[Federal Register Volume 64, Number 53 (Friday, March 19, 1999)]
[Notices]
[Page 13578]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 99-6783]



[[Page 13578]]

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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY

[FRL-6312-4]


Interagency Project To Clean Up Open Dumps on Tribal Lands: 
Request for Proposals

AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

ACTION: Notice of availability.

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SUMMARY: The national Tribal Solid Waste Interagency Workgroup 
(Workgroup) is soliciting proposals for its Tribal Open Dump Cleanup 
Project (Cleanup Project). Approximately $1.6 million is available to 
fund selected proposals with the possibility of additional funds 
depending on the scope of the individual project. The Cleanup Project 
is intended to demonstrate the Federal government's ability to provide 
comprehensive solid waste management funding and technical support to 
tribes by assisting three to six tribes with the closure or upgrade of 
``high priority'' waste disposal sites. In determining whether a site 
is high priority, the Workgroup will generally rely on the Indian 
Health Service's 1997 Report--Open Dumps on Indian Lands. The Workgroup 
recognizes that an individual tribe may have information on high 
priority sites that are not included in the IHS Report. To address such 
sites, the Request for Proposals package includes criteria that allow a 
tribe to demonstrate that a site represents a serious threat to human 
health and the environment and should be considered high priority. The 
Workgroup plans to use information gathered from the Cleanup Project to 
devise a strategy to support further tribal efforts to address solid 
waste management needs.
    The Tribal Solid Waste Interagency Workgroup was established in 
April 1998 to devise a Federal plan for helping tribes bring their 
waste disposal sites into compliance with the municipal solid waste 
landfill criteria (40 CFR part 258), i.e., closing or upgrading open 
dumps and planning for appropriate alternative disposal. Current 
workgroup members include representatives from EPA (Office of Solid 
Waste and Emergency Response, Office of Enforcement and Compliance 
Assurance, and American Indian Environmental Office), the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, the Indian Health Service, the Federal Aviation 
Administration, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 
the U.S. Geological Survey, and the Departments of Agriculture 
(Hazardous Waste Management Group and Rural Utilities Service) and 
Defense.
    Criteria: Eligible recipients of assistance under the Cleanup 
Project include Federally recognized tribes, Alaska native villages, 
and multi-tribe 501(c)(3) organizations whose membership consists of 
Federally recognized tribes and/or Alaska native villages. Proposals 
should be no more than 10 pages in length, excluding supporting 
documentation. A full explanation of the submittal process, the 
qualifying requirements, and the criteria that will be used to evaluate 
proposals for this Cleanup Project may be found in the Request for 
Proposals package.

DATES: To be considered, proposals must be postmarked no later than 
April 23, 1999.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For copies of the Request for 
Proposals package, or, if you have questions regarding this request or 
the Tribal Solid Waste Interagency Workgroup, please contact your 
regional EPA office or EPA--Melanie Barger Garvey, 202-564-2579 or 
Beverly Goldblatt, 703-308-7278, IHS--Steve Aoyama, 301-443-1046, BIA--
Jerry Gidner, 202-208-5696.
    The Request for Proposals package may be downloaded from the 
Internet at <www.epa.gov/tribalmsw>. Click on ``What's New.''
Matthew Hale,
Acting Director, Office of Solid Waste.
[FR Doc. 99-6783 Filed 3-18-99; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-P