Tribal Water Quality Assessment Reporting Pilot Project MICCO EMARTHLA & LAURA SHUMWAY
Pilot will explore Tribal Assessment Reports Streamline reporting requirements Reducing time to develop and submit reports Making contracting costs for report development unnecessary Standardize reports for regional submission How we can use the new process to: Answer questions about water quality on tribal lands both individually and as a nation Maintain TEK of water quality on tribal lands through staff turnover
Current Process R6 1. Tribes Create Quality Assurance Project Plans (QAPP) 2. Region reviews and approves QAPP 3. Tribes Collected Data 4. Tribes Upload Raw Water Quality Data to WQX 5. Tribes Assess Data 6. Tribes Report Assessments annually in the form of a written report 7. Region reviews report
Proposed process 1. Tribes Create Quality Assurance Project Plans Includes Assessment Methodology 2. Region reviews QAPP 3. Tribes Collected Data 4. Tribes Upload Raw Water Quality Data to WQX 5. Tribes Assess Data Once every two years using the assessment tool 6. Tribes Report Assessments - electronically 7. Region reviews Assessment decisions 8. Assessment Decisions are elevated to the national level
Why use ATTAINS? 1. Eliminates paper reporting 2. Reduces reporting time and burden 3. Helps track tribal water quality through time and nationally 4. Aligns tribal and state assessment reporting 5. Prepares tribes interested in CWA 303(d) authority to make and report listing decisions 6. Will reduce tribal and regional reporting for strategic plan measures
Potential Benefits for Tribes Elevates your data Eventually submit assessment reports every two years You do not have to spends hours/weeks/months on creating graphs, charts, etc. You only report your decision on your water You will have a standard, regionally approved reporting format. This method brings the emphasis of tribal water quality reporting to the assessment decisions to then be used to inform tribal monitoring and public health. Prepares tribes for TAS for 303(d)
Potentail Benefits for EPA The time taken for R6 to review the reports would be less work for the Project Officers. Aligns tribal reporting with state reporting The data submitted to ATTAINS could be used to get information about water quality on tribal lands in region 6. (Potentially nationally if other regions want to adopt this process). Streamline ability for tribes and regions for determining qualifying stations for SP14a & SP14b Tribal assessment data would be publically available Increase tribal reporting to WQX
ATTAINS Demo LIVE DEMO!
What s been done? 1. Region 6 tribes and EPA developed a workgroup to determine how they could address the issues in the region. 2. The Region 6 tribes and EPA worked together to develop a proposal to report water quality through ATTAINS. (Assessment and TMDL Tracking And InformatioN System used for reporting water quality decisions) 3. The region 6 RTOC approved the pursuance of the proposal and approved the kick-off of the training following the November RTOC in region 6. 4. Region 5 will have one participant and Region 9 will have 3 participants in the pilot project to get a broader via of e-reporting requirements and implications due to the unique regional approaches to water quality reporting. Region 6 tribes are still pending. 5. Pilot project notice and call for participants was just sent out.
What s next? 1. Get final list of participants 2. Create doodle poll for availability to kick-off group to plan November training. 3. Execute November training 4. Provide training and assistance webinar(s) through winter and early spring Including how to create an Assessment Methodology 5. Pilot tribes will incorporate the e-reporting requirement into their workplans 6. Provide face-to-face technical training in the Spring of 2017 to train on submitting the decisions to ATTAINS 7. Iterative process for 2-3 years to provide ample time to determine viability of the process
Questions? Tribal Lead: Micco Emarthla memarthla@sctribe.com Region 6 Lead: TeAndra Taylor Taylor.TeAndra@epa.gov Region 5 Lead: David Horak Horak.david@epa.gobv Region 9 Lead: Audrey Johnson Johnson.AudreyL@epa.gov HQ Lead: Laura Shumway Shumway.laura@epa.gov