ABSENTEE SHAWNEE TRIBE (EPA Region 6)

Providing Environmental Training by Coordinating EPA Brownfi elds Resources

The Absentee Shawnee Tribe provided environmental

Location: Central Oklahoma job training to 65 students to date, with 91% obtaining

Size: More than 12,000 acres in parts of employment and an average post-training hourly wage

Pottawatomie, Oklahoma and Cleveland Counties of $13.50. Before graduating, students are trained in:

Population: Approximately 3,000 asbestos remediation, HAZWOPER, emergency confined

Website: http://www.astribe.com/OEP.htm space training, first aid and CPR, National Incident

Management System (NIMS), and an inspector contractor

supervisor class. The Absentee Shawnee job training

program, in partnership with the Gordon Cooper Technology Center and East Central University of Oklahoma, is one

of three accredited asbestos training programs in Oklahoma and the only one that provides free training.

A $200,000 EPA Brownfields Job Training grant awarded in 2006 provided the main funding source. Students then

developed skills on actual assessment and cleanup projects. This coordinated effort gave students real life experience

and supports site specific efforts of the tribes’ Section 128(a) funded brownfi elds program.

The tribe’s brownfi elds office and job training classroom is located on a 21-acre property that was the focus of an

EPA Brownfields Assessment grant awarded in 2004. The property is a former pipe supply business with hazardous

substances and petroleum contamination on portions of the site. Students use this and other nearby brownfi elds with

illegal dumping, asbestos and mold issues to learn a range of skills, including how to: conduct site screenings; conduct

mold assessment and inspections; use a global positioning system (GPS) to mark properties; and use equipment such

as underground survey instruments. The students’ practice provides information to the brownfi elds office and supports

assessment and cleanup activities.

The tribe’s Office of Environmental Protection hired some graduates to work within its brownfields program. For

example, one student is now an asbestos trainer and another entry level staff member has been promoted to help with

assessment and cleanup activities after going through the program. Other graduates have obtained employment in the

asbestos and solid waste field, with some working for the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and the Federal

Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

For more information regarding the Absentee Shawnee’s environmental job training and brownfields efforts, please

contact Renee Hood at reneeh@astribe.com or (405) 273-9966.

“Many companies have been impressed with our

graduates because due to their extensive training

beyond just asbestos remediation, they are able

to recognize additional issues such as emergency

confined space problems.”

– Renee Hood, Absentee Shawnee Environmental Director