I
107TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 2344
To provide for the implementation of an Intergovernmental Agreement be-
tween the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the State of Colorado con-
cerning Air Quality Control on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation,
and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 27, 2001
Mr. MCINNIS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Energy and Commerce, and in addition to the Committee on
Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker,
in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the juris-
diction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To provide for the implementation of an Intergovernmental
Agreement between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and
the State of Colorado concerning Air Quality Control
on the Southern Ute Indian Reservation, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; PURPOSE.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Southern Ute and Colorado Intergovernmental Agree-
ment Implementation Act of 2001’’.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide
for the implementation and enforcement of an Intergov-
ernmental Agreement entered into by and between the
Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the State of Colorado on
December 13, 1999, providing for the regulation of air
quality within the exterior boundaries of the Southern Ute
Indian Reservation and establishing a Southern Ute In-
dian Tribe/State of Colorado Environmental Commission.
SEC. 2. STATEMENT OF FINDINGS.
The Congress, after review and in recognition of the
purposes of the Intergovernmental Agreement between the
Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the State of Colorado,
finds and declares that—
(1) the Intergovernmental Agreement is con-
sistent with the special legal relationship between
Federal Government and federally recognized Indian
tribes; and
(2) the Intergovernmental Agreement can be
implemented in a manner that is consistent with the
Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq., 91 Stat. 685,
Public Law 95–95, Aug. 7, 1977, as amended).
SEC. 3. TRIBAL AUTHORITY.
The Administrator of the Environmental Protection
Agency is authorized to treat the Southern Ute Indian
Tribe in the same manner as a State under section 301(d)
of the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7601(d), 91 Stat. 685),
as amended, for air program applications that the Tribe
submits to the Environmental Protection Agency to imple-
ment and carry out the Intergovernmental Agreement en-
tered into by and between the Southern Ute Indian Tribe
and the State of Colorado in a manner consistent with
the Clean Air Act. If the Administrator approves any such
air program application of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe,
the approved program shall become applicable to all air
resources within the exterior boundaries of the Southern
Ute Indian Reservation. Such treatment as a State au-
thorization and any such approval of a tribal air program
application shall remain in effect for such time as the
Intergovernmental Agreement is in full force and effect.
SEC. 4. CIVIL ENFORCEMENT.
In the event any person fails to comply with a final
civil order of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe or the South-
ern Ute Indian Tribe/State of Colorado Environmental
Commission made pursuant to an air quality program es-
tablished under the Intergovernmental Agreement between
the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the State of Colorado,
the Tribe or the Commission, as is appropriate, may file
a petition for declaratory or injunctive relief, or for other
orders in aid of enforcement, only in the United States
District Court for the District of Colorado, which court
shall have jurisdiction to hear such petition.
SEC. 5. JUDICIAL REVIEW.
A petition for review of a final action of the Southern
Ute Indian Tribe State of Colorado Environmental Com-
mission made pursuant to an air quality program estab-
lished under the Intergovernmental Agreement between
the Southern Ute Indian Tribe and the State of Colorado,
may be filed only in the United States Court of Appeals
for the Tenth Circuit, which court shall have jurisdiction
to hear such petition for review. The scope and standard
of such review shall be the same as that provided in sec-
tion 706 of title 5, United States Code.
SEC. 6. DISCLAIMER.
Nothing in this Act is intended to, nor shall it be
construed as, amending, modifying, repealing, or in any
other way enlarging or diminishing the provisions of the
Clean Air Act (91 Stat. 685), as amended, or the Act of
May 21, 1984 (98 Stat. 201, 202, Public Law 98–290;
25 U.S.C. 668 note), an Act to Confirm the Boundaries
of the Southern Ute Indian Reservation in Colorado, or
any lawful administrative rule promulgated pursuant to
such statutes, or as affecting or influencing in any manner
any past or prospective judicial interpretation or applica-
tion of such statutes by the United States, the Southern
Ute Indian Tribe, or the State of Colorado or any Federal,
tribal, or State court.
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