Here: Dine Citizens against Ruining Our Environment DCt Order
Environmental
Washington Tribes’ Challenge to Wash. Water Statute Fails
Here is the opinion in Lummi Indian Tribe v. State of Washington (Wash. S. Ct.).
An excerpt:
In 1998, this court held that under then-existing law, new private water rights did not fully vest until the water was put to a beneficial use, and not merely when the “pumps and pipes” capacity to use the water was built. Dep’t of Ecology v. Theodoratus, 135 Wn.2d 582, 586, 957 P.2d 1241 (1998). We cautioned then that we were not considering municipal water rights, which often receive separate treatment in water law. Id. at 594. In response to our opinion, the legislature amended the municipal water law, Second Engrossed Second Substitute H.B. 1338, 58th Leg., Reg. Sess. (Wash. 2003) (SESSHB 1338), to, among other things, explicitly define certain nongovernmental water suppliers as municipal and to make that definition retroactive. We are now asked whether these amendments violate separation of powers or facially violate due process. We conclude they do not. We reverse in part and affirm in part.
2009 Film Power Paths- watch for it on PBS in November
Although it originally aired on PBS in November 2009, you may have missed the documentary Power Paths http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/power-paths/film.html about tribal efforts to establish “green” economies and clean energy on reservations. The program can be seen on PBS again this November (2010) or purchased on DVD at http://www.powerpaths.tv/
From PBS: “POWER PATHS offers a unique glimpse into the global energy crisis from the perspective of a culture pledged to protect the planet, historically exploited by corporate interests and neglected by public policy makers.
The film follows an intertribal coalition as they fight to transform their local economies by replacing coal mines and smog-belching power plants with renewable energy technologies. This transition would honor their heritage and support future generations by protecting their sacred land, providing electricity to their homes and creating jobs for their communities.”
Navajos Hope to Shift From Coal to Wind and Sun
New York Times Article on Navajo Nation and environmental news here:
By MIREYA NAVARRO
Published: October 25, 2010
BLUE GAP, Ariz. — For decades, coal has been an economic lifeline for the Navajos, even as mining and power plant emissions dulled the blue skies and sullied the waters of their sprawling reservation.
But today there are stirrings of rebellion. Seeking to reverse years of environmental degradation and return to their traditional values, many Navajos are calling for a future built instead on solar farms, ecotourism and microbusinesses.
“At some point we have to wean ourselves,” Earl Tulley, a Navajo housing official, said of coal as he sat on the dirt floor of his family’s hogan, a traditional circular dwelling.
Mr. Tulley, who is running for vice president of the Navajo Nation in the Nov. 2 election, represents a growing movement among Navajos that embraces environmental healing and greater reliance on the sun and wind, abundant resources on a 17 million-acre reservation spanning Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.
“We need to look at the bigger picture of sustainable development,” said Mr. Tulley, the first environmentalist to run on a Navajo presidential ticket.
NPR Talk of the Nation — “Yellow Dirt”: The Legacy of Navajo Uranium Mining
From NPR (the audio will be available at 6 PM eastern):
In her book Yellow Dirt: An American Story of a Poisoned Land and a People Betrayed, former Los Angeles Times reporter Judy Pasternak documents the toxic legacy of uranium mining in the Navajo lands of northeastern Arizona, where radioactive dust wound up in Navajo homes and drinking water.
Ninth Circuit Remands Cook Inlet Pollution Permit Decision to EPA
Here are the materials in Cook Inletkeeper v. EPA (unpublished opinion here):
Scholarship on the link between economic progress and evironmental regulation in Indian country
Here’s an article by Daniel Watts arguing that tribes’ economic progress is tied to environmental law and policy.
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1687376
James Cameron Supports Aboriginal People In Lawsuit Against Canada
‘Avatar’ director is helping Canadian tribal peoples concerned about pollution caused by government’s oil-sands extraction.
