EPA Grants Navajo Nation Treatment as a State, a First for Federal Water Permitting Programs
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced on October 21 that it has approved the Navajo Nation's application for treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) under the federal Clean Water Act, covering the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) and biosolids programs. The Navajo Nation becomes the first tribe in the country to receive TAS eligibility for these two programs.
The Navajo Nation holds the largest tribal reservation in the United States, spanning Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico. With the eligibility, the Nation may apply to administer the two programs on its own lands, including issuing permits that set discharge limits and monitoring and reporting requirements, regulating the use and disposal of sewage sludge, and carrying out related enforcement and administrative functions, similar to the authority states exercise under Section 402 of the Clean Water Act.
Mike Martucci, EPA's Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator, said the approval brings the Navajo Nation "one step closer" to directly managing the water resources on its lands. Usha Maria-Turner, Assistant Administrator for International and Tribal Affairs, called it the "first-ever TAS approval for the NPDES program." Stephen B. Etsitty, Executive Director of the Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agency, spoke to the importance of obtaining NPDES authority for the Nation's future development.
The EPA said the action aligns with cooperative federalism, one of the five pillars set out by Administrator Lee Zeldin, under which federal, state, and tribal governments share responsibility for environmental protection.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：纳瓦霍族保留地内的纪念碑谷（Monument Valley）。照片：W. Bulach，CC BY-SA 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Monument Valley within the Navajo Nation Reservation. Photo: W. Bulach, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
