[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 24 (Friday, February 4, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-2596]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: February 4, 1994]
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DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Environmental Restoration and Waste Management
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Energy (DOE).
ACTION: Notice of inquiry and request for comment.
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SUMMARY: The Department of Energy (DOE) is developing eligibility
standards and funding criteria for the distribution of DOE
discretionary funds to federally-recognized American Indian tribes by
DOE's Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management (EM).
Discretionary funds, pursuant to Section 646 of the DOE Organization
Act, are awarded to Indian tribes to participate in DOE's remediation
and management program for wastes produced as the result of its
activities at its former and current weapons production facilities.
Such participation relates directly to DOE's American Indian Tribal
Government policy, pursuant to DOE Order 1230.2, recognizing a
government-to-government relationship with Indian tribes.
Because of the potential for broad interest, DOE is providing
interested parties an opportunity for comment on issues related to the
funding of Indian tribes who are directly affected by DOE activities.
DOE invites written comment on the criteria development process before
proposing guidelines. In addition, DOE will schedule public workshops
at several of its sites. Announcement of the location, date, and time
of the public workshops will be published in the Federal Register. At
these workshops, tribes and other interested parties will have an
opportunity to further discuss issues related to guidance.
DATES: Written submissions on this notice of inquiry are due on or
before June 1, 1994.
ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted to Margaret Fernandez,
Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste Management, Office of
Public Accountability (EM-5), U.S. Department of Energy, Room 5B-031,
1000 Independence Ave. SW., Washington DC 20585. FAX Telephone: (202)
586-0293.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Margaret Fernandez, at the address
above, or by telephone at (202) 586-5821.
I. Background
In 1989, the Office of Environmental Restoration and Waste
Management was established to address environmental problems at the
Department's facilities. Many of the Department's past, present, and
future activities potentially affect Indian tribes. Past activities of
DOE involved the research and production of plutonium, uranium, and
other hazardous substances. Present and future activities focus on the
management and remediation of wastes produced as a result of the
Department's production activities.
Because DOE's activities may affect tribes in close proximity to
DOE sites, the Department's policy is to consult with these tribes and
support tribal environmental remediation programs. The fundamental
goals of DOE's policy are to involve affected tribes in remediation
activities, provide tribes safe access to and management of cultural
and natural resources, and promote tribal economic competitiveness and
self-sufficiency pursuant to administration policy and legal
requirements.
In the past, DOE discretionary funds have been distributed to
Indian tribes primarily through planning grants. Planning grants have
funded tribal environmental restoration and waste management programs
to identify, analyze and take initiatives to address waste management
and cleanup issues stemming from DOE sites and facilities. The Nez
Perce Tribe, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian
Reservation, and the Yakima Indian Nation have received planning grants
related to the Hanford site.
As an alternative to planning grants, DOE has used cooperative
agreements to fund tribal activities. A cooperative agreement requires
greater involvement between DOE and the participant in negotiating and
conducting the proposed activities. This involvement results in
specific project milestones and products that ensure greater
accountability. The Department has successfully employed cooperative
agreements to implement hazardous materials emergency response
programs, as occurred in the case of the Waste Isolation Pilot Project
with the Shoshone-Bannock Tribes, and at the Hanford site with the
Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. Based on this
experience, DOE intends to use cooperative agreements as the prime
vehicle for tribal involvement in environmental remediation activities.
In addition to the use of cooperative agreements, the government-to-
government relationship between DOE and tribal nations may also be
expressed through site-specific agreements, memoranda of understanding,
and joint ventures.
The amount of DOE discretionary funds available for tribal cleanup
activities in the early years of the DOE environmental program was
based on large projected budget increases. However, present and
anticipated budget constrictions for the EM program only allow for
moderate funding. As a result, the amount of funds available for tribal
environmental management and cleanup activities has leveled, while the
degree of involvement by tribes, and the number of tribes that want to
be involved in remediation activities, continue to grow. Budget
limitations, coupled with DOE's commitment to involve affected tribes
in its cleanup and management activities, necessitate the development
of standards and guidance for disbursement of DOE discretionary funds
to tribes.
These standards will require the development of criteria relating
to eligibility and funding. Eligibility criteria would determine which
tribes would qualify to enter into cooperative agreements with DOE.
