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Summary
On September 19, 2016, the EPA Administrator signed an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPRM) to invite comments on whether to establish federal baseline water quality standards (WQS) for Indian reservation waters that do not currently have Clean Water Act (CWA)-effective WQS in place, and if so, what those WQS should be and how they should be implemented. The ANPRM was published in the Federal Register on September 29, 2016.
Currently, fewer than 50 of over 300 tribes with reservation lands have WQS effective under the CWA, leaving a gap in CWA protection of human health and the environment. Federal baseline WQS—which could include designated uses, narrative and numeric criteria, antidegradation requirements, and other WQS policies such as a mixing zone policy, a compliance schedule authorizing provision, and a WQS variance procedure—can provide an important tool for tribes and EPA to use in making defensible, site-specific decisions that protect reservation waters.
EPA will receive public comments for 90 days after the ANPRM is published in the Federal Register. The docket for this available rulemaking is available at Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0405.
- ANPRM Federal Register Notice (PDF) (12 pp, 264 K) (September 29, 2016)
- [See Baseline WQS ANPRM Fact Sheet ]
Planned Outreach
EPA intends to hold two public webinars on the ANPRM during the public comment period and will provide the opportunity for interested parties to ask clarifying questions prior to the close of the comment period. The agenda and resource material will be identical for the two public webinars. To register for a public webinar, please click on the preferred date below:
- Watch the Webinar: Wednesday, November 16, 2016
- Thursday, December 15, 2016 3:00-4:30PM Eastern Time Exit
Pre-ANPRM Consultation and Coordination
Tribal Consultation and Coordination
EPA has held two pre-ANPRM consultation and coordination periods with federally recognized Indian tribes concerning this Baseline WQS effort. From August through November 2015 and from June through August 2016, EPA consulted and coordinated with officials from more than 130 tribes from around the United States. For more information, see related materials below:
- [See Tribal Consultation Letter and Consultation and Coordination Plan ]
- [See August-November 2015 "Tribes-Only" Consultation Webinar Presentation ]
- [See Tribal Consultation Letter and Consultation and Coordination Plan ]
- [See June-August 2016 "Tribes-Only" Consultation Webinar Presentation ]
Intergovernmental Association and State Outreach
On July 22, 2016 EPA invited input from intergovernmental associations and met with them on August 8, 2016 and September 1, 2016. For more information, see related materials below and in the docket for this rulemaking.
- [See Intergovernmental Association Consultation Letter ]
- [See August 8 and September 1 State Outreach Webinar Presentation ]
How To Provide Comments on the ANPRM
The 90-day comment period for this ANPRM opened on September 29, 2016 and ends on December 28, 2016. Comments on the ANPRM will be accepted at regulations.gov (Docket ID No. EPA-HQ-OW-2016-0405).
How to Get Additional Information
If you have questions or comments, you may email Marylou Soscia (Soscia.Marylou@epa.gov) or call (503) 326-5873.
To receive information updates by email, you may subscribe to EPA's list server forum WQSnews.
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA’s About PDF page to learn more.- Baseline WQS ANPRM Fact Sheet (PDF)(2 pp, 142 K, 9/2016, EPA 820-F-16-011)
- Tribal Consultation Letter and Consultation and Coordination Plan (PDF)(7 pp, 140 K, 8/11/2015)
- August-November 2015 "Tribes-Only" Consultation Webinar Presentation (PDF)(13 pp, 401 K)
- Tribal Consultation Letter and Consultation and Coordination Plan (PDF)(6 pp, 166 K, 6/29/2016)
- June-August 2016 "Tribes-Only" Consultation Webinar Presentation (PDF)(25 pp, 892 K)
- Intergovernmental Association Consultation Letter (PDF)(4 pp, 115 K, 7/22/2016)
- August 8 and September 1 State Outreach Webinar Presentation (PDF)(19 pp, 890 K)
- Webinar Presentation Materials for Federal Baseline Water Quality Standards for Indian Reservations ANPRM (PDF)(19 pp, 626 K, 11/16/2016)