Clean Water Resources for Tribes in Region 10
This page highlights some of the EPA resources available to help protect tribal water resources in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
For additional information, visit Clean Water in Indian Country and Safe Drinking Water on Tribal Lands.
Tribes can also subscribe to EPA's National Tribal Water Program Newsletter.
On this page:
- Grants and Loans
- Water Quality Standards
- Drinking Water
- Harmful Algal Blooms
- Wetlands
- Geographic Priority Areas (Bristol Bay, Columbia River Basin, Puget Sound/Salish Sea)
- Training
- Contacts
Grants and Loans
- Region 10 Clean Water Act Section 106 Tribal Program Funding. Funding to tribes to establish and administer programs for the prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution.
- Region 10 Clean Water Act Section 319 Tribal Program Funding. Funding to help tribes assess and manage their nonpoint source pollution problems and threats.
- Region 10 Wetland Program Development Grants. Funding to assist state, tribal, local government agencies and interstate/intertribal entities in developing or refining programs which protect, manage, and restore wetlands.
- Alaska Native Village and Rural Communities Water Grant Program. Funding to assist rural Alaskan communities with construction of new or improved wastewater and drinking water systems. Communities can also use the funding for training and technical assistance in system operations and maintenance.
- Environmental Finance Center Network: Tribal Water and Wastewater Funding Sources (PDF). Information on multiple federal and non-federal funding sources.
Water Quality Standards
- Water Quality Standards Regulations and Resources. Federal requirements, standards, policy, guidance and references, and technical resources for tribes.
- Tribes and Water Quality Standards. Provide the regulatory and scientific foundation for protecting water quality under the Clean Water Act. To administer a water quality standards program, a tribe must apply to EPA for authorization to be treated in a similar manner as a state (TAS).
- EPA Actions on Tribal Water Quality Standards. Listing of EPA approvals for tribes to administer a water quality standards (WQS) program, and EPA’s approvals of those tribes’ WQS.
Drinking Water
- Ground Water and Drinking Water. EPA information on drinking water, water regulations, laboratories, and other topics.
- Safe Drinking Water on Tribal Lands. EPA works with tribal governments, tribal utilities and tribal members to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA).
- Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. Information on tribal water systems, including training, certification, technical assistance, and more.
- Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC). Works to make small community water, wastewater, and solid waste systems sustainable. Contact RCAC for immediate technical, operational assistance with a water system.
- Water Operator. Resources for small system operators, including training and certification.
Harmful Algal Blooms
Harmful algal blooms (HABs) are overgrowths of algae and/or cyanobacteria in water. Some produce dangerous toxins in fresh or marine water, but even nontoxic blooms can hurt human health and the environment.
Below are some national, regional, and state resources to assist tribes in recognizing and addressing HABs in their communities.
National and Regional HAB Resources
- EPA Harmful Algal Blooms: Overview of harmful algal blooms and links to multiple EPA and partner resources.
- Managing Harmful Algal Blooms in Tribal Waters: EPA webinar series.
- Cyanobacteria Assessment Network (CyAN). Multi-agency project that provides access to data on cyanobacteria concentrations in lakes across the contiguous United States (the Lower 48) and Alaska.
- Cyanobacteria Assessment Network Application. App for communities in the contiguous United States.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Harmful Algal Bloom-Associated Illness. Posters, facts sheets, photos, and other resources that tribes can download to communicate about HABS with their communities.
- Food and Drug Administration: Bad Bug Book. Current information about the major known agents that cause foodborne illness.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: Wildlife Algal-toxin Research and Response Network for the U.S. West Coast (WARRN-West). Coast-wide surveillance program identifies algal toxin exposure in marine wildlife populations.
- Pacific Northwest HAB Bulletin: Forecasts. Provides early warning of HABs to coastal managers.
- USGS: Field and Laboratory Guide to Freshwater Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms for Native American and Alaska Native Communities (2015).
HABs in Alaska
Marine Resources
- Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Network (AHAB). Coordinates coastal stakeholders to address human and wildlife health risks from toxic algal blooms in Alaska.
- Aleutian Pribilof Islands Association: Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. Research and monitoring project that has been collecting data since 2006 near many Aleutian Island communities.
- Chugach Regional Resource Commission and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service: Alaska HAB Monitoring Training. Online training to assess a tribe's vulnerability to human health risks associated with marine toxins.
- Community Sampling for Ocean Acidification in South Central Alaska (video). Features Natural Resource Specialists from the Native Village of Port Graham and the Seldovia Village Tribe, who are sampling water in their communities with funding from the Indian Environmental General Assistance Program (GAP).
- Kodiak Area Native Association: Ocean Monitoring of Harmful Algal Blooms. The Kodiak Area Native Association conducts continuous monitoring of harmful algal blooms and testing of shellfish saxitoxin levels to help address environmental trends that pose a threat to human health and subsistence resources.
- Southeast Alaska Tribal Ocean Research (SEATOR). Ocean research programs to improve tribal and rural access to traditional foods.
