Oglala Lakota Nation/Former Badlands Bombing Range

BBR Field Technician Explains Significance of UXO Burial Pit Location on Agricultural Lands (September 1999)

BBR Field Technician Explains Risk of UXO Burial Pits on Agricultural

Lands (September 1999)

Site Overview

Site Location

Approximately 50 miles southeast of Rapid City, South Dakota on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation

Site Description

This tribal land was used as a military bombing range during World War II. Unexploded ordnance is a major concern. The Oglala Lakota Nation, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Air Force, EPA, National Park Service, and the State of South Dakota, is working to return this site to usable land.

GSP Technicians Demonstrate Equipment Used to Identify UXO Locations at BBR (September 1998)

BBR GIS Technicians Demonstrate Equipment Used to Identify UXO Locations (September 1998)

Organization Requesting Assistance

Oglala Lakota Nation and Badlands Bombing Range Restoration Advisory Board

Beginning Date of Assistance

Spring 1995

Summary of TOSNAC Assistance

Representatives from the TOSC and TOSNAC Programs have attended multiple Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) meetings; provided reviews of contamination investigation reports; held a workshop on science, math, and chemistry for the Technical Review Committee, whose target audience was the tribal elders of the Oglala Lakota; and provided information about the health and environmental risks of certain chemicals (beryllium, selenium, and phosphorus). Future activities at the site include meetings with tribal elders and community members to explain EPA guidelines, regulations, and the importance of community involvement; developing written educational materials to help explain mitigation, policies, and guidelines; and further researching the health and environmental effects of chemicals found at the site, with special attention to plants.

Tribal Members Attend BBF RAB Meeting in Porcupine, SD (March 2001)