# COLUMBIA RIVER INTER

- TRIBAL FISH COMMISSION

700 NE Multnomah Street, Suite 1200 Portland, Oregon 97232 (503) 238

- 0667

F (503) 235

- 4228

www.critfc.org

Putting fish back in the rivers and protecting the watersheds where fish live October 31 , 2014

Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator USEPA Headquarters William Jefferson Clinton Building 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.

Mail Code: 1101A Washington, DC 20460

Re: Washington Water Quality Standards

, Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians Resolution # 14

- 56

Dear Administrator McCarthy:

The Columbia River Inter

- Tribal Fish Commission ’ s (CRITFC) member tribes

— the

Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs Reservation of Oregon, the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, and

the Nez Perce Tribe

— have asked that I send to you the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) resolution that was adopted by the 57 tribal governments that comprise ATNI at their

Annual Convention , held September 22

- 25 , 2014 (see attached) . The title of the resolution is :

“ Supporting EPA Promulgation of Surface Water Quality Standards for Washington State, and Opposing Governor Inslee ’ s Policy Decision to Weaken

Cancer Protection Criteria

. ”

Th is resolution requests that EPA uphold its commitment to tribes in the region and begin promulgation of surface water quality standards in Washington State . It also requests that you reject the S tate ’ s proposed policy choice of using a cancer risk level that is 10 times less

protect ive th an the S tate ’ s current and widely a ccepted one

- in

- one

- million risk level.

Our Commission concurs with the members of ATNI on this issue and strongly support s the actions requested of EPA in the resolution. In addition, CRITFC continues to endorse the position of Region 10 Administrator Dennis McLerran

, who recognizes that more stringent water quality standards are necessary in the S tate of Washington and throughout the region to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act

. Our Commission also has se rious concerns about the

decision by the State to make the outcome of the water quality standards development process contingent on vague and uncertain future actions by the State legislature

.Gina McCarthy, EPA Administrator

October 31 , 201 4

We thank you for your consideration of these comments and stand ready to assist and inform your work. I f you would like to discuss how our organization can work with EPA on this very important issue, p lease contact me or Paul Lumley at ( 503 ) 238

- 0667.

Sincerely,

Carlos Smith

CRITFC Chairman

Attachment

Cc: Dennis McLerran, Administrator

, EPA Region 10 Lisa Feldt, Acting Deputy Administrator Ken Kopocis, Acting Assistant Administrator for Office of Water

## 20 1 4 Annual Con vention

Mission

, Oregon

R ESOLUTION 

### # 1 4

- 56

“ S UPPORTING 

### EPA P ROMUL G ATION OF 

### S URFACE 

### W ATER 

### Q UALITY 

### S TAND A RDS

FOR 

### W ASHINGTON 

### S TATE 

### , AND 

### O PPOSING 

### G OVERN OR 

### I NSLEE 

### ’ S


### P OLICY 

### D ECISION TO 

### W EAKEN 

### C ANCER 

### P ROTECTION 

### C RITERIA 

### ”

PREAMBLE

We

, the members of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians (ATNI) of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to p reserve for ourselves and our descendants rights secured under Indian Treaties, Executive Orders, and

benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and C onstitution of the United States and several states, to enlighten the public toward a better underst anding of the Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise to promote the welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution:

WHEREAS

, the A TNI are representatives of and advocates for national, regio nal, and specific tribal concerns; and

WHEREAS

, ATN I is a regional organization comprised of American Indians/Alaska Natives and tribes in the states of Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, Nevada, Northern California, and Alaska; and

WHEREAS

, promotion o f the health, safety, welfare, education, economic and employment opportunit ies of native people and preservation of their cultural and natural resources are primary goals and objectives of the ATNI; and

WHEREAS

, since t ime immemorial we

, the first people of the Pacific Northwest

, have

cared for and sustained our way of life, religion and culture beginning with the pure water thatA FFILIATED T RIBES OF N ORTHWEST I NDIANS R ESOLUTION #14

- 56

2014 A NNUAL C ONVENTION P AGE 2 we hold sacred

, and we are obligated to take appropriate and necessary action s to care for the water for the next seven generat ions; and

WHEREAS , on July 9, 2014, Washington Governor Jay Inslee announced his policy choices for revising the State’s surface water quality standards

, which fail to meet the tribes’ goal of protecting human health and T reaty and other tribal reserved r ights for future generations and delay the adoption of S tate standards until after the next session of the Washington State Legislature; and

WHEREAS , the proposed standards’ human health criteria would include an increase in the Fish Consumption Rate to 175 grams per day, but negates this potential improvement in water quality by simultaneously weakening the cancer risk level from the current level of 1 in

one million to 1 in 100,000; and

WHEREAS , the weakened cancer risk level and other proposed criteri a would result in water quality standards that maintain the status quo for the discharge of cancer

- causing chemicals and other toxic substances that are responsible for health warnings and fishing closures throughout Washington ; and

WHEREAS , the Governor’ s proposal will continue an ongoing environmental in justice by subjecting tribal people to disproportionately higher risks simply from exercising our rights to

our F irst F oods and practicing our religion and culture; and

WHEREAS , after years of delay, the Governor’s proposal would result in another delay
of, at minimum, nine to twelve months until revised standards are adopted and will depend on uncertain and unpredictable action by the Washington State Legislature in 2015 ; and

WHEREAS , the U.S. Environme ntal Protection Agency (EPA) has previously notified

the S tate that revised water quality standards mus t be adopted by the end of 2014 ; now

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED , that ATNI requests that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency uphold its commitments t o tribes, and begin promulgation of surface water quality standards in Washington State that will protect human health, safeguard T reaty R ights to

harvest clean

, consumable fish, and uphold its commitment to E nvironmental J ustice for tribal communities; an d

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

, that ATNI opposes and rejects Was h ington Governor

J ay In s lee’s proposal and his policy choices for revis in g surface water quality stand a rds , in particular his decision to use a risk level that is 10 times less protecti ve against cancer ; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that ATNI specifically finds that the proposal to make revising water quality standard s contingent upon legislative action sets an unacceptable precedent for Clean Water Act rulemaking, and will result in additional unn ecessary delay, if not

abandonment

, of efforts to revise standards; andA FFILIATED T RIBES OF N ORTHWEST I NDIANS R ESOLUTION #14

- 56

2014 A NNUAL C ONVENTION P AGE 3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED , that ATNI urges EPA to similarly oppose and reject Governor Inslee’s proposal , and refuse to tolerate additional delays in rulemaking ; and

BE IT F URTHER RESOL VED , that ATNI encourages EPA , in determining its

response to the Governor’s proposal, to consider as the ultimate de ciding factors : (1) honoring Treaty Rights to non

- toxic fish, (2) fulfilling its Trust Responsibility to aff ec t e d tribes, and (3) implement ing its Environmental Justice Policy ; and

BE IT F INALLY RESOLVED

, that ATNI urges EPA to immediately initiate the process to promulgate surface water quality stand a rds for the State of Washington that adequately protect tribal people and others, using at minimum a compromise 175 grams per day Fish Consumption Rate and a cancer risk level of 1 in one million.

CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted at the 20 1 4 Annual Convention of the Affiliated Tribes of Northwest Indians, held at the Wi ldhorse Resort and Casino

, in Mission , Oregon

, on September 22

- 25

, 201 4, with a quorum present.

______________________________ ______________________________ Fawn Sharp , President Norma Jean Louie, Secretary