The article from the LA Times, here, describes how the last section, which just became official today, required an agreement with tribes, fishers, and others.
Environmental
Federal Court Holds Teck Cominco Metals Liable under CERCLA for Lake Roosevelt Pollution Clean-Up Costs
Here is the order in Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Metals (E.D. Wash.):
DCT Judgment Favoring Pakootas — Phase I
MI Legislature Moves Closer to Allowing Wolf Hunt
Story here.
Lame duck giveth, and lame duck taketh away.
Michigan Public Radio Environment Report — Two Stories
Here.
This morning The Environment Report covered NAGPRA and a road project in Oscoda County where workers uncovered remains. The Department of Transportation is working with the Saginaw Chippewa Tribe.
Also, the Report covered potential invasive species in the Great Lakes and an online resource developed by NOAA’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab to identify the species (including killer shrimp. Huh.).
First Nations protests over Canadian Bill C-45
Articles can be found here, here, and here, among other places.
A snippet of one of the articles here:
Approximately 200 people braved the cold to attend a Bill C-45 Prayer Gathering in front of the Saskatchewan Legislature on Sunday. The event was part of a growing opposition from First Nations communities against the second federal omnibus budget implementation bill.
The far-reaching bill includes changes to the Indian Act, the Navigable Waters Protection Act and the Fisheries Act, among others.
According to many First Nations groups these changes will have a drastic and negative affect on their communities and were proposed without proper consultation.
“We hope that Canadian society and the Saskatchewan public will stand with us and not let this happen,” said Chief Barry Kennedy of Carry the Kettle First Nation.
Federal Court Dismisses without Prejudice Asian Carp Suit against US Army Corps
Here is the order:
An excerpt:
The defendants’ motion therefore presents the question of whether harms arising from actions or omissions that are required by a federal statute can constitute a public nuisance. Though mindful of, and alarmed by, the potentially devastating ecological, environmental, and economic consequences that may result from the establishment of an Asian carp population in the Great Lakes, the Court is nevertheless constrained to answer the question in the negative. In the absence of a constitutional violation (and none is here alleged), it is not the province of the courts to order parties to take action that would directly contravene statutory mandates and prohibitions, and the common law recognizes that actions required by law do not give rise to liability for nuisance. If the plaintiffs want to remove these congressional impediments to hydrologic separation and to replace them with effective barriers between the waterways, they must do so by means of the legislative process, not by alleging that the Corps’ acts and/or omissions, required by federal statutes, violate federal nuisance common law and therefore justify an override of those statutes by the courts. Plaintiffs’ complaint, therefore, is dismissed.
Coal Export Project Delayed After Agency Failed to Properly Inform Yakama Nation
Story from the Oregonian is here. An excerpt
Oregon’s Department of State Lands, which had planned to decide on the company’s permit by Dec. 12 has delayed a decision until April 1, said Charles Redon, a resource coordinator for the agency.
DSL is opening a third public comment period on the Ambre’s Morrow Pacific project, which would bring coal by train from Montana or Wyoming, unload and store it at a new terminal at the Port of Morrow, then ship the coal by barge to a Port of St. Helens dock for export. The new comment period will run from Dec. 1 to Dec. 31.
The agency neglected to properly notify the Yakama Nation about the project, Redon said. The Yakama and other Northwest tribes have raised significant concerns about five proposals for terminals to export coal from the Northwest.
Information Meetings here.
More about coal exporting in the Pacific Northwest is at Northwest Public Radio here.
Previous post on the subject is here.
Ryan Dreveskracht Article on Tribal Energy Development
Ryan Dreveskrachthas published “Alternative Energy in American Indian Country: Catering to Both Sides of the Coin” in the Energy Law Journal. Here is the synopsis:
This article looks at both sides of the renewable energy “coin” in relation to American Indian country. On the one side, it appears that tribal governments are opposed to any energy development on their lands. All told, however, this couldn’t be further from the truth – tribes merely seek a seat at the table when decisions are made regarding developments that will adversely affect their lands and/or areas of cultural significance. Indeed, contrary to being opposed to alternative energy development, tribes are very actively seeking to develop their lands in a manner that is consistent with their cultures and traditions. But, large-scale alternative energy projects are virtually absent from Indian country. This article argues that the oft-overlooked other side of the renewable energy “coin” are the federal regulations that hinder these projects from coming to fruition. The final section of the article will discuss what Congress is – and is not – doing regarding the two sides of this “coin.”
Hopi Tribe Sues USDA Forest Service under Endangered Species Act over Arizona Snowbowl
Here is the complaint in Hopi Tribe v. United States Dept. of Agriculture — Forest Service (D. D.C.):
11th Circuit Affirms Attorney Fees Award against EPA in Miccosukee v. United States
Here are the materials:
Turtle Talk 
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