The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe (Tribe) received notice from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the agency is in the process of reissuing the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Pesticide General Permit for point source discharges to waters of the United States. This includes waters that are on or run through tribal trust and reservation lands. This is a proposal to reissue a general permit that has been in place since 2021. Through the authority granted to the Tribe under the Treatment in a Similar Manner as a State (TAS) program as outlined in section 518(e) of the Clean Water Act, the Tribe must either grant, condition, waive, or deny this permit on tribal lands. The general permit is due to begin in 2026 and last for five years for a limited class of pesticides that are meant to control 1) Mosquitos and other flying insects 2) Aquatic weed and algae control 3) animal pest control (aquatic insects, fish, mollusks or pathogens) and 4) forest canopy pest control that inadvertently enters a water body. More information on the permit, the class of chemicals, safety precautions and other information can be found at this link: Pesticide Permitting-Proposed 2026 PGP | US EPA. Note that this is not a blanket approval to spray this class of pesticides nor related to a specific proposal to apply these chemicals on tribal lands, but rather an abbreviated permitting process for a government agency wishing to control one or more classes of pests listed above.
After reviewing the provided documents and assessing potential impacts to tribal resources, our staff have decided to conditionally grant certification of this permit. Citing Jamestown’s Tribal Environmental Policy Act (TEPA) section 27.04.01(D) under “General Standards”, we plan to condition the approval of the permit upon assurance that any discharge will not negatively impact the Tribe’s resources including impacts fish, shellfish or general water quality.
If you would like to comment on this determination or have questions about the permit, please email the Tribe’s Environmental Planner, Alex Scagliotti by emailing him at: ascagliotti@jamestowntribe.org. Questions and comments need to be sent before the end of the day on Monday, January 15th.