n.a.
CHAPTER 24
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
BAND STATUTE 1091-MLC-24
Preamble
It is enacted by the Band Assembly of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians in order to exercise a more effective form of tribal government
to regulate the natural resources of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians.
CHAPTER 24
Section 1. Title. This Ordinance shall be known as the Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa Indians Natural Resources Protection Ordinance.
Section 1.01. Statement of Purpose: The Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians Natural Resource Protection Ordinance to protect the natural
resources within the jurisdiction of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians as defined under the Constitution of the Minnesota Chippewa
Tribe pursuant to Section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat.
984), amended June 15, 1935 (49 Stat. 3781) and approved by the
Secretary of Interior on July 24, 1936. This Ordinance is to provide a
uniform set of standards which are necessary to supplement the Mille
Lacs Reservation's Conservation Code, so that hunting, fishing,
trapping, wild rice and all other natural resources of Reservations'
and Bands' may be preserved and protected. Where such Band laws and
standards do not exist and are not promulgated, these laws and
standards will apply. And whereas the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians finds that water is the primary resource of the natural
resources system, the protection of the quality and quantity of the
water resources is the primary objectives of these laws and
furthermore, the inter-relationships of water and other natural
resources is such that the management of soil, timber, air and mineral
resources has both direct and indirect effects upon the quality and
quantity of the water, fish, wild rice and wild life resources. These
and all other interaction of resources will be considered when planning
and management activities are engaged.
Section 2. Definition. "Band" means the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians and the constituent Bands of the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band
of Chippewa Indians.
Section 2.02. "Waters of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians"
means all streams, lakes, ponds, marshes, watercourses, waterways,
wells, springs, reservoirs, aquifer, irrigation system, drainage
systems and all other accumulations of water, surface or underