Members of our community are encouraged to be on the lookout for environmental hazards or potential threats to the environment. Through early detection, we can notify the proper authorities to address concerns and protect our natural resources.
Concerns can be reported to the Environmental Department for investigation so that staff can notify proper authorities to address the hazard. Things to look for include improper dumping of chemicals, open trash dumps, animal waste runoff into waterways, etc. For your own protection, do not handle or come into contact with hazardous or unknown substances as part your investigation.
The EPA developed a “Cleanups in Your Community” web map where you can find out how the EPA’s Superfund, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Brownfields and Emergency Response programs are cleaning up land in communities across the USA found here.
What is a brownfield site? A brownfield site means real property, the expansion, redevelopment or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant. Cleaning up and reinvesting in these properties protects the environment, reduces blight and takes development pressures off greenspaces and working lands.
Gun Lake Tribe does not have any brownfield sites on Tribal lands.
What is a superfund site? Superfund sites are polluted properties in the USA requiring a long-term response to clean up hazardous material contaminations. They were designated under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) of 1980. In 2024, there were 1,341superfund sites on the National Priorities List in the United States.
What is a underground storage tank (UST)? A UST System is a tank and any underground piping connected to the tank that has at least 10 percent of its combined volume underground.
The EPA has developed an underground storage tank web map application found here. This web map application provides information concerning underground storage tanks and leaking underground storage across the country.
Why be concerned about USTs? Until the mid-1980s, most USTs were made of bare steel, which is likely to corrode over time and allow UST contents to leak into the environment. Faulty installation or inadequate operating and maintenance procedures also can cause USTs to release their contents into the environment. The greatest potential hazard from a leaking UST is that the petroleum or other hazardous substance can seep into the soil and contaminate groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. A leaking UST can present other health and environmental risks including the potential for fire and explosion.