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Oats Road Drums

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Site Description 8/29/2022 01 Background
Oats Road Drum Site sits inside the Rocky Boy Indian Reservation in the Bear Paw Mountains of Box Elder, MT. The site is approximately 200 yards long and 100 yards wide. The area was previously used as an equipment yard for agencies and businesses within the tribe, but has since been left unattended. Over time 55-gallon drums, larger 275-gallon totes, and smaller 5-gallon containers have accumulated in the yard and were found to be in various compromised states (leaking, broken, bulging, etc.). There are several office buildings with daily foot traffic on and adjacent to the site, including the parking lot for the tribal school busses. Box Elder Creek is a seasonal stream that runs adjacent to the site. Less than a half mile away is the Rocky Boy Senior Citizens Center, Rocky Boy Highschool, a market, and a church. In July 2022 The Chippewa Cree Tribe contacted the EPA to conduct a removal assessment on these containers and the threat they pose to human health and the environment. 
Initial Response 8/29/2022 01 Background

An EPA removal team mobilized with contractors to the site on August 23, 2022. The removal team conducted a removal assessment of drums and other containers in various states of disrepair on the Rocky Boy Reservation in Box Elder, MT at the request of the Chippewa Cree Tribe. The assessment triggered an emergency response.

  • START contractors conducted the sampling and HazCating of the following vessels:
    • Fifty- three 55 gallon drums
    • Fifteen small containers (5 gallons)
    • Six totes (275 gallon)
    • One tank (750 gallon)
  • HazCat results indicate a mix of pesticides, oily water, diesel fuel, tar, and fertilizer.
  • ERRS contractors bulked like wastes, consolidated less-than-full vessels, staged full vessels for the potential removal action and prepped the area for future use by the tribe.
  • ERRS contractors scraped soils stained from leaking drums and consolidated stained soils on a liner.
  • Pending lab sample results, EPA will seek final disposal of wastes in the coming months in conjunction with the Chippewa Cree Tribe, ERRS, and START.
Site Objectives 8/29/2022 01 Background
  • Gauge the threat to human health and the environment by preforming a removal site assessment.
  • Health and Safety of the public and workers on-site.
  • Communication with stakeholders including the local tribal community.
  • Preform air monitoring while opening bulging drums to ensure there are no threats to surrounding community.
  • Safely sample and HazCat each drum and container on site.
  • Safely consolidate like-wastes and bulk wastes when possible.
  • Stage containers for more streamlined disposal if removal action proves necessary.\
  • Take samples for lab processing.
  • Ensure no contamination is tracked off site.
  • Restore the site to a workable and usable land without container contamination issues.