Here are the materials in La Cuna De Aztlan Sacred Sites Protection Circle Advisory Committee v. U.S. Dept. of the Interior (C.D. Cal.):
DCT Order Dismissing La Cuna Complaint
Our previous post in this case is here.
Environmental
First Stewards Climate Change Symposium
Coastal First Peoples are currently gathered in Washington DC to discuss climate change impacts and response strategies. Symposium details, including live streaming video of presentations, can be found here.
Kalispel Tribe Signs Agreement with Federal Agencies On Water and Environmental Management Issues
Here.
The Kalispel Tribe of Indians has signed a 10-year, $39.5 million agreement with federal agencies that focuses on actions to address impacts of Albeni Falls Dam on fish and wildlife in the area of Lake Pend Oreille and the tribe’s reservation along the Pend Oreille River about 55 miles north of Spokane.
The agreement recognizes the tribe’s resource management expertise and its interest in operations at Albeni Falls Dam and includes specific provisions for the tribe to participate in decisions that affect fish, wildlife and water quality.
“The Kalispel Tribe is excited to see this agreement come to fruition as a result of nearly two decades of positive working relationships and on-the-ground successes. We believe this is just the beginning of a strong partnership with the federal agencies and we are hopeful for the future of our important and treasured resources,” said Kalispel Tribal Chairman Glen Nenema.
The agreement makes available approximately $39.5 million over 10 years, including $2.5 million for land acquisitions for wildlife habitat.
The tribe has identified habitat projects to benefit Endangered Species Act listed bull trout as well as west slope cutthroat trout and mountain whitefish.
In addition, the new agreement provides for the tribe, Army Corps of Engineers and Bonneville Power Administration to work together on improving water management actions in late summer and early fall to improve downstream water temperature for bull trout and other aquatic species.
Amicus Brief Supporting En Banc Petition in Save the Peaks Case
Ongoing Litigation Regarding Uranium Mining around the Grand Canyon
First US Oil Refinery in 40 Years Approved (at Fort Berthold Reservation)
Great Lakes NWF Report on Fracking in Michigan and Ohio
Here.
An excerpt from the website:
A new legal analysis by the National Wildlife Federation finds that laws in Michigan and Ohio need to be improved to protect the region’s streams, rivers, lakes, and wildlife from the risks of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking.” Energy companies use this controversial technique to extract natural gas from fine-grained shale, injecting a mix of water, chemicals, and sand into a well at high pressures to crack open the rock. The natural gas then flows out into the well and is captured aboveground.
Fracking has raised significant environmental concerns, including the potential for impacts on water quality and water-dependent natural resources.
“Our analysis shows that Michigan and Ohio are doing some things right, but the states remain vulnerable to risks associated with fracking,” said Sara Gosman, water resources attorney for the National Wildlife Federation’s Great Lakes office and lecturer at the University of Michigan Law School. “We urge Michigan and Ohio to strengthen their laws to protect public health, wildlife and water resources now and for generations to come.”
Download the full report: Hydraulic Fracturing in the Great Lakes Basin: The State of Play in Michigan and Ohio
D.C. Circuit Affirms EPA Regulations on Greenhouse Gases
Here is today’s opinion in Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA:
Briefs in Te-Moak Tribe et al v. Interior
Appellants’ Brief
Appellants, the Te-Moak Tribe of Western Shoshone Indians of Nevada (“Te-Moak Tribe”), the Timbisha Shoshone Tribe (“Timbisha Tribe”), the Western Shoshone Defense Project (“WSDP”), and Great Basin Resource Watch (“GBRW”)(collectively, “the Tribes”) challenge the federal Bureau of Land Management (“BLM’s”) approvals of Barrick Cortez Inc.’s (“Barrick”) Cortez Hills Project (“Project”), a large open pit, cyanide-leach gold mine on Mt. Tenabo, a mountain sacred to many Western Shoshone Indians and in particular to the Te- Moak Tribe and Timbisha Tribe and their members. In this appeal, the Tribes challenge the decision of the district court to deny, in whole or in part, the Tribes’ Motions for Summary Judgment (“SJ Motions”), which sought to overturn the BLM’s actions.
The district court had subject matter jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1331 because the action arose under the laws of the United States including: the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. §§ 702-706, the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 4321 et seq., the Federal Land Policy Management Act of 1976 (“FLPMA”), 43 U.S.C. § 1701 et seq., and their implementing regulations.
American Indian Law Professors Amicus Brief
Coverage of the case’s previous trip to the 9th Circuit here.
KBIC, Eagle Rock, and Kennecott Mine in Scientific American
The article is Part 5 in a series called “Pollution, Poverty and People of Color”
“A Michigan Tribe Battles a Global Corporation”:
An abundant resource, this water has nourished a small Native American community for hundreds of years. So 10 years ago, when an international mining company arrived near the shores of Lake Superior to burrow a mile under the Earth and pull metals out of ore, the Keweenaw Bay Indian Community of the Lake Superior Band of Chippewa had to stand for its rights and its water.
And now, as bulldozers raze the land and the tunnel creeps deeper, the tribe still hasn’t backed down.
“The indigenous view on water is that it is a sacred and spiritual entity,” said Jessica Koski, mining technical assistant for the Keweenaw Bay community. “Water gives us and everything on Earth life.”
The Keweenaw Bay Indians are fighting for their clean water, sacred sites and traditional way of life as Kennecott Eagle Minerals inches towards copper and nickel extraction, scheduled to begin in 2014.
It’s a good longreads article. Our previous coverage, including the multitude of lawsuits the article mentions, is here.
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