Can tribes apply for primacy?
Yes. The 1986 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) added provisions that allow federally recognized tribes to assume primacy for UIC programs. Section 1451 of SDWA (“Indian Tribes”) authorizes EPA to treat Native American tribes in a manner similar to states and to assign primary enforcement responsibility (primacy) to qualified tribes. Native American tribes follow the same rules for obtaining primacy as a state if they are considered a “Federally Recognized Tribe” and have been designated for “Treatment Similar to a State.” Tribes that want to enforce the federal UIC requirements must submit a primacy application to EPA. If the application meets the minimum federal requirements for a delegated program, EPA will delegate authority to implement the UIC program to the tribe.
