The Biden administration will finalize a rule Thursday to enshrine tribes’ legal rights to fish and gather aquatic plants in water quality standards nationwide.
The EPA rule requires states to account for tribal uses of rivers, lakes and streams, including hunting and fishing practices, when setting water quality goals and limiting wastewater pollution.
Under the final rule posted online Wednesday, tribes would need to first assert their rights to fish, hunt or other activities in writing. States would then need to consider those rights and ensure that tribal members were protected from cancer risks and illnesses stemming from water pollution to the same degree as the “general population.”
Ultimately, some states could need to reclassify bodies of water for different uses — like fishing or swimming — to make sure tribes’ rights were protected, the agency said in the rule. The regulation could also indirectly affect wastewater permits for industrial plants and public works facilities, which might need to tighten their pollution levels.
