Last of two parts
The first part is available at thevoice.us/epa-grants-state-government-control-over-tribal-land
Ti-Hua Chang, The Young Turks (TYT) reporter wrote a piece that the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) authorized Oklahoma government control over tribal lands in Oklahoma. The purpose is to allow big corporations access to the land and acceded to the request of Oklahoma governor J. Kevin Stitt’s July 22, 2019 letter of request.
“Document: EPA summary report on Oklahoma Regulatory Control:
“In a seminar September 21, 2019 at the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think-tank funded by fossil fuel companies, EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler concluded that he had fulfilled president Donald Trump’s requests to him. Wheeler said, ‘[Trump] asked me to continue to clean up the air, continue to clean up the water and continue to deregulate and help create more jobs….’
“The EPA not only granted all of Oklahoma’s requests, it added additional ones such as regulatory control over underground storage (the state has one of the largest oil storage facilities in the country), air pollution, pesticides, lead-based paints, and asbestos in schools.
“The EPA Summary report said it consulted with 13 Oklahoma tribes in September 2019. The report said that all the tribes questioned the limited consultation and short time of it, saying, ‘Comments submitted stated that the length of the consultation period was too short, that the consultation should have been extended to tribes beyond Oklahoma….’
“The EPA report acknowledged that the Oklahoma tribes said the agency’s decision was contrary to the principles contained within the EPA policy for the administration of environmental programs on Indian Reservations (1984 Indian Policy). That policy requires a government-to-government negotiation.
“The summary report concluded, ‘However, EPA is bound to apply the clear and express mandate of Section 10211(a) of SAFETEA, a duly enacted Act of Congress, that specifically allows environmental regulation under EPA administered statutes by the State in areas of Indian country, and that requires EPA to approve a request of the State to so regulate notwithstanding any other provision of law…’ Section 10211 (a), the federal law giving Oklahoma the legal right to take over environmental regulations on Tribal land, is a mere two-paragraph rider on page 795 of the 836-page SAFETEA transportation bill. In 2005, this midnight rider was maneuvered into this massive transportation bill by Oklahoma senator. James Inhofe. Inhofe is a staunch fossil fuel advocate and climate-change denier. EPA administrator Wheeler worked for Inhofe for 14 years.
“Former high-level EPA official notes EPA Chose not to have discretion
“The former high-level official worked in the EPA’s office of general counsel. The former official told TYT, ‘EPA overstates when it claims ‘[t]he statute provides EPA no discretion to weigh additional factors in rendering its decision.’ The statute says that Oklahoma need not make any further demonstration of authority than it already did when it sought approval from EPA to administer the same programs elsewhere in the state. But the position EPA takes in the letter — that it lacks discretion entirely — departs from earlier statements made by EPA in Oklahoma Department. of Environmental Quality v. EPA, where it interpreted SAETEA as still allowing it to attach conditions to its approval of Oklahoma programs implemented in Indian Country.’
“Who Benefits From EPA Decision?
“Who will benefit from the state of Oklahoma’s taking over environmental regulations on tribal lands there? Fossil fuel companies, big agriculture, and livestock companies. This is based on what a former high-level EPA official said after reviewing governor Stitt’s letter to the EPA requesting jurisdiction.
“As for the future of Oklahoma’s environmental control, the EPA Summary Report includes one paragraph that suggests a pro-environment president and Congress could have impact, but only if new federal legislation is passed:
‘“EPA has found no evidence, nor has any been provided by tribes, that indicates section 10211 has sunset and is therefore no longer valid. Should Congress elect to repeal this provision after EPA approves the State’s request, EPA would address any effect on its approval of the State’s request at that time.’
“The Next Move?
“U.S. attorney general William Barr has now joined other Republican officials trying to nullify the McGirt v. Oklahoma ruling that much of the eastern portion of the state is tribal land. The Associated Press and a local Cherokee Radio station report that during a September 30 visit to the Cherokee Nation headquarters, Barr said that he is working with Oklahoma’s federal congressional delegation to devise a ‘legislative approach’ to address the McGirt decision. Both governor Stitt and senator Inhofe have called for a federal ‘legislative solution.’
“As TYT has reported, Stitt and Inhofe have pushed for federal legislation to take over not only environmental regulatory control of Tribal lands but all regulatory control, which would return Oklahoma back legally to pre-McGirt status.
“In six Email between the EPA’s public relations office and TYT, the agency has not denied the accuracy of TYT’s main points or the Wheeler letter and Summary Report,” Ti-Hua Chang wrote.
TYT investigative reporter Ti-Hua Chang is an award-winning journalist who has worked for CBS News and other outlets. You can find him on Twitter @TiHuaChang.