Protecting reservation waters is a benefit to all

By MELISSA K. SCANLAN and ANDREW HANSON

Posted: Feb. 12, 2006

In October, the Lac du Flambeau band of Lake Superior Chippewa took a small but important step toward responsibly managing their water-rich reservation in northern Wisconsin. The band requested that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency grant it the authority to develop standards for the lakes, rivers and wetlands on the reservation.

It makes sense that water is so integral to the economic livelihood, culture and spirit of the

Lac du Flambeau. With 260 lakes, 71 miles of streams and rivers and 24,000 acres of wetlands, about half of the surface area of the reservation is water.

Traditional fishing activities, as well as subsistence hunting and wild-rice gathering, are dependent on the quality of their water. In fact, the name Lac du Flambeau - meaning "Lake of the Torches" - reflects the water-rich culture of the people.

Given the importance of water to its survival, it is no surprise that the band is working to develop standards to protect reservation waters. What may be a surprise, however, is that currently these reservation waters fall into a regulatory void.

Outside the reservation, the state has been approved by the EPA to set standards to protect state waters. Inside the reservation, the Lac du Flambeau are seeking a similar approval from the EPA.

The interconnected waters of the reservation are shared by everyone, including the non-tribal members who comprise 40% of the population there. The problem is that absent EPA approval, the band only has authority over the activities of its members, not the non-native businesses and residents living within the reservation. The practical result on the reservation is that there are effectively no standards in place to protect these interconnected

waters.

If the EPA approves the band's ability to protect its waters, the band will then be able to develop standards to protect reservation waters - not waters off of the reservation. Improvements to reservation waters will send cleaner water to the downstream users off the reservation. In a clean water-dependent economy like that of northern Wisconsin, this can only be seen as a gift to the band's neighbors.

The bottom line is that what the Lac du Flambeau are seeking is eminently reasonable, fair and protective of the vulnerable waters we all share.

The state Department of Natural Resources is accepting public comment on the issue until Feb. 20 and will forward that to the EPA.

Melissa K. Scanlan is executive director and Andrew Hanson is a staff attorney for Midwest Environmental Advocates, a non-profit environmental law center working for clean air, clean water and a clean government.