Environmental Justice Tracker

EJ Tracker Update

EPA Issued Revised Policy on Consultation with Indian Tribes

Last updated:

December 7, 2023

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Guidance/Policy

EPA updated its policy on consultation with Indian Tribes to improve and standardize EPA’s engagement with Tribal officials and reflect input from Tribal officials and partnerships. Key revisions to the policy include: guiding principles addressing the consideration of Indigenous Knowledge and information regarding sacred sites; additional specificity on consultation timing, notification, coordination, participants, and follow-up; a section titled “Consultation Process Review” providing a means to resolve Tribal concerns of the sufficiency, timing and agency compliance with consultation policy requirements; and expanded scope of the Guidance for Discussing Tribal Treaty Rights to include additional instruments of federal law and to apply to national EPA actions.