Week of May 23, 2011

Havasupai Tribe Receives EPA Approval to Administer Water Quality Standards Program

Havasupai Tribe Receives EPA Approval to Administer Water Quality Standards Program

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has approved the application from the Havasupai Tribe (located near the Grand Canyon in Arizona) to administer a water quality standards program under the Clean Water Act. The Havasupai Tribe becomes the 46th Tribe that EPA has found eligible to be treated in a manner similar to a state for this purpose. The Tribe is now working with EPA to develop and adopt the actual water quality standards for their waters. Once EPA approves the standards, which is expected to occur within the next year, all surface waters that the Tribe identified within the exterior boundaries of its reservation will be protected by Clean Water Act standards.

For more information about EPA's tribal approvals to date, please visit: http://water.epa.gov/scitech/swguidance/standards/wqslibrary/approvtable.cfm