Opinion ID: 2109887
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Infringement of Tribal Self-Government

Text: Infringement of the Tribe's right to make its own laws and be ruled by them is difficult to comprehend because, as the PSC found, the Tribe has not developed a regimen for regulating electric suppliers. Even assuming that the tribal resolution, which, after the fact and unilaterally, directed Otter Tail to be the supplier of electricity to DTI, was a valid governmental exercise, minimal burdens on tribal self-government are allowable. See Washington v. Confederated Tribes, 447 U.S. 134, 151, 100 S.Ct. 2069, 2080, 65 L.Ed.2d 10 (1980); Moe v. Salish & Kootenai Tribes, 425 U.S. 463, 483, 96 S.Ct. 1634, 1646, 48 L.Ed.2d 96 (1975). Otter Tail has failed to show anything more than a minimal burden on tribal self-government by the PSC's exercise of regulatory jurisdiction on the reservation. Because there is no tradition of sovereignty by the Tribe over electric service, and because there is a potential economic impact on consumers beyond reservation boundaries, we may accord little if any weight to any asserted interest in tribal sovereignty in this case. Rice v. Rehner, 463 U.S. 713, 725, 103 S.Ct. 3291, 3299, 77 L.Ed.2d 961 (1983). In this case, we conclude that the State's interest in regulating a public utility outweighs the minimal burden on tribal self-government. In accordance with this opinion, we grant the supervisory writ. We order that the district court's writ of prohibition be vacated and that the PSC be permitted to proceed with the contempt proceedings against Otter Tail. Subject to the normal review procedures, the PSC may now implement its decision on the merits of the public convenience and necessity. ERICKSTAD, C.J., and GIERKE and VANDE WALLE, JJ., concur.