Tribal Consultation

EPA’s Draft National Recommended Water Quality Criteria for the Protection of Human Health for PFOA, PFOS, and PFBS

Deadline: February 24, 2025

The EPA has released draft national recommended health-based levels (human health criteria) for three per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water bodies. The three PFAS are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS). Human health criteria are not legally enforceable, rather they are information for local entities to consider when making local decisions about water quality.

The EPA will accept written comments on the draft human health criteria until February 24, 2025. Section 304(a) of the Clean Water Act (CWA) directs the EPA to develop and publish water quality criteria that accurately reflect the latest scientific knowledge about the effects of particular pollutants on human health and welfare. The EPA’s CWA Section 304(a) human health criteria are recommendations to states and Tribes authorized to establish their own water quality standards under the CWA. Once final, these recommended criteria can be used by states and authorized Tribes to develop their own water quality criteria that help protect people from exposure through consuming water, fish and shellfish from inland and nearshore water bodies that may be contaminated by any of these PFAS. For more information: https://www.epa.gov/wqc/human-health-water-quality-criteria-pfas.

EPA’s Proposed National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate

Deadline: February 28, 2025

The EPA is initiating consultation and coordination on the forthcoming proposed rulemaking, the National Primary Drinking Water Regulation for Perchlorate, as required by recent court orders. The EPA is developing the proposed regulation to improve public health protection by reducing perchlorate exposure from drinking water. The proposed rule would impact owners and operators of public water systems subject to the rule requirements as defined by the Safe Drinking Water Act, along with primacy agencies that enforce drinking water regulations in their jurisdiction. There are approximately 1,000 Tribal public water systems and the Navajo Nation has primacy for over 170 public water systems. The consultation materials are available on EPA’s Tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System (TCOTS) website at: https://tcots.epa.gov/. Comment letters should be submitted via email to NPDWRperchlorate@epa.gov.

EPA’s Proposed Update to the Office of Civil Enforcement’s 2007 Questions and Answers on the Tribal Enforcement Process

Deadline: March 3, 2025

The EPA is initiating consultation with federally recognized Tribes on a proposed update to the Office of Civil Enforcement’s 2007 Questions and Answers on the Tribal Enforcement Process ("Questions and Answers"). The Questions and Answers document implements the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance’s Guidance on the Enforcement Principles Outlined in the 1984 Indian Policy to ensure compliance at federally-regulated facilities in Indian country.

Informational webinars will provide background information on the updated Questions and Answers document and will respond to questions. The informational webinars will be held on the following dates and times:

• Monday, February 3, 2025; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Eastern; Click HERE to join.
• Tuesday, February 11, 2025; 3:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. Eastern; Click HERE to join.

Meeting links and more information about the webinars are available on EPA’s Tribal Consultation Opportunities Tracking System. At any point in the Tribal consultation process, Tribes may submit written comments and questions to Matt Castelli via email at castelli.matthew@epa.gov.

EPA Released Three Draft Chapters of the Water Quality Standard Handbook on Designated Uses, Antidegradation, and WQS Variances

Deadline: March 12, 2025

On December 12, 2024, the EPA released three draft chapters of the WQS Handbook on Designated Uses, Antidegradation, and WQS Variances for a 90-day public comment period. The WQS Handbook provides a plain language discussion of the relevant regulatory and statutory requirements and the EPA’s recommendations for how states, authorized Tribes and U.S. territories can develop and implement WQS consistent with both. The EPA has updated Chapter 2 on Designated Uses, Chapter 4 on Antidegradation, and developed a new chapter on WQS Variances to include the EPA’s most recent WQS programmatic policy and guidance to implement the regulation at 40 CFR Part 131.

All comments must be submitted through the Docket. Visit the EPA’s WQS Handbook webpage to review the three draft chapters and for information on how to provide comments.