The Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee (TWAR SC) is a Federal US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) Tribal Partnership Group comprised of subject matter experts from federally recognized Tribes and Alaska Native Villages from various US EPA regions. The TWAR SC strives to provide two-way communication between Tribal professionals and US EPA staff to ensure the concerns and perspectives of Tribal professionals engaged in the fields of Superfund, solid waste, emergency response, underground storage tanks, brownfields, and other contaminated sites are considered by US EPA’s Office of Land and Emergency Management personnel. The views expressed by the TWAR SC are those of the SC members and not of individual Tribes and/or Alaskan Native Villages. Furthermore, interaction with the TWAR SC is not a substitute for, or constitutes government-to-government consultation, which can only be achieved through direct, early and meaningful consultation between the Federal government and individual Indian Tribes and Alaskan Native Villages. The TWAR SC members work collaboratively with the national Tribal Superfund Working Group and their Advisory Committee, as well as cooperating with other national Tribal Partnership Groups where appropriate.
Building relationships with the TWAR SC members will develop Tribal capacity throughout Tribal Nations and assist with furthering the TWAR SC Goals:
Goal 1: Protect human health and the environment while recognizing the cultural values and unique needs of American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native Tribes and Villages.
Goal 2: Improve communication, and foster interagency collaboration, between Tribes and Alaska Native Tribes and Villages, federal agencies, and other partners.
Goal 3: Increase Tribal opportunities to guide OLEM in developing policies and programs related to the evolving needs and priorities of Native environmental programs.
Learn more about the Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee Annual Priorities Document and provide feedback to the TWAR SC on Superfund and Federal Facility issues important to you by clicking on the links below.
Learn more about the members at the Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee’s Member webpage.