Final Guidance on Awards of Grants to Indian Tribes Under Section106 of the CWA
Author:
US Environmental Protection Agency
Date Published:
2007
Description:
The Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 was developed to address growing environmental and public health concerns related to water pollution. The Act created mechanisms to regulate the discharge of pollutants and to ensure continuing water quality. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is the primary federal agency responsible for administering the CWA. States also may apply to EPA to administer some of the activities of the CWA. Section 518(e) of the CWA authorizes EPA to treat federally recognized tribes in the same manner as states (TAS). This allows eligible federally recognized tribes to address water quality issues, including the development of their own water quality programs and standards. Funding for these activities is available through grants authorized by Section 106 of the CWA. The Guidance on Awards of Grants to Indian Tribes under Section 106 of the Clean Water Act is intended to help tribal water quality program managers, staff, and other tribal environmental decision makers design and implement effective and successful water quality programs. The guidance also provides EPA regional offices with guidelines for awarding and administering grants to federally recognized tribes under the authority of Section 106 of the CWA for fiscal year (FY) 2007 and subsequent years. In FY 2007 and beyond, EPA regional offices will use this guidance in the award and administration of tribal 106 grants. Annual regional CWA Section 106 funding opportunity announcements will contain specific information on how each regional office will use the guidance to make grant determinations. The guidance seeks to help tribal water quality programs at various levels of sophistication and development. For new programs, it provides models for successfully initiating and developing a water quality program. For tribes with well-established programs, it contains additional water quality protection activities to consider. To meet the needs of tribes at all levels of development, the guidance presents basic steps a tribe can take to collect the information it will need to make effective decisions about its water quality program. In addition, the guidance outlines new reporting requirements and data expectations for all tribal programs receiving Section 106 funds. The new reporting requirements will help tribes collect critical data and information for effective management of their water quality programs. They also will help EPA measure environmental results of the Section 106 Tribal Program and comply with the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA) and other federal requirements. This document discusses the process of developing a water quality program. You should refer to this document as you develop or refine your water quality program and as you revise or incorporate new types of projects into your program. As your program develops, you can also use the guidance to help make sure that your program continues to meet applicable requirements.
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