This page highlights some of the EPA resources available to help protect tribal water resources in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. For additional information, visit Clean Water in Indian Country and Safe Drinking Water on Tribal Lands.

You can also subscribe to EPA's National Tribal Water Program Updates E-Newsletter.

• Grants and Loans
• Water Quality Standards
• Drinking Water
• Wetlands
• Geographic Priority Areas (Bristol Bay, Columbia River Basin, Puget Sound/Salish Sea)
• Training
• Contacts

Grants and Loans

• Region 10 Clean Water Act Section 106 Tribal Program Funding: Section 106 of the Clean Water Act provides funding to tribes to establish and administer programs for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.
• Region 10 Clean Water Act Section 319 Tribal Program Funding: Section 319 of the Clean Water Act provides funding to help tribes assess and manage their nonpoint source pollution problems and threats.
• Region 10 Wetland Program Development Grants: Funding to assist state, tribal, local government agencies and interstate/intertribal entities in developing or refining programs which protect, manage, and restore wetlands. 
• Alaska Native Village and Rural Communities Water Grant Program: Funding to assist rural Alaskan communities with construction of new or improved wastewater and drinking water systems. Communities can also use the funding for training and technical assistance in system operations and maintenance.
• Tribal Water and Wastewater Funding Sources (Environmental Finance Center Network)(6pp, 800 K, February 2019, About PDF)Exit

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Water Quality Standards

• Water Quality Standards Regulations and Resources: Federal requirements, standards, policy, guidance and references, and technical resources for tribes.
• Tribes and Water Quality Standards: Water quality standards provide the regulatory and scientific foundation for protecting water quality under the Clean Water Act. To administer a water quality standards program under the Clean Water Act, a tribe must apply to EPA for authorization to be treated in a similar manner as a state (TAS).
• EPA Actions on Tribal Water Quality Standards: A listing of EPA approvals for tribes to administer a water quality standards (WQS) program, and EPA’s approvals of those tribes’ WQS.

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Drinking Water

• Ground Water and Drinking Water: EPA information on your drinking water, water regulations, laboratories, and other topics.
• Safe Drinking Water on Tribal Lands: EPA works collaboratively with tribal governments, tribal utilities and tribal members to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
• Inter Tribal Council of ArizonaExit: Information on tribal water systems, including training, certification, technical assistance, and more.
• Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC)Exit: RCAC works to make small community water, wastewater, and solid waste systems sustainable. Contact RCAC if in need of immediate technical, operational assistance for a water system.
• Water OperatorExit: Resources for small system operators, including training and certification.

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Wetlands

• Wetlands Grant Coordinators in the Pacific Northwest: Find your Region 10 grants coordinator.
• Successful Applicants for Wetland Program Development Grants in Region 10: Summaries of past Wetland Program Development Grants awarded by EPA in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
• Developing a State or Tribal Wetland Program Plan: Four core elements are the foundation of a state or tribal wetlands management and protection plan.
• Wetlands Protection and Restoration: Learn about wetlands, state and tribal government efforts, EPA programs protecting wetlands, voluntary restoration and protection, and funding opportunities.
• Pacific Northwest Tribal Wetlands Working Group (TWIG)Exit: A workgroup made up of Region 10 tribes that shares information on wetlands and aquatic resources.

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Geographic Priority Areas

Bristol Bay

• Engaging Bristol Bay's Tribal Communities: Summary of tribal engagement in EPA's assessment of the potential effects of large scale mining on the salmon ecosystems of the Nushagak and Kvichak Rivers in Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed.

Columbia River

• Idaho Tribal Fish Consumption Survey: Current and historic (heritage) documents on consumption rates for tribes in Idaho.
• Columbia River Basin Fish Contaminant Survey: Presents the results of an assessment of chemical pollutants in fish collected throughout the Columbia River Basin in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and the potential risks from consuming these fish.
• Fish Consumption Survey of the Umatilla, Nez Perce, Yakama, and Warm Springs Tribes of the Columbia River Basin: Conducted by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to determine the level and nature of fish consumption among individual tribal members.

Puget Sound/Salish Sea

• Puget Sound: Highlights EPA’s work in the Puget Sound and opportunities for funding and collaboration.
• Health of the Salish Sea Report: Collaboration between EPA and Environment and Climate Change Canada to report to the public on the health of our shared ecosystem.
• Puget Sound Partnership-NWIFCExit: The federally recognized Puget Sound tribes and tribal consortia work with the Puget Sound Partnership to restore and maintain the health of Puget Sound. These tribes and the Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) provide input and guidance to the Puget Sound Partnership. This site provides progress reports for each tribal participant.
• Salish Sea Ecosystem ConferenceExit: Focuses on protection and restoration of the Salish Sea (the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, Puget Sound, and the Strait of Juan de Fuca). The conference is held every two years.

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Training

• Introduction to Water QualityExit, EPA Region 10 Webinar, July 8, 2020.
• Developing a Quality Assurance Project PlanExit, EPA Region 10 Webinar, September 22, 2016.

Visit the Training and Technical Assistance Opportunities page to find a wide variety of other water quality trainings for tribes. 

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Contacts

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