Facebook Twitter Email
AUGUST 11, 2000

Today, leaders from 11 federal agencies will formalize an agreement in an effort to help tribes throughout Indian Country clean up waste on tribal land.

The event will bring tribal leaders together with officials from the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service (IHS), the Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Defense, the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"The management of solid waste is a critical issue for tribal people," said BIA Assistant Secretary Kevin Gover.

Nationwide, there are over 1,000 open dump sites on Indian land. Of these, 142 classified as "high threat."

If left unchecked, the sites could cause health problems for Native Americans, said Timothy Fields, Jr., Assistant Administrator for the Office of Solid Waste and Emergency Response of the EPA. They also pose risks to the environment itself.

Tribal leaders have been meeting this week in Washington, DC, to discuss the issue. The two-day conference, which ends today, is sponsored by the Tribal Association on Solid Waste and Emergency Response (TASWER) and focuses on a 1994 law which directs the IHS to clean up dump sites on reservations and Alaskan Native villages.

The law, known as the Indian Open Dump Closure Act, calls on the IHS to evaluate, clean up, and report on waste sites. With just 4 years remaining for IHS to complete the task, today's agreement formalizes the effort to help tribes and agencies coordinate the clean up or upgrade the sites.

Many of the sites were actually established or used by the BIA and IHS, Congress found in 1994. Michael Trujillo, IHS Director says the inter-agency government agreement signed today will eliminate "health disparities" for Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

Today's agreement also coordinates the activities of the various agencies. It sets short-term and long-term goals for the clean up or upgrade of sites.

Funding is an important part of the process. Since 1998, the Tribal Open Dump Cleanup Project has provided $4.1 million so far to 18 tribes.

But to clean up or upgrade all the sites, IHS says it could cost as much as $126 million.

Get the IHS Report:
1998 Report: Status of Open Dumps on Indian Lands (IHS 1998)

Relevant Links:
Tribal Association on Solid Waste and Emergency Response - www.taswer.org
Waste Management in Indian Country, Environmental Protection Agency - www.epa.gov/tribalmsw
Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994 - www.taswer.org/dumpbill.html