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Past
Success Stories In 2002 SLT EPA began the major cleanup
of an active asbestos site within our own boundaries. The old abandon
school site was not only an eye sore for most of us living here but also
a major hazardous waste site. The school had laid vacant since the mid
1980’s and had fallen prey to vandalism and became a hangout for
misguided unsupervised children.
The dangers of having such an
environmental hazard were so great we contacted US EPA and requested
their assistance to have the site cleaned up of the hazardous materials
that were left behind when the school was abandoned. US EPA deemed the
site to be a major hazard to the residents of the St. Michael District
and enacted their SuperFund Program to assist the tribe with the very
costly cleanup. Through EPA’s SuperFund Program the tribe received over
$1.5 million dollars in aid to clean up the site.
Members of the Spirit Lake Tribe also
benefited from the site during the remediation process. Security guards
were hired to keep watch on-site. More importantly, children were safely
kept away as the dangerous asbestos were being removed from the
buildings.
We will be working to complete the
remediation process of this site in the near future.
Please look for our announcements’ as
we need the communities’ input to decide what should be done with this
property. Should it be torn down, should we preserve the historical
site, or should we convert it into something useful and productive?
Please call 701-766-1259 or email
sgourd@spiritlakenation.com
with your helpful suggestions.
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