The Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (“the Band”) formally submitted water quality standards (“WQS”) for final action to the US Environmental Protection Agency (“US EPA”) in April, 2017. The US EPA approved the majority of the WQS in September; however the bacteria criteria were not approved due to inconsistencies in the time period for determining the geometric mean and statistical threshold value.
The Band has corrected the inconsistency in the criteria and intends to resubmit them to US EPA for final action. Under the Band’s Water Resources Ordinance and applicable federal regulations, the Band is required to give public notice of these changes and provide an opportunity for interested parties to comment on them.
See the public notice for Grand Portage Reservation’s corrected bacteria criteria.