Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 Office of Environmental Trust Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation PO Box 150 Nespelem, WA 99155 Colville Confederated Tribes Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 Contents List of Acronyms and Abbreviations 3 List of Tables and Figures 4 Overview 5 Introduction 6 Methodology 9 Land Use Summary 16 Surface and Ground Water Quality 21 Results 25 Discussion 31 Selection of Best Management Practices 35 Existing NPS Control Programs 40 Conclusions 42 References 45 Appendices 48 2 Colville Confederated Tribes Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 List of Acronyms and Abbreviations ACE Army Corps of Engineers BAER Burned Area Emergency Response BIA Bureau of Indian Affairs BMP Best Management Practice BOR Bureau of Reclamation BPA Bonneville Power Administration CTCR Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation CWA Clean Water Act EQIP Environmental Quality Incentive Program ETD Environmental Trust Department FPA Forest Practices Act F&W Fish & Wildlife Department GAP General Assistance Program GIS Geographic Information System H/A History/Archeology Program HFRP Healthy Forests Reserve Program HPA Hydraulic Project Approval HUC Hydrologic Unit Code IRMP Integrated Resources Management Plan LRFEP Lake Roosevelt Fisheries Evaluation Program NEPA National Environmental Policy Act NPS Non-Point Source NRCS Natural Resource Conservation Service OBMEP Okanogan Basin Monitoring & Evaluation Program QAPP Quality Assurance Project Plan RIA Resource Inventory and Analysis RMU Resource Management Unit SE Standard Error STI Spokane Tribe of Indians TDG Total Dissolved Gas TMDL Total Maximum Daily Load USGS United States Geological Survey WARSEM Washington Road Surface Erosion Model WDOE Washington Department of Ecology WDF&W Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife WHIP Wildlife Habitat Incentive Program WMU Watershed Management Unit 3 Colville Confederated Tribes Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 List of Tables and Figures Table I: Tribal water use expectations by water class, lake, and special resource 10 Table II: Goals for water quality monitoring 11 Table III: Land use by acres and percent (%) of reservation 16 Table IV: General soil characteristic by range and forest eco-regions 18 Table V: Potential and existing NPS pollutant sources on the Colville Reservation 23 Table VI: WMUs with documented exceedances in the Colville Reservation 26 Table VII: Ground water test wells with documented exceedances 30 Table VIII: BMP guidance by responsible agency and NPS category 38 Figure I: Location of the Colville Reservation within Washington State 7 Figure II: WMUs with documented exceedances in turbidity, Fecal coliform, or E. coli 8 Figure III: Stream monitoring site locations 9 Figure IV: Vegetative Cover by indicator plant species 17 Figure V: Soils distribution by range and forest eco-regions 18 Figure VI: Watershed Management Unit (WMU) boundaries 20 Figure VII: HUC 12 watershed boundaries 20 Figure VIII: Ground water test well locations 23 Figure IX: Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient 32 4 Colville Confederated Tribes Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 Overview The Environmental Trust Department (ETD) has developed this report to assess Non- Point Source pollution on the Colville Reservation and to provide background information in order to update the Tribes’ NPS management program. Non-point source (NPS) pollution is water pollution that comes from many diffuse sources. As runoff from rainfall or snowmelt moves, it picks up and carries natural and human-made pollutants to streams, rivers, lakes, and wetlands, or ground waters. This assessment has four objectives: . Update the Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation’s (CTCR) current NPS assessment from 1992. Assess the current status of water quality and NPS pollution on the whole reservation. To provide direction for ETD’s NPS control program. Identify information gaps that may exist. Reservation turbidity levels are a concern with 17 (of 59) monitored WMUs having average turbidity above a benchmark (6.45 NTU) that ETD considers the acceptable maximum. The Okanogan River also experiences turbidity levels above ETD’s level of concern. Bacterial contamination is also a concern with 16 of 59 monitored Watershed Management Units (WMUs) (25% of sampled WMUs) having exceedances of the tribal fecal coliform standard or an E. coli level of concern during this four year period. Road inventory work conducted by Environmental Trust indicates that significant sediment delivery from roads is occurring across the reservation (CTCR, 2010 A). Analysis shows that reservation turbidity levels are correlated with stream crossings. Additional study is needed to assess which crossing characteristics are responsible for increased turbidity. 