“Respondent received a sanitary survey report from the EPA on June 16, 2014, which detailed the System’s lack of an operator with the appropriate qualifications under the Disinfectant Byproduct Rule: Level II for water treatment and Level II for distribution. The EPA approved a schedule for the System to take corrective actions and extended the deadline multiple times, with a final completion date of March 1, 2023. Respondent failed to complete corrective actions to have sufficiently qualified personnel operating the System by March 1, 2023, and therefore violated this requirement.”

💡 This quote establishes that the EPA identified the violation in 2014, granted nearly nine years of extensions, and the system still failed to comply, demonstrating persistent disregard for mandatory safety requirements.

“Respondent failed to notify the public of the violation identified in paragraph 11, above, quarterly after public notices were made during the 1st and 2nd quarters of 2023, and failed to certify to the EPA that public notice was provided and therefore violated this requirement.”

💡 The system initially issued notices but then stopped, leaving residents unaware of ongoing water safety risks and violating their right to be informed about potential contamination.

“Respondent is required to report any failure to comply with Part 141 to the EPA within 48 hours (except where Part 141 specifies a different time period). 40 C.F.R. § 141.31(b). Respondent failed to report the violations identified in paragraphs 11 and 12 above, to the EPA and therefore violated this requirement.”

💡 By failing to report violations within 48 hours, the system concealed ongoing noncompliance from federal regulators, preventing timely intervention to protect public health.

“The System has approximately 850 service connections used by year-round residents and regularly serves an average of approximately 4,400 year-round residents.”

💡 This establishes the scale of potential harm, with thousands of tribal members relying on a water system that operated without proper oversight for nearly a decade.

“The source of the System’s water is groundwater accessed via five wells. The water is treated by chlorine gas.”

💡 Chlorine gas treatment requires trained operators to prevent dangerous disinfectant byproducts and ensure proper dosing; operating without qualified personnel exposes the community to serious chemical and microbial risks.

“As a community water system, Respondent is required to have ‘qualified personnel’ operating the System under the Disinfectant Byproduct Rule. 40 C.F.R § 141.130(c).”

💡 This federal regulation exists specifically to prevent harmful disinfection byproducts; the system’s decade of noncompliance directly violated this protective standard.

“The EPA has primary enforcement responsibility over public water systems on the Spirit Lake Reservation (Reservation). No other governmental entity has applied for and been approved to administer the program on the Reservation.”

💡 The EPA held sole enforcement authority, yet violations persisted for a decade, raising questions about the adequacy of federal oversight and enforcement mechanisms.

“Such qualified water operator must hold keys to the System and must be able to respond in a timely manner in the event of an emergency.”

💡 Without qualified operators who can access facilities and respond to emergencies, the community faced heightened risk during any water quality crisis or system failure.

“Violation of any part of this Consent Order, the Act, or Part 141 may subject Respondent to a civil penalty of up to $69,733 (as adjusted for inflation) per day of violation, a court injunction ordering compliance, or both.”

💡 Despite facing potential penalties exceeding 69,000 dollars per day, the system continued violating federal law for years, suggesting inadequate deterrent effect of enforcement mechanisms.

“Without any admission of liability, Respondent consents to the issuance of this Consent Order and agrees to abide by all of its conditions. Respondent waives any and all remedies, claims for relief, and otherwise available rights to judicial or administrative review Respondent may have with respect to any issue of fact or law set forth in this Consent Order.”

💡 The consent process allows the system to avoid admitting wrongdoing or facing public adjudication, limiting transparency and accountability for a decade of violations.

“This Consent Order applies to Respondent and its officers, directors, employees, agents, trustees, authorized representatives, successors, and assigns.”

💡 While the order binds the organization broadly, it includes no personal liability provisions for managers who presided over years of noncompliance.

“System operators may be properly certified by successfully passing the certification exam administered by the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA), or another certification approved by EPA. For assistance in exam preparation, Respondent may contact the Indian Health Service or ITCA.”

💡 Training resources and certification support were readily available, yet the system failed to utilize them for a decade, suggesting deliberate deprioritization rather than lack of access.

“Templates and instructions are available at: https://www.epa.gov/region8-waterops/reporting-forms-drinking-water-systems-wyoming-and-tribal-lands-epa-region-8#pn.”

💡 The EPA provided ready-made templates to facilitate compliance with public notice requirements, yet the system still failed to issue quarterly notifications, indicating willful noncompliance rather than confusion.

“The SLWRM is a tribal agency organized under the laws of the Spirit Lake Tribe and therefore is a ‘person’ as the term is defined in the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 300f(12), and 40 C.F.R. § 141.2, for purposes of federal enforcement under the Act.”

💡 This establishes that tribal agencies operating public water systems are subject to the same federal drinking water standards as any other entity, with no exemptions for noncompliance.

“During the pendency of this Consent Order, Respondent shall report any violation of Part 141 to the EPA within 48 hours of the violation occurring, as required by 40 C.F.R. § 141.31(b).”

💡 This provision attempts to prevent future concealment of violations, but only addresses prospective compliance without remedying a decade of unreported noncompliance.