Once again, this long-running case heads back to the Tenth Circuit. Here is the opening salvo — all 645 pages (about 8 MB) — riggs-ca10-brief
Counsel for appellants may be heading for trouble for filing a frivolous appeal (see my paper here). Who knows?
A split panel of the Tenth Circuit concluded that the EPA was within its authority to find that a checkerboarded area of northwestern New Mexico was Indian Country for Safe Drinking Water Act purposes. Here is the opinion.
Here are just some of the many briefs filed in this case (I think I got all the important ones):
national-mining-assoc-amicus-brief
The case is Arizona Public Service Company v. EPA (opinion). An excerpt:
Arizona Public Service Company (“APS”), operator and majority owner of the Four Corners Power Plant (“Plant”), and Sierra Club, Diné CARE, Diné for the C-Aquifer, and San Juan Citizens Alliance (collectively “Environmentalists”) challenge a regulation promulgated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”). The regulation at issue is known as a source-specific, federal implementation plan (“federal plan”) and was enacted pursuant to sections 301(a)and (d)(4) of the Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. §§ 7601(a) and (d)(4). The federal plan limits particular air emissions from the Plant. We have jurisdiction pursuant to section 307(b)(1) of the Act, 42 U.S.C. § 7607(b)(1). Because all parties agreethat the federal plan provision pertaining to fugitive dust should be remanded, see infra Part II, we do not address this emissions limit in our discussion of the facts. We grant the EPA’s motion for voluntary remand and grant in part and deny in part the petitions for review.
Here are the materials:
Paul Spruhan has published “The Origins, Current Status, and Future Prospects of Blood Quantum as the Definition of Membership in The Navajo Nation” in the Tribal Law Journal. Here is the abstract:
In this article, the author discusses the origin of the Navajo Nation’s blood requirement. Mr. Spruhan examines the intended purpose of the quarter-blood quantum definition and the role of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He reviews the current status, regulation, and recent attempts to change the quarter-blood quantum requirement. He discusses the future of the quarter-blood quantum requirement with respect to the Navajo Nation Council’s 2002 resolution known as the “Fundamental Laws of the Diné,” a resolution mandating the application of traditional law, customary law, natural law, and common law to the Navajo Nation Government and its entities. In this regard, Mr. Spruhan inquires as to the impact the “Fundamental Laws of the Diné” will have on the quarter-blood quantum requirement and future membership requirements.
Here are the materials in United States v. Watchman, out of the District of Arizona. The case involves a SORNA/Adam Walsh Act violation by a Navajo Nation member. The defendant made an interesting argument that may recur in Indian Country, which is that the tribe had not yet implemented its sex offender registration statute.
This new filing (commissioner-public-lands-cert-petition) is an appeal of a New Mexico appellate court decision (here). The case also involves the Jicarilla Apache Nation, Navajo Nation, and Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.
Here is the question presented:
Whether the New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands may claim federal reserved water rights with respect to lands Congress reserved from the federal public domain, and granted to the State of New Mexico subject to a strict, federally enforceable trust, to support public education and for other related purposes specified by Congress.
From CounterPunch:
Two days before Christmas, officials from the U.S. Office of Surface Mining (OSM) have granted a permit to Peabody Coal Company to expand their mining operations on Navajo and Hopi lands, despite opposition from local communities and problems with the permitting process including lack of adequate time for public comment on a significant revision to the permit, insufficient environmental review, and instability in the Hopi government preventing their legitimate participation in the process. OSM’s “Record of Decision” (ROD) is the final stage of the permitting process for the proposed “Black Mesa Project,” which would grant Peabody Coal Company a life-of-mine permit for the “Black Mesa Complex” in northern Arizona.
This housing case originated in Navajo courts, but has bled over into federal court. Here are the materials:
navajo-housing-authority-v-crownpoint-district-court-dct-order
In an interlocutory from bankruptcy court:
The Navajo Nation presents two issues on appeal: (1) whether the Bankruptcy Court erroneously determined that Krystal’s property was in the possession, custody or control of the Navajo Nation under 11 U.S.C. § 542(a); (2) whether the Bankruptcy Court erroneously determined that Krystal possessed a legal or equitable interest in the property to be turned over and accounted for.
The District Court for the District of Arizona rejected the appeal — here is the opinion.
Here is the list of the petitions to watch according to SCOTUSBlog for the long conference. It includes four Indian law cases, Kickapoo v. Texas, Hawaii v. Office of Hawaiian Affairs, US v. Navajo Nation, and Kemp v. Osage Nation.
We agree (see here).
Turtle Talk 
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