The Environmental Restoration and Waste Management Program (ERWM) is part of the Nez Perce Tribe Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and works in coordination with other DNR programs to preserve Nez Perce culture and treaty rights by protecting and enhancing our environmental and human health. Formed in 1992, ERWM‘s main purpose is to provide for the monitoring and participation of the cleanup and restoration efforts of U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Hanford Nuclear Reservation, located in south-central Washington.

The program also works to institutionalize Nez Perce involvement in DOE decision-making, federal compliance with trust responsibility, protection of treaty rights and privileges, protection of cultural resources, and implementation of the DOE American Indian Policy.