More information on the Clean Water Act Section 106:  Water Pollution Control (Section 106) Grants | US EPA

TAR CREEK SUPERFUND SITE

The Environmental Department works to ensure that the interest of the Ottawa Tribe and the protection of human health and the environment within the Ottawa reservation are addressed in all matters regarding the Tar Creek Superfund Site.

The Department ensures tribal participation, review, and input in the planning and development of remedial activities, investigation, and documentation related to the Tar Creek Superfund Site, including all Operable Units and the watershed, to protect tribal human health and the environment. Activities include review and comment on the myriad of documents and data that EPA generates and to retain specialized contract technical and legal expertise, as necessary, to support the Tribe’s engagement in the remedial process at the Site.

Additionally, the Department provides technical management assistance to the following tribes that are impacted by the Tar Creek Superfund Site: Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, the Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, the Seneca-Cayuga Nation, and the Wyandotte Nation.

More information on the Tar Creek Superfund Site: 

TAR CREEK (OTTAWA COUNTY) | Superfund Site Profile | Superfund Site Information | US EPA

TAR CREEK NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND RESTORATION (NRDAR)

Over the past 20 years, the Tar Creek Trustee Council has worked together to develop claims for injuries to natural resources from hazardous substances at the Tar Creek Superfund Site. This Trustee Council is the largest in the country with representatives from the State of Oklahoma, Department of Interior (U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Indian Affairs), and seven federally-recognized tribes (Cherokee Nation, Eastern Shawnee Tribe of Oklahoma, Miami Tribe of Oklahoma, Ottawa Tribe of Oklahoma, Peoria Tribe of Indians of Oklahoma, Seneca-Cayuga Nation and Wyandotte Nation). The seven tribes form the Tar Creek Trustee Council Indian Tribes (TCTCIT). The Ottawa Tribe, through the Environmental Department, serves as the Lead Administrative and Financial Tribe for the TCTCIT. As such the Environmental Department acts as the central point of contact and manages funds received by the group.

The seven tribes (TCTCIT) were instrumental in the development and selection of multiple restoration projects in the Tar Creek Phase I Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment (RP/EA). The Phase I RP/EA selected six restoration projects that will replace the natural resources lost from the contamination.

One unique project proposed by all seven tribes is the Tribal Apprenticeship Program. Injuries to the natural resources at the Tar Creek site have impacted tribal lifeways. The tribes have lost opportunities to transfer their cultural knowledge on gathering, harvesting, hunting, fishing, preparing, and using these resources across generations. There has also been a loss of traditional ecological knowledge about caring for the land, and traditional practices to sustain it for future generations.

The Tribal Apprenticeship Program will combine teaching tribal youth about their individual tribe’s distinct heritage, language, cultural practices, and traditional uses with natural resource restoration. The Program will include distinct tribal lifeway practices curriculum and the traditional uses of natural resources specific to each tribe. Upon completion of the program, each student will receive a State of Oklahoma lifetime combination hunting and fishing license, which will enable graduates to continue to practice their tribe’s traditional activities after the program ends.