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U.S. EPA to increase clean up activities at underground storage tank facilities in Indian Country

Release Date: 5/5/2005
Contact Information: Wendy L. Chavez, (415) 947-4248

SAN FRANCISCO -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, in coordination with tribal nations, today launched an initiative to assess and clean up abandoned leaking underground storage tank sites on tribal lands.

The EPA will begin assessment and cleanup at nine sites on the Hopi and San Carlos reservations, and is also gathering information on other sites to determine eligibility and priority for assessment and cleanup. The EPA expects to address all of the eligible sites in the next several years.

"We are anxious to move ahead on addressing abandoned leaking underground tanks on tribal lands," said Jeff Scott, the EPA's Waste Management Division director for the Pacific Southwest region. "The EPA looks forward to working with the tribes to clean up contaminated sites and restore precious lands and water resources in Indian Country."

The leaking underground storage tank initiative in Indian Country clarifies the EPA's policies regarding the use of trust fund money used on tribal trust lands sites within Indian Country.

As part of the kickoff, the EPA is meeting today in Phoenix with Arizona, California and Nevada tribal representatives to discuss the agency's proposed approach for conducting site assessments and cleanup at underground storage tank facilities, and how trust fund money can be used to conduct the work.

For more information on the EPA's underground storage tank program, visit: https://www.epa.gov/OUST/.