This page highlights some of the EPA resources available to help tribes address environmental issues impacting tribal lands in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. For additional information, visit EPA's Cleaning Up, Protecting and Preserving Tribal Lands website.

• Brownfields
• Solid Waste
• Sustainable Materials Management
• Underground Storage Tanks
• Contacts

Brownfields

• Brownfields and Land Revitalization in Washington, Idaho, Oregon and Alaska: Funding opportunities, Targeted Brownfields Assessments, and state cleanup programs; a list of federally recognized tribes with 128a Brownfields programs; and EPA contacts for brownfields in Region 10.

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Solid Waste

The following resources are designed to help tribes address solid waste issues through the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program.

• Allowable and Unallowable Solid Waste and Program Implementation Costs: Examples of allowable and unallowable tribal solid waste program implementation activities under the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP). (Note: Although the document says these activities are allowable through FY20, they are allowable indefinitely.)
• Building a Self-Sustaining Tribal Solid Waste Program in Region 10: Recommended steps for tribes to address solid waste capacity building and implementation in their GAP work plans.
• Building Solid Waste, Hazardous Waste, and Underground Storage Tank Capacities (PDF)(86 pp, 645 K, About PDF) (Appendix I, Section E, Guidance on the Award and Management of General Assistance Agreements for Tribes and Intertribal Consortia): Section E.3 of the GAP Guidance can help tribes develop the solid waste components of a tribal workplan.
• Community-Based Social Marketing for Tribal Environmental Professionals - This September 29, 2020 webinar features a training toolkit, recycling guide, and video to help tribes increase the adoption of sustainable behaviors around solid waste.
• Landfill reports from Alaska’s Solid Waste Information Management System (SWIMS)EXIT: The state of Alaska's SWIMS database contains information on landfills, solid waste treatment facilities, and solid waste storage facilities in Alaska, including the status, location, authorizations (permits), and contacts for each site. Your community’s latest landfill inspection report may help you identify tasks to include in your work plan and budget.

Integrated Waste Management Plans

To obtain funding for solid waste implementation activities (which include solid waste and recovered materials collection, transportation, backhaul, and disposal services), EPA Region 10 requires tribes to have or develop an Integrated Waste Management Plan. Such a plan serves as a roadmap for developing an effective waste management program for your community. The following resources may help tribes develop these plans, which EPA recommends be reviewed and approved by your Tribal Council and updated at least once every five years.

• Developing Tribal Integrated Waste Management Plans: A detailed resource for developing an Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan.
• Developing an Integrated Waste Management Plan: The Nitty Gritty EXIT (Oct. 29, 2020). This EPA Region 10 webinar provides an in-depth look at how to develop and update an Integrated Waste Management Plan, and resources available to assist tribes in this effort.
• Integrated Waste Management Plan Template (Microsoft Word)(11 pp, 110 K) Optional template developed by EPA. Several other training providers also provide templates.
• ​Solid Waste Program Budgeting for Alaska Tribal Communities: Step-by-step instructions on how to develop a budget for your solid waste utility.

Funding Opportunities

Many organizations provide funding for solid waste activities in tribal communities.

• EPA's Tribal Waste Management Funding Resources Directory is a searchable resource listing financial waste management assistance sources (grants, loans, cost-sharing) available to tribes and nonprofit organizations across the country.
• A Manager's Roadmap for Funding Sustainable Solid Waste Programs in Rural Alaska discusses key steps in developing a solid and hazardous waste management program and where to find state and federal funding to pay for each step. Although the document focuses on Alaska, tribes in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington may also find useful information here.
• The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation's Solid Waste Program offers a Funding Resource Guide.Exit

Partners

EPA Region 10 works in collaboration with many organizations such as the Tribal Solid Waste Advisory NetworkExit and Backhaul AlaskaExit to help tribes manage waste. Visit our Training page  to find training and technical assistance opportunities. (Sort the table by topic to search for solid waste.)

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Sustainable Materials Management

Reduce the waste your community sends to the landfill through recycling, reusing materials, reducing food waste, and planning for natural disasters.

• Find Facts and Figures about Materials, Waste, and Recycling, including information on municipal solid waste generation, recycling, combustion with energy recovery, and landfilling, plus a list of state and local waste characterization studies.
• View the first webinar in the Community Composting on Tribal Lands series:
  • Compost: What It Is, Its Benefits, and How to Do ItExit(August 26, 2020)
• Learn how to start a Food: Too Good to Waste campaign in your community.
• Prepare to handle large amounts of waste after a natural disaster through Disaster Debris Planning.
• Learn more about Sustainable Materials Management.

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Underground Storage Tanks (USTs)

• Underground Storage Tank Program in Indian Country: Basic information, training resources for tribes, publications, and tribal data.

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Contacts

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