AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster
The Biden administration today laid out a plan for addressing water quality and infrastructure problems plaguing tribal lands and fueling the spread of COVID-19, a move that advocates cast as a critical step forward.
"People often forget about drinking water when they’re focused on environmental issues," said Heather Tanana, a resident of the Navajo Nation and an assistant professor at the S.J. Quinney College of Law at the University of Utah. "This is the first time we’re getting the attention and direct recognition by the agencies to address drinking water [on tribal lands]."
EPA’s Office of Water released the plan today, which also laid out steps to support more robust consultation with tribes on a host of high-profile regulations, from what constitutes a “water of the U.S.” to permitting for oil and gas pipelines and thorny projects.
“Long-standing water challenges in Indian country are negatively impacting tribes,” authors of the report wrote. “Tribal communities are more likely than other populations in the United States to lack access to wastewater services and piped drinking water.”
The Biden administration has faced a tumultuous relationship with tribes, including increasing pressure to acknowledge tribal rights and address concerns surrounding thorny projects like the Line 3 pipeline in the Midwest, Dakota Access and Keystone XL. And yet Tanana pointed out the administration’s recent decision to restore the boundaries of the Bears Ears...
Read Full Story: https://www.eenews.net/articles/epa-unveils-plan-to-address-tribal-water-woes/
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