Funding criteria would determine the types of activities that are to be
funded and the levels of funding. DOE acknowledges that eligibility and
funding criteria may utilize similar factors.
II. Discussion--Eligibility and Funding Criteria
A. Eligibility
Eligibility criteria would determine if a federally-recognized
Indian tribe qualifies to enter into a cooperative agreement allowing
tribal participation in DOE environmental remediation activities. The
following considerations could be used to determine tribal eligibility:
(1) Should a tribe be considered eligible if its legal interests
arising from treaty, statutes, and case law are affected by a DOE
hazardous waste site.
(2) Should a tribe be considered eligible if its legal interests
arising from treaty, statutes, and case law are affected by a DOE
produced waste stream or transportation corridor which carries DOE
hazardous wastes?
(3) Should a tribe considered eligible if its cultural and natural
resources are located on or in close proximity to a DOE hazardous waste
site, DOE produced waste stream, or transportation corridor which
carries DOE hazardous wastes? Please define cultural and natural
resources.
(4) Should a tribe be eligible if its reservation is located on or
in close proximity to a DOE hazardous waste site, DOE produced waste
stream, or transportation corridor which carries DOE hazardous wastes?
(5) Should ``close proximity'' be limited to a geographically
defined area in relation to a DOE hazardous waste site, DOE produced
waste stream, or transportation corridor which carries DOE hazardous
wastes (e.g., a geographic area of not more than 50 miles, 100 miles,
etc., from a hazardous site)?
(6) Should ``close proximity'' be defined to include more distant
areas where actual or likely physical harm could occur as a result of a
DOE hazardous waste site, DOE produced waste stream, or transportation
corridor which carries DOE hazardous wastes?
(7) What other factors should be considered in determining
eligibility?
B. Funding
Once it is ascertained which tribes are eligible to enter into
cooperative agreements with DOE, the next determination is what
particular tribal activities should be funded and at what levels. The
following considerations which could be used to determine tribal
funding include:
(1) Should a priority system be used to categorize activities by
factors such as the following:
(a) The degree of the threat or actual level of harm to a tribe
(e.g., the greater threat of harm, the greater the priority, etc.);
(b) Size of affected tribal population; and
(c) Types of activities proposed, (e.g., a groundwater monitoring
activity to ensure a safe drinking water supply versus the remediation
of a cultural site).
(i) Should activities that support tribal management of cultural
resources receive greater priority than other activities?
(ii) Should activities which would assist a tribe in becoming more
economically competitive and self-sufficient receive greater priority
than other activities?
(2) Should the fact that a tribe was previously funded by DOE mean
it should receive greater consideration than a tribe that has never
been funded, or the opposite?
(3) Should a tribe receive greater funding consideration for past
participation in DOE activities that were well performed by the tribe?
(4) Where possible, should tribes that coordinate and prepare a
joint proposal receive more favorable consideration than proposals by
individual tribes?
(5) To what extent should proximity be taken into account in
funding one tribe that can argue a greater degree of affectedness over
another tribe? ``Affected'' is defined in this instance to apply to a
tribe that faces a substantial environmental or health impact.
III. Request for Submissions
The criteria and other ideas raised in this Notice are suggestions
for comment. Comments need not address all suggestions raised in this
inquiry and can be limited to particular points. DOE welcomes
additional comments on eligibility and funding criteria for Indian
tribes. All written information provided by respondents will be
available for public inspection at the Department of Energy, Freedom of
Information Reading Room, room 1E-190, 1000 Independence Avenue, SW.,
Washington, 20585, between the hours of 9 a.m. and 4 p.m., Monday
through Friday, except Federal holidays. Pursuant to the provisions of
10 CFR 1004.11 (1983), any person submitting information believed to be
confidential and exempt by law from public disclosure should submit a
copy of the document in which information believed to be confidential
has been deleted along with the confidential submissions. The
Department of Energy will determine the confidential status of the
information and treat it accordingly.
Signed at Washington, DC., this 31st day of January, 1994.
Thomas P. Grumbly,
Assistant Secretary for Environmental Restoration and Waste Management.
[FR Doc. 94-2596 Filed 2-3-94; 8:45 am]
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