Tribal Communities
Under EPA policy, the agency works with federally recognized Indian tribeThose tribes federally recognized by the Secretary of the Interior. [40 CFR § 372.3] on a government-to-government basis to protect the land, air, and water in Indian CountryIndian country as defined in 18 U.S.C. 1151. That section defines Indian country as:(a) All land within the limits of any Indian reservation under the jurisdiction of the United States government, notwithstanding the issuance of any patent, and including rights-of-way running through the reservation;(b) All dependent Indian communities within the borders of the United States whether within the original or subsequently acquired territory thereof, and whether within or without the limits of a State; and (c) All Indian allotments, the Indian titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way running through the same. [40 CFR § 372.3] and Alaska Native villages and to support tribal assumption of program authority.
In 2022, 374 facilities located on the land of 49 federally recognized tribes reported to TRI. These facilities collectively managed 250 million pounds of waste, 36 million pounds (14%) of which were disposed of or otherwise released. Of these releases, 60% were disposed of on site by metal mining, electric utilities, paper, and chemical manufacturing facilities. These facilities primarily disposed of metal compounds such as lead and barium. Lead is often present in the mineral ore disposed of by metal mines, and barium is present in coal and oil combusted at electric utilities.
Many more facilities are located within a 10-mile radius of tribal land. 2,150 facilities on or within 10 miles of tribal land reported to TRI for 2022, representing 250 different federally recognized tribes. These facilities collectively managed 1.29 billion pounds of waste, 207 million pounds (16%) of which were disposed of or otherwise released. Of the releases reported, 53% were released on site by chemical manufacturing, primary metals, and metal mining manufacturing facilities.
The table below provides more details about the types of releases and other waste management reported by facilities on federally recognized tribal lands.
Quick Facts for 2022: Facilities on Tribal Lands
| Measure | Facilities on Tribal Land | Facilities on or within 10 miles of tribal land |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Facilities that Reported to TRI | 374 | 2,150 |
| Number of Tribes | 49 | 250 |
| Waste Managed | 249.9 million lb | 1.29 billion lb |
| Recycling | 86.4 million lb | 441 million lb |
| Energy Recovery | 39.3 million lb | 164 million lb |
| Treatment | 88.3 million lb | 475 million lb |
| Disposal or Other Releases | 36.0 million lb | 206 million lb |
| Total Disposal or Other Releases | 36.0 million lb | 207 million lb |
| On-site | 30.7 million lb | 171 million lb |
| Air | 12.6 million lb | 64.6 million lb |
| Water | 4.1 million lb | 14.4 million lb |
| Land | 13.9 million lb | 92.3 million lb |
| Off-site | 5.4 million lb | 35.4 million lb |
Note: The amount of waste managed by disposal or other releases may differ from the amount shown as “total disposal or other releases” because several facilities reported managing large quantities of non-production-related waste, which is included in “total disposal or other releases” but not in “waste managed.”
The TRI Toxics Tracker is one way to explore information about releases and other waste management of TRI chemicals from facilities on or near tribal lands. The interactive chart below shows the type of TRI information in the Tribal Lands section of the TRI Toxics Tracker. Use the buttons in the top row to filter the data by industry sector, chemical, and/or tribe.
The interactive table below lists the federally recognized tribes that had at least one TRI-reporting facility on their lands, along with the total releases and waste managed on the tribe’s lands.
Total Disposal or Other Releases on Tribal Lands by Tribe, 2022
You can also view a fact sheet for each tribe using TRI Explorer.
Additional resources for tribes are available on the TRI for Tribal Communities webpage, including more detailed analyses of TRI data, links to other online tools, and contact information for EPA’s Tribal Program Managers.
This page was published in March 2024 and uses the 2022 TRI National Analysis dataset made public in TRI Explorer in October 2023.