By Eric Ditzian – MTV News
After spreading word of the colonial persecution of a tribe of blue aliens on a natural-resource-rich planet called Pandora, James Cameron has been focusing his environmental activism closer to home. In April, the “Avatar” director pledged to assist Brazilian tribes in their fight against the construction of a controversial dam project, and now he has committed to helping aboriginal peoples in Canada take legal action in connection with pollution from oil development.
Cameron, who was born in Ontario, Canada, met privately with aboriginal leaders and residents of Fort Chipewyan, Alberta, on Tuesday to discuss the community’s concerns about the connection between high cancer rates and water, air and wildlife pollution stemming from ongoing exploration and extraction of oil sands, according to The Vancouver Sun.
“I will be meeting with [Alberta] Premier [Ed] Stelmach tomorrow and I will be doing a press conference afterwards to get the word out there about what’s happening here,” he told the paper. “Hopefully we can make a difference and get things moving in the right direction. It’s going to be a fight, as I’m sure you know. But if you all stand together and work together with the other First Nations, I think we can draw a line in the sand here.”
Fort Chipewyan residents have long complained about high rates of cancer and other illnesses they say stem from oil-sands development and are planning legal action against the provincial and federal governments. In 2009, the Sun reports, the Alberta Cancer Board announced that Fort Chipewyan residents had experienced 30 percent more cancer cases than normal, though the community’s small population might have rendered that rate a statistical anomaly. The Alberta government has denied that oil-industry activities have negatively impacted communities downstream from development sites.
The extent of Cameron’s assistance is still being determined. In addition to his meeting with government officials and the media attention that his presence attracts, the Oscar winner might directly contribute to legal efforts or help with a fundraising drive.
“There’s a big imperative for them to get this tar-sands oil right,” Cameron said. “We’re not saying they have to stop development, we’re not saying they have to take the jobs away. We’re just saying they’ve got to do it right. They’ve got to do it in a way that’s responsible. Responsible development, responsible to the environment and responsible to the people directly affected by it. That’s not a lot to ask. There’s a lot of money at stake here, and they should spend some of it to fix this problem.”
Gilmore v. Salazar: Effort by Indian Trust Land Owner to Force Federal Environmental Jurisdiction Fails
Here is the opinion in Gilmore v. Salazar (N.D. Okla.): Gilmore v. Salazar.
An excerpt:
Plaintiffs James E. Gilmore, Tammy S. Gilmore Springer, and Joanna K. Stand are members of the Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma (the Tribe) and have an undivided percentage interest in the Sooner and/or Ottawa Chat Piles (the Chat Piles) located in northeastern Oklahoma. Chat was created as a byproduct of the mining process. Mining companies removed ore from the ground and stripped any valuable metals from the ore, and the remainder, chat, was stored on the surface in the form of chat piles. See Quapaw Tribe of Oklahoma v. Blue Tee Corp., 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51476, 2008 WL 2704482, *1 (N.D. Okla. July 7, 2008). Plaintiffs allege that the Chat Piles are subject to regulation by the United States government, because the Chat Piles are located, in whole or in part, on restricted Tribal land and the property is held in trust for the benefit of Tribal members. Dkt. # 2, at 4-5. However, the Estate of Joseph E. Mountford (the Estate) claims to hold title to approximately two-thirds of the Sooner Chat Pile, and Bingham Sand & Gravel Company, Inc. (Bingham) claims that it has title to at least three-fourths of the Ottawa Chat Pile. Id. at 5. The interests held by the Estate and Bingham are considered fee, or non-Indian, interests in the Chat Piles.
Eagle Rock Protester Sentenced
From the Mining Journal:
MARQUETTE – Keweenaw Bay Indian Community member Charlotte Loonsfoot received a 30-day delay of sentence today on a misdemeanor trespass charge involving a May protest of the Kennecott Eagle Minerals Company at Eagle Rock.
Loonsfoot, 37, of Baraga pleaded no contest today to the charge in Marquette County District Court. If she abides by all terms of the 30-day delay, the prosecution has agreed to dismiss the charge.
Defense attorney Karrie Wichtman of the Lansing firm of Rosette and Associates said the no contest plea allowed Loonsfoot to admit no wrongdoing.
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