302 



Indum Tribes In Washington State 

 Resen^ation Sizes/Populations 



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Nonpoint source pollution is 

 pollution that flows from a variety 

 of sources. The EPA, for regula- 

 tory purposes, has characterized 

 nonpoint sources as "diffuse 

 sources that are not regulated as 

 point sources." Nonpoint source 

 pollution includes, but is not 

 limited to, siltation from logged 

 hillsides; fecal bacteria from septic 

 tanks and farm cinimals; pesticides 

 and fertilizers; and municipal and 

 industrial discharge. 



Under the Clean Water Acfs 

 National Pollutant Discharge 

 Elimination System (NPDES), the 

 federal government, state govern- 

 ment and tribes with state status 

 under the Clean Water Act can 

 regulate pollution from point 

 sources such as a single pipe 

 discharging pulp mill wastes. The 

 federal government, however, 

 chooses to use educational pro- 

 grams cind best -management 

 practices as the primary methods 

 of controlling nonpoint source 

 pollution. 



Ths Agency believes that where an ecosystem crosses polHical 

 boundaries, effective regulation caHs tor coordination and 

 cooperation among all governments having regulatory roles 

 impacting the ecosystem." - EPA. 'Federal, Tribal and State 

 Roles in the Protection and Regulaton ol Reservation 

 Emironments,' 1991, p. 5. 



The NPDES does not, however, 

 regulate all point sources. The 

 Cletin Water Act fails to include 

 water pollution from many agri- 

 cultural sources under the 

 system's scope. Consequently, an 

 irrigation canal that daily dis- 

 charges millions of gallons of 

 water laden with bacteria and agriculture wastes into the 

 Columbia River or Puget Sound qualifies only as a non- 

 point source. 



Tribes also are impacted by point source pollution from 

 industrial operations and from municipal sewage-treat- 

 ment plants. In some cases, it is difficult to distinguish, 

 except in the narrow legal sense, between nonpoint 

 sources of pollution and point sources. 



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