|
The Biden administration is advancing a rule to ensure cleaner water for Tribes and protect their rights to aquatic resources like fish and plants. The new EPA rule, first proposed in 2022, requires federal and state governments to account for Tribal reserved rights when setting water quality goals and pollution limits for rivers, lakes, and streams.
States and the EPA are already required to set water quality standards that protect human and ecosystem health, and the new rule would ensure those standards also acknowledge the unique ways that Tribes use water and aquatic species. The rule will help sustain Tribal practices such as fishing, hunting, and harvesting plants that depend on freshwater resources. “This sort of explicit attention to Tribal reserved rights is long overdue,” said James Grijalva, a law professor at the University of North Dakota School of Law and director of the Northern Plains Indian Law Center. “The rule that’s coming out is a bold one.” The White House Office of Management and Budget has finished reviewing the rule, and the final rule is expected to be published this spring.
Earlier this week, the administration also announced over $1 billion in funding to improve Tribal access to clean drinking water and a new national goal to protect wetlands, rivers, and streams.
New podcast: Why April was a huge month for public lands
Kate and Aaron are joined by The Wilderness Society’s Michael Carroll and Justin Meuse to talk through a handful of federal regulations, or rules, that were finalized in late March and April. These rules touch on everything from methane waste on public lands to ecosystem restoration to caribou herds in Alaska. Some of these rules are already in effect, and some will take effect soon. Together, they are a framework for more responsible and climate-friendly public land management.
|
“This is a watershed moment. Industry fought long and hard to avoid spending a dime to clean up their toxic pollution. That ends today.”
