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Indian Nations
Project Accomplishments and Long-term Plans
In the 1987 reauthorization of the Clean Water Act, Congress added sections
319 and 518 to help states, territories, and tribes respond to problems caused
by nonpoint source pollution. Section 319 established baseline requirements for
state and territorial nonpoint source management programs and authorized
national funding to support implementation of approved management programs.
Section 518 authorized EPA to treat federally recognized Indian tribes in the
same manner as states, and to grant up to one-third of 1 percent of national
319 grant funds to tribes ($330,000 annually).
EPA annually awards section 319 grants to tribes that submit approved
nonpoint source assessments and management plans. Each grant awarded under
section 319 requires a 40 percent nonfederal match. If a tribe demonstrates a
special financial need, however, EPA may, and frequently does, approve a 10
percent nonfederal match. As of fiscal year 1997, 11 tribes have qualified for
and received section 319 grants.
Tribal section 319 projects have resulted in many successes, but many
tribal programs are still planning for nonpoint source programs. Tribal Success
Stories showcase the reduced sediment loadings on the Cherokee Reservation in
North Carolina, the improved water quality in trout streams on the Umatilla
Reservation in Oregon, the reduced nutrient loadings on the Tampa and Brighton
Reservations of the Seminole Tribe of Florida, and others. More Success Stories
preview the plans of tribes that are new to the section 319 program; many have
received their first section 319 grant in the past year.
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