Facebook Twitter Email
MONDAY, JUNE 4, 2002

The Supreme Court today refused to invalidate a Wisconsin tribe's power to regulate water on its reservation.

The decision lets stand a federal appeals court decision which upheld the "treatment as state" designation for the Sokaogon Band of Ojibwe. The Environmental Protection Agency granted the status under the Clean Water Act to allow the tribe to define its own water quality standards.

The state was opposing the designation, saying it was a "dramatic expansion" of the tribe's inherent rights.

The state also has an interest in a mine operation located upstream from the reservation which the tribe might now be able to scuttle with strict regulations.

Related Documents:
DOJ Brief | Supreme Court Docket Sheet

Related Decisions:
STATE OF WISCONSIN v. ENVTL. PROT. AGENCY, No 99-2618 (7th Cir. September 21, 2001)

Relevant Links:
Ban Cyanide at Crandon Mine - http://www.alphacdc.com/treaty/cyanide.html
Crandon Mine - http://www.crandonmine.com
American Indian Environmental Office, EPA - http://www.epa.gov/indian

Related Stories:
U.S. backs tribal environmental rights (5/15)
Mine near Wis. reservation upheld (1/30)
Wis. tribe has hopes after cyanide ban (11/7)
State fighting tribal water ruling (11/6)
Wis. might appeal Ojibwe decision (9/25)
Challenge to tribal authority rejected (9/24)
Court rejects challenge to tribal authority (4/17)
EPA Budget: No new tribal grants (4/13)
Pueblo battles arsenic in water standard (4/16)
EPA attorney pleads guilty (06/28)