Listening to Tribes and understanding Tribal priorities drives our programs and services we offer.

About the Tribal Waste & Response Program

Your Waste & Response team at ITEP focuses on the fields of Superfund, Federal Facilities, brownfields, emergency response, USTs, and solid waste. We are dedicated toward creating resources and opportunities for you that benefit your work in protecting your communities, lands, and ways of life. Our activities include:

  • Conducting the Tribal Lands & Environmental Forum, which brings together hundreds of Tribal professionals as well as their colleagues in various federal and state agencies, Tribal consortia, universities, nonprofits, and private companies – both in person and virtually – every August.
  • Coordinating the work of the Tribal Waste & Response Steering Committee, a group of Tribal professionals, who maintain two-way communication between senior EPA staff and their colleagues at Tribes, Nations, and Villages across the country, as well as assisting us in many other projects.
  • The creation, and continual enhancement of, the Tribal Lands Assistance Center, a plain language site filled with information, resources, recorded interviews, and much more.
  • Developing a variety of live, virtual, trainings as well as self-paced, online, courses.
  • Developing multi-day in person trainings for Tribal professionals.
  • Coordinating regular virtual presentations and discussions for the Tribal Superfund Working Group, as well as site visits and meetings.
  • Making mentor matches, both virtually and in person, to help Tribal professionals help each other achieve success.

We strive to ground all of our work in the four R’s: Respect, Responsibility, Reciprocity, and Relationships. We are always considering new and innovative ways we can best assist you in your work. Please browse this site to learn more, and do not hesitate to reach out to us.

Interested in working with a mentor? Check out our Mentor Page
Please contact Todd Barnell (Todd.Barnell@nau.edu) or
Julie Meikowski (Julie.Meikowski@nau.edu) with any questions.

Tribal Waste and Response Program (TWARP): This program is funded by US EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management and has a broader mandate. Although TSWEAP activities focus primarily on solid waste and solid waste reduction, TWRAP covers additional areas of concern, such as brownfields, contaminated sites, hazardous materials, Underground Storage Tanks, and emergency response programs conducted by Native American communities and Alaskan Native villages. As part of TWRAP activities, ITEP:

  • coordinates a national steering committee of tribal professionals,
  • conducts the annual Tribal Lands and Environment Forum,
  • coordinates the Tribal Superfund Working Group
  • has developed the Tribal hazardous Substance Website, and
  • puts out Full Circle, a bimonthly newsletter highlighting success stories on Tribal lands, ITEP activities, and announcements

CONNECT WITH US

Todd Barnell
Program Manager
Todd.Barnell@nau.edu

Julie Meikowski
Assistant Manager
Julie.Meikowski@nau.edu

Amanda Kapp
Program Coordinator, Sr.
Amanda.Kapp@nau.edu

Your tax deductible donation supports ITEP’s programming efforts.
Please contact us if you would like to contribute to our endowment or for any additional information regarding donations.

Rebecca Stevens

Chair

Coeur d’Alene Tribe – Idaho

Program Manager/Restoration Coordinator
Working with the Tribe since: 2005

Rebecca is the Program Manager for the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department-Hazardous Waste Management Program. She also serves the role as the Restoration Coordinator with the Restoration Partnership. Rebecca has been working on water quality related issues for over 19 years. She represents the Tribe in the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site working with EPA while implementing their remedy for the Basin. She is also the Tribe’s Restoration Coordinator for the Restoration Partnership for which all Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) claims have been settled and on the ground restoration work has been underway since 2019. Rebecca continues to work with other Tribes on NRDA issues while coordinating with the US DOI, USDA, and the State of Idaho.

Rebecca is a proud member of the Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee where she also serves on the Tribal Superfund Work Group and Advisory Council. Rebecca enjoys x-country skiing in the winter, summertime water sports, Frisbee golf, and spending time with her friends, family, and blue heeler. Rebecca is very honored to work for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and is proud to be a part of restoring natural resources in the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

Rebecca can be reached by e-mail at rstevens@cdatribe-nsn.gov.

National Tribal Forum on Air Quality

The National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) aims to support tribal programs by fostering information-sharing and networking opportunities that are focused on building tribal capacity in air quality management. The event’s agenda is driven by tribal input and priorities, with a focus on increasing tribal engagement in air quality initiatives that are relevant to tribal communities across the nation.