A fisherman on the Yakama Nation in Washington. Photo by Scott Butner via Flickr

A group based on the Yakama Nation of Washington is suing the Indian Health Service after its requests for documents went unfulfilled.

Friends of Toppenish Creek filed a Freedom of Information Act request for documents about groundwater nitrate pollution on the reservation. But the IHS has not turned over studies and other data that the group says were undertaken in conjunction with the tribe.

One document filed in federal court shows certain samples tested above acceptable levels for nitrate in drinking water. Ingestion by infants can lead to fatal conditions although the chemical does not pose a significant risk to adults.

The complaint in Friends of Toppenish Creek v. Department of Health and Human Services was filed on January 26.

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Group files federal lawsuit over nitrate pollution records requests (The Yakima Herald-Republic 2/1)