create a
brownfields inventory. The inventory was created by conducting community
outreach including meetings, one-on-one interviews with local senior citizens,
and circulating questionnaires. Upon completion of the brownfi elds inventory,
two properties were selected to begin the environmental assessment work:
the Snake Butte Quarry and Old Agency Landfill. In the 1930s, the Snake
Butte Quarry was utilized by the U. S. Army Corp of Engineers to obtain
rip-rap for the constmcti on of the F ort Peck Dam. Upon compl eti on of the
dam, the butte area was left in a damaged state with remains from blasting, railroad constmcti on, and other
debris strewn throughout. The Old Agency Landfill property was estimated to have been in operation for
approximately 60 years until it was closed in 1970. During that time, the landfill reportedly accepted
residential, industrial, and agricultural wastes and allegedly received unspecified amounts of pesticides and

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Starting in 2002, EPA-funded Phase I assessments were conducted to determine the extent of environmental
damage on these two brownfi elds properties. Subsequent Phase II assessments were later completed. These
assessments revealed that the Snake Butte property did not contain significant contamination, however

Snake Butte Quarry Site

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numerous contaminants were found at the Old Agency Landfill. The Old
Agency Landfill will require further action before redevelopment activities
can occur.

Throughout the Brownfields Process the Fort Belknap Brownfields
Program has sought input from tribal members to determine the future
uses of both culturally significant properties. Since the Snake Butte
Quarry property is near many existing scenic vi stas, the highest priority
was to return it to a natural state. Similarly, a balance of natural °id A9ency Landfl"s!te
preservation and creation of recreational trails was suggested for the Old Agency Landfill property.

Meeting Economic Needs with Education

To combat soaring unemployment and poverty on the reservation, and empower community members to deal
with the environmental challenges facing the T ribes, the Fort Belknap Brownfields Program has initiated a Job
Training Program with funds provided by a 2003 EPA Job Training Grant. The aim of the program is to
provide community members with the necessary skills to acquire jobs in the environmental field while helping
to preserve natural and cultural resources of particular significance to the community.

The Fort Belknap Brownfields Program has partnered with numerous institutions and groups including, but
not limited to, Fort Belknap College, Montana Tech of the University of Montana, Bureau of Indian Affairs,
Tribal Flealth Services, White Clay andBuffalo Chasers Cultural Societies, and Portage Environmental Inc.,
to provide the two year Job Training Program. The program seeks to train 60 students (30 students per
year), achieve a 70 percent j ob placement rate, and track program graduates for at least one year of their
post academic work. As this Pilot has only recently been awarded, current activities have focused on
advertising and recruitment.

The two-year, 370 hour Job Training Program will consist of two tracks: a hazardous waste and
remediation/ecosystem track. The first year includes eight courses under the hazardous waste track including
PIAZWOPER certification, hazardous materials management, alternative/innovative treatment technologies,
lead risk assessment, industrial toxicology, industrial hygiene and safety, administation programs, and cultural
preservation awareness. The remediation/ecosystem track begins in the second year. It offers sampling
techniques, ecosystem management, hydrology, professional planning management, restoration ecology,
environmental site assessment certification, cultural preservation awareness, and excavation trenching and
soils courses. The first round of classes began on October 13,2003 with 20 students meeting at Fort Belknap
College.

With the combination of the Brownfields Assessmentand Job Training Pilots, the Fort Belknap Indian

Community with assi stance from EPA are initiating positive changes. Environmental assessments, j ob training,

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and community support will help to preserve the natural and cultural resources while revitalizing the land and

training the people who live on the Fort Belkrap Reservation.

For further information about theFortBelknap Brownfields Program contact the Fort Belknap Environmental
Program at (406) 353-8429 or Stephanie Wallace, EPA Region 8, at (406) 457-5018.

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