EPA Releases a Tribal Water & Natural Resources Conservation Guide
The EPA released a Tribal Water & Natural Resources Conservation Guide for Tribal environmental program managers and staff. The guide includes a foreword provided by the National Tribal Water Council. This guide aims to provide resources to Tribal environmental programs about federal assistance opportunities that can support Tribally led efforts to protect and restore waters, protect air quality, protect wildlife and habitat, prepare for climate change and natural hazards, steward lands, and support and engage Tribal communities. This comprehensive resource guide includes:

• An introduction to federal assistance for new Tribal staff,
• Quick reference tables highlighting Tribal-specific funding and technical assistance programs,
• 10+ Tribal case studies highlighting how Tribal programs have completed conservation projects with federal assistance.
• Examples of federal planning frameworks and tools.

The EPA also published a federal funding program inventory as a supplement to the guide, available as a downloadable Excel Workbook that contains basic information about 150+ federal funding programs that can support Tribal conservation work.

EPA’s Climate Change Considerations when Prioritizing, Developing, and Implementing TMDLs
The EPA released the document titled Climate Change Considerations When Prioritizing, Developing, and Implementing Total Maximum Daily Loads to support states, territories and Tribes as they work to protect and restore their waters. The document provides examples and a selection of approaches for incorporating climate change considerations into TMDL processes that can be used individually or in combination, depending on each TMDL’s circumstances.

This document does not impose any new requirements and does not constitute a prescriptive checklist, but identifies potential approaches for incorporating climate change considerations into TMDL prioritization, development and implementation that can be used individually or in combination, depending on each TMDL’s circumstances. While no Tribes have yet received Treatment in a Similar Manner as a State to administer the CWA 303(d) program, the information in the document may be of interest to Tribes that are considering, or may decide, to pursue TAS for CWA 303(d) and develop TMDLs for their waters, or to Tribes that are interested in state development of TMDLs. For more information, see EPA’s website for Section 303(d) Lists and TMDLs.

EPA Releases New Science-Based Recommendations to Help More States, Tribes, and Territories Reduce Exposure to PFAS in Fish
On July 11, 2024, the EPA published updated recommendations for contaminants that Tribal, state, and territorial fish advisory programs should consider monitoring in locally caught fish to protect public health. The EPA’s latest recommendations consist of two lists of fish tissue contaminants, both of which include several per- and polyfluorinated substances (PFAS). Please see the press release and view the lists of contaminants to monitor on the EPA’s website.

EPA’s Acute 6PPD-q and 6PPD Aquatic Life Screening Values for Freshwater
On June 3, 2024, the EPA’s Office of Water (OW) developed acute aquatic life screening values for two widely distributed rubber-tire associated compounds, 6PPD-Quinone (6PPD-q) and 6PPD. The screening values are based on the latest scientific knowledge about the short-term (acute) toxicity of 6PPD-q and 6PPD to aquatic organisms, including sensitive species like coho salmon, in freshwaters of the U.S. For more information, please visit: https://www.epa.gov/wqc/aquatic-life-criteria-and-methods-toxics#acute

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