Havasupai Tribe earns treatment as state status from EPA

Friday, April 29, 2011  

The Havasupai Tribe of Arizona has received approval from the Environmental Protection Agency to develop water quality standards.

The tribe won treatment as state status under Section 303 of the Clean Water Act. The law recognizes tribal authority to regulate water on the reservation.

“We are pleased to formally recognize the Havasupai’s authority under the Clean Water Act,” Jared Blumenfeld, EPA’s Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest, said in a press release. “The waters on Havasupai land are integral to their life and culture, so it’s fitting that the Tribe make the decisions protecting them.”

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Havasupai Tribe develops water quality standards (AP 4/29)