The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe received approval last week from the federal government to regulate water quality on its reservation lands in Colorado, New Mexico and Utah.
The tribe is among fewer than 40 Native American tribes nationwide to be granted such approval, according to a news release from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Ute Mountain Ute Tribe was granted permission to write its own water rules in 2005, officials said, and it submitted proposed regulations to the EPA earlier this year.
The newly approved rules will be used for issuing and enforcing discharge permits for surface waters on the Ute Mountain Ute reservation, which straddles three states and much of the Four Corners. They also will protect specific water bodies, including McElmo Creek and the San Juan and Mancos rivers, on the reservation.
The move is the latest in the tribes 20-year effort to protect its reservation waters, and officials said it is among other crucial collaborations to protect endangered species, reduce mining pollution, provide irrigation and protect water resources.
The tribes economy is largely driven by historical and cultural tourism, ranching, farming and oil and gas production.
Water quality standards such as those approved this week are the cornerstone of state and tribal water quality management programs created by the Clean Water Act, officials said.
A copy of the Ute Mountain Ute water quality regulations is available at www.utemountainuteenvironmental.org. For general information about water quality standards and the Clean Water Act, visit water.epa.gov.