- Southeast Alaska Tribal Toxins Network (SEATT). Brings tribes in southeastern Alaska together to combat the risks of HABs to subsistence shellfish harvesters.
HABs in Idaho
Freshwater Resources
- Idaho Department of Environmental Quality: Cyanobacteria Harmful Algal Blooms. Information on current recreation water quality health advisories involving cyanobacteria HABs and E. coli bacteria.
HABs in Oregon
Freshwater Resources
- Klamath Basin Monitoring Program: Blue-Green Algae Tracker. Includes an interactive map showing the presence of blue-green algae throughout the basin.
- Oregon Health Authority: Cyanobacteria Blooms. Provides information on cyanobacteria blooms and informs the public through recreational use health advisories.
- Oregon Health Authority: Cyanotoxin Resources for Drinking Water. Rules for monitoring cyanotoxins in drinking water.
Marine Resources
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Oregon Department of Agriculture: Recreational Shellfish Biotoxin Closures. Information about where to harvest shellfish and which shellfish pose a hazard.
HABs in Washington
Freshwater Resources
- Washington State Department of Health: Blue-Green Algae. Overview of blue-green algae and links to technical information and other resources.
- Washington State Toxic Algae: Freshwater Algae Bloom Monitoring Program. Toxin data related to cyanobacteria blooms in Washington lakes, ponds, and streams. Find a lake, report a bloom, view images of algae blooms, and learn about warning signs.
Marine Resources
- Washington State Department of Health: Marine Biotoxins. Information about marine biotoxins and links to other resources.
Wetlands
- Wetlands Grant Coordinators in the Pacific Northwest. Find Region 10 grants coordinators.
- Successful Applicants for Wetland Program Development Grants in Region 10. Summaries of past Wetland Program Development Grants awarded by EPA in Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington.
- Developing a State or Tribal Wetland Program Plan. Four core elements are the foundation of a state or tribal wetlands management and protection plan.
- Wetlands Protection and Restoration. Learn about wetlands, state and tribal government efforts, EPA programs protecting wetlands, voluntary restoration and protection, and funding opportunities.
- Pacific Northwest Tribal Wetlands Working Group (TWIG). TWIG is a workgroup of Region 10 tribes that shares information on wetlands and aquatic resources.
Geographic Priority Areas
Bristol Bay
- Engaging Bristol Bay's Tribal Communities. Summary of tribal engagement in EPA's assessment of the potential effects of large scale mining on the salmon ecosystems in Alaska's Bristol Bay watershed.
Columbia River
- Idaho Tribal Fish Consumption Survey. Current and historic (heritage) documents on consumption rates for tribes in Idaho.
- Columbia River Basin Fish Contaminant Survey. Assessment of chemical pollutants in fish collected throughout the Columbia River Basin in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, and the potential risks from consuming these fish.
- Fish Consumption Survey of the Umatilla, Nez Perce, Yakama, and Warm Springs Tribes of the Columbia River Basin. Conducted by the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission to determine the level and nature of fish consumption among individual tribal members.
Puget Sound/Salish Sea
- Puget Sound. Highlights EPA’s work in the Puget Sound and opportunities for funding and collaboration.
- Health of the Salish Sea Report. Collaboration between EPA and Environment and Climate Change Canada to report to the public on the health of our shared ecosystem.
- Salish Sea Ecosystem Conference. Biannual conference focusing on protection and restoration of the Salish Sea.
Training
- Introduction to Water Quality (EPA Region 10 Webinar, July 8, 2020).
- Writing a Quality Assurance Project Plan (EPA Region 10 Webinar, March 31, 2021).
Visit the Training and Technical Assistance Opportunities page to find a wide variety of other water quality trainings for tribes.
Contacts
| Staff | Focus Area/Expertise |
|---|---|
| Lisa Chang (chang.lisa@epa.gov) 206-553-0226 |
Puget Sound |
| Rachael Renkens (renkens.rachael@epa.gov) 206-553-1580 Andrea Ramirez Puentes (ramirezpuentes.andrea@epa.gov) 206-553-1058 |
Water Quality Standards |
| Sally Goodman (goodman.sally@epa.gov) 206-553-0782 |
Tribal Specialist |
| Rochelle Labiosa (labiosa.rochelle@epa.gov) 206-553-1280 |
Algal Blooms |
| Krista Mendelman (mendelman.krista@epa.gov) 206-553-1571 |
Clean Water Act Section 106 and 316 Grants |
| R10 Tribal Drinking Water (R10TribalDW@epa.gov) 206-553-6253 |
Drinking Water |
| Jayshika Ramrakha (ramrakha.jayshika@epa.gov) 206-553-1788 |
Tribal Specialist |
| Mary Lou Soscia (soscia.marylou@epa.gov) 503-326-5873 |
Columbia River |
| Linda Storm (storm.linda@epa.gov) 206-437-2293 |
Wetlands |
| Erin Seyfried (seyfried.erin@epa.gov) 206-553-1448 |
Bristol Bay |