ELR Citation: 43 ELR 20240
No(s). 12-3419 (7th Cir. Oct 18, 2013)

The Seventh Circuit held that a town may not assess stormwater management fees on Indian lands located within the town's borders. The town passed an ordinance allowing it to assess fees on all parcels of land in the town, including those owned by the Oneida Nation of Wisconsin, to pay for its stormwater management program. But the federal government did not authorize the town to assess fees on the tribe. As far as water pollution is concerned, tribes are equal to states. They are self-governing entities, and there is no indication in CWA §313(a) that Congress decided to place the regulation of pollution in Indian territory under state control. Moreover, because federal law forbids states and local authorities to tax Indian lands, the tribe can't be forced to pay the assessment. The stormwater runoff assessment is a tax rather than a fee. It is designed to generate revenue to pay for a governmental project. It is not a fee for a service provided to a particular landowner.