68% of roads on the reservation are associated with silviculture. Despite showing a record of bacterial contamination, ETD has less data than needed to reveal the extent of contamination. Additional study is needed to differentiate contamination levels from the various potential sources such as ranching, wildlife, or septic systems. The following analysis attempts to give a thorough description of the reservation’s assessment methodologies, land cover and uses, soil, surface and ground waters, NPS concerns, NPS programs, and partnerships. Colville Reservation has a large land base and the assessment that follows is a reflection of that. This assessment identifies nine information gaps that need attention. 5 Colville Confederated Tribes Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 Introduction The Confederated Tribes of the Colville Reservation (CTCR) is home to twelve aboriginal tribes located on, or relocated to the reservation by the Federal Government. President Ulysses Grant established the reservation (approximately two million acres) by executive order in 1872. Through a series of federal actions the reservation was moved and cut in size multiple times. In particular, the Federal Government opened the remaining reservation (1,449,268 acres) to non-native settlement via the General Allotment Act of 1887 in 1916. By 1956 (the end of “the allotment era”), the reservation was less than 650,000 acres. The federal government subsequently returned 800,000 acres to the CTCR in 1956 bringing reservation close to 1.4 million acres. Presently, the Tribes continue to purchase fee land back in hope of one day owning the entire reservation in trust (Solomon, 2010). Allotted and tribal trust owned lands remain on the “North Half” north of the Colville Reservation and in surrounding areas including the Moses Agreement Reservation area to the west of the Columbia and Okanogan Rivers. The Tribe also purchases land outside the reservation boundaries for various purposes. The majority of purchased fee land has been for the purpose of fish and wildlife enhancement. Over 5,000 tribal members live on the reservation, centered in the communities shown in Figure II. However, most reservation lands remain in Forestry and Rangeland Management. Surface waters and wildlife were historically, and still are, an important part of Tribal culture and life. The Natural Resource Department’s Holistic Goal refers heavily to the cultural significance of natural resources on the Reservation. The Tribes have incorporated several programs into their government to manage and conserve natural resources. The Colville Indian Reservation is located in north central Washington State. The reservation spans 1.4 million acres and is bounded to the east and south by the Columbia River and to the west by the Okanogan River. Its landscape includes part of the Columbia Plateau and Northern Rocky Mountain ecoregions. About 800,000 acres are forested. The remainder is range land or is farmed. A small percentage of the land base is covered with urban or industrial development. About 7,000 miles of road exist within the Reservation. Approximately 80% of the Reservation area is in trust status with remaining area being fee land (20%). 6 Colville Confederated Tribes Water Pollution Nonpoint Source Assessment Report January 2011 Figure I: Location of the Colville Reservation within Washington State The Environmental Trust Department (ETD) administers tribal water quality standards and carries out monitoring aimed at fulfilling Clean Water Act requirements. Specifically, ETD carries out monitoring programs at the whole watershed scale including water quality testing, stream structure assessments, road inventories, riparian functioning condition assessments, etc. The Fish and Wildlife Department (F&W) monitors surface water quality by salmonid health, fecundity, populations and habitat. Anadromous fish are very sensitive to disturbance and water quality and are good indicators of restoration efforts. The Resource Inventory and Analysis Department assists both programs with GIS and data organization/storage. For reservation surface waters, bacterial contamination is a concern with 16 of 59 monitored Watershed Management Units (WMUs) (25% of sampled WMUs) having exceedances of the tribal fecal coliform standard or an E. coli level of concern during this four year period. This is a particular concern for beneficial uses including water supply, food supply, traditional and cultural use, and recreation. For instance, active religious and ceremonial sites exist within