Environmental

Gov. Whitmer Terminates Line 5 Easement

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Detroit News

TV6

Crain’s Detroit Business

WLNS

UpNorthLive

WMMT

Ninth Circuit Rejects La Posta Band’s Challenge to Border Wall

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the unpublished opinion in La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Reservation v. Trump.

Briefs are here.

D.C. Circuit Materials in Standing Rock v. Army Corps

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the briefs in Standing Rock Sioux Tribe v. United States Army Corps of Engineers:

Dakota Access Brief

Dakota Access Reply

Federal Brief

Federal Reply Brief

Members of Congress Amicus Brief

NIWRC Amicus Brief

North Dakota Brief

Standing Rock Brief

States Against DAPL Amicus Brief

States Supporting DAPL Amicus Brief

Tribal Orgs Amicus Brief

Oral argument audio here.

Lower court materials here.

Ninth Circuit Materials in La Posta Band Challenge to Border Wall

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the briefs in La Posta Band of Diegueno Mission Indians of the La Posta Reservation v. Trump:

La Posta Band Opening Brief

US Answer Brief

Reply

And the oral argument video:

Here are the lower court materials.

Little River Band of Ottawa Indians’ Muskegon Co. Casino Project EIS Available

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

WSJ: “Michigan Group Says Archaeological Findings Enough to Halt Enbridge Tunnel Project”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Ninth Circuit Briefing — Tribal Sovereign Immunity Under the Clean Water Act

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here are the briefs relevant to the sovereign immunity issue in Deschutes River Alliance v. Portland General Electric Company:

Final Tribal Amici Brief in Support of Warm Springs – File-Stamped

Appellant’s First Brief

Second Brief on Cross-Appeal – CTWS (filed 9 28 20)

Appellant’s Third Brief

Idaho Power Amicus Brief

PGE Brief

PGE Reply

Tribal Amicus Brief

Warm Springs Reply

And here are the lower court materials in Deschutes River Alliance v. Portland General Electric Company (D. Or.):

72 Warm Springs Motion to Dismiss

74 Pacific Gas Motion to Dismiss

76 Deschutes River Response

78 Pacific Gas Reply

82 Warm Springs Reply

84 Warm Springs Brief in Support of Defendants

103 DCT Order

EPA Grants Oklahoma Governor’s Request for Authority over Indian Country Environmental Protection

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here is the EPA letter to the governor:

EPA letter to Gov. Stitt

Bridge Magazine: “In Michigan, rising lake levels disturb sacred ground”

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Here.

Warigia Bowman on COVID, Coal, and the Navajo Nation

Matthew L.M. Fletcher

Warigia M. Bowman has posted “Dikos Nitsaa’igii-19 (The Big Cough): Coal, COVID, and the Navajo Nation” on SSRN.

Here is the abstract:

This essay makes the following arguments. First, the US federal government knows how to electrify remote rural areas, and has in fact electrified rural areas as remote and inaccessible as the Appalachian Mountains. Yet, the US government has failed to electrify Navajo. Second, Navajo Nation is surrounded by power plants which send electricity to Phoenix, Los Angeles, and parts distant, yet transmission lines and infrastructure have not been properly extended from those power plants to inside of Navajo Nation. Third, the health risks of residential coal burning are well known, and given the health risks of COVID-19 and the fact that underlying respiratory conditions make the Navajo quite susceptible to this disease, the need to address this infrastructure gap is urgent.