Watershed Restoration & Protection

In the Clean Water Act Reauthorization of 1987, Congress established Section 319, which seeks to control non-point source pollution that is generally defined as pollution to a water body originating from a diffuse or “non-point” source as opposed to pollution to a water body delivered from a point source such as the end of a pipe. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) explains non-point source pollution as "caused by rainfall or snowmelt moving over and through the ground and carrying natural and human-made pollutants into lakes, rivers, streams, wetlands, estuaries, other coastal waters, and ground water. Atmospheric deposition and hydrologic modification are also sources of non-point pollution."

States and authorized Tribes are eligible to run Non-Point Source Pollution Management Programs. In January 2000, the Kalispel Tribe submitted a Treatment as a State (TAS) application to EPA for authorization to run such a program. TAS status was granted in March 2000. The section 319 TAS application includes the Tribe’s Non-Point Source Assessment Report and Non-Point Source Management Plan. These documents are available on the Government Reports page.

The Kalispel Tribe uses section 319 funds primarily to stabilize reservation shorelines that are eroding due to increased water surface elevation following impoundment of the Pend Oreille River and to help fund the “Sense of Place” education and stewardship program. See our Public Outreach page.