For over 200 years, the Aleuts have made the Pribilof Islands their home. They provided much of the labor to Russian and United States interests in the valuable northern fur seal. Then in 1971, the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) set the stage for returning Alaska Native lands back to the indigenous populations. The Aleuts became the rightful owners of the Pribilof Islands and occupied the local government.

The United States Government began managing the Pribilof Islands following the 1867 Alaska purchase from Russia. Various federal agencies managed the islands and the northern fur seal fishery, beginning with the U.S. Treasury Department. Other agencies followed, including the Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service, Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, and finally the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and National Marine Fisheries Service. As managers of the islands and having been responsible for the welfare of the Aleuts on the Pribilofs up to the ANSCA, the Department of Commerce and NOAA assumed responsibility for the United States Government's cleanup of debris and contamination left behind during its management period. By 1998, several thousand tons of debris, consisting of old cars, trucks, tractors, barrels, storage tanks and the like were removed from St. Paul and St. George Islands. However, some residual debris sites remain. Soil contamination also remains as the focus of present cleanup activities. Soil contamination is primarily associated with diesel oil spilled while filling tanks for heating and electrical generation, and waste oils either stored in barrels or disposed directly on the ground. The closing out of inappropriate yet active landfills and the redevelopment of new landfills remains as another priority.

The Pribilof Islands Environmental Restoration Project is a special project office within OR&R.  The Department of Commerce and NOAA have assumed responsibility for the United States Government's cleanup of debris and contamination left behind during its management period.