5.02.010 Purpose, Authority, Applicability And Implementation

The Tribal Council of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, a federally - recognized Tribe of Indians, hereby enacts the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe Water Quality Standards.

(a) Purpose.

The purpose of the Tribe's Water Quality Standards is as follows:

(1) Assign designated uses for which Tribal Surface Waters shall be protected;

(2) Prescribe and impose water quality standards (narrative and numeric) in order to sustain the designated use of Tribal Surface Waters;

(3) Protect against the degradation of Tribal Surface Waters;

(4) Promote the social welfare and economic well-being of the Tribe;

(5) Promote a holistic watershed approach to management of the Tribal Surface Waters;

(6) Provide for the protection of threatened or endangered species and,

(7) Protect cultural and ceremonial uses.

The purpose of these water quality standards is to facilitate sovereign self-determination and the restoration and preservation of traditional hunting, fishing, gathering and cultural uses in, on and around Tribal Surface Waters. The Environment Division is committed to providing cleaner, safer water for all of creation. These water quality standards will in turn promote the general welfare and well-being of the community by allowing the Tribe and its members to utilize the water for traditional, cultural and ceremonial purposes. Water quality standards are not used to control, and are not invalidated by, natural background phenomena or acts of the Creator.

These purposes shall be accomplished by utilizing the standards set forth in the Tribe's Water Quality Standards as the basis for permitting and management process for point source discharges and nonpoint source generators, by using treatment technologies to control point sources and by adopting best management practices for nonpoint sources of pollution.

(b) Authority.

The Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe maintains the plenary sovereign power to regulate the quality of Tribal Surface Waters in the interest of the health and wellbeing of the Mohawk People. Pursuant to §§303 and 518 of the Clean Water Act the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) approved the Tribe's Application for a Determination of Eligibility to Administer Programs under the Clean Water Act on October 16, 2002.

The Tribal Water Quality Standards apply to all Tribal Surface Waters, that is, all surface waters within the exterior boundaries of the Saint Regis Mohawk Territory, including water situated wholly or partly within, or bordering upon, the Territory, whether public or private, except for private waters that do not combine with other surface waters.

(d) Implementation.

(1) Water Resources Personnel. The Water Resources Program shall administer the SRMT WQS. The program is comprised of a Program Manager and Technicians. This program shall serve under the direction of the Director of the SRMT Environment Division.

(2) Consistency. The Tribe's Water Quality Standards are consistent with section 101(a)(2) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251(a)(2)), which declares that "it is the national goal that, wherever attainable, an interim goal of water quality which provides for the protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife and provides for recreation in and on the water achieved by July, 1983...." Primary contact and ceremonial use, agricultural and water supply use are other designated uses of Tribal Surface Waters. The Tribe's Water Quality Standards provide that such designated uses shall not result in any contamination that may lower the quality of the water below what is required for recreation and protection and propagation of fish, shellfish, and wildlife.

(3) Antidegradation Policy. The antidegradation policy for Tribal Surface Waters and the procedures for implementing it are set forth in Section 5.02.030 and in the Implementation Plan.

(4) Revisions. The Tribal Water Quality Standards will be reviewed every 3 years. The review provides an opportunity for revisions and/or additions based on new information or for clarification of existing issues.

(5) Public hearings. Following enactment, pursuant to Section 303(c)(1) of the Clean Water Act [33 U.S.C. Section 303(c)], the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe shall hold public hearings at least once every three years for the purpose of reviewing and, as appropriate, amending the Tribal Water Quality Standards. Findings and revisions shall incorporate relevant scientific and engineering advances as well as any other relevant environmental concerns.

(6) Protection of Designated Uses. Conditions particular to a use shall be protected at all times. General Conditions (Section 5.02.040, below) shall be maintained at all times and shall apply to all Tribal Surface Waters, whether perennial, ephemeral, or intermittent. The standards assigned to each Tribal Surface Water shall be the most stringent standards required to protect all uses designated for that body of water.

(7) Use Attainability. In the event that monitoring of water quality identifies reaches where attainable water quality is less than what is required by the Tribal Water Quality Standards, then the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe may modify the Water Quality Standards to reflect attainability. Modification shall then be within the sole discretion of the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe, but shall be subject to the provisions of the Clean Water Act, and shall be carried out in accordance with use-attainability analysis procedures required by 40 CFR 131.10. A designated use, that is not an existing use, may be removed if it is demonstrated that attaining the designated use is infeasible. Further, at a minimum, uses are considered attainable if they can be achieved by implementing effluent limits required under Sections 301(b) and 306 of the Clean Water Act (Act) and by implementing cost-effective and reasonable best management practices (BMPs) for nonpoint source control. (40 CFR 131.10(h)(2)). If the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe adopts a new or revised water quality standard based on a required use attainability analysis, the Tribe shall also adopt the highest attainable use, as defined in §131.3(m).

A Use Attainability Analysis must be conducted whenever: (1) The Tribe designates or has designated uses that do not include the uses specified in section 101(a)(2) of the Act, or (2) The Tribe wishes to remove a designated use that is specified in section 101(a)(2) of the Act or to adopt subcategories of uses specified in section 101(a)(2) of the Act which require less stringent criteria. The regulation (at 40 CFR 131.10(g)) specifies that States and Tribes may remove a designated use which is not an existing use if attainment of a use is not feasible due to the following:

(A) Naturally occurring pollutant concentrations prevent the attainment of a use; or,

(B) Natural, ephemeral, intermittent, or low flow conditions or water levels prevent the attainment of the use, unless these conditions may be compensated for by the discharge of sufficient volume of effluent discharges without violating State or Tribal water conservation requirements to enable uses to be met; or,

(C) Human caused conditions or sources of pollution prevent the attainment of the use and cannot be remedied or would cause more environmental damage to correct than to leave in place; or;

(D) Dams, diversions or other types of hydrological modifications preclude the attainment of the use, and it is not feasible to restore the water body to its original condition or operate such modification in a way that would result in the attainment of a use; or,

(E) Physical conditions related to the natural features of the water body, such as the lack of a proper substrate, cover, flow, depth, pools, riffles, and the like, unrelated to water quality, preclude attainment of aquatic life protection uses; or, f. Controls more stringent than those required by Sections 301(b) and 306 of the Act would result in substantial and widespread economic and social impact.