Federal Resources

EPA

—Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse

Office (FFRRO)

Works with other federal entities to help them

develop creative, cost-effective solutions to

their environmental problems.

http://www.epa.gov/swerffrr/

703 603-0048

—American Indian Environmental Office

Coordinates the EPA-wide effort to strengthen

health and environmental protection in Indian

Country.

http://www.epa.gov/indian/

202 564-0303

—EPA Tribal Links

Useful links for EPA tribal Headquarters and

Regional contacts, grants, programs, and policies.

http://www.epa.gov/epahome/tribal.htm OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES

—Department of Defense

The Native American Environmental Tracking

System tracks and maintains information on

potential impacts to tribal lands from DoD

activities.

https://www.denix.osd.mil/denix/Public/Native/

Mitigation/naets.html

703 604-1747

—Department of Energy

The Office of Environmental Management is

committed to the cleanup of nuclear weapon

sites near tribes.

http://web.em.doe.gov/public/tribal/index.html 

202 586-5944

—Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease

Registry

The Office of Tribal Affairs assists with tribalspecific environmental health needs resulting

from exposure to hazardous waste sites and

pollution.

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tribal/

888-42ATSDR

Across the United States,

there are thousands of currently and formerly owned

federal facilities, including

abandoned mines, nuclear

weapons production plants,

fuel distribution areas, landfills, and other sites. Some

of these sites are contaminated with hazardous

waste, ordnance and explosives, radioactive waste,

fuels, and other toxic contaminants, and may be

located on or near

American Indian or Alaskan

Native lands.

Additional Information

For more information about FFRRO’s

tribal activities, please visit our Web

site at www.epa.gov/swerffrr/, or 

contact FFRRO’s tribal coordinator:

Trina Martynowicz

Martynowicz.Trina@epa.gov

U.S. EPA Federal Facilities

Restoration and Reuse Office

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW.

(5106G)

Washington, DC 20460

Phone: 703 603-0048

Fax: 703 603-0043

1EPA

United StatesEnvironmental Protection Agency(5106G)Washington, DC 20460Official BusinessPenalty for Private Use $300EPA505-F-04-001January 2004

EPA FFRRO

2 Printed on paper that contains at least 50 percent postconsumer fiber.
To overcome the difficulties posed by

contamination at these facilities, the

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s

(EPA) Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse

Office (FFRRO) works closely with the

Department of Defense (DoD), Department of

Energy (DOE), and other federal entities to

develop creative, cost-effective solutions to

environmental problems. FFRRO’s mission is 

to facilitate faster, more effective, and less costly cleanup and reuse of federal facilities. By

focusing on partnering and public involvement,

FFRRO and its counterpart offices in EPA

Headquarters and Regional Offices have made

great strides in improving federal facilities

cleanup.

Under various treaties with the U.S. government, tribal governments have a distinct role in

the cleanup of federal facilities. Accordingly,

EPA works in partnership with tribal governments, both at the facility and national policymaking levels. FFRRO’s goals are to:

■ Protect the human health and environment

of American Indians and Alaskan Native villagers at and near federal facilities;

■ Enhance and involve tribes in the cleanup

process through meaningful dialogue that

respects the unique needs of each tribal

community; and 

■ Develop partnerships that will enhance participation in the environmental decisionmaking process at federal facilities.

The framework for FFRRO’s tribal involvement

is designed to address the needs of and mitigate impacts to American Indians, including

Alaskan Natives, living on or near federal sites.

To better improve the working relationship and

involvement of tribes in the cleanup process at

federal facilities, FFRRO plans to:

■ Partner with tribes on a government-to-government consultation basis consistent with

EPA’s trust responsibility;

■ Enhance tribal capacity-building through

grants, technical advice, and training programs;

■ Work with other federal agencies to identify and address American Indian lands

affected by federal facilities;

■ Promote interagency collaboration on tribal policy and resource issues; and 

■ Enhance communication and outreach to

tribes.

Federal Land Transfer to

Tribes

Under cleanup statutes or by congressional

mandate, DoD base closures often can lead to

land transfers to tribes, which would be held in

trust by the Department of the Interior’s

Bureau of Indian Affairs. Affected tribes may

have opportunities for economic development

or land transfer, as well as access to archeological sites or other cultural resources.

Outreach and Technical

Assistance

FFRRO provides funding to the Technical

Outreach Services for Communities (TOSC)

program for tribal communities through the

Haskell Indian Nations University and the

Haskell Environmental Research Studies

Center. TOSC provides culturally appropriate

technical assistance to American Indian communities on potential health effects, environmental risks, available cleanup options, and

regulatory concerns. FFRRO also financially

supports several research grants to American

Indian non-profit organizations to assist in identifying and evaluating barriers to and opportunities for tribal participation in federal facility

cleanup activities. Contact the Haskell

Environmental Research Studies Center at 785

749-8498 or visit the following Web site:

<www.hsrc.org/hsrc/html/tosc/>.

Ordnance and Explosives

FFRRO’s commitment to tribal involvement is

further illustrated by its collaboration with

tribes on several ordnance, explosives, and

munitions-related projects. FFRRO continues to

develop the following: 

■ EPA Guidelines for Munitions Response, to

assist EPA Regional staff, tribes, and states;

■ Handbook on the Management of

Ordnance, regarding the technical aspects

of munitions sites; and

■ Training programs for personnel working

on munitions issues.

These efforts emphasize the importance of

ensuring that tribes are appropriately involved

and informed in munitions responses. Visit

FFRRO’s munitions Web site at:

<www.epa.gov/swerffrr/documents/

munitions.htm>.

Tribal Involvement

Opportunities

Advisory boards and community groups are

key elements in FFRRO’s tribal community

involvement activities. FFRRO works with DoD

and DOE and their respective stakeholders at

the local level by providing technical and regulatory input at advisory board meetings and at

the national level by developing policies for

establishing and maintaining advisory boards.

FFRRO supports several types of advisory

boards, including: 

DoD’s Restoration Advisory Boards

(RABs): Provide a forum through which community members can provide input to DoD’s

Restoration program. RABs operate at functional, closing, or realigning installations, and

Formerly Used Defense Sites where there is a

sufficient and sustained community 

interest.

DOE’s Site-Specific Advisory Boards:

Involve stakeholders more directly in DOE

cleanup decisions.

Superfund Community Advisory

Groups: Serve as the focal point for the

exchange of information among stakeholders

involved in the cleanup of a Superfund site.