ELR Citation: ELR 20831
No(s). 85-5097 (D.S.D. Feb 5, 1990)

The court holds that the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Indian Health Service cannot use appropriations for water and sewer facilities at an Indian reservation to fund the cost of dump site cleanups under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). The court concludes that the federal defendants' attempt to shift responsibility for RCRA compliance to tribe members contravenes the Eighth Circuit's mandate in Blue Legs v. United States Bureau of Indian Affairs, 19 ELR 20717, that the two federal defendants, together with the tribe, are responsible for cleaning up the dumps. The Eighth Circuit held that the two federal agencies are subject to court-ordered relief under RCRA §6001 because they collect and handle solid waste, even though they do not administer the dump sites. Moreover, the Snyder Act and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act obligate the two federal defendants to relieve distress and poor health conditions on Indian reservations. The district court thus orders defendants to submit a solid waste management plan to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and to implement the plan without relying on appropriations for water and sewer facilities at the reservation to pay for the dump site cleanups. The court also orders the tribe to exercise management responsibility over the cleanup, including drafting and implementing rules for site operation.

[Previous decisions in this litigation are published at 18 ELR 20197 and 19 ELR 20717.]

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Krista H. Clark
Dakota Plains Legal Services
P.O. Box 727, Mission SD 57555
(605) 856-4444

Counsel for Defendants
Thorton Withers Field
Land and Natural Resources Division
U.S. Department of Justice, Washington DC 20530
(202) 272-6559

Marvin Amiotte
P.O. Box 1053, Pine Ridge SD 57770
(605) 867-5140