The Council's Water Quality program has been administered since 1991. In October 1993, Fort Belknap's Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Water Quality Monitoring of Surface and Groundwater was approved by EPA. Water quality monitoring of surface water began in 1994 and continues to the present. In 1998, Fort Belknap completed their Unified Watershed Assessment and identified the Peoples Watershed as a priority watershed. In 2001, the Water Quality Coordinator completed the Fort Belknap Indian Community NonPoint Source Assessment Report and, in 2002, he completed the Fort Belknap Indian Community NonPoint Source Management Plan. EPA approved both documents in 2002. These documents will be vital in developing Tribal Water Quality Standards for the Reservation. Initial work has begun on developing Tribal Water Quality Standards (TWQS) for the Fort Belknap Indian Reservation, including beneficial uses and initial steps in designated uses.

Since 2001 at the insistence of EPA, Tribal water quality data has been converted into various formats for data storage, in essence to protect and safeguard our data. After several attempts (format changes), the Tribes, under EPA and a consultant firm's direction, are converting the data into a usable data storage system that can be easily transferred into EPA's national STORET database storage system. At present, water quality data is only accessible by the Fort Belknap Environmental Department.

The Water Quality Coordinator has 10 years experience working in the Water Quality Program. He supervises seasonal Environmental Technicians and summer interns from the Fort Belknap College. The Water Quality Coordinator, along with two other tribal members, was a recipient of the EPA Region 8 2004 Frank DeCouteau Award "in recognition of outstanding efforts in developing an Aquatic Resource Protection Ordinance for the Fort Belknap Indian Community." He strengthened the ARPO by including the handling and storage of pesticides and hazardous substances.