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 The Plan
Section IIssues Section II Grants Sky
ArticleEarth
CodesLaw Water
ResourcesLaw  |
 1. Short Title 2. Purpose 3. Declaration of Policy and Goals 4. Definitions 5. Application of law 6. Tribal Performance of Indian Health Service Duties 7. Comprehensive Solid Waste Management 8. Approved Closure Plan Required 9. Contents of Closure Pan 10. Enforcement 11. Waiver Evironmental Protection Law Earth
OPEN DUMP CLEAN-UP LAW  1. Short Title This ordinance shall be known and may be cited as the "Open Dump Clean-up Law". 2. Purpose (A) The Santa Rosa Rancheria, Tachi Yokut Tribe is enacting this law to provide a process and standards for the assessment, closure and post-closure maintenance of open dumps within Tribal territory in a safe, effective and timely manner. The Tribe is compelled to act because of the particular threat open dumps pose to the environment, health, safety, and economic security of the Tribe and its members. In particular, open dumps present a significant threat to the quality of groundwater and surface water resources. The scarcity of water in California, especially drinking water sources, the Tribe's limited natural resources, and the Tribe's intention to remain in its homeland in perpetuity require the Tribe to address the threat posed by open dumps through the exercise of its inherent sovereign power and constitutional authority to protect the Tribal health, safety, welfare and environment. (B) The Tribe recognizes that if open dump closure is improperly performed in the first instance, corrective action in the future is likely to be expensive, complex and time consuming. The Tribe desires to work with the Indian Health Service as the Indian Health Service fulfills its trust obligations and its statutory obligations under the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 3901-3908, to provide financial and technical assistance to the Tribe to close open dumps within Tribal territory. (C) When Congress passed the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act, it determined that Federal agencies had originally established or used many of the landfills located on Indian lands. Congress also determined that the Federal government has since ignored the environmental problems related to open dumps. In enacting the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act, Congress confirmed that there is a continuing obligation on the part of the Federal government to ensure that these landfills do not degrade the environment. The President and Congress placed this responsibility on the Indian Health Service when the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act was enacted into law. That Act requires the Indian Health Service to provide financial and technical assistance to the Tribe, either directly or by contract, to close open dumps in compliance with standards promulgated by the Tribe, if such standards are more stringent than the Federal standards. This law is intended to facilitate the Indian Health Service-assisted cleanup of open dumps within Tribal territory.  3. Declaration of Policy and Goals. The Tribe declares that its policy is to prevent any further environmental degradation from open dumping, and to mitigate the damage that has been caused by past practices by properly assessing, closing, and monitoring the existing open dumps. 4. Definitions As used in this chapter: (A) "Closure activity" means the making of any material change in the use or appearance of land in connection with the closure of an open dump. (B) "Closure" or "close" means bringing an open dump into compliance with this Code. (C) "Contamination" or "contaminate" means introduce a substance into the environment
(E) "Degrade" or "degradation" means the increase in concentration of one or more hazardous substances in the unsaturated zone and groundwater above background concentrations for those same geologic materials where the fluid pressure in the pore space is equal to or greater than the atmospheric pressure. (G) "Hazardous substance" means:
(I) "Open Dump" means any area where solid waste is found and which does not comply with this Code, including those areas determined to be in non-compliance by the Council. Note: There are no "Open Dumps" on Santa Rosa Rancheria. (J) "Remove" or "Removal" means to cleanup or remove solid waste and hazardous substances from the environment, dispose of removed material, or take such other actions as may be determined by the Council to prevent, minimize, or mitigate damage to the public health or welfare or to the environment, including restoration, clamation, recovery and the like of a natural resource adversely affected by an open dump. (K) "Sanitary Landfill" means a solid waste disposal facility which complies with this Code. (L) "Solid Waste" means, for purposes of closing open dumps, any garbage, refuse, sludge from a waste treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution control facility and other discarded material, including solid, liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from industrial, commercial, mining, and agricultural operations, and from community activities. (M) "Territory" means the lands and waters over which the Tribe has jurisdiction. (N) "Unsaturated zone" means the zone between the land surface and the water table in which the pore spaces contain H2O at less than atmospheric pressure, as well as air and other ga ses. 5. Application of Law. The requirements of this Law shall apply to the Indian Health Service, its agents and contractors, and the duties under the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. §§ 3901-3908. The Act also provides an opportunity for the Tribe to perform many of the Indian Health Service's statutory duties. The requirements of this chapter, therefore, shall apply equally to the Tribe, or any person(s) designated by the Tribe, who performs the duties of the Indian Health Service as required by the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994. 6. Tribal Performance of Indian Health Service Duties. As required by the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994, the Director of the Indian Health Service shall provide financial and technical assistance to the Tribe to enable the Tribe to carry out the Federal government's obligation to close open dumps and provide for post-closure maintenance of such facilities. That Act states that to the maximum extent feasible, the Director of the Indian Health Service shall carry out duties under the Act through contracts, compacts, or memoranda of agreement with Indian Tribal governments pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. § 450 et seq.), section 7 of the Act of August 5, 1954 (42 U.S.C. § 2004a), or section 302 of the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (25 U.S.C. § 1632). Note: The Tribe declares its intention to pursue these agreements with the Director of the Indian Health Service. 7. Comprehensive Solid Waste Management (A) The Council may prioritize the closure of open dumps by specifying the order in which open dumps shall be closed. All closure activity shall proceed according to the priorities of the Council. As required by section 5(c) of the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994, 25 U.S.C. § 3904(c), if the Indian Health Service directly closes the open dumps, it shall request the Council's priorities and rely on those priorities in performing all duties under the Act. (B) Whereas effective and comprehensive open dump closure necessarily requires planning for the present and future solid waste disposal needs of the Tribe, and to ensure that the Indian Health Service fulfills its obligations to provide a solid waste management system to the Tribe, in no event shall all the open dumps within the Territory be closed before the Indian Health Service has provided alternatives for the disposal of the solid waste generated on Tribal lands as required by the Indian Lands policies and obligations. 8. Approved Closure Plan Required (A) All activities undertaken by the Indian Health Service and its agents in furtherance of its obligations under the Indian Lands Open Dump Cleanup Act of 1994 shall be in accordance with a written closure plan which has been approved by resolution of the Council. (B) The closure plan shall be submitted to the Council for its approval at least 90 days prior to the date on which the Indian Health Service proposes to begin closure activity. (C) The Council hereby reserves the power to delegate the function of reviewing the closure plan for comments to aid the Council in its determination whether to approve a closure plan. (D) The Council may allow such presentations, evidence, or arguments concerning the approval of the closure plan as it deems appropriate. (E) A decision of the Council accepting or rejecting approval of the closure plan shall be final. 9. Contents of Closure Plan. A closure plan shall present the complete plans and engineering analysis necessary for evaluation of the design, operation, monitoring, closure and post-closure maintenance of open dumps within Tribal territory. A closure plan shall include, at a minimum, the following:
10. Enforcement Any act conducted in violation of this law, or failure to perform an act required by this law may be subject to injunction in action commenced by the Council or its designee in any appropriate court. This ordinance shall not be construed as a waiver of Tribal sovereign immunity, or to limit any other civil action or remedy available to the Tribe under Tribal, state or federal law. 11. Waiver Any requirement of this law may be waived by resolution of the Council if the Council finds that such a waiver would not present a threat to human health or the environment. |
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