The tribes want the federal courts to enter the case. The nine-member Maine Tribal State Commission says the documents are internal tribal matters and shielded from scrutiny by outsiders. The commission says tribal government is defined by the Maine Indian Claims Settlement Act and its companion Implementing Act as an internal tribal matter. The state, therefore, ''cannot impose its own governmental procedures upon the tribes,'' the statement says. The dispute arises as the state takes over all water quality regulation within its bounds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Paper companies welcome the move as a way to ease regulations.
The tribes say they want the EPA to continue to monitor waters on their lands. Three Maine paper companies that sued the tribes say the state's Freedom of Access Law requires them to turn over the papers. Rules Check the Snow Report for a daily update on ski conditions in Maine and New Hampshire. Sign up here to receive daily business headlines by e-mail. Sponsored by Gray Webster Aviation , Adecco Employment and Adecco Technical .