NTAA
PO Box 15004, Flagstaff, AZ 86011-5004
Phone: (928) 523-0526
Fax: (928) 523-1266 Andy.Bessler@nau.edu
NTAA Air Topics:
Tribal Consultation
Overview
One of the fundamental rights of a sovereign tribal government is "government to government consultation" as outlined
in Executive Order 13175.
Recognizing this one of NTAA's goals is to "encourage and support appropriate consultation with
all tribal governments in accordance with tribal structures and policies"" Recently in a letter to the EPA, the National
Congress of American Indians (NCAI) stated their "fundamental request is that the federal government goes beyond dialogue
and takes meaningful action to meet its responsibilities toward tribal governments. Tribal governments have a unique status in
the federal system under the U.S. Constitution and numerous federal laws, treaties, and federal court decisions. Indian tribes
have the power and responsibility to enact civil and criminal laws, and provide a broad range of governmental services to our
citizens including law enforcement, education, health care, and management of lands the size of seven states.
EPA’s Indian Policy is perhaps the most visionary in its respect for tribal sovereignty and its understanding of the meaning of
success in tribal-federal working relations. We hope to help strengthen that policy by encouraging the establishment of an
agency-tribal task force to develop solutions to overcome the disparity in delivery of on-the-ground programs providing environmental
protection. This task force could provide meaningful support for EPA’s direct implementation responsibilities to tribes, which
include a tribal core water quality standards rule, self-determination demonstration projects of tribal environmental management
modeled after the 638 programs in the Department of Interior, equitable access and support for tribes not yet participating in the
EPA Information Exchange Network, and consolidation of reporting requirements for the many programs tribal environmental offices
administer."
