Public Notice: Clean Water Act Certification for the Northwest Eagle Butte Drinking Water Pipeline Project
Summary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) received a request from the Mni Wašté Water Company for a Clean Water Act (CWA) Section 401 water quality certification (WQC) for the above project. Section 401(a)(1) of the CWA requires applicants for Federal permits and licenses that may result in any discharge into waters of the United States to obtain certification or waiver from the certifying authority where the discharge would originate.
The EPA acts as the certifying authority in areas of Indian country[1] on behalf of those Tribes that have not received treatment in a similar manner as a state (TAS) for Section 401, in this case the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.
The EPA will act on this certification request by either: (1) granting certification; (2) granting certification with conditions; (3) denying certification; or (4) expressly waiving certification consistent with CWA Section 401 and the EPA’s implementing regulations at 40 CFR 121.
The proposed project would be covered under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) CWA Section 404 Nationwide Permit (NWP) 58. NWP 58 authorizes utility line activities for water and other substances and addresses impacts to Waters of the U.S. from pipeline activities that are not related to oil, natural gas, or petrochemicals.
Project Description
Project Location
45.012417, -101.258629
Waterways
Green Grass Creek, unnamed tributaries to Green Grass Creek and adjacent wetlands
The project will install approximately 10 miles of water distribution and service line to expand water delivery to unserved residents of the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation. The water line will connect to the current water transmission pipeline managed by the Mni Wašté Water Company northwest of Eagle Butte, South Dakota and extend north and northwest to these unserved areas. The project is funded under a Bureau of Reclamation WaterSMART Drought Resiliency grant.
The water service line will be installed through open cut trenching along a 40-foot wide construction corridor centered along the pipeline route. Temporarily impacted areas from the open cut trenching will be returned to their original grade and revegetated upon project completion. Green Grass Creek will be crossed using horizontal directional drilling (HDD). A 200-foot buffer between the HDD bore pits and the ordinary highwater mark of Green Grass Creek will be maintained. Dewatering is not anticipated, but if needed, will only occur within the bore pits.
Work will be completed under the EPA’s 2022 Construction General Permit (CGP). A Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) will be developed to comply with the CGP, and best management practices (BMPs) such as silt fencing, vegetative buffers, and erosion control blankets will be utilized to minimize the discharge of pollutants to the maximum extent practicable.
The project will temporarily impact approximately 3.785 acres of wetlands within the construction corridor. No permanent impacts to wetlands are anticipated.
Public Comments
Submit comments as described in the “How to Comment” box at the righthand side of this webpage. The EPA must receive comments by 11:59 pm on May 29, 2025.
All comments received prior to the end of the comment period will be considered in the preparation of the Clean Water Action Section 401 Water Quality Certification and will be part of the administrative record. Contact Estella Moore, R8CWA401@epa.gov and 303-312-6357 to request additional information, public notice updates, submit comments or provide additional information relevant to this certification
Notice of any extension of the comment period will be published on this page and sent to those who have requested updates.
Public Hearing
Any person may request, in writing, within the comment period specified in this notice, that a public hearing be held to consider this application. If the Administrator, in his or her discretion, determines that a public hearing is appropriate or necessary, the EPA will schedule a public hearing. You may request a public hearing using the information in the “How to Comment” box on the righthand side of this webpage
Project Applicant
Mni Wašté Water Company
Mr. Leo A. Fischer
605-964-1025
Applicant Agent
Banner Associates
Kelli Buscher (kellib@bannerassociates.com)
605-280-1511
[1] Indian country is defined in 18 U.S.C. Section 1151. Indian country in South Dakota generally includes (1) lands within the exterior boundaries of the following Indian reservations located within South Dakota: the Cheyenne River Reservation, the Crow Creek Reservation, the Flandreau Indian Reservation, the Lower Brule Reservation, the Pine Ridge Reservation, the Rosebud Indian Reservation, the Standing Rock Reservation, and the Yankton Reservation (subject to federal court decisions removing certain lands from Indian country status within the Yankton Reservation); (2) any land held in trust by the United States for an Indian Tribe (including but not limited to the Sisseton-Wahpeton Oyate Tribe); and (3) any other areas that are “Indian country” within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. Section 1151.