Brownfields Update for the Pacific Northwest

In our last issue, we profiled the Yakutat Tlingit Brownfields Tribal Response Program (TRP) and the work being done to address Brownfields and other environmental contamination issues. This month, we look at the recently created Kuskokwim River Watershed Council TRP, and how they are structuring their Brownfields program.

The Kuskokwim River Watershed region (pop.15,000), consists of 39 federally recognized tribes spread across a 58,000 square-mile area of southwest Alaska along the 724-mile long Kuskokwim River. The region includes the hub communities of Bethel, Aniak, and McGrath and is one of Alaska’s more remote and economically challenged areas. The population has considerably higher levels of poverty and unemployment than the rest of the state.

There are many causes of Brownfields in the Kuskokwim region. They have been traced to previous defense sites; Bureau of Indian Affairs school buildings containing lead and asbestos; mine-scarred land; abandoned dumps; and leaking tanks and drums generated by past development and industrial and commercial activity.

Until recently, the contamination from these sources was not adequately addressed, as the limited environmental programs of the small communities in the region lack a Brownfields component. The effect of contamination on their wildlife and ecosystems is a particularly pressing problem due to the reliance of residents on hunting and fishing for subsistence.

The Kuskokwim River Watershed Council (KRWC) was formed to protect the Kuskokwim River and its drainage area. The organization provides environmental educational programs and technical and networking support for the communities in the watershed. In 2009, the KRWC was awarded an EPA grant to create a Brownfields TRP to develop and implement tools to inventory, assess, and revitalize Brownfields in the region.

Shortly after being awarded the TRP grant, the KRWC hired Joey Billy as Brownfields coordinator. Billy has worked with other TRPs and tribal consortia as mentor and liaison, coordinating and assisting tribes, communities and agencies in the region with various environmental programs. He is a native Yup’ik speaker. This is a significant asset in communicating with and eliciting positive response and active participation from the tribes, 90 percent of whom are Alaskan Native, of Yup’ik Eskimo or Athabascan descent.

This first year of the KRWC TRP is concentrating on capacity building, creating a Brownfields inventory and engaging in a variety of Brownfield and hazardous materials-related training. Site-specific work will follow.

The KRWC TRP staff will attend national and state Brownfields conferences and workshops to familiarize themselves with the components of the Brownfields redevelopment process. Staff will engage with the Indian General Assistance Program (IGAP) of the EPA to coordinate the TRP’s Brownfields work with IGAP activities where possible.

They also will familiarize themselves with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) Reuse and Redevelopment program. An important part of capacity building will be to develop training materials so that new staff can be trained easily.  Turnover in these remote villages can be high.

It will be a challenge to build a Brownfields inventory over the large geographic area the KRWC covers. Most of the small communities in the region are accessible only   by boat or small plane. The KRWC plans to build a knowledge base of the area by consulting historical records and maps and creating a record of environmental work already performed in the region. Ten to 12 communities will be selected for the first year’s inventory which will consist of questionnaires, surveys and interviews with community leaders. The purpose of these activities will be to communicate the program’s components to the tribal communities, identify Brownfields and begin to build the inventory. The KRWC will hire students to assist with mapping the inventory, using geographic information systems (GIS).

Training is the third area of emphasis for the KRWC TRP, with staff traveling to the remote communities of the region to acquaint them with Brownfields issues. Community environmental workers will be taught how to catalogue Brownfields for inclusion in the inventory, using a manual Billy developed while working with the Nelson Island Consortium TRP. Other training activities will include HAZWOPER certification (subcontracted to an outside firm) and GIS mapping. The KRWC TRP staff l also will help Kuskokwim River communities to complete application forms for DEC Brownfield Assessments and EPA Targeted Brownfield Assessments funding.

For more information contact:

Joey Billy, Certified Paralegal
Kuskokwim River Watershed Council Brownfield Program
BNC Complex, Suite 119
460 Ridgecrest Dr.
ONC PO Box 927
Bethel, AK  99559-0927
Phone: 907-545-3980
krwc.brownfield@kuskokwimcouncil.org