Tribal Waste and Response Assistance Program

Tribal Waste and Response Assistance Program

National Tribal Steering Committee

Meeting Notes

November 13-14, 2012

Crystal City, Arlington, VA

Important Upcoming Dates

·  February 20, 2013: Steering Committee Conference Call (9:00 am Alaska; 10:00 am Pacific; 11:00 am Mountain (including Arizona); 12:00 pm Central; 1:00 pm Eastern)

·  May 7-8, 2013: Steering Committee Meeting, tentatively scheduled at the Pueblo of Santa Ana's Tamaya Resort in New Mexico

·  August 19-22, 2013: Tribal Lands Form, tentatively scheduled at the Pueblo of Santa Ana's Tamaya Resort in New Mexico

Steering Committee Members:

1

Dino Chavarria, chair

Victoria Flowers

Victoria Kotongan

Katie Kruse

Virginia LeClere

Tom McClure

Peter Reuben

Rob Roy

Elliott Talgo

Danny Joe Stensgar (Absent)

1

EPA Staff ITEP Staff

Marsha Minter Mehrdad Khatibi

Shirley Miller Todd Barnell

Jeffrey Kohn

Tuesday, November 13

The meeting was called to order at 8:45 am

·  Elliott Talgo provided the invocation.

·  Roll call was taken - Nine members present, one absent.

Introduction to Tribal Waste and Response Assistance Program (TWRAP)

·  Presentation: Mehrdad Khatibi and Todd Barnell provided an overview of program activities for the new steering committee members.

·  Discussion: Steering committee members asked a series of specific questions regarding past TWRAP activities. These included:

o  The status of the NAERAM report: ITEP, NAU researchers, steering committee members, and other tribal and EPA personnel completed a full review of the Native American Exposure and Risk Assessment Model (NAERAM). A report on their findings was completed and submitted to OSWER.

o  Tar Creek Superfund Site Case Study: This case study is nearly complete and will be submitted to OSWER by the end of 2012. Originally three Superfund case studies were planned for this project but following conversations between ITEP and OSWER the decision was made to not complete the two other case studies due to time and resource limits.

o  Tribal Superfund Working Group: Some members of the steering committee are also involved in this working group. They expressed their satisfaction that the working group has received such support from this project (for example, providing meeting time during the Tribal Lands Forum) and would like to see TWRAP play a larger role in assisting the working group in the future.

o  Steering committee members stated their desire to see the semi-annual TWRAP reports that ITEP provides to OSWER twice a year. By being able to read these reports, steering committee members stressed that they would have a deeper understanding of program activities, which will help them in their coordination work with ITEP, OSWER, and other tribes.

·  Action Item: ITEP will create reports on program activities and provide them to steering committee members.

Review of the 2012 Tribal Lands Forum (TLF)

·  Discussion: Todd Barnell provided the steering committee with a report of the results from online evaluations completed by attendees of this year's TLF. He then asked for steering committee members to provide their thoughts on this year's TLF. Committee members made the following points:

o  Having the Tribal Tanks Conference as part of the TLF seemed to be very successful. Many of the UST/LUST breakout sessions were standing room only and attendees interested in this subject were very positive in their comments.

o  Several steering committee members commented on how helpful it was having a number of Brownfields specialists attend UST breakout sessions and vise versa. This cross pollination of media specialists attending different breakout session tracks was noticed by several committee members. This was seen as a very positive development as it fostered good discussion having session attendees from diverse backgrounds.

o  The breakout session dealing with the USEPA Region 8 UST QAPP was specifically mentioned as a very successful session. The suggestion was made to highlight this template in a future issue of ITEP's Full Circle newsletter.

o  Several steering committee members praised the host tribe and stressed how beneficial it was having their involvement as well as evening social opportunities that allowed attendees to learn more about the host tribe as well as network with their colleagues. However, the remoteness presented significant logistical problems for many attendees. Future TLF locations will need to take this into consideration and attempt to find a balance between ease of access and the ability to visit tribal lands and projects.

