816F05003
Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Program:
FY2005 EPA Regional Tribal Program Support Grant
Allotments
Summary
More than 800,000 people receive drinking water from close to 1,000 public water systems on tribal
lands. The goal of the Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Regional Tribal Program Support
Grant allotments is to help EPA Regions or Indian tribes to carry out PWSS activities on Indian
lands. Indian tribes that have or seek to obtain primary enforcement authority (primacy) use the
funds to create and operate water system programs to comply with the requirements of the Safe
Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and National Primary Drinking Water Regulations. The amount of
Tribal Program Support funding available in FY2005 is $6,419,900, or 6.44 percent of the
$99,745,600 appropriated for the entire PWSS Program. Since 1997, EPA's PWSS Regional Tribal
Program has provided $51,638,400 in grant allotments to Regions, to tribes with primary
enforcement authority (primacy), and to tribes who are developing primacy programs.
What is EPA's Public Water System Supervision (PWSS) Regional Tribal Grant Program?
The PWSS Regional Tribal Program is a grant program that was established in federal regulations
on September 26, 1988. Under the program, EPA distributes funds for three purposes: for grants to
a tribe that had received PWSS primary enforcement authority (primacy grants); for development
grants to a tribe that is seeking primacy; and for funds to help EPA's Regional offices to directly
carry out the PWSS program on tribal lands (in the absence of a delegated tribal primacy program).
To date, the Navajo Nation is the only Indian Tribe to have sought and received program primacy.
, The program also supports the Alaska Native Village drinking water protection programs.
What is the goal of EPA's PWSS Regional Tribal Program Support Grants?
The PWSS Regional Tribal Program Support Grant helps EPA Regions or Indian tribes to carry out
PWSS activities on Indian lands.- The EPA Regions, or Indian tribes that have or seek to obtain
primary enforcement authority (primacy), use the funds to create and operate water system
programs to comply with the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) and National
Primary Drinking Water Regulations.
Who is eligible to receive PWSS Regional Tribal Program Support Grants?
Funds can be used by EPA Regional offices for direct PWSS activities. Funds can also go to any
individual Indian tribe that has been delegated primary enforcement responsibility for the PWSS
program. EPA Regional offices directly carry out the program in Indian country with the exception
of the Navajo Nation, the only Indian tribe that has applied for and received program authority to
date.
How much funding is available?
The amount of Tribal Program Support funding available in FY2005 is $6,419,900, or 6.44 percent
of the $99,745,600 appropriated by Congress for the PWSS Program. You can find a complete list
of the formula allotments at www.epa.gov/safewater/pws/pwss.html under "PWSS Program Issues/
Tribal Programs."
What types of activities will the funding support?
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This year, the PWSS grant funds will support priority programs such as operator certification and
rule-related training, sanitary surveys, compliance inspections, capacity development, and source
water protection programs.
What law gives EPA the authority to reserve grant funds for Indian lands?
The 1986 Amendments to the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) allowed Indian tribes to be treated
as states and assume primary enforcement responsibility for the programs directed by the SDWA.
The 1988 federal regulations stated that EPA could reserve "up to three percent" of the Public
Water System Supervision (PWSS) program grant funds to implement the program on Indian
Lands. The EPA began reserving funds under this provision in FY1988.
In FY1998, EPA asked Congress to increase the PWSS appropriation, specifically to help tribes to
build the capacity to eventually operate their own PWSS Primacy programs. In 2001, the regulations
were changed to increase the allowed tribal reserve from three (3) percent to a maximum of seven (7)
percent. In 2002, EPA issued general guidance on the use of the entire tribal reserve. The general
guidance specified that each year, EPA would release annual guidance that would identify the
allotments for that year and would provide guidance and direction on the use of the funds for that
specific year.
How are the grants allotted?
Grant funds are distributed by formula on the basis of:
The amount of the funds is calculated based on the percentage of the following factors:
• tribal population (20%) as contained in the most currently available Census Bureau
information;
• tribal land area (10%) as contained in the most currently available Census Bureau information;
• the number of community and non-transient non-community water systems located within
tribal land area boundaries (56%) and the number of transient non-community water systems
located within tribal land area boundaries (14%); and
• all water system inventories being provided by the Regional Offices to EPA's National
Drinking Water Database, SDWIS.
No Region's allotment shall be less than 95 percent of its prior year allotment.
Note: Community water systems provide drinking water to the same people year-round. Non-
transient non-community water systems serve at least 25 of the same people for more than six
months in a year but not year-round (e.g., schools or factories that have their own water source).
Transient non-community water systems provide water to places like gas stations and campgrounds
where people do not remain for long periods of time.
Where can I get more information?
Information about the Public Water System Program including Regional Tribal Program Support
allotments, can be found at: http://www.epa.gov/safewater/pws/pwsgrant.html
Office of Water (4606M) EPA 816-F-05-003 March 2005 www.epa.gov/safewater
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