296 



Practices manual is a practical supplement to the Agency's 1990 guidance manual, 

 "Managing Asbestos in Place" (the Green Book). With the guidance provided to 

 building asbestos program managers and workers, and with the detailed, specific, 

 and appropriate work practices for asbestos O&M workers that are set forth in the 

 new manual, EPA believes this represents another major step forward in worker 

 protection. 



3. EPA has increased its communication with OSHA to help coordinate issues of 

 mutual concern to both agencies as OSHA works to revise their asbestos worker 

 protection regulations. We anticipate publication of OSHA's revised standards some- 

 time this summer. 



Q. 42: I'm interested in your thoughts on how the EPA can better address envi- 

 ronmental problems on Indian reservations. Would you agree that a major prob- 

 lem is that more resources need to be targeted for enforcement and technical as- 

 sistance on reservations? 



What percentage of the EPA's funding and staff are targeted on Indian Tribes? 



A. 42: EPA currently provides resources for environmental protection on Indian 

 lands in three ways. First, it provides resources through Congressional appropria- 

 tions and set-asides such as those provided under Section 319 and Title VI of the 

 Clean Water Act (CWA) and funds appropriated in support of the multimedia/gen- 

 eral assistance program. Second, EIPA provides resources through regulatory set- 

 asides such as the up to 3 percent of CWA Section 106 funds that are set-aside 

 under that Act's Indian Program regulations. Finally, individual EPA offices review 

 their grant funds on a yearly basis and include tribes along with states within their 

 discretionary programs. 



Currently, 100 percent of EPA's multi-media/general assistance funds go to tribes. 

 Other program funding directed to tribes include: about 2-3 percent of the funds for 

 state, local and trib^ programs, about 0.9 percent of the Agency's Superfund 

 monies, and 0.5 percent of the wastewater treatment construction funds are re- 

 served for tribes. Approximately 0.7 percent of EPA's work effort is devoted to the 

 Indian Program. EPA has increased its support of tribal programs by over 600 per- 

 cent since the adoption of its Indian Policy. As tribes continue to develop their ca- 

 pacity to participate in EPA programs, the Agency will need to continue to increase 

 its efforts to support the development of tribal regulatory systems. 



Q. 43: In light of the magnitude of environmental problems in Indian country, 

 would you have a recommendation for an appropriate policy position to address 

 them if the EPA becomes a Department? 



A. 43: In 1984, EPA was the first Federal agency outside of the Bureau of Indian 

 Affairs and the Indian Health Service to adopt an Indian Policy. The Agency's 

 policy recognizes the sovereignty of tribal governments and its trust responsibility 

 to tribes and commits EPA to working v^dth tribsil governments on a government-to- 

 government basis. If EPA becomes a department, these basic foundations of the 

 Agency's Indian Policy will be the cornerstones of any Departmental approach 

 which the Agency will take in the conduct of its affairs with Indian nations. 



Q. 44: Do you feel that Natives Americans deserve a voice and a strong advocate 

 at the policy-making level of a new "Department of the Environment?" 



A. 44: For the past several years EPA has had individuals in the role of Special 

 Assistant to the Administrator who have advocated the inclusion of Indian tribes in 

 all appropriate areas of the Agency's programs. If the Agency is elevated to Depart- 

 mental status, this advocacy role will, along with other appropriate program areas, 

 be reviewed to determine how it can best be institutionalized within the framework 

 of the new Department. To facilitate the process of ensuring an Indian voice as the 

 Agency implements its Indian Policy, and in support of the President's policy of 

 having government reflect the essential character of the American people, the 

 Agency will increase its efforts to recruit qualified tribal members to occupy posi- 

 tions at all levels within the Agency, including those that develop policy at its high- 

 est levels. 



Q. 45: Isn't it both reasonable and necessary to have one of the ten Assistant 

 Secretaries called for by this bill to be responsible solely for environmental poli- 

 cies and programs affecting Indian tribes and lands? 



A. 45: The EPA Indian Program is an important fimction that cuts across all of 

 the Agency's major programs to help protect human health and the environment. If 

 the Agency is elevated to Department status, it will review its current structure and 

 the legislative mandates of both its program-specific and cross-cutting functions to 

 determine how to most effectively employ its human and financial resources to meet 

 its statutory obligations. 



Q. 46: The issue of what the economic costs and impacts of environmental regu- 

 lations on the public and businesses is being increasingly debated. Can you inform 



