Document Type
Article
Publication Date
January 2005
Disciplines
Environmental Law | Indigenous, Indian, and Aboriginal Law | Law
Abstract
This essay examines the implications of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Lara for tribes seeking Treatment-as-State (TAS) status under the Clean Water Act (CWA). It concludes that, because the CWA recognizes and affirms tribal sovereignty over water quality, the CWA should be read, under Lara, to reinvest tribal sovereignty. First, this article delineates the pre-Lara requirements for TAS status and examines the interpretation by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of the CWA's TAS provisions. Second, the article explains in detail Lara, its implications, and the context of prior Supreme Court cases on tribal sovereignty. Finally, this essay argues that the CWA's plain language, its legislative history, and its other provisions support a reading that reinvests tribal sovereignty.
Publication Title
35 Environmental Law 471
Recommended Citation
Ann E. Tweedy, Using Plenary Power as a Sword: Tribal Civil Regulatory Jurisdiction Under the Clean Water Act After United States v. Lara, 35 Envtl. L. 471 (2005)