Project Announcement: HAZWOPER Training for California Tribes

The National Indian Justice Center is administering the HAZWOPER Training for California Tribes project, funded by Cal EPA. This project will coordinate and conduct one, 40-hour HAZWOPER certification training session for Tribal Cultural Monitors.

HAZWOPER Training Coordination for California Tribes Participant Guidelines (PDF download)

Tribal Cultural Monitors play an integral role in environmental clean-up and emergency response projects between tribes and the state. Monitors oversee work around items of cultural value to tribes, sacred sites, and burial sites, and ensure the work being done in these areas is culturally appropriate and follows the protocols agreed upon by the tribe and the state. Many state and federal consultation policies encourage the use of Tribal Cultural Monitors at the project sites to mitigate any damage to cultural items or sacred sites.

Due to health and safety risks, Monitors are required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to be HAZWOPER certified in order to engage in fieldwork on state projects. The initial 40-hour training is the first step in the certification process, which also involves 3 days of supervised field experience before the Monitors are allowed to enter a contaminated site.

HAZWOPER certification, which includes the initial 40-hour certification, the requisite Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), and re-certification classes, is a financial hardship on the Monitors and their small and under-resourced tribes. Without certified Monitors, tribes cannot have a person(s) onsite to protect tribal archeological, cultural, historical and natural resources in clean-up and emergency response projects. The DTSC Office of Environmental Justice and Tribal Affairs have identified a need for HAZWOPER certification training for Tribal Cultural Monitors.

CAL EPA: California Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency-Region 9, Pacific Southwest-Emergency Response Section

Title: Historic Preservation and Cultural Monitoring for Hazmat Emergency Responses
Date: October 24, 2019.  Time: 0800-1200 hours
Location (or web source): EPA Emergency Response Warehouse, 674 Harrison Street, San Francisco
For more information and to register click here.

Title: Mad Chemists, Collectors and Other Eccentrics
This course will provide a comprehensive overview on the assessment and cleanup of “Mad Chemists” (chemical hoarders).
Date: November 21, 2019. Time: 0800-1200 hours
Location (or web source): EPA Emergency Response Warehouse, 2445 N. Palm Drive, Suite 100, Signal Hill, CA 90755
For more information and to register click here.