o  Steering committee members were pleased with holding all training classes on Monday and encouraged ITEP to maintain this approach at future TLFs. One challenge associated with the Monday trainings though is many people who signed up for trainings did not actually attend, which led to very small numbers of people at two of the five training sessions.

o  The suggestion was made that at future TLFs a few breakout sessions be given over to Alaskan-specific topics. This would be of benefit to Alaskan attendees.

o  The current approach of offering all areas of media specialization in every breakout session period (for example, UST sessions, Brownfields sessions, etc) led many attendees to feel they could not attend other sessions of interest outside their immediate areas. While many steering committee members pointed out attendees should feel free to attend any session of interest, it was suggested that substituting one media specific session for an Alaskan-specific session in a few of the breakout session periods would create some open spaces for attendees to attend sessions outside their immediate areas.

·  Action Item: ITEP will investigate the possibility of having an article on the USEPA Region 8 QAPP template in a future issue of Full Circle.

·  Action Item: ITEP will investigate developing Alaskan-specific sessions for the next TLF.

Meeting with Mathy Stanislaus, Assistant Administrator of OSWER

·  Discussion: Mathy Stanislaus provided the steering committee with an overview of current projects being conducted by OSWER and then opened it up for a general discussion. Issues raised included:

o  Many tribes are already experiencing issues associated with a changing climate. This led to a discussion about the need to work on adaptation tools and to integrate this issue into various EPA programs as climate change affects land, air and water issues.

o  EPA is currently emphasizing the importance of developing Integrated Solid Waste Management Plans (ISWMP). Committee members recognized the importance of ISWMP, but raised the ongoing problem of open dumps and their concern that Indian Health Services (IHS) does not view this as a priority. Committee members expressed their strong desire for EPA to raise the issue of efficiently dealing with open dumps with their counterparts at IHS. Mr. Stanislaus stated he will meet with his IHS counterpart and this issue will be discussed.

o  Several steering committee members spoke about the current Technical Assistance for Brownfields Communities (TAB) grants and their desire to see a tribal-specific technical assistance provider.

o  Peer-to-peer programs were discussed and steering committee members expressed their desire to see a program that allows for tribal professionals to conduct actual on-site visits to tribes facing challenges, rather than relying solely on phone and email communication. Mr. Stanislaus asked if ITEP has experience in this type of activity and Mehrdad Khatibi gave an overview of similar past and present activities undertaken by ITEP. Steering committee members expressed their interest in seeing this type of activity added to the current program.

o  Steering committee members discussed past inter-agency cooperation between EPA, IHS, USDA, and Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA). There is a perception that too often different agencies are moving in different directions and actions are not coordinated.

·  Action Item: ITEP will work to encourage staff from IHS, BIA, and USDA to attend the 2013 TLF in an effort to foster more communication with different federal agencies.

Targeted Meeting Between Steering Committee and Office of Underground Storage Tanks Staff

·  Discussion: Carolyn Hoskinson and Bill Lienesch joined the steering committee. Issues discussed included:

o  Vapor intrusion issues were discussed, including new guidance being developed by OUST.

o  Steering committee members brought up issues associated with alternative fuels and the need for training in this area.

o  Eleven tribes currently have federally credentialed UST inspectors now and many more are in the process of getting these credentials. There is a growing interest in developing tribal UST inspector programs where multiple tribes would share a federally-credentialed inspector if they are not able to support one on their own. EPA Region 9 is currently investigating such a program in California.

o  The issue of the three year inspection mandate was discussed, especially in regard to increasing the number of tribal inspectors so this inspection time frame can be met.

o  New guidance and informational brochures are being developed to assist UST owners with flood related issues. OUST has also developed several informational brochures for owners and operators, which received praise from steering committee members.

·  Action Item: ITEP will highlight the new brochures developed by OUST in a future issue of Full Circle and provide the website where tribal professionals can access them.

