National Tribal Environmental Council, http://www.ntec.org
Superfund Project, Tribal Recommendations (pdf file)
The goal of the Tribal Workgroup is to make recommendations on how to improve the involvement
of tribes in the Superfund program. While the other three workgroups are addressing readiness, assistance,
and agreements for states, the Tribal Workgroup is focused on these same issues from a tribal perspective.
Because many tribes have very little, if any, involvement in Superfund, the recommendations in this chapter
emphasize assistance to tribes in Superfund program development. Section II of this chapter addresses
tribal readiness; Section III discusses EPA assistance to tribes; and Section IV contains EPA-tribal
partnership agreements.

Science and American Indians
http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes.htm
Welcome to the Science and American Indians web site. This site provides a wide range of science information and resources gathered through tribal traditional knowledge, analytical science, and integrated approaches to science by tribes, EPA, and other Federal agencies and tribal organizations. In addition, this site provides information on the activities and products of the EPA workgroup that address tribally driven science issues, the National EPA-Tribal Science Council (TSC).

The Key Science Topics listed below represent areas of scientific interest. Each topic includes a brief description and links to web sites that provide basic information, scientific resources, funding, training, and workshops on the topic within EPA, other Federal agencies, science organizations, and tribes. Although this is not a comprehensive list of science topics, the topics were identified by tribal representatives and EPA, including the National-EPA Tribal Science Council (TSC), as being important or of interest to tribes. To learn what action the TSC has taken, including their accomplishments and ongoing activities, go to the TSC's What We Are Doing section of the web site. Information has been provided on the following topics:

Asthma
Climate Change
Dioxin
Endocrine Disruptors
Mercury
Mold
Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products in Wastewater
Quality Assurance Project Plans
Risk Assessment
Water Quality Standards

Tribal Information Management System (TIMS)
https://oasint.rtpnc.epa.gov/TIMS/background.html
TIMS is a state-of-the-art GIS system for summarizing environmental information about Indian tribes, using publicly available data from EPA and other federal agencies. TIMS was developed by the American Indian Environmental Office of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Regional EPA Science Contacts
http://www.epa.gov/osp/regions/rslmap.htm

The National EPA-Tribal Science Council (TSC)
http://www.epa.gov/osp/tribes/tribal/who.htm
The TSC was created to specifically address environmental science issues of interest to tribes. The TSC provides a forum for tribes to identify priority environmental science issues and work with EPA to collaboratively design effective solutions. The National EPA-Tribal Science Council (TSC) is composed of a single tribal representative from each of the nine EPA Regions with federally recognized tribes, with an additional tribal representative designated in Region 10 to represent Alaska Native communities. There is also a single Agency representative from each Headquarters Program Office and Region. Agency representatives are designated by Assistant Administrators from the EPA Program Office and Regions. Tribal representatives are nominated by their Regional Tribal Operations Committees through the National Tribal Operations Committee. All TSC members must have an adequate scientific background to understand and work on tribal science issues effectively.

Regional Science Liaisons
Each EPA Region has an individual designated at the Regional Science Liaison. Established by EPA's Office of Research and Development (ORD), the Regional Science Liaison serves to address science issues across environmental programs throughout the Region as well as address research issues between ORD and the regions. Go to About the Regional Science Program to learn more about the Regional Science Liaison for your region.

About the Regional Science Program
The ORD Regional Science Program was restructured in FY 2000 through collaboration between ORD and the Regions. The new program is staffed by full-time Regional employees, who serve as liaisons between ORD and the Region. Click a Regional Office location on the map below to access information about the Regional Science Liaison in each Region. In addition to the ten Regional Science Liaisons, a senior ORD scientist serves as the ORD Lead Region Coordinator, and works directly with management in the Lead Region for ORD. This position is a temporary assignment to the Regional Office, concurrent with the Lead Region rotation. For the period October 2002 - September 2004, Region 4 is the Lead Region for ORD.

