Underground Tanks in Indian Country

Since 2005, EPA has assessed more than 300 tribal UST sites in the region and removed more than 150 tanks – plus 15,000 cubic yards of contaminated soil.

In 2010, these efforts were boosted by $3.1 million from the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. EPA cleaned the land while creating jobs, contracting the work to Bristol Environmental Remediation Services, LLC, a 100% Native American-owned firm and funding about 20,000 man-hours of work. Subcontractors including Native-owned companies on the Hopi Reservation, Navajo Nation, and Hoopa Valley Indian Reservation are also involved.

An EPA-funded underground fuel tank cleanup underway on the Navajo Nation.

Input and assistance from tribes has been crucial. EPA’s tribal UST program, led by Carl Warren, has consulted with more than 50 tribes in the Pacific Southwest to identify and select sites for assessment and cleanup. EPA also oversees cleanups done by responsible parties.

The Agency collaborates with tribes to build capacity by providing training in UST compliance, inspections, and oversight. Several tribes in the region now have their own UST staff.

Results include:

• Funding for the Navajo Nation to perform preliminary investigation activities at about 50 sites.
• Installing a soil vapor extraction system and removing more than 50,000 pounds of hydrocarbons at the Arizona Traders site on the Gila River Indian Community.
• Removing a tank and 260 cubic yards of contaminated soil just 850 feet from Hotevilla Spring, a Hopi water source.
• Installing a remediation system and removing 3,700 cubic yards of contaminated soil at the White Eagle site in Shiprock, NM.

Cleanup is underway or completed at several sites on the Navajo Nation, Yurok Reservation, and Hoopa Valley. EPA will continue to work with tribes to clean up about 110 remaining sites in the Pacific Southwest.