Targeted Meeting Between Steering Committee and Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance

·  Discussion: Jonathan Binder, John Mason, and Maureen Lyons joined the steering committee. Issues discussed included:

o  OECA staff provided a handout on their draft consultation and coordination plan for tribes and the National Program Manager Guidance (NPM Guidance) was discussed. The NPM Guidance will be open for public comment in February of 2013. The issue of tribes receiving many requests for consultation and the need to make sure these requests are received by the most appropriate staff member was raised and discussed.

o  Steering committee members raised the issue of open dumps and discussed the role OECA may be able to play in helping to ensure this issue is addressed. OECA is interested in participating in conversations between OSWER and IHS on this issue. Enforcement issues related to Brownfields and USTs were also raised and discussed.

·  Action Item: ITEP will provide information on NPM Guidance in a future issue of Full Circle once the public comment period begins in February.

·  Action Item: OECA staff request that steering committee provide them with any comments on the NPM Guidance. Comments may be sent directly to Jonathan Binder.

Targeted Meeting Between Steering Committee and Office of Emergency Management

·  Discussion: Nick Nichols joined the steering committee. Issues discussed included:

o  Hydraulic fracturing and oil spill response, especially in Arctic areas, were raised as increasingly important issues affecting tribal lands. OEM is very interested in getting more tribes involved in Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure training. To date, 12 tribes have completed this training. ITEP spill response training in Alaska was discussed.

o  The use and role of dispersants was discussed. New regulations on their use are anticipated to be made public in the spring of 2013.

o  EPA is working with BIA to help fund special training on developing tribal response plans. This training is conducted by the United Tribes Technical College. Funding for this training has been significantly reduced, but work is being done to ensure its continuation. Steering committee members who have taken this training discussed its effectiveness and the assistance it has provided tribes in developing strong response plans.

·  Action Item: ITEP will develop a story on the resources offered by OEM for a future issue of Full Circle and will publicize the new dispersants regulations once they are made public.

TWRAP 2013 Activities

·  Presentation: Todd Barnell provided the steering committee with information on 2013 training courses and the status of research activities. Following discussion at previous steering committee meetings, the location of the 2013 TLF has been narrowed down to two proposals: The Sycuan Band of Kumeyaah's US Grant Hotel in California and the Pueblo of Santa Ana's Tamaya Resort in New Mexico. ITEP and OSWER have discussed the possibility of charging a registration fee for the TLF to help pay for costs associated with the forum. Attendees at the 2012 TLF were asked on the evaluation form to indicate their willingness to pay a registration fee. Fifty percent of the respondents indicated they were willing to pay up to $100; 40% indicated they were willing to pay up to $50; and 10% indicated they were not willing to pay any registration fee.

·  Discussion: The steering committee expressed their support for the compliance and enforcement training for Brownfields, Superfund and UST programs which ITEP will be offering in 2013. However, they stressed that issues associated with jurisdiction should be addressed. Training that is specific to refuse workers was also suggested. The committee discussed the potential location for the 2013 TLF and the introduction of a registration fee. It was decided to revisit this issue on day two.

The meeting was adjourned at 5:25 pm

Wednesday, November 14

The meeting was called to order at 8:30 am

Election of New Chair and Vice Chair

·  Discussion: Rob Roy nominated Dino Chavarria for the position of steering committee chair. This was seconded by Elliott Talgo. No other nominations were made.

·  Result: Dino Chavarria was elected the new chair unanimously.

·  Discussion: Tom McClure nominated Katie Kruse for the position of steering committee vice-chair. This was seconded by Rob Roy. No other nominations were made.

·  Result: Katie Kruse was elected the new vice-chair unanimously.

TWRAP 2013 Activities: Continued from Day One

·  Discussion: Todd Barnell asked the steering committee if they would like to provide an official recommendation on the issue of charging a registration fee at the 2013 TLF and on the location of the 2013 TLF.

·  Result: The steering committee unanimously recommended that ITEP charge a $50 "early bird" registration fee for the 2013 TLF. At a date to be determined by ITEP the fee will rise to $100.

·  Result: The steering committee voted five to four to recommend that the 2013 TLF take place at the Pueblo of Santa Ana's Tamaya Resort in New Mexico.

Targeted Meeting Between Steering Committee and Office of Resource Conservation and Recovery

·  Discussion: Sandra Connors joined the steering committee. Issues discussed included: