MEMORANDUM

TO: Record

FROM: Lisa Biddle, U.S. EPA, Office of Water (OW)

DATE: March 31, 2015

SUBJECT: Summary of EPA Outreach and Coordination with Indian Tribes for the 

Proposed Pretreatment Standards for Unconventional Oil and Gas 

Extraction Wastewater (DCN SGE00785)

EPA Office of Water (EPA OW) collected information to evaluate the possible effects of 

the proposed rule on Indian Tribes. The questions EPA sought to answer regarding tribal 

considerations for the proposed pretreatment standard included:

 How is UOG wastewater generated on tribal lands managed?

 Are there UOG extraction activities on tribal lands that discharge wastewater to 

municipal wastewater treatment plants?

 Are there any tribes operating municipal wastewater treatment plants that accept UOG 

wastewaters?

 Are there ways in which the rulemaking would impose any costs on Indian tribes?

 Do Indian tribes support a rulemaking to add pretreatment standards for unconventional 

oil and gas (UOG) extraction wastewater?

EPA used the following data sources and forums to collect information to answer these 

questions:

 Conversations with, and utilizing references from, the Department of Interior, Office of 

Indian Energy and Economic Development (see DCN SGE01123, DCN SGE00771).

 Review of a nationwide database of well and drilling information (Drillinginfo’s (DI) 

Desktop® Well File Database) (see DCN SGE00963 and DCN SGE00963.A1) –

including cross reference of Indian Tribe names and Operator names.

 Review of information disclosures regarding hydraulic fracturing in FracFocus© (DCN 

SGE00585).

 Speaking with tribal representatives through presentations at the National Tribal Water 

Council (May 14, 2014) and the National Tribal Caucus (June 4, 2014).

 Direct coordination with EPA regional offices, including consulting with pretreatment 

experts and those that have inspected wastewater treatment facilities on Indian 

reservations.

 Contacting specific tribes involved in UOG extraction or operating municipal treatment 

plants (i.e., Publicly Owned Treatment Works (POTWs)) located near major UOG basins

(e.g., Osage, Jicarilla Apache, Southern Ute, Ute Mtn Ute, Navajo). Contacts were made 

through OW’s National Tribal Program Coordinator and EPA’s regional Tribal 

Assistance programs.
Memorandum

March 25, 2015

Page 2

Based on these data collection efforts, EPA is not aware of any Indian tribes discharging 

UOG extraction wastewater to municipal wastewater treatment plants and we are not aware of 

any tribes operating municipal wastewater treatment plants that accept UOG extraction 

wastewaters. UOG wastewater generated on tribal lands is typically disposed of in Class II 

underground injection for disposal wells. Therefore we are not aware of a way in which the 

rulemaking would impose costs on Indian tribes since it would not involve a change in practice.

Some tribal representatives from the National Tribal Water Council encouraged EPA to develop 

pretreatment standards that are sufficiently stringent and clear to ensure POTW assets are 

protected and that it is clear to the POTWs what is required of these industrial users to be in 

compliance with the ELG.