For a Clean and Healthy Fort Peck
Established in 1981 by the Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribal Executive Board, the Office of Environmental Protection (OEP), has grown substantially in size and scope since its inception.
Originally, OEP was under the direction of the Tribe’s Planning District Office as part of the effort to designate the Tribe’s airshed from Class II status to Class I. An air quality monitoring program was instituted after the designation was approved by the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA). A director, an air quality scientist and a bookkeeper were hired as the first OEP employees.
Today, OEP has 12 divisions which are responsible for a number of environmental programs and projects. Monitoring, compliance assistance, regulatory and enforcement activities comprise the bulk of the work plans for 15 full time staff.
OEP Director Wilfred Lambert
phone 406.768.2322
Our Efforts
We are the first Tribe in the Region to implement a Non Point Source Program; to obtain Treatment as States for numerous water quality, safe drinking water programs, and air quality programs; and one of the first tribes in the country to have federally approved water quality standards.
Our Programs
Current efforts OEP is involved with include the Brownfields program, pesticide regulatory program development, the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), and a minor source air quality permitting program. OEP Recycling
Our Partners
Several partners assist OEP with both the new and old endeavors such as the United States Geological Survey, EPA, the Bureaus of Reclamation and Indian Affairs, State of Montana, Fort Peck Tribal Executive Board and the Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes.
Certifications
The Fort Peck Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes Office of Environmental Protection has been approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as the Primacy Enforcement Authority for the Safe Drinking Water Act’s Underground Injection Control Program for oil and gas injection on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation. The UIC program, approved in 2009, is responsible for regulating all underground injection associated with oil and gas production within the exterior boundaries of the Fort Peck Indian Reservation, including those wells located on private or “fee” land.
