Honor the Earth: Act Now: Current Urgent Actions

Honor the Earth: Act Now: Current Urgent Actions: Urgent Alert

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** PLEASE FORWARD WIDELY ** INFORMATION COURTESY OF IEN ( www.ienearth.org )

In this Alert:

A. Action
B. Background
C. For more information

A. ACTION

The U.S. Energy Bill is expected to be voted on today (in the House of
Representatives) and tomorrow (in the Senate)

PLEASE CALL YOUR U.S. SENATOR'S OFFICE IN DC THIS WEEK!! ASK THEM TO
OPPOSE TITLE V AND THE ENERGY BILL!

FIND YOUR SENATOR'S DC PHONE NUMBER HERE:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm (PICK
YOUR STATE AND CALL BOTH OF YOUR U.S. SENATORS) (Capitol switchboard
number below!!!!!) The Senate should delay their vote until after the
August recess, so they Have time to learn what is actually in the bill.

Your message to your Senators is simple: NO! to Indian Energy Title V, and
NO! to the overall Energy Bill.

B. BACKGROUND

The Energy Bill is devastating not only to the environment but also to the
sovereignty of American Indian and Alaska Native tribes.

A Message from the Indigenous Environmental Network:

Dear American Indians, Alaska Natives, and allies,

American Indian and Alaska Native sovereignty is under attack! As the
Bush administration moves America down a backwards path of fossil fuel and
nuclear energy dependency, they are planning yet again to sacrifice our
homelands and way of life to provide a short term solution to this nations
energy dilemma.

Late Monday night, the House-Senate conference committee approved a final
version of the energy bill. We expect the bill to cruise through the
House very soon, and to come to a vote in the Senate possibly by the end
of this week. Within this conference bill is section Title V, otherwise
know as the Indian Energy Title. If this legislation is adopted in
Congress it promises to eliminate the federal guarantees of public
participation and environmental review from energy development decisions
in Indian Country. The language also undercuts the federal trust
responsibility to Tribes by providing a waiver for the federal government
of all liability from energy development.

There are other significant sections in Title V that pertain to Alaska
Natives. Title V redefines Alaska Native Corporations as "Tribes" as well
as defining Alaska Native Corporate Land as "Indian or Tribal Lands ".
There has been no adequate consultation with all the Alaska Natives that
would be impacted by this proposed section.

PLEASE CALL YOUR U.S. SENATOR'S OFFICE IN DC THIS WEEK!! ASK THEM TO
OPPOSE TITLE V AND THE ENERGY BILL!

FIND YOUR SENATOR'S DC PHONE NUMBER HERE:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm (PICK
YOUR STATE AND CALL BOTH OF YOUR U.S. SENATORS) (Capitol switchboard
number below!!!!!) The Senate should delay their vote until after the
August recess, so they Have time to learn what is actually in the bill.

Your message to your Senators is simple: NO! to Indian Energy Title V, and
NO! to the overall Energy Bill.

The Energy Bill would:

Title V specifically addresses energy development in Indian Country.
Within this section, there are several provisions that would negatively
impact American Indian and Alaskan Native Tribes and villages. The energy
bill shifts full responsibility to Tribes for exercising regulatory and
judicial jurisdiction over major energy-related developments.

   This legislation potentially affects tribal resources, sovereignty and
jurisdiction.
   The bill could release the federal government of its traditional "trust
responsibility" to ensure the protection of the health, environment and
resources of Tribes. The bill undermines federal environmental laws such
as National Environmental Protection Act (NEPA) and National Historic
Preservation Act (NHPA) for energy development projects on Indian lands,
resulting in a rearrangement of the federal-tribal relationship.
   This would be problematic enabling tribes to enter into resource
agreements with less scrutiny that existing environmental laws would
guarantee. This modification would grant tribes the unchecked authority to
proceed into sensitive areas without full public environmental review or
assessment.
   Many tribes have no solid mechanism for accountability to tribal
members or adequate structures for environmental impact assessment and
protection. This could open up conflicts at the tribal level with
questions of capacity, providing administrative procedures and due process
to tribal members and non-tribal members living within tribal
jurisdictions to be part of the decision-making processes.
   The Indian Energy Title V, would amend section 2604 of the Energy
Policy Act of 1992 and set precedent by providing an explicit waiver that
exonerates the federal government of all liability associated with energy
development in Indian Country.
   While it is true that some tribes already possess the much necessary
experience in managing energy development projects on their lands, there
are many other energy and natural resource-rich tribes that remain
administratively disadvantaged who may be less than optimally positioned
to negotiate fair and equitable energy development agreements.

The Energy Bill Affects Alaska Natives!

The bill defines Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (ANCSA) Native
Corporations as Tribes. The bill defines ANCSA Regional Corporation lands
as Indian lands. Several provisions in Indian Energy Title V (Section 503
that amends sections 2601, 2602, and 2603 of the Energy Policy Act of
1992) continue to be of concern to Alaska tribal governments and its
people.

   The provisions make substantial changes that affect the sovereignty of
Alaska Native tribes and villages.
   ANCSA Corporations should not be defined as tribes, nor should Native
Corporation lands be defined to be Indian lands, tribal lands or Indian
reservations.
   (While the bill rightfully excludes Native Corporations from the
definitions of tribes for section 2604 (leasing, rights-of-ways, and other
development), it does define them as tribes for most purposes. This
proposed bill defines Native Corporation lands as Indian lands.)
   Among the many dangers associated with conferring the status of Indian
tribe upon ANCSA Regional Corporations, is the issue of funding. The
Indian Energy bill will authorize the Departments of Interior and Energy
to provide tribes with grants and loans to build their capacity to manage
energy development projects on Indian lands.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
The simple message is: call your Senators and tell them: "No to Indian
energy title V, and NO to the Energy Bill! 202-224-3121. Two working
toll-free numbers are: 1-888-355-3588 or 1-877-762-8762.

For more information on the title V of the energy bill, visit:
http://www.ienearth.org/energy_billresources.html or contact: Clayton
Thomas-Muller, Native Energy organizer, Indigenous Environmental Network,
Email: ienoil@igc.org Phone: (218) 760-1370

C. FOR MORE INFORMATION

www.honorearth.org
http://www.ienearth.org/energy_billresources.html