The U.S. and Navajo Nation Environmental Protection Agencies have entered into an historic agreement aimed at reducing pollution at a tribal wastewater treatment facility. As Arizona Public Radio's Gillian Ferris reports, the settlement marks the first time a tribally-owned entity has paid a penalty for violating the Navajo Nation Clean Water Act.
The EPA's agreement with the Navajo Tribal Utility Authority comes after its wastewater treatment plant in Window Rock was fined $25,000 for various pollution violations. An EPA inspection revealed that since at least 2011, the facility had been discharging pollutants above its permit limits into a tributary that feeds into the Little Colorado River. The plant collects and treats sewage from about 13,000 residents and businesses on the Navajo Nation in Apache County.
The settlement will require NTUA to conduct wastewater sampling, train and certify plant operators and hold regular compliance meetings with both the U.S. and Navajo Nation EPA. It will also submit plans to the agencies for a new $10,000,000 treatment plant funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's grant and loan program for rural utility services.