Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission 

6730 Martin Way E., Olympia, Washington 98516-5540 

Phone (360) 438-1180 www.nwifc.org FAX # 753-8659 

Gina McCarthy, Administrator 

Environmental Protection Agency 

September 17, 2014 

1200 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, Mail Code 1101A 

Washington, DC 20460 

Re: Request to Promulgate Water Quality Standards for the State of Washington 

Dear Administrator McCarthy: 

The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission (NWIFC) respectfully requests your assistance in 

expediting human health criteria rulemaking in Washington State. The NWIFC is comprised of 

the twenty treaty tribes of Western Washington who have federally adjudicated, constitutionally 

protected treaty-reserved rights to harvest and manage natural resources. The tribes consume 

many types of seafood from their usual and accustomed waters in the course of exercising these 

rights, and the consumption of seafood is an important cultural and spiritual practice, which is 

integral to the tribes' way of life. Unfortunately, Washington's human health-based water 

quality standards do not utilize fish consumption rates that reflect current or historical 

consumption patterns, and therefore place tribal members at a greater health risk. The NWIFC 

would therefore like to request that the United States Environmental Protection Agency 

commence promulgation of water quality standards in Washington State, without further delay, 

that will address the protection of human health, safeguard treaty rights to the harvest of clean 

and consumable fish, and uphold the EPA's commitment to environmental justice for tribal 

communities. 

On July 9, 2014, Governor Inslee outlined his proposal for revising human health criteria water 

quality standards in Washington State. The Governor's proposal yet again delayed water quality 

standard rulemaking and makes eventual promulgation dependent on numerous legislative 

actions that are highly uncertain, and likely to result in additional delay or abandonment. This 

approach attempts to use the water quality standards as leverage to promote a legislative agenda, 

and in doing so holds the standard setting responsibility under the CW A hostage to state political 

process. Fundamentally, this strategy diminishes the importance of the water quality standards 

as a function of the CW A and introduces poor precedent for the revision or development of 

future standards. 
The tribes of the Pacific Northwest have been working for several years with Regional 

Administrator Dennis McLerran and his staff to address the deficiencies in the state's current 

water quality standards. The state's newest proposal represents the third consecutive delay in the 

past 3 years for adopting revised standards, beginning with a broken promise to begin to address 

the issue via sediment cleanup regulations. Regional Administrator McLerran reflected the 

tribes' frustration with the continued delays in his letter to the Director of the Washington 

Department ofEcology on June 21, 2013 and again on April 8, 2014. We greatly appreciate his 

attention to the tribes' concerns, and strongly agree that federal promulgation of human health 

criteria for Washington is necessary, in light of the state's continued failure to meet their own 

self-imposed deadlines or those provided by the EPA in their April 8, 2014 correspondence. As 

a result, we respectfully request that EPA deny the state's request for additional time, and 

proceed with federal promulgation without further delay. 

Fish consumption is an essential cultural, nutritional, and economic lifeway for our tribes. We 

have consistently sought timely remediation of the state's current fish consumption rate and the 

adoption of a rate that is more reflective of the daily consumption of fish in tribal communities, 

on the expressed condition that the state would not weaken other portions of the water quality 

standards. Unfortunately, the state proposal has failed to develop revised water quality standards 

that improve most carcinogens and the chemicals that have contributed the most to fishing 

closures and contaminated sediments. Neither the delay nor the substance is acceptable to our 

member tribes. 

The tribes recognize that you share our commitment to preserving human health and a high 

quality of life for future generations. We would like to thank you and Regional Administrator 

McLerran for your time and close attention to this matter, and we look forward to working with 

you to improve human health protection in the future. 

Sincerely, 

Lorraine Loomis 

Chairperson 

cc: Lisa Feldt, Acting Deputy Administrator, EPA 

Ken Kopocis, Deputy Assistant Administrator ofthe Office of Water, EPA 

Dennis McLerran, Regional Administrator, EPA Region 10 

Tribal Chairs and NWIFC Commissioners