§4368b General assistance program

Summary

Creates a program that gives money and technical help to Indian tribal governments and groups of tribes so they can plan, build, and run environmental programs on Indian lands and work with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Definitions: Indian tribal government — a tribe or Alaska Native group eligible for federal Indian services. Intertribal consortia — a partnership of two or more tribes that can apply together. Administrator — the EPA Administrator. The EPA must run the program and give grants for planning and building environmental programs. Each grant must be at least $75,000 and no single grant can be more than 10% of the program funds. Grants can last more than one year, stay available until spent, and a tribe or consortium may get up to four years of funding for each kind of program. These grants cannot replace other EPA tribe grants and must be used to add to, not reduce, other funds. Money may be used for things like solid and hazardous waste programs and must follow existing laws, including the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.). The EPA must issue rules within 12 months after October 24, 1992, publish them in the Federal Register, set up accounting and review rules, and may get whatever money is needed for fiscal years 1993–1998. The EPA must send Congress a yearly report on which tribes can enforce environmental laws and how well that enforcement works.