Mont. tribe pushing water standards

WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 23, 2002

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana has developed standards for water quality on the reservation, affecting a number of uses from drinking to recreation to agricultural.

Public comment is being taken on the standards at a hearing in Billings. The Environmental Protection Agency would then be responsible for enforcing them.

One issue raised is control of the Tongue River, which the tribe and states share. If the tribe enacts a different standard than the state, EPA would enforce the more stringent one, said an official.

The state, like the tribe, is also working on standards for coalbed methane mining. The EPA is developing standards to affect tribes in Region 8 as well.

Get the Story:
illings hearing scheduled on Cheyenne water quality (The Billings Gazette 1/23)

Relevant Links:
Coalbed Methane, Region 8 - http://www.epa.gov/region08/water/
wastewater/npdeshome/cbm/cbm.html

Related Stories:
Mont. tribe developing water standards (12/20)
Methane standards to affect tribes (9/26)