• Tribe and EPA agree on action for water quality.
• $8.2 million commitment for wastewater upgrades.
• Upgrades planned for three facilities to meet Clean Water Act.

October 11, 2024 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the White Mountain Apache Tribe in Arizona have come to an agreement to address wastewater treatment issues and ensure compliance with the Clean Water Act. The agreement focuses on improving three wastewater treatment facilities to protect public health and the environment.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe runs five wastewater treatment plants, including facilities at Sunrise Park Resort, the Hon-Dah Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, and the Whiteriver Sewage Lagoons. The Tribe and EPA are working to bring these facilities into compliance with federal clean water standards. The Tribe has committed to upgrading the Sunrise Park Resort wastewater treatment plant to prevent further discharges that could harm local water sources.

Martha Guzman, EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator, stated, “The EPA and the White Mountain Apache Tribe are united in this action to ensure that wastewater treatment plants do not degrade our precious water resources.” She added that these agreements reflect a shared responsibility to protect the environment.

Funding and Timelines for Upgrades.

The White Mountain Apache Tribe will invest $8.2 million to upgrade wastewater treatment at Sunrise Park Resort, while the EPA is providing $1 million for improvements at the Hon-Dah Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility. The Tribe is also contributing $158,000 toward these upgrades. In addition, the EPA will fund compliance assistance for the Tribe to improve operations and maintenance at both Hon-Dah and Whiteriver facilities.

The planned upgrades will help keep pollutants like chlorine, E. coli, phosphorus, turbidity, and ammonia out of local water, make the facilities easier to maintain, and reduce the Tribe’s monitoring requirements.

Key Deadlines.

The Tribe intends to bring the Sunrise Park Resort facility into compliance by January 1, 2027, and will develop plans to implement better waste disposal options. Upgrades are planned for the Hon-Dah Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility by March 1, 2028. As outlined in an Effluent Limit Achievement Plan, the Whiteriver Sewage Lagoons facility will implement measures to achieve compliance by June 1, 2028.

The agreements also include five EPA permits that set strict limits on the pollutants these treatment plants can release into local waters, safeguarding public health and the environment.

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Image (Public Domain Released by the EPA in July 2007):

“The White Mountain Apache Tribe has a water quality program where they work to ensure all waters within the reservation are up to standards. EPA works collaboratively with American Indians and Alaska Natives to implement the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 with the goal of improving access to safe drinking water on tribal lands.”

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