Environmental

NYTs on King Salmon Ban’s Impact on Native Alaskan Villages

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the NYTs:

MARSHALL, Alaska — Just a few years ago, king salmon played an outsize role in villages along the Yukon River. Fishing provided meaningful income, fed families throughout the year, and kept alive long-held traditions of Yup’ik Eskimos and Athabascan Indians.

But this year, a total ban on commercial fishing for king salmon on the river in Alaska has strained poor communities and stripped the prized Yukon fish off menus in the lower 48 states. Unprecedented restrictions on subsistence fishing have left freezers and smokehouses half-full and hastened a shift away from a tradition of spending summers at fish camps along the river.

“This year, fishing is not really worth it,” said Aloysius Coffee, a commercial fisherman in Marshall who used to support his family and pay for new boats and snow machines with fishing income.

At a kitchen table cluttered with cigarettes and store-bought food, Mr. Coffee said he fished for the less valuable chum salmon this summer but spent all his earnings on permits and gasoline. “You got to sit there and count your checkbook, how much you’re going to spend each day,” he said.

The cause of the weak runs, which began several years ago, remains unclear. But managers of the small king salmon fishery suspect changes in ocean conditions are mostly to blame, and they warn that it may be years before the salmon return to the Yukon River in large numbers. Continue reading →

Environmental Challenge at Navajo Mine Continues

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the opinion in this NEPA claim (D. Colo.) — Dine Citizens against Ruining Our Environment v Klein

An excerpt:

This action concerns alleged violations of the National Environmental Protection Act (“NEPA”), 42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq., and the Administrative Procedures Act (“APA”), 5 U.S.C. § 701 et seq., by the Department of Interior’s Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement (“OSM”) in connection with OSM’s permitting of mining and related operations at the Navajo Mine. It is before me on the motion to dismiss or to transfer venue filed by OSM and Al Klein, its Western Regional Director, (collectively “Federal Defendants”) and separate motions to dismiss filed by intervenors Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”) and BHP Navajo Coal Company (“BHP”). Having carefully considered the motions, related briefing, and all applicable legal authorities, and being fully advised in the premises, I deny the motions in part and grant them in part.

Katie John Subsistence Ruling

Matthew L.M. Fletcher3 Comments

Katie John Which Waters Order

An excerpt:

These consolidated cases involve challenges to regulations that were promulgated by the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture on January 8, 1999 (herein “the 1999 final rule”). The regulations primarily implemented a Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision that the definition of “public lands” for purposes of Title VIII of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act includes navigable waters in which the United States has an interest by virtue of the reserved water rights doctrine. See Alaska v. Babbitt, 72 F.3d 698, 703-04 (9th Cir. 1995). This decision addresses legal issues flowing from the Secretaries’ application of the reserved water rights doctrine to broad categories of Alaskan waters.

News Coverage of New Arizona Snowbowl Suits

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From How Appealing:

“Lawsuit challenges Snowbowl snowmaking on environmental grounds”: This articleappears today in The Arizona Daily Sun.

And The Associated Press has a report headlined “Lawsuit aims to stop expansion at Snowbowl; Critics: Forest Service didn’t consider health risks from man-made snow.”

Second Circuit Holds that States Have Standing to Sue Polluters over Global Warming

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Potentially good news for the Native Village of Kivalina plaintiffs…..

From How Appealing:

“States Can Sue Utilities Over Emissions”: This article appears today in The New York Times.

The Associated Press reports that “Pollution lawsuit against power companies revived.”

Reuters reports that “U.S. court reinstates emissions suit vs. utilities.”

And Dow Jones Newswires report that “US appeals court reinstates global warming lawsuits.”

You can access yesterday’s ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit at this link.

LATs Article on Eagle Cases

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the LATs:

On Wyoming’s Wind River Indian Reservation, Winslow Friday is preparing to surrender in his long fight with the federal government.

The seeds of the conflict were planted four years ago when Friday shot a bald eagle out of a tree. His cousin needed a tail fan for an upcoming Sun Dance, the Northern Arapaho tribe’s most important religious ceremony, and Friday wanted to help.

So when Friday spotted the bird, he seized his chance.

Charged with killing a bald eagle in violation of federal law, Friday had argued that the law hinders the practice of his religion — a battle closely watched on the reservation.

