Tribes and state can work it out
Editorial
Brunswick Times Record 2/26/02
A
change in the battle plan holds the promise of an out-of-court settlement in the
legal war between the state and Maine's Penobscot and Passamaquoddy tribes.
The wrangling about who has jurisdiction over water quality on tribal lands and
who should have access to related tribal documents is two years old now, but
last week Gov. King, several state officials and tribal leaders began
government-to-government negotiations that could lead to an amicable solution.
The Feb. 19 meeting in Bangor City Hall produced a subcommittee of state and
tribal officials that will continue to discuss key issues that were identified
at the closed-door session. The common ground on which negotiations can proceed
is that everyone involved wants clean water.
The trouble began when the tribes balked at the state's request to the
Environmental Protection Agency for sole authority to issue wastewater discharge
permits. Most other states do so, but Maine government is too closely aligned
with the paper companies to be trusted to enforce clean water standards, tribal
leaders said. They sued for the EPA to retain jurisdiction.
Then the paper companies sued the tribes to have access to their water quality
documents. They argue that the 1980 Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act likens
the tribes to cities and towns that must make most their documents available to
the public. Needless to say, the tribes consider that interpretation an affront
to their sovereignty as Indian nations.
Can a partnership be created that not only allows the state to regulate water
quality under the federal Clean Water Act but also ensures tribal sovereignty
and the integrity of water quality on tribal lands? We hope so.
Such an outcome might require a good deal of negotiating, but it will be worth
the effort. Despite the governor's expressed hope that the matter will be
resolved "fairly quickly," the process cannot be rushed, however. Too
much is at stake and besides, that is not the native American way.