Tribes to Ask EPA to Step in on Clean Water Rule
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Social
Alliance of Washington Tribes Said It Plans to Ask the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to Step In and Come up with New Water Quality Regulations for the State
The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission, which represents 20 Western Washington tribes, sent Inslee a letter on Thursday expressing "dissatisfaction" with the governor's proposal for updating the state's clean-water rules that are partly tied to how much fish people eat.
"The tribes' principal objective for revised water-quality standards is to protect the health of future generations, and we have determined that your proposal does not meet this goal," the tribes wrote Inslee.
The tribes say they're also concerned about "yet another delay."
Tribal leaders plan to meet Monday with the EPA's regional head, Dennis McLerran, The Herald reported.
McLerran told a state official in April that the EPA intends to take over the process if the state doesn't finalize a rule by 2014.
David Postman, a spokesman for Inslee, said Saturday that members of the governor's office and the Department of Ecology will be reaching out to the commission and hope to continue discussing the governor's proposal with the group.
Under the federal Clean Water Act, the state must adopt standards that ensure rivers and major bodies of water are clean enough to support fish that are safe for humans to eat.
After months of deliberations and pressure from all sides, Inslee said in July he will set the fish-consumption rate at 175 grams a day (just over 6 ounces), which would protect people who eat about a serving of fish a day. Oregon recently adopted a similar consumption rate, the highest for a U.S. state.
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