“The Brownfields program has

provided an opportunity to educate

the community on issues that didn’t

have high levels of awareness.

Just understanding the concerns

surrounding the problems that arise

have opened their eyes.”

—Kevin Mellott

Montana Tech

Residents of the Crow Indian Reservation in southeastern

Montana were given the opportunity to receive environmental training

that will not only lead to a better future for themselves, but for their

surrounding environment as well. The training has not only affected the

individual trainee, but has also served as one of the much needed building

blocks to a healthier, safer, and more economically sound community.

This was made possible by EPA, which selected Montana Tech of the

University of Montana for a $200,000 Brownfields Job Training and

Development Demonstration Pilot in 2001. Through this grant, Montana

Tech has trained more than 100 participants in three environmental

tracks, increased communication among tribal entities, and heightened

awareness of environmental issues on the Crow Reservation.

When the Big Horn Carpet Mill, located in Crow Agency, was closed

and abandoned in 1974, the Tribal community not only lost jobs, but also

believed that the effects from possible contamination on the property

created a public health threat. In addition to environmental hazards, a

major concern was the physical dangers associated with the abandoned

property because children from a nearby residential area would play

unsupervised in and around the mill. The closure of the mill also

contributed to high unemployment rates, ranging from 60 percent to 85

percent over the past ten years among the 7,900 tribal members living on

the reservation.

Through EPA’s Job Training Program, Montana Tech and its partners,

Little Big Horn College and the Crow Tribal Government, provided

residents of the Crow Indian Reservation with the necessary

environmental education to understand site assessment results at the Big

Horn Carpet Mill and prepare them for future employment in the

environmental field. The program began in March 2002 and was granted

a no-cost extension until April 2006 in order to offer two more courses.

The training included three, two-year simultaneous certification tracks:

1) a hazardous waste specialist certification track; 2) a remediation

specialist certification track; and 3) an ecosystem management and

policy certification track. All three tracks include a 40-hour initial and

8-hour refresher HAZWOPER (Hazardous Waste Operation and

Emergency Response) course, health and safety courses, and training in

the use of innovative assessment and cleanup technologies. To ensure

continued success of the environmental technician training program,

Montana Tech has implemented a “train-the-trainer” program with

instructors from Little Big Horn College, who have continued to provide

some these courses after the Job Training Program is completed.

JUST THE FACTS:

• Through the use of a $200,000 EPA

Brownfields Job Training and

Development Demonstration Pilot,

Montana Tech has trained more than

100 participants in three environmental

tracks, increased communication

among tribal entities, and heightened

awareness of environmental issues on

the Crow Reservation.

• Approximately thirty participants have

obtained new employment in positions

ranging from seasonal work on a road

crew to a position as the Crow Tribal

Brownfields Coordinator, with salaries

ranging from $8/hr to $25/hr.

• The program has brought

non-traditional students, such as the

tribal elders, back into the classroom,

providing them with opportunities to

enhance skill sets, further their

education, and provide input to tribal

decision-makers.

Montana Tech at the

University of Montana

continued 

The students of Montana Tech’s Risk

Communications class, Summer 2003.

Environmental Job Training Allows

Crow Indian Tribal Members to Soar
CONTACTS:

For more information contact

U.S. EPA REGION 8

(406) 496-4220

Visit the EPA Brownfields Web site at:

http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/

Brownfields Success Story Solid Waste EPA-560-F-06-236

Montana Tech of the University of Montana and Emergency August 2006

Response (5105T) www.epa.gov/brownfields/

Since the program’s inception, 129 participants, all of whom are Native Americans, have completed at

least one course in one of the three tracks. All participants who completed a course received academic

credit through Little Big Horn College, where the courses are taught. Approximately thirty participants

have obtained new employment in positions ranging from seasonal work on a road crew to a

position as the Crow Tribal Brownfields Coordinator, with salaries ranging from $8/hr to

$25/hr. Many participants who have not gone on to obtain employment have chosen

to continue their education: more than half are in the process of completing their

Associate, Bachelor, or Masters Degrees at a wide variety of schools from tribal

colleges such as Little Big Horn College and Haskell Indian Nation University,

to prestigious universities such as Stanford University. The program has also

educated the tribal elders who comprise the 25 members of the “107

Committee” and serve as advisors to the Tribal Chairman. Their main goal in

taking these courses was to further educate themselves in order to better

advise and oversee the work done in and around the reservation. The courses

offered through this program therefore not only benefit the individuals who take

them, but the tribal community as a whole.

The Job Training Program has had a significant impact on the Crow Indian

Reservation community, greatly increasing tribal communication. Montana Tech

forged partnerships with various federal and state agencies and private companies,

who have offered assistance by providing job and educational opportunities, and other inkind services. The greatest impact can be felt in the lines of communication that have been

opened up. Prior to the inception of the program, there was little communication between the Tribal

Government and Little Big Horn College; however, several program participants are now employees of

the Tribal Government, helping to bridge this former communication gap. The program has also brought

non-traditional students, such as the tribal elders, back into the classroom, providing them with

opportunities to enhance skill sets, further their education, and provide input to tribal decision-makers.

A notable example of the positive results of the Job Training Program concerns a former participant who

moved on to become the Brownfields Coordinator for the Job Training Pilot, the Assessment Pilot, and

the Tribal Response Program on the Crow Indian Reservation for approximately one year. During her

term she worked to educate and improve living conditions for residents of the Crow Reservation and

promote efforts to create more jobs. The coordinator also convened a workgroup that developed a

priority list of environmental issues that needed to be addressed on the reservation as part of a

brownfields inventory.

According to Kevin Mellott, the project contact at Montana Tech, the greatest future success of the

program is a partnership between Montana Tech and the Crow Nation to develop a Ground and Surface

Water Model for the entire Crow Indian Reservation. This partnership is in the early stages and is a

direct result of the Job Training Program, which opened up lines of communication that did not exist

before. This model will provide a basis for determining water rights on the reservation, which in the long

run will serve as a powerful political and financial tool by providing income and job opportunities for the

reservation community.

The success of this Job Training Program lies both in the number of individuals trained for employment

and in the empowerment of the Crow Indian Reservation population through increased access to

education. Kevin Mellott commented, “The Brownfields program has provided an opportunity to educate

the community on issues that didn’t have high levels of awareness. Just understanding the concerns

surrounding the problems that arise have opened their eyes.”