### Dee 

## A. Mayo VICE PRESIDENT

December 

### 14,2010

Tinka G. Hyde 

### Director, Water 

### Division U.S. 

### Environmental Protection 

### Agency. Region

### V 77

### W. Jackson Boulevard Chicago,

## IL 6A6A4 

# Re: Request 

### for CleanWater

### Act (CWA) Section 401 

### Certification for the 

### National Pollutant Discharge 

### Eliminations Systems CNTPDES) General Permit 

### for Point Sources Discharges 

### from Application of Pesticides Dear 

### Ms. Hyde:
The Lac du Flambeau Band 

### of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has reviewed 

### your letter, dated September 16,201A, requesting awater 

### quality certification under 401 

### of the Clean Water

### Act. The 

### Lac du Flambeau Band 

### of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians deny 

### certification of EPA's proposed pesticide general 

### permit based on 

### review of the 

### Tribal Water 

### Quality Standards 

### criteria for the

### following reasons. The

### Tribal Water 

### Quality Standards 

### criteria states 

### in section 105 

### Criteria 

### "(A). GeneralWater 

### Quality Criteria,

### All Reservation waters 

### (including wetlands), except as otherwise noted, shall befree

### from pollutants that cause or contribute tothe conditions described 

### below: (5) Water 

### quality that 

### limits the

### growth and propagation 

### of native 

### vegetation" (pg 8).

### Also section 105 

### Criteria states 

### "(2) Dissolved oxygen--Dissolved oxygen shall not be lessthan 5.0 

### mg/Lfor lakes and 

### rivers" (pg 9). The proposed 

### EPA pesticide general 

### permit would not be 

### protective of resource under these 

### criteria.Table 

### I of the Pesticide General Permit (pg 3) is not 

### protective of native species or dissolved oxygen 

### for the 

### Lac du Flambeau Reservation. For example

### Table 

## I of the Pesticide General Permit (pg 3) allows pesticide application up to 20 acres on a lake before the applicator ever has

### to give notice 

### of application. 

# Lac 

# du Flambeau Band of Lake 

# Superior Chippewa Indians

### Tinka G. 

### Hyde

Director, Water 

### Division December 

## l4,20l} Page2

The general 

### permit also does not take 

### into account 

### wild rice waters classified 

### by the 

### Tribe intheir Water 

### Quality Standards 

### in section 107 

### Table 

### l(p920-23). The Lac du Flambeau Band 

### of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians has listed

### wild rice as a designated use 

### intheir water 

### quality standards

### to be protected 

### for by narrative section 105.

### Criteria F. Water 

### Quality Criteria for the 

### protection

### ofWild rice. Dueto the 

### significant ecological and

### cultural importance 

### of the 

### Lac du Flambeau Reservation any operator requesting a

### permit 

### for of a

### point source discharge 

### of pollutants (i.e., discharge) associated

### with the

### application of pesticides 

### will need an 

### individual permit on the Reservation. 

### Individual permits 

### will be reviewed based onthe

### Tribal Water 

### Quality Standards on a case

### by case situation. Resolution 

### No. 274(10) (copy enclosed) was adopted on November 30, 2010, 

### to deny 

### certification after the

### Tribal Natural Resource Department 

### provided information to the

### Tribal Council regarding the pesticide general permit- The denial was posted 

### for public comment 

### inthe local news paper on December 3'o (enclosed). 

### At this 

### time no 

### public comments have been received, 

### if comments are received 

### before Jattuary 2"d a response 

### to comments 

### will besubmitted 

### to EPA atthat time. 

### If you have any questions about the

### Tribe's denial, or 

### if you require 

### further information, please let us 

### know. The contact person onthe

### Tribe's staff regarding 

### this matter is GretchenWatkins. 

### who can be reached at 715-588-3303 ext. 5316. Sincerely, 

# n AJg en/'4/nd lD e"e

### Mavo. V ice-Pre sident
Enclosures 

# cc: Morris Beaton, 

### EPA Water 

### Division, NPDES copy Resolution 

### No. 27a(10)WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

WHEREAS,

RESOLVED, RESOLUTION NO. 

### 274(Al

the Lac du Flambeau Tribal Council after review ofthe United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System proposed Pesticide General Permit for Point Source Discharges toWaters ofthe United States from the Application of Pesticides, determined the general permit would not be protective of Reservation water resources; and the Tribal Council after review ofthe Tribal Water Quality Standards in relation to the Pesticide General Permitwould exceed criteria under the Pesticide General Permit; and the Tribal Natural Resource Department will coordinate with EPA individual permits on a case by case basis for pesticide application forfuture permit requests; now therefore be it by this Council in Special Session assembled, hereby denies certification ofthe United States Environmental Protection Agency's National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System proposed Pesticide General Permit for Point Source Discharges toWaters ofthe United States within the exterior boundaries ofthe Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation from the Application of Pesticides and approves each ofthe items as mentioned above.

CERTIFICATION l,the undersigned, as Secretary ofthe Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Indians, a 

### tribal government operating under 

### a Constitution adopted pursuant

### to Section 

### 16

### ofthe Indian Reorglnization 

### Act,'25 U.S.C 

### .,

## s. 476,

### do hereby certify 

### that 

### theTribal Council 

### ofthe Band is comp-osed 

### of twelve members,

### of whom nine constituting

### a quorum,

### were present 

### at

### a Regular Meeiing, duly called, noticed, convened, 

### and held 

### on 

### the 30th

### of November, 2010, and 

### that the 

### foregoiig resolution was duly adopted at said meeting by an affirmative vote of eight members, none agai-nst, -none abstaining, and that the said resolution has not been rescinded or amended in any way. 

### .4 ")- /) // 

# ery U P'ozn';-'-

i/ Betty J<iGraveen, Secretary Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior ChiPPewa lndians