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Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals

Listening to Tribes and understanding Tribal priorities drives our programs and services we offer.

EPA Announced Final Water Quality Standards Regulatory Revisions to Protect Tribal Reserved Rights

The EPA is pleased to announce that registration for the June 2024 Virtual Water Quality Standards Academy is now OPEN. Registration is free and open to the public. Registration will close on May 22nd, or when capacity is reached.

On April 26, 2024, the EPA Administrator signed a final rule that revises the Water Quality Standards (WQS) regulation at 40 CFR Part 131 to explicitly address how the EPA and states must consider Tribal reserved rights. It is defined in this rule as rights to Clean Water Act-protected aquatic and/or aquatic-dependent resources reserved to Tribes through treaties, statutes, or executive orders in establishing WQS, where Tribes assert these rights for consideration. This rule creates a regulatory framework that will be applied consistently to help ensure that future WQS reflect consideration of and provide protection for applicable Tribal reserved rights, such as the right to fish for subsistence and/or gather wild rice.

For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/wqs-tech/revising-federal-water-quality-standards-regulation-protect-tribal-reserved-rights

Final Rule Fact Sheet: https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2024-05/tribal-reserved-rights-final-rule_fact-sheet_508.pdf

Rebecca Stevens

Chair

Coeur d’Alene Tribe – Idaho

Program Manager/Restoration Coordinator
Working with the Tribe since: 2005

Rebecca is the Program Manager for the Tribe’s Natural Resources Department-Hazardous Waste Management Program. She also serves the role as the Restoration Coordinator with the Restoration Partnership. Rebecca has been working on water quality related issues for over 19 years. She represents the Tribe in the Bunker Hill Mining and Metallurgical Complex Superfund Site working with EPA while implementing their remedy for the Basin. She is also the Tribe’s Restoration Coordinator for the Restoration Partnership for which all Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) claims have been settled and on the ground restoration work has been underway since 2019. Rebecca continues to work with other Tribes on NRDA issues while coordinating with the US DOI, USDA, and the State of Idaho.

Rebecca is a proud member of the Tribal Waste and Response Steering Committee where she also serves on the Tribal Superfund Work Group and Advisory Council. Rebecca enjoys x-country skiing in the winter, summertime water sports, Frisbee golf, and spending time with her friends, family, and blue heeler. Rebecca is very honored to work for the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and is proud to be a part of restoring natural resources in the Coeur d’Alene Basin.

Rebecca can be reached by e-mail at rstevens@cdatribe-nsn.gov.

National Tribal Forum on Air Quality

The National Tribal Forum on Air Quality (NTFAQ) aims to support tribal programs by fostering information-sharing and networking opportunities that are focused on building tribal capacity in air quality management. The event’s agenda is driven by tribal input and priorities, with a focus on increasing tribal engagement in air quality initiatives that are relevant to tribal communities across the nation.