Establishing Applicable Water Quality Standards for Surface Waters on Indian Reservations

The Clean Water Act is the foundational water law in the United States. It seeks to protect the nation¿s waters through establishing programs that limit pollutant discharge into surface waters. Although all states have water quality standards for surface waters that run through their respective boundaries, most tribes lack water quality standards that are applicable for establishing effluent limitations under the Clean Water Act. This Comment proposes a solution to this regulatory gap in the Clean Water Act.

It suggests the Environmental Protection Agency ought to promulgate a new rule making tribal water quality standards applicable for Clean Water Act programs even though they may not have been approved by the Agency.