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Confederated Tribes and Bands <br />of the Yakama Nation <br />July 13, 2022 <br />Sent via email. and USPS mail <br />Sage Park <br />Regional Director, Central Region <br />Washington State Department of Ecology, <br />1250 W. Alder <br />Union Gap, WA 98902 <br />Sage.park@ecy.wa.gov <br />Established by the <br />Treaty of June 9,1855 <br />Holly Myers <br />Director, Office of Drinking Water <br />Washington State Department of Health <br />PO Box 47822 <br />Olympia, WA 98504 <br />Holly.myere@cloh.wa.gov <br />RE: Water Rights for Group Systems in Gold Creek Valley <br />Dear Sage Park and Holly Myers: <br />I write on behalf of the Yakama Nation Department of Natural Resources (" fN-DNR") <br />water use concerns in the Gold Creek Valley. The aquatic life within Gold Creek is of <br />critical importance to the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation ("Yakama <br />Nation").1 Even during wet water years, significant portions of Gold Creek dewater in <br />August and September.x <br />Gold Creek is home to a genetically distinct Bull Trout population that was listed in 1998 <br />under the United States Endangered Species Act ("ESA"). Currently, the situation for Bull <br />Trout is so dire that multiple agencies (Yakama Nation, Washington State Department of <br />Fish & Wildlife, the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, and Mid -Columbia Fisheries) <br />annually rescue stranded Bull Trout from isolated pools in Gold Creek, The isolated pools <br />are the last remaining refuge for Bull Trout during annual low flow periods in a system <br />impaired by dewatering. <br />The Ski Tur Valley and Star Water systems are authorized for continued development and <br />new connections by the Department of Health. According to Department of Ecology's Water <br />Right Tracking System, the systems rely upon the following water rights: <br />'Yakama Nation reserves the right to make all arguments and to pursue all remedies available <br />concerning this matter. Nothing herein is intended to limit, define or diminish Yakama Nation's <br />Treaty -reserved rights. <br />'Natural Systems Design, "Gold Creek Hydrologic Assessment Memo," December 5, 2013, available <br />at httpa://www.kittitasaonservationtrust.orglwp-oontentluploads/2018/06IGold-Creek-2013. <br />Hydrologymemo.pdf (last visited June 22, 2022). <br />Fort 0mce Box 151, Fort Road, Toppenhh, WA 96M (54i9) 855-SI21 <br />