Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Office of Tribal Water Planner Services program provides: The continual advancement of the tribes water utility system; providing the planning and preparation needed to ensure that we meet the future drinking water needs of Rolette County while maintaining the ideals that source water protection is of the highest standards; and protection from a contaminate free environment is the key. Links: North Dakota Water Commission http://www.swc.state.nd.us/

The office of Tribal Water Planner works extensively with Public Utilities, Houston Engineering Inc., Indian Health Services (IHS), USDA RD, Bureau of Reclamation (BOR), in providing the necessary planning and technical expertise needed to ensure that the tribe meets the future water and wastewater needs of the tribe.

While meeting the water needs it is most critical that the tribe ensures to the most finite degree, that water resource protection is vital to the sustainability of our people and environment.

The four major programs of this office are as follows:

1. Dakota Water Resource Act (DWRA) of 2000 – The DWRA legislation outlined a program to meet the Indian and non-Indian water supply needs in North Dakota. The tribe is to receive appropriations in the amount of $20,000,000 over a ten year period and based upon annual funding from the Bureau of Reclamation

2. Wastewater Needs Assessment – identify the current wastewater system of the tribe, planning for future wastewater needs in a manner that is most environmentally sound for the tribe and the lands. A major component to this is assessing the many individual septic systems that may pose the most serious threat to our waters and environment.

3. Abandoned Well Program – identifying, capping and sealing of abandoned wells to ensure that wells no longer pose a hazardous threat to humans, while protecting ground water from any harmful contaminates that might otherwise enter through the open wells.

4. Watershed Protection – providing a holistic management practice that acquires the methodology in which all things are interconnected, therefore providing those management practices that will encompass those ideals.

 

Coordinator: Gene R. Laducer / Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians

Contact information: phone – 701 477 2665

Technician: Pam Gourneau / Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians

Contact information: phone- 701 477 2659