Currently, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issues permits according to its standards on the tribe's land. But last week, the Southern Ute Indian Tribal Council approved its own air-quality code, which eventually is intended to surpass the federal agency's level of regulation.

Tribal Chairman Clement J. Frost called it the ''culmination of many years of work'' and ''an important step forward in the implementation of the joint air-pollution regulatory approach taken by the tribe and the state of Colorado.''

Under the program, the tribe would assume responsibility for monitoring air quality, issuing permits and conducting inspections. Although states have taken on these functions, often establishing more stringent standards, Indian tribes have largely left this to the federal government.

James Temte, an air-quality scientist with the tribe's air-quality program, said that initially the code will be fairly similar to federal regulations, but once the program is up and running, the tribe can seek more stringent standards, which will have to be approved by a joint commission of state and tribal representatives.

The code, which was developed with review by the state and the EPA, now goes to the joint state-tribe commission. Final approval must come from the EPA, which has a year to make a decision. Once passed, it would be reviewed every three years.

The Ute Indians once lived in much of Colorado and eastern Utah and hunted across a larger area. A related group, the Northern Ute tribe, lives at the Uintah-Ouray Indian Reservation in eastern Utah.