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| Natural Resources and Environmental Law |
In addition to experience generally in permitting and leasing of tribal restricted lands and tribal trust resources, the Firm represents the largest tribal land owner in the United States, and several of its economic enterprises, in transactions and litigation related to the ownership and development of the tribe's natural resources and the environmental legacy of uranium development on the tribe's lands. The Firm and its attorneys have litigated resource leasing disputes and environmental actions against potentially responsible parties (PRPs) for violations of federal environmental laws, and intervened on behalf of the tribe and its entities in environmental challenges to federally approved tribal energy development brought principally by outside special interest groups.
The Firm and its attorneys have considerable experience with federal environmental laws applicable to tribal lands, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA, commonly referred to as the "Superfund" law), the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Indian Mineral Leasing Act (IMLA), and the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act (SMCRA). The Firm and its attorneys also have experience with cultural resources laws, including the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), the Archaeological Resources Protection Act (ARPA), and the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA). Members of the Firm have represented tribal natural resource and cultural resource programs in vital matters affecting tribal sovereignty and jurisdiction, including potential federal designations of critical habitat for endangered species on tribal lands, and ownership and control of archaeological resources, including human remains, removed from tribal lands by federal agencies without tribal permission.
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