ORDINANCE
No. 07-2000
WATER
QUALITY ORDINANCE
The Business Council of the Blue Lake Rancheria, empowered by the tribal
Constitution to enact ordinances, hereby ordains the following:
§1.
Findings And Declarations
The
Tribe finds and declares that -
(a) It
wishes to eliminate all discharges of pollutants into the waters of
the Blue Lake Rancheria and other territory over which the Tribe has
jurisdiction.
(b) Elimination
of all discharges of pollutants into the waters of the Blue Lake Rancheria
and other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction is necessary
at this time to maintain water quality for consumption and other domestic
purposes by residents of the Blue Lake Rancheria and other territory
over which the Tribe has jurisdiction.
(c) Wetland
conservation is a matter of concern to the Tribe, since loss or damage
to a wetland may deprive the Tribe, tribal members and other residents
of the Rancheria and other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction
of the many benefits associated with wetlands, including flood and
storm control, wildlife habitat, protection of groundwater resources,
pollution treatment, erosion control, cultural and historic properties,
and recreational enjoyment.
§2. Definitions
For
the purposes of this Ordinance, the following words shall have the following
meanings:
(a) The
term "Business Council" means the Business Council of the Blue
Lake Rancheria.
(b) The
term "fill material" means soil, rocks, sand, waste of any
kind, or any other material which displaces soil or water or reduces
water retention potential.
(c) The
term "person" means any individual, corporation, firm, partnership,
joint venture, association, social club, estate, trust, the United
States, Tribe, State, County, City, district or other political subdivision
of any state, or any other group or combination acting as a unit.
(d) The
term "pollutant" means any substance that will alter the quality
of the waters of the Blue Lake Rancheria or other territory over which
the Tribe has jurisdiction.
(e) The
term "quality of the water or waters" means any chemical, physical,
biological, bacteriological, radiological, and other properties and
characteristics of water which affect its use.
(f) The
term "Rancheria" means all land, air, and water located within
the exterior boundaries of the Blue Lake Rancheria.
(g) The
term "Tribal EPA" means the Tribal Environmental Protection
Agency of the Blue Lake Rancheria.
(h) The
term "water or waters" means any water, surface or underground,
located on or running through the Rancheria or other territory over
which the Tribe has jurisdiction.
(i) The
term "wetland" means land transitional between terrestrial
and aquatic systems where the water table is usually at or near the
surface or the land is covered by shallow water. For the purposes
of this Ordinance wetlands must have one or more of the following
three attributes:
(1)
at least periodically, the land supports predominantly hydrophytes;
(2)
the substrate is predominantly undrained hydric soil; and/or
(3)
the substrate is nonsoil and is saturated with water or covered
by shallow water at some time during the growing season of each
year.
The term
for wetlands as used in this Ordinance is drawn from a U.S. Fish and
Wildlife publication titled "Classification of Wetlands and Deepwater
Habitats of the United States," dated December, 1979. Where clarification
of the term wetlands is needed, the explanation in this publication,
as amended from time to time, shall be controlling.
§3. Jurisdiction
(a) The
applicability of this Ordinance shall extend to all persons who discharge
any pollutant into the waters of the Rancheria or other territory
over which the Tribe has jurisdiction or who engage in any activity
whatsoever in and around a wetland within the Rancheria or other territory
over which the Tribe has jurisdiction.
(b) Any
person who enters onto the Rancheria or other territory over which
the Tribe has jurisdiction shall become subject to this Ordinance
and shall be deemed to have consented to the jurisdiction of the Tribe
and to be bound by the lawful enactments of the Tribe.
§4. Prohibited Activities
(a) No
person shall discharge any pollutant into the waters or wetlands of
the Rancheria or other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction.
(b) Except
as otherwise provided by this Ordinance or a permit obtained from
the US Army Corps of Engineers, a person shall not:
(1)
deposit of permit the placing of fill material in a wetland within
the Rancheria or other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction;
(2)
dredge, remove, or permit the removal of soil or minerals from a
wetland within the Rancheria or other territory over which the Tribe
has jurisdiction;
(3)
drain surface water from a wetland;
(4)
alter in any way the hydrology of; or drainage to, a wetland; or
(5)
alter in any way the qualities of a wetland that create the conditions
that allow the wetland to exist.
(c) If
federal law, including the rules of the US Army Corps of Engineers,
would allow for the issuance of a permit for activities described
in sub-section (b), the Tribal EPA has the authority to prohibit such
activity to protect the health and safety of the wetland, the wetland
habitat, and/or any plant life or wildlife relying on the wetland
for survival.
§5. Activities Allowed Without Permit
(a) The
following uses shall be allowed in and around a wetland without a
permit, subject to any other laws enacted by the Tribe or federal
government:
(1)
fishing, trapping, or hunting;
(2)
swimming or boating;
(3)
hiking and other recreational activities; and
(4)
ceremonial activities and tribal customs.
§6. Civil Penalties
Any
person discharging any pollutant into the waters of the Rancheria or
other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction or engaging in
any other activity prohibited under this Ordinance shall pay a civil
fine in an amount not to exceed $5,000.00 for each day in which the
violation occurs. The civil fine required by this section shall be imposed
by any court of competent jurisdiction in accordance with this Ordinance.
§7. Notice to Tribal EPA
(a) Any
person that discharges any pollutant into the waters of the Rancheria
or other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction shall immediately,
but in any case not less than twenty- four (24) hours from the time
of the discharge, notify the Tribal EPA of said discharge and shall
fully disclose to the Tribal EPA any and all information regarding
the discharge, including, but not limited to, the type of pollutant
discharged, the amount of pollutant discharged, the location of the
discharge, and any other information required by the Tribal EPA.
(b) Any
person who engages in any activity in and around a wetland of the
Rancheria or other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction
which is prohibited under this Ordinance shall immediately, but in
any case not less than twenty-four (24) hours from the time of the
discharge, notify the Tribal EPA of said prohibited activity and shall
fully disclose to the Tribal EPA any and all information regarding
the prohibited activity as may be required by the Tribal EPA.
(c) The
initial notice of discharge or other prohibited activity required
by sub-sections (a) and (b), may be delivered orally to the Tribal
EPA in person or over the phone. However, within three (3) days of
providing oral notice of a discharge, written notice of the discharge
must be provided to the Tribal EPA. All other information required
to be provided to the Tribal EPA under subsections (a) and (b) must
be delivered to the Tribal EPA in writing or orally, at the Tribal
EPA's discretion.
§8. Clean-up and Abatement
(a) Any
person who discharges any pollutant into the waters of the Rancheria
or other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction shall be
liable for all costs associated with or necessary to clean up, abate,
or remove said pollutants from the waters of the Rancheria or other
territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction and restore the quality
of the waters of the Rancheria or other territory over which the Tribe
has jurisdiction to their condition as they existed immediately prior
to the discharge.
(b) Any
person who engages in any activity in around a wetland of the Rancheria
or other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction which is
prohibited under this Ordinance shall be liable for all costs associated
with or necessary to clean up and restore the quality of the wetland
to its condition as it existed immediately prior to the prohibited
action.
§9. Court Action and Injunctions
Upon
failure of any person to comply with any provisions of this Ordinance,
the Tribe or the Tribal EPA, by and through its attorney, shall petition
a judicial forum of competent jurisdiction for the issuance of an injunction
requiring such person to comply therewith. In any such suit, the court
or other judicial forum shall have jurisdiction to grant a prohibitory
or mandatory injunction, either preliminary or permanent, and to levy
such fines in accordance with section 6 of this Ordinance, as the facts
may warrant.
§10. No Other Remedies Affected
Nothing
in this Ordinance shall in anyway limit an individual's right to pursue,
in any judicial forum of competent jurisdiction, a private action for
damages resulting from actions that would be considered violations of
this Ordinance.
§11. Environmental Protection Fund
(a) All
monies collected or received by the Tribe as a result of violations
of this Ordinance shall be deposited with the Tribe to be credited
to the Environmental Protection Fund.
(b) The
Environmental Protection Fund shall be used for expenses related to
protecting human health and the environment within the Rancheria and
other territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction, enforcing the
provisions of the various environmental ordinances adopted by the
Tribe, promoting environmental projects, and furthering environmental
education for tribal members and residents of the Rancheria and other
territory over which the Tribe has jurisdiction.
§12. Effect of Ordinance on Other Tribal Ordinances
This
Ordinance supersedes any conflicting or contrary superseding ordinances
passed by the Tribe.
§13. Severability
If
any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person
or circumstance is held invalid, its invalidity does not affect other
provisions or applications of this Ordinance, and to this end the provisions
of this Ordinance are severable.
§14. Sovereign Immunity
The
sovereign immunity of the Tribe is in no manner waived by this Ordinance
or by any action by the Business Council, the Tribal EPA, or other staff
of the Tribe acting pursuant to this Ordinance.
§15. Amendments
This
Ordinance may be amended at any time by the Business Council.
§16. Effective Date
This
Ordinance shall take effect immediately upon passage.
CERTIFICATION
| As
the Chairperson of the Business Council for the Blue Lake Rancheria,
I hereby certify that the Business Council adopted this Ordinance
at a duly called meeting at which a quorum was present by a vote
of 5 for, with 0 against, with 0 abstaining,
with 0 absent, on this 2nd day of January, 2000. |
_______________/s/________________
Claudia Brundin, Chairperson |
__Jan.
2, 2000____
Date |
_______________/s/________________
Melanie Shelanskey, Tribal Secretary |
__Jan.
2, 2000____
Date |
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