All News Releases By Date

EPA approves water quality standards for Grand Portage Indian Reservation

Release Date: 11/30/2005
Contact Information:

CHICAGO (Nov. 30, 2005) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 has approved water quality standards developed by the Grand Portage Band of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe. Permits allowing discharge of wastewater to Reservation waterways must meet these standards. The level of protection in the standards takes into account a higher level of fish consumption among Band members than the general public. The Band is the second Tribe in Minnesota to receive federal approval of its standards.

Water quality standards are the cornerstone of a federal water pollution control program for protecting surface water, human health and aquatic life from pollution. The standards serve as a basis for granting or denying certifications for federal projects requiring licenses or permits and are the foundation for pollution limits in federal discharge permits.

The Grand Portage Indian Reservation is on Lake Superior, in Cook County at the extreme northeastern tip of Minnesota near the Canadian border. The Band has 1,100 enrolled members. The Reservation consists of 56,000 contiguous acres which includes about 42 miles of perennial 55 miles of intermittent streams, 17 inland lakes and about 7,204 acres of wetlands.