“Some agreed with what he did, some didn’t,” said tribal spokesman Donovan Antelope. “But they all agree with the reason he did it — for the Sun Dance. We know he wasn’t doing it just to kill an eagle.”

Now, though, Friday is giving up. Having exhausted his legal options, he’s hoping for a plea agreement that will avoid a trial. “The attorneys say that [a trial] would be a losing battle,” said Friday, 25, a former oil field worker studying to be a civil engineer.

Friday’s case represents the latest and most high-profile fight in a string of battles over how to balance conservation with religious liberty.

Continue reading →

New Suit Filed in Arizona Snowbowl Dispute

Matthew L.M. Fletcher2 Comments

Here is the complaint in Save the Peaks Coalition v. USFS (D. Ariz.) — Save the Peaks Coalition Complaint

And the motion for a TRO — Motion_for_TRO

From the press_release:

According to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality regulations, treated sewer water can be
graded A+ even when it contains fecal matter in three out of every ten samples. This same effluent has
been found to contain pharmaceuticals, hormones, endocrine disruptors, industrial pollutants, and
narcotics. It may also contain bio-accumulating antibiotics, such as triclosan and triclocarban, and
pathogens, such as e. coli, hepatitis, and norovirus. The human and environmental health risks, which
have been largely ignored by the media, have their roots as far back as 2001 in the scoping comments
made to the Forest Service about Arizona Snowbowl’s proposed expansion and upgrade. Plaintiffs
involved in this lawsuit have consistently insisted that the Forest Service take a hard look at what might
happen to the people, land, plants, and wildlife when they come in contact with or eat snow made from
treated sewage effluent.

According to Arizona Department of Environmental Quality regulations, treated sewer water can be graded A+ even when it contains fecal matter in three out of every ten samples. This same effluent has been found to contain pharmaceuticals, hormones, endocrine disruptors, industrial pollutants, and narcotics. It may also contain bio-accumulating antibiotics, such as triclosan and triclocarban, and pathogens, such as e. coli, hepatitis, and norovirus. The human and environmental health risks, which have been largely ignored by the media, have their roots as far back as 2001 in the scoping comments made to the Forest Service about Arizona Snowbowl’s proposed expansion and upgrade. Plaintiffs involved in this lawsuit have consistently insisted that the Forest Service take a hard look at what might happen to the people, land, plants, and wildlife when they come in contact with or eat snow made from treated sewage effluent.

Thanks to Fred for these materials.

News Coverage of Michigan v. EPA Case in Seventh Circuit

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Chicago Tribune (via Traverse City):

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. – A federal appeals court has ruled in favor of a Wisconsin-based Indian tribe in a 16-year dispute with the state of Michigan over air quality standards.

Michigan challenged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s decision in 2008 to grant the Forest County Potawatomi Community’s reservation the highest level of protection allowed under the federal Clean Air Act. EPA’s action followed fruitless negotiations between the tribe and the state dating from the early 1990s.

The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the case Wednesday, saying the state lacked standing to contest the federal agency’s decision.

“This is a great victory,” said Philip Shopodock, chairman of the Potawatomi tribe. “Pure air and pure water are essential to our culture and our beliefs. We must protect our home for future generations.”

Continue reading →

LRB Sturgeon Release in Manistee River

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

From the Chicago Tribune:

MANISTEE, Mich. – A Northern Michigan Indian tribe is releasing young sturgeon into the Big Manistee River on Saturday to help restore the ancient fish in the Great Lakes region.

It’s the sixth year that the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians has placed sturgeon in the river.

Lake sturgeon date from the days of the dinosaurs. They can live from 50 to 150 years. Once plentiful in the Great Lakes, their numbers have been greatly reduced because of overfishing, habitat loss and pollution.

The tribe’s natural resources department operates a facility where young fish are reared until big enough to have a good chance for survival. Then they’re put back into the waterway from which they came. Tribal elders will take part in the release.

Federal Court Rejects Quapaw Tribe’s Parens Patriae Claims

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the most recent opinion in Quapaw Tribe v. Blue Tee Corp. (N.D. Okla.) (Quapaw v Blue Tee DCT Order), where the court rejects most of the claims of the Tribe on grounds that it does not have standing to pursue land claims on behalf of individual tribal citizens. An earlier opinion dismissing the Tribe’s related claims against the United States is here.