OPPTS Draft Tribal Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2003-2008, click here
Protecting Human Health and The Environment in Indian Country
Prepared by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS) August 22, 2003 Draft

Tribal perspectives on Superfund Priorities, click here
Abstract from the EPA's 2003 National Site Assessment Symposium
Superfund is an important issue for Tribes. According to research, there are over 430 NPL sites within 50 miles of Tribal lands. This means that over a third of the NPL listed sites have the potential to impact Tribes. Additionally, Tribes may have rights - i.e., religious freedom, treaty uses, treaty rights and traditional and customary areas that extend many miles beyond Indian lands. Tribes should be involved in decisions about sites that may impact their resources. Open government to government communication is essential. Developing relationships with EPA, State, and Tribal officials is necessary. Tribal consultation and Tribal involvement needs to happen early and often. Currently, Tribes have no authority to list or delist a site on the NPL. This poses a problem when a state governor will not concur or list a site, or if State or Federal governments are Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs). Tribes strongly advocate for the development of site hazard ranking, assessment and cleanup criteria that protect Tribal Traditional Lifeway activities, including the use of Tribal resources for cultural, subsistence and ceremonial purposes.

Protecting Public Health and Water Resources in Indian Country, click here
A Strategy for EPA/Tribal Partnership, October, 1998
A wide variety of water environmental programs currently exist in Indian country. Although many tribes do not yet have a significant environmental presence, others have more developed environmental programs designed to meet specific tribal needs. The EPA Water Program will seek to ensure the needs of all interested tribes are addressed by: (1) assisting tribes in developing water programs and gaining authority to run them, (2) helping tribes to further develop and implement their existing environmental programs, and/or (3) fulfilling its responsibilities for direct implementation of water environmental programs in Indian country,
consistent with EPA Indian policy.

EPA Office Pollution Prevention & Toxics Tribal Environmental Network
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/tribal/programs.html
OPPT has the primary responsibility for administering the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and the Pollution Prevention Act of 1990. It also manages the Chemical Right-to-Know Initiative and the New and Existing Chemicals programs; the Design for the Environment (DFE), Green Chemistry, and Environmentally Preferable Products (EPP) programs; and the Lead, Asbestos, and Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) programs. OPPT provides various paths to access information from their program areas through this web site. Concerned Citizens can find information relevant to their homes, families, and workplace and children can learn about chemicals around their houses. Researchers can use a subject approach, or utilize specialized tools in the Databases and Software section. OPPT Publications may be available in both digital and hardcopy, and you can always ask for help in locating information from providers listed in Information Sources.

Forum on State and Tribal Toxics Action (FOSTTA)
http://www.epa.gov/opptintr/tribal/fostta.htm
The Forum on State and Tribal Toxics Action (FOSTTA) is a partnership between the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) and State and Tribal leaders to increase understanding and improve collaboration on toxics and pollution prevention issues among the States, Tribes, and EPA. The Environmental Council of the States (ECOS), in cooperation with the National Tribal Environmental Council (NTEC), and EPA’s Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) are co-sponsoring the meetings of the Forum on State and Tribal Toxics Action (FOSTTA). As part of a cooperative agreement, ECOS facilitates ongoing efforts of the state and tribal leaders and OPPT to increase understanding and improve collaboration on toxics and pollution prevention issues and to continue a dialogue on how federal environmental programs can best be implemented among the states, tribes, and EPA.

Success Stories, Tribal Non-Point Source Program
http://www.epa.gov/region09/water/nonpoint/tribalsuccess.pdf
The Clean Water Act (CWA) §319(h), Nonpoint Source (NPS) Pollution Control Program, assists Tribes to develop and implement polluted runoff control programs that address critical water quality concerns. NPS pollution is defined as rainfall, snowmelt, or irrigation that runs over land or through the ground, picks up pollutants, and deposits them into rivers, lakes, oceans, or ground water.

EPA Tribal Pesticide Program
http://www.epa.gov/oppfead1/tribes/

EPA Tribal Bioassessment and Biocriteria Programs
http://www.epa.gov/waterscience/biocriteria/programs/

The American Indian Environmental Office (AIEO)
http://www.epa.gov/indian/miss.htm
The AIEO coordinates the Agency-wide effort to strengthen public health and environmental protection in Indian Country, with a special emphasis on building Tribal capacity to administer their own environmental programs. AIEO oversees development and implementation of the Agency's Indian Policy and strives to ensure that all EPA Headquarters and Regional Offices implement their parts of the Agency's Indian Program in a manner consistent with Administration policy to work with Tribes on a government-to-government basis and EPA's trust responsibility to protect Tribal health and environments.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Office of Tribal Affairs (OTA)
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tribal/
OTA assists with tribal-specific environmental health needs resulting from exposure to hazardous waste sites and pollution. ATSDR has established a firm commitment to working with American Indian/Alaska Native governments, organizations, and communities. Mission: To support ATSDR in developing policies, procedures, funding, and research that address the environmental health needs of American Indian and Alaska Native populations.Vision Statement: To utilize the knowledge passed down from our ancestors and the advances of modern science to protect mother earth for future generations.

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) is the principal federal public health agency charged with the responsibility of evaluating the human health effects of exposure to hazardous substances. The agency works in close collaboration with local, state, and other federal agencies, with tribal governments, and with communities and local health care providers. The goal of the agency is to help prevent or reduce harmful human health effects from exposure to hazardous substances.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/goals.html

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Office of Tribal Affairs (OTA) was established in 1999 in response to tribal requests. Since that time, OTA has been assisting with tribal-specific environmental health needs resulting from exposure to hazardous waste sites and pollution. ATSDR has established a firm commitment to working with American Indian/Alaska Native governments, organizations, and communities.
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tribal/about.html

Technical Support. OTA works directly with tribal governments and representatives on site-specific work, responding to requests for information and evaluating environmental health data and community health concerns.

Site-specific Activities. For hazardous waste sites that may affect tribal populations, ATSDR conducts public health assessments and consultations to address multiple exposure pathways, determine who may come in contact with hazardous substances, evaluate whether harmful exposures are occurring and what public health actions/follow-up activities may be needed.
Lifestyle and Cultural Practices of Tribal Populations and Risk from Toxic Substances in the Environment. Partnering with EPA, ATSDR is working to develop methods to assess subsistence-based exposure and to increase the capacity of tribes to assess environmental threats from a subsistence lifestyle.

What services does OTA provide?
OTA provides a point-of-contact for tribes to access ATSDR and its environmental public health programs; trained staff to assist ATSDR in coordinating with tribal governments; environmental perspectives that incorporate native culture and traditional values; assistance to ATSDR management in responding to presidential executive orders and federal mandates impacting tribes; development of policy and programs for American Indian/Alaska Native governments, organizations, and communities; and coordination of activities to support tribal-specific public health needs.

What does ATSDR/OTA do to address American Indian and Alaska Native public health concerns?
With the exception of the Indian Health Service, ATSDR spends a greater percentage of its budgeted funding on the health of American Indian/Alaska Natives than any other federal agency. In FY 2002, ATSDR's support to tribes allowed the development of needs assessments for seven tribes impacted by release of radiation at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, development of environmental public health curricula at four tribal colleges, and support for the Alaska Traditional Diet Project (ATDP).

Daphne B. Moffett, Ph.D.
Environmental Health Scientist
Office of Tribal Affairs
ATSDR/DHAC
1600 Clifton Rd. N.E. MS E32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 404-639-0659
Fax: 404-639-0654
Email: zzc0@cdc.gov

Dean Seneca
Tribal Coordinator
Office of Tribal Affairs-ATSDR
1600 Clifton Road, MS E32
Atlanta, GA 30333
Phone: 404 639-6337
Fax: 404 639-0654

Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response (OSWER)
http://www.epa.gov/swerrims/welcome.htm
OSWER provides policy, guidance and direction for the Agency's solid waste and emergency response programs. We develop guidelines for the land disposal of hazardous waste and underground storage tanks. We provide technical assistance to all levels of government to establish safe practices in waste management. We administer the Brownfields program which supports state and local governments in redeveloping and reusing potentially contaminated sites. We also manage the Superfund program to respond to abandoned and active hazardous waste sites and accidental oil and chemical releases as well as encourage innovative technologies to address contaminated soil and groundwater.

Border 2012 Tribes
http://www.tribalwater.net/border/index.html
Welcome to a new look and feel for the Border Tribes website a subsite of TribalWater.net. The purpose of this site is to provide a collection point for all Border 2012 information. If you have a contribution to give to this site for the purpose of fullfilling your grant obligations or just information you would like to share with Partner Tribes on ether side of the US/Mexico boarder click on image to the right and e-mail it to the staff of this site. Keep your eyes on this page more is Coming!

The U.S.-Mexico Border 2012 Program is a new binational 10-year cooperative plan aimed at protecting public health and the environment along the 2,000-mile border region where almost 12 million citizens of
both countries live. The program focuses on decreasing air, water, waste and soil pollution and lowering the risks of exposure to pesticides and other chemicals.

Border 2012 MISSION STATEMENT
As a result of the partnership among federal, state and local, governments in the United States and Mexico, and with U.S. border tribes, the mission of the Border 2012 program is:

To protect the environment and public health in the U.S.-Mexico border region, consistent with the principles of sustainable development.

(In this program, sustainable development is defined as “conservation-oriented social and economic development that emphasizes the protection and sustainable use of resources, while addressing both current and future needs and present and future impacts of human actions.”)

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(worth noting as context underscoring the value of our Tribal Regional Workbench aim)

EPA, through its Office of Environmental Justice, requested the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC) to provide recommendations on the question: How can EPA promote innovation in the field of pollution prevention, waste minimization, and related areas to more effectively ensure a clean environment and quality of life for all peoples, including low-income, minority, and tribal communities? In response to this charge, the NEJAC has developed fourteen consensus recommendations in three major areas: (1) Community and Tribal Involvement, Capacity Building, and Partnerships; (2) More Effective Utilization of Tools And Programs; and (3) Sustainable Processes and Products. These recommendations are the result of a deliberative process that involved input from all stakeholder groups, including communities, tribes, business and industry, state and local government, non-governmental organizations, and academia.
http://www.epa.gov/compliance/resources/publications/ej/p2-recommend-report-0703.pdf
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Community Outreach Core (draft in progress, not ready for circulation)

TITLE:
Integrating Superfund-related science and Native cultural traditions: A Tribal Regional Workbench approach to enabling equitable environmental stewardship of Indian Reservations.

ABSTRACT
The Community Outreach Core will share SBRP-generated knowledge and tools with Tribal communities and organizations affected by hazardous waste sites and toxicants. The effort will take place at regional, national and binational levels. From the outset, the Tribal communities will participate in the core's design and approach. Our five-year strategic plan will foster a Tribal Regional Workbench approach to enabling equitable environmental stewardship of Indian Reservations. This collaborative effort will link the university and tribes with several technical assistance programs including the EPA Office of Environmental Justice, EPA Office of Pollution and Prevention and Toxics (OPPT) Tribal Program, and the ATSDR (Division of Health Assessment and Consultation). The Community Outreach Core will provide the National Tribal Environmental Council and Tribal environmental protection agencies with expertise, guidance and support in the understanding and application of biomarker, biosensor and bioremediation technologies. The network of scholars we have lined up for this effort includes individuals with expertise in technical/risk communication, health education and promotion, and health communication to ensure quality and to avoid unintended effects.

AIMS

1. Build a Tribal Regional Workbench Web site in collaboration with the Campo Indian Reservation (San Diego) and the National Tribal Environmental Council’s Superfund Program. The aim is to help build Tribal capacity to negotiate with entities of regional governance (where regional plan-making is underway to deal with hazardous waste management, water quality regulations, land conservation, economic development, etc.).

2. Share SBRP-generated knowledge and tools for exposure monitoring, risk assessment, and environmental restoration (e.g., new methods of testing for toxicants in water/soil/sediment samples and phytoremediation) with Tribal communities affected by hazardous waste sites and transboundary flows of toxicants (including across the U.S.-Mexico Border).

3. Sponsor a set of regional workshops to improve the Tribal community's awareness and understanding of biomarkers, bioremediation and environmental health issues in ways that are sensitive to traditional and cultural practices. This will involve UCSD faculty as well as partners from the USEPA Office of Environmental Justice; EPA Border 2012; Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University; Indigenous Environmental Network; Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) Office of Tribal Affairs (OTA); EPA Office of Prevention, Pesticides, and Toxic Substances (OPPTS); EPA Office Pollution Prevention & Toxics Tribal Environmental Network; and the Forum on State and Tribal Toxics Action (FOSTTA).

4. Host a national gathering of tribal leaders and scientists on the theme of "Cross fertilizing science and tribal wisdom in environmental stewardship." Develop a model or a set of “best practices” for knowledge production, consensus-building, collaboration, and policy-making among tribal leaders, tribal and state EPAs, and the federal EPA. Create new approaches to doing science and environmental research—new epistemologies that challenge the divide between Western science and traditional Native systems of knowledge.

5. Communicate data, maps, and stories to tribal leaders and agency officials via workshops, conference, and other public presentations. Co-author a series of papers, articles, and other publications with Tribal and other partners, in the spirit of broadly disseminating the lessons learned and some of the stories we may gather.

6. The Community Outreach Core will facilitate internship and field research opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students at the university and will also include a plan specifying how we will measure milestones and outcomes. We anticipate this effort becoming a national model for interdisciplinary, technology-based participatory research among scientists, social scientists, and diverse publics.