E XECUTIVE C OMMITTEE

P RESIDENT Jeffers on Keel
Chickasaw Nation

F IRST VICE

- PRESIDENT Juana Majel Dixon
Pauma Band

– Mission Indians

R ECORDING S ECRETARY
Theresa Two Bulls Oglala Sioux Tribe

T REASURER
W. Ron Allen Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe

R EGIONAL V ICE

- P RESIDENTS

A LASKA
William Martin

Cent ral Council Tlingit & Haida

E ASTERN O KLAHOMA

Cara Cowan Watts
Cherokee Nation

G REAT P LAINS Marcus D. Levings Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa Nation

M IDWEST
Matthew Wesaw Pokagon Band of Potawatomie

N ORTHEAST
Lance Gumbs
Shinnecock Indian Nation

N ORTHWEST Brian Cladoosby Swinomish Tribal Community

P ACIFIC
Don Arnold Scotts Valley Band of Pomo Indians

R OCKY M OUNTAIN
Scott Russell
Crow Tribe

S OUTHEAST Archie Lynch
Haliwa

- Saponi Indian Tribe

S OUTHERN P LAINS Robert Tippeconnic

C omanche Nation

S OUT HWEST Joe Garcia Ohkay Owingeh

W ESTERN
Irene Cuch
Ute Indian Tribe

E XECUTIVE D IRECTOR Jacqueline Johnson Pata Tlingit

NCAI HEADQUARTERS 1516 P Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20005

202.466.7767
202.466.7797 fax

www.ncai.org N A T I O N A L C O N G R E S S O F A M E R I C A N I N D I A N S



### The National Congress of American Indians

Resolution #RAP

- 10

- 011

TITLE: To Ensure that t he United States Environmental Protection Agency ( US EPA ) Fulfills i ts Consultation and Trust Responsibilities i n t he Navajo Generating Station Rulemaking

WHEREAS

, we , the members of the National Congress of American Indians of the United States, invoking the divine blessing of the Creator upon our efforts and purposes, in order to preserve for ourselves and our descendants the inherent sovereign rights of our Indian n ations, rights secured under Indian treaties and agreements with the United States, and all other rights and benefits to which we are entitled under the laws and Constitution of the United States, to enlighten the public toward a better understanding of th e Indian people, to preserve Indian cultural values, and otherwise promote the health, safety and welfare of the Indian people, do hereby establish and submit the following resolution; and

WHEREAS

, the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI) was

esta blished in 1944 and is the oldest and largest national organization of American Indian and Alaska Native tribal governments; and

WHEREAS

, the President implemented an Executive Order on November 5, 2009 mandating the Executive Departments and Agencies to submit their plan of actions each agency will take to implement the policies and directives of Executive Order 13175; and

WHEREAS

, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a federal agency that enforces federal regulations regarding environmental matt ers within the United States, including regulations that affect tribes within Arizona; and

WHEREAS

, the EPA promulgates and enforces air quality regulations that govern and impact the operations of major coal

- fired power plants within the United

States in cluding the Navajo Generating Station (NGS) in Page, Arizona; and

WHEREAS, the EPA published an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking

for the Assessment of Anticipated Visibility Improvement at Surrounding Class I Areas

and Cost Effectiveness of Best Ava ilability Retrofit Technology for Four Corners Power Plant and Navajo Generating Station, ("Proposed NGS BART Determination"), 40 C.F.R. Part 49 (EPA

- R09OAR

- 2009

- 0598); and

WHEREAS

, EPA's Proposed BART Determination directly affects the

economies and cult ures of Arizona Tribes, the Un it ed States' trust responsibility to tribes, and rights that Arizona Tribes specifically bargained for and were granted in treaties, federal legislation, court decrees and contracts; andNCAI 20 10 Midyear Session Resolution RA P

- 10

- 011

Page 2 of 3 WHEREAS

, Tribes and the Bureau of I ndian Affairs have submitted comments on the Proposed BART Determination informing EPA that a decision to implement the most stringent

emissions control measure

- known as selective catalytic reduction (SCR) could have significant

adverse economic and cult ural consequences for tribes, including loss of jobs and revenue; sharp increases in the cost of water that is guaranteed to Arizona Tribes under treaty and federal law; potential closure of large tribally

- owned industrial enterprises, and the inability fo r tribal members to farm their lands; and

WHEREAS

, EPA, as a Federal agency, has a trust responsibility to ensure that tribes' rights, guarantees, and benefits are protected and preserved in making agency decisions and

determinations that could affect tri bes; and

WHEREAS

, the EPA's Administrator, Lisa Jackson, defined one of her main priorities as ensuring environmental justice, particularly with respect to environmental issues disproportionately affecting minority and/or low

- income communities; and

WHER EAS

, to ensure environmental justice for such communities it is essential for the EPA to reach out to affected communities to seek to gain a full understanding of proposed EPA regulatory actions and to determine how to address any adverse effect that may b e found to result

fro m such proposed EPA actions.

NOW THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED

, that the NCAI does hereby request that the EPA make its BART Determination regarding the NGS with full recognition and consideration of its trust responsibility, to ensure tha t, as trustee of each Arizona Tribe, the EPA's actions and decisions preserve and protect tribal rights, interests, economies, benefits and guarantees; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

, that the NCAI does hereby request that the EPA not require SCR as the BART for the NGS and Four Corners Power Stations because requiring SCR will have significant adverse effects on the economies and cultures of Arizona Tribes and is in conflict with rights that tribes specifically bargained for and were granted in treaties, fede ral legislati on, court decrees and contracts; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED

, that the NCAI does hereby request that the EPA undertake an active and complete consultation process with each Arizona Tribe i n making its BART Determination; and

BE IT F INALLY RES OLVED

, that this resolution shall be the policy of NCAI until it is withdrawn or modified by subsequent resolution or until the aforementioned proposal is withdrawn from consideration by the Administration.NCAI 20 10 Midyear Session Resolution RA P

- 10

- 011

Page 3 of 3 CERTIFICATION

The foregoing resolution was adopted by the General Assembly at the 20 10 Mid

- Year Session of the National Congress of American Indians, held at the Rushmore Plaza Civic Center in Rapid City, South Dakota on June 20

- 23, 2010, with a quorum present.

President

ATTEST:

Recording Secretary