Mission Statement

The mission of the Kickapoo Environmental Office (KEO) is to promote the safety, health, and welfare of the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas and improve the quality of life on the Kickapoo Nation by safeguarding the environment and natural resources. The overall program goal is to develop a comprehensive environmental protection program for the Kickapoo Tribe in Kansas that will protect the natural, cultural, and human resources.

 

The KEO’s purpose is to ensure that:

• The community is protected from significant risks to human health and the environment where they live, learn, and work.

• National and local efforts to reduce environmental risk are based on the best available scientific information.

• Federal and tribal laws protecting human health and the environment are enforced fairly and effectively.

• Environmental protection is an integral concern in U.S. policies concerning natural resources, human health, economic growth, energy, transportation, agriculture, international trade and industry, and these factors are similarly considered in establishing environmental policy.

• All parts of society- communities, individuals, business, state, tribal, and local governments- have access to accurate information sufficient to effectively participate in managing human health and environmental risks.

• Environmental protection contributes to making our communities and ecosystems diverse, sustainable, and economically productive.

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Departmental Functions

The Kickapoo Environmental Office is responsible for managing programs associated with solid waste/recycling, water resources, air quality, watershed management, brown field, wastewater, and environmental education. The Office is primarily funded by grants through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, but the office works very closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Federal Emergency Management Agency, Kansas Department of Health and Management, Kansas Forest Service, Tribal and local agencies.

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