SAN CARLOS APACHE TRIBE 

Office of the Attorney General 

Post Office Box 0 

San Carlos, Arizona 85550 

Tel. (928) 475-3344  Fax (928) 475-2296  E-Mail alex.ritchie@scat-nsn.gov

____________________________________________________________________ 

May 22, 2014 

 

Electronically transmitted to: 

furtak.sarah@epa.gov 

Sarah Furtak 

Environmental Protection Agency 

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW 

Mail code: 4503T 

Washington, DC 20460 

Re: Consultation on a Rulemaking to Provide More Opportunities for Tribes to 

 Engage in the Clean Water Act Impaired Listing and Total Maximum Daily Load 

 Program

Dear Ms. Furtak: 

 I represent the San Carlos Apache Tribe (“Tribe”) as its attorney. On behalf of the 

Tribe, thank you for the opportunity to comment on the scope of the Environmental Protection 

Agency’s (“EPA”) rulemaking to provide more opportunities for federally recognized tribes to 

more fully engage in Clean Water Act (“CWA”) Section 303(d) Impaired Water Listing and 

Total Maximum Daily Load (“TMDL”) Program. 

 Initially, the Tribe notes that the EPA’s comment period is inadequate for the Tribe to 

submit meaningful comments on the important matter which may affect the rulemaking. The 

EPA’s rulemaking may affect a wide variety and range of Tribal activities, services and 

resources, ranging from recreation, agriculture, residential planning and development, economic 

planning and development as well as environmental protection and quality. Each of our Tribal 

Departments requires a meaningful chance to examine the issues and provide input to the Tribal 

Council so that the Tribal Council may develop appropriate suggestions to address the scope of 

the rulemaking. The short comment period does not provide the Tribe’s various departments an 
Sarah Furtak 

Re: Section 303(d) rulemaking 

May 22, 2014 

Page 2 of 3 

______________________ 

adequate opportunity to engage in the development of any meaningful policy on behalf of the 

Tribe. 

 Accordingly, the Tribe requests an extension of time for an additional ninety (90) days 

beyond the currently scheduled deadline of May 22, 2014, to submit comments on any proposed 

rulemaking. Alternatively, the Tribe would suggest a second round of consultation prior to the 

publication of any proposed regulations for final comment. 

 There are certain matters which are of overarching concern to the Tribe which the Tribe 

believes any proposed rules should address. First, any rules should recognize the Tribe’s 

sovereignty over its lands and resources including water. The Tribe is very concerned that any 

rules do not infringe on Tribal sovereignty or directly interfere with Tribal self-governance 

resulting in an unlawful restriction of the beneficial use of the Reservation to serve as the 

permanent Tribal homeland of the San Carlos Apache Tribe. 

 Second, any proposed regulations should acknowledge and recognize that tribal issues 

include effects on properties of traditional religious and cultural significance and sacred sites. 

Given the life-giving quality of water in a desert habitat, water bodies, steams, seeps and springs 

may have important religious, cultural and sacred significance to tribes. 

 Third, the Tribe is particularly concerned that any proposed rules would provide 

recognize the importance of adequate funding, including contract or grant administration 

funding. Since the proposed rule will provide a process by which a tribe will assume section 

303(d) and TMDL portion of its water pollution control program and more fully engage tribes in 

restoring, maintaining and protecting tribal waters, adequate funding is critical at all stages of the

TMDL process from developing TMDLs to implementing EPA-approved cleanup plans. 

 Finally, the Tribe places a high value on the wildlife, plants and all natural resources 

which it is charged to preserve and protect under its Constitution. The Tribe through the Elders 

Council has developed Four Traditional Guiding Principles used to manage our Tribal lands. 

The principles are based on Tribal Ecological Knowledge built from local knowledge base 

through experience and observation from our Elders. The Tribe feels strongly and recommends 

the EPA use these Four Guiding Principles in any decision or rulemaking procedures, as follows: 

1. Respect all aspects of the natural world. The base of traditional Apache culture is 

maintaining strong and healthy relationships with all of the elements of the natural world; 

with one’s friends, relatives, and community; and with one’s self. This requires an indepth ecological education, whether traditional, non-Indian, or both. 

2. All activities must ensure the long-term health of the natural world, especially 

emphasizing the prime importance of water. The traditional guidelines governing 

land-management practices – such as agriculture, hunting, wild food and natural resource 

harvesting, and obtaining water for drinking and irrigation – emphasize minimizing 

impacts on the natural world, and preserving the most natural state of the land as 
Sarah Furtak 

Re: Section 303(d) rulemaking 

May 22, 2014 

Page 3 of 3 

______________________ 

possible. This includes, above all, ensuring the long-term health of natural water 

resources. In our view, we must resolve to utilize and profit from natural resources 

without harming them or otherwise upsetting the natural balance of the environment.

3. All activities must benefit the entire community. We all belong to the land. All 

activities impact the natural world, and affect us all. We must ensure that our activities 

are for the benefit of all, by working openly together as a community. 

4. Economic activities must be broad-based and varied. Apaches have survived all kinds 

of climatic extremes, both environmental and economic, by depending on a multitude of 

economic endeavors – even when neighbors have perished. Traditional culture 

emphasizes distributing economic sustenance over a broad range of practices – such as 

agriculture, hunting and gathering, and trading – rather than emphasizing just one. This 

creates a healthy buffer to environmental and economic crises. 

 Please advise me if the Tribe will be provided with the opportunity to submit additional 

comments regarding the proposed rulemaking after our tribal stakeholders have had a complete 

opportunity to study the impact of proposed rulemaking. Nevertheless, the Tribe wishes to 

remain engaged with the EPA on this proposed rulemaking and would welcome government-to 

government consultation in the future. 

 Thank you for the opportunity to provide these comments on behalf of the Tribe. 

 

 Sincerely, 

 

 Alexander B. Ritchie 

 Tribal Attorney General 

 

cc: Terry Rambler, Chairman 

 John Bush, Vice Chairman 

 Tribal Council Members 

 Terry Jones, General Manager 

 Loretta Stone, TEPA, Env. Director 

 Emogene Casey, TEPA, Env. Specialist 

 Dr. Stephen Johnson, Hydrologist 

 Justine Jimmie, Deputy AG 

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