[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]
BILLING CODE 6450-01-P