The Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado is inching closer to getting its own air quality code approved by the Environmental Protection Agency.

The tribe first came up with the idea in the early 1980s. After decades of work, the code is now being presented for public comment.

“There is much more scrutiny from headquarters because this is the first," Elyana Sutin, a regional judicial officer with the EPA, said at a public meeting, The Durango Herald reported.

The tribe will be able to issue air permits once the code is approved. The reservation is near a number of oil, gas and coal mining facilities in the Four Corners region.

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Southern Ute tribe's air code on track toward approval (The Durango Herald 5/11)