Tribal Environmental Law Project seeks fair play while protecting natural resources

By Rob Carolin
Faculty and students involved with the University of North Dakota Tribal Environmental Law Project are using their experience and research skills to help ensure that American Indians get a fair deal when it comes to protecting their lands and natural resources.

“Environmental justice seeks the implementation and enforcement of environmental law in ways that are fair to all people, regardless of race or income,” said James Grijalva, associate professor of law.  For residents of American Indian reservations, legal uncertainties present serious challenges to achieving fairness.

Grijalva knows from firsthand experience.  He practiced law in Seattle, where he represented tribes and companies developing resources on Indian reservations.  He saw that many tribes lacked specialized environmental programs and staff, so in 1996 he created the Tribal Environmental Law Project (TELP) as a component of the UND School of Law’s Northern Plains Indian Law Center.  The only such program in the country, its mission is to confront environmental injustice in Indian country by assisting in the development and implementation of tribal environmental programs.

“TELP students use their legal analysis and research skills in a practical service learning format,” Grijalva said.

The Project has worked with more than 24 tribes across the nation, but has developed special relationships with tribes in North Dakota and the region.  The TELP developed an initial solid waste program at Turtle Mountain, evaluated a proposed pesticide law at Standing Rock, and helped write a federal grant for Spirit Lake to assess reservation water quality.  As the Project’s director, Grijalva has provided training and given presentations on Indian country environmental law to more than a dozen tribes in the region.

One of a handful of national experts in tribal environmental law, Grijalva just completed a three-year study on the origins of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Indian program.  That research attracted the attention of the EPA’s American Indian Environmental Office, which contracted with TELP for original research on the program’s significant historical events from 1970 to 2004.  Grijalva authored the report, which was the only outside piece published in an internal 2005 Agency document that will be used by senior managers in developing the EPA’s next five-year strategic plan. 

An emerging environmental justice issue is resolving conflicts between tribal governments and indigenous grassroots organizations.  The EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice recently hired Grijalva as one of two primary trainers for a three-day session on alternative dispute resolution at the Navajo Reservation this fall.  The EPA hopes this pilot project will become a model for developing protocols and ground rules for environmental conflict resolution throughout Indian country.

Effective regulation is essential to Indians and non-Indians who live, work and play in Indian country.  And because pollution respects no political boundary, regulatory gaps in Indian country can present risks beyond tribal territories as well.  The TELP’s continued work will contribute to closing the circle of environmental pollution.