Long Term Stewardship Vision
What do we want to say
Un-Restricted Use
No Institutional Controls
No guarentees
defined in NPT-ESV
Challenges
Legacy Site and will be for some time
Congressional funded
Long Lived Contaminants
Currently, participation via co-operative agreement by DOE but can change federal hands down the road.
Guidance statements from ERWM Guidance
Left to assume site is not clean
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Continued participation
Monitoring/Involved in meaningful discussions to
Not walking away
Tribe must recover and maintain relationship
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Hanford and Tribal Legislative History condensed
Contaminants in the Ground Water
Potential claim as co-manager
Plan must provide a effective and timely implementation follow thru of reviews
Plan must provide for effective record keeping system
Plan must integrate TEK
Where contamination is left at depth, DOE should have deed restrictions in place to prohibit the application of water to the ground surface over the waste sites and which defines a buffer zone around the site. Deed restrictions must also prohibit surface activities which enhance infiltration of natural precipitation.
The use of caps and barriers as a long-term resolution is not acceptable since they are temporary structure over extremely long lived contaminants.
Capping waste has not been proven to be protective of human health or the environment indefinitely, and results in the de facto of hazardous and or nuclear landfills without a valid permitting process.
Plan must integrate and be protective of sensitive areas for Tribes located north of the 1100 area/Blue crane area and south of the 300 Area.
Other areas must be consulted with and how to be protective.
Capacity development - NPT commits to proactive involvement in the hanford Site to main and restore the baseline principles of TEK, cultural uses of the land, the resources and the people. This involvement includes actions such as provideing original ethnographic ad technological research and development work; identifying innovative trechnology that will assist in cleanup, suport cost effective solutions, and protect & perpetuate treaty rights; and exploring potential for collaboration in management of remediation, treatment, disposal, and LTS.
Mid-term - Tribe will strive to ensure that clean up actions are properly implemented, and the Tribe will continue to build the capacity to monitor contamination and educate future generations about the challenges of cleanup.
Long-Term- Tribe will seek to ultimately own and co-manage Hanford Lands w other Affected Tribes. Until such opportunity exists, the Tribe will accept co-management with DOE
short-term - Tribe will strive to ensure that operating, clean up, and restoration plans will result in achieving the goals of fully restored resources and safe, Unlimited access and Unrestricted use.
How do we want to define?
See Tribal End-State Guidance (ERWM)
Long-Term?
Clean-up
IC
Consultation
stewardship
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The NPT has a duty to protect its reserved treaty rights and privileges, environment, culture, and welfare as well as to educate its members (the tribal public) and neighboring public to its activities. The NPT assumes many different roles. It is a governmental entity with certain powers and authorities derived from its inherent sovereignty, from its status as the owner of land, and from legislative delegations from the Federal government. The NPT exercises its powers and authority to serve its members and to monitor activities occurring within the areas of Nez Perce treaty interests. The NPT is a cultural entity and is accordingly charged with honoring its commitment to perpetuate that culture which is uniquely Nez Perce. The NPT is a beneficiary within the context of federal trust relationship with its obligation to Tribes. The NPT is a trustee responsible for the protection and betterment of its members and the protection of rights and privileges. The NPT is party to treaties between itself and the United States government.
The reserved rights to the aforementioned areas are a fundamental concern to the Nez Perce Tribe. The fish, roots, wild game, religious sites, and ancestral burial and living sites remain integral to the Nez Perce culture. The Nez Perce Tribe has the responsibility to protect the health, welfare, and safety of its members, and the environment and cultural resources of the Nez Perce Tribe. Therefore, activities (such as any release of hazardous/radioactive substances to the air, water, or soil column) related to the Hanford operations and cleanup must avoid endangering the Nez Perce Tribe 's environment and culture, or impairing their ability to protect the health and welfare of Tribal members. The Nez Perce Tribe expects, accordingly, to be the primary consulting party in all federal actions related to Hanford that stand to affect treaty-reserved or cultural interests of the NPT
Findings of STGWG
DOE's past activities have resulted in widespread contamination that is long lived and difficult to remediation
Long Term Institutional Controls have become a common element of closure decisions at DOE
The CERCLA process and DOE orders appear to be the Primary impetus for Long term IC
No unique funding provisions have been developed at the facilities to ensure that the long term institutional control requirements of the ROD can be carried out
Long Term IC relating to ownership transfer or lease of contaminated facilities or land have not been addressed
Long Term IC and stewardship responsibilities have not been addressed by the Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program (FUSRAP), which addresses site that were contaminated by DOE's predecessors agencies under the Manhattan Project.
from STGWG
Recommendations
Because IC are significant in many remedies a feasibility study needs to identify specifics in goals; type and implementation & perpetuation of controls for each alternative.
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Nimiipuu
is the tribal name associated with Nez Perce people
DOE needs to explain and quantify the required long term cost and funding commitment required...
These goals should be implemented into the co-op agreement