Water conference-goers listen to moderator Chase Iron Eyes. Photo courtesy/Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance
Tribes parley to protect water rights, EPA vows to work for environmental justice
By Talli Nauman
Native Sun News Health & Environment Editor RAPID CITY — Coinciding with a Great Plains Tribal Water Alliance conference about concerns for the Missouri River and Ogallala Aquifer on July 23-24, the U.S. EPA issued a new Policy on Environmental Justice for working with Federally Recognized Tribes and Indigenous Peoples. The environmental justice issues broached at the conference in Rapid City were the water rights threatened by TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL Pipeline, and Powertech Corp.’s proposed Dewey-Burdock uranium mines and mill. Sponsoring the event were the Water Administrators’ offices of the Rosebud, Standing Rock and Oglala Sioux Tribes. For traditional Lakota spiritual leader and chief Leonard Crow Dog, mni sose (water) should be protected for the Great Plains peoples. “Our souls are hungry, for what? The water of life,” he said at the conference. The three tribes involved in the conference have issued resolutions and lobbied in Washington, D.C., to prevent Canadian investors from building the tar-sands crude-oil pipeline through treaty territory in Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. The Oglala Sioux Tribe is contesting the proposed in-situ uranium mining in Custer and Fall River counties, adjacent to the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel hearing set to begin Aug. 19 in Rapid City. The tribe argues that surface and underground water problems inherent in mining the Inyan Kara Aquifer for radioactive and related toxic minerals are not addressed adequately in the environmental impact statement for the project. In addition, the tribe’s consultation has not been obtained on National Historic Preservation Act matters regarding cultural properties, it says. Powertech announced it hopes to receive Canadian regulators’ approval this July for upping Azarga Resources Ltd.’s share of the company from 45 to 77-percent in a reverse-buyout merger creating Azarga Uranium Corp. The transaction would put Dewey-Burdock under the control of investors in Hong Kong, Singapore and Australia. At the conference, experts in law and engineering also explained aspects of water rights related to the 1950s damming of the Missouri River, for which families are still seeking compensation in tribal homelands. Indian lawyer Mario Gonzalez advised conference-goers to band together to strengthen their tribes’ abilities to manage water resources. The new EPA policy aims to “support the fair and effective implementation of federal environmental laws, and provide protection from disproportionate impacts and significant risks to human health and the environment.” The policy is an extension of the agency’s pre-existing Policy for the Administration of Environmental Programs on Indian Reservations. The new version builds on the 10-year-old Presidential Executive Order 12898 to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations. It also incorporates the EPA’s Plan EJ 2014, a strategy directive for promoting environmental justice. It defines environmental justice as, “the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies.” The new EPA doctrine instructs administrators “to understand definitions of human health and the environment from the perspective of federally recognized tribes, indigenous peoples throughout the United States, and others living in Indian Country.” (Contact Talli Nauman NSN Health and Environment Editor at talli.nauman@gmail.com) Copyright permission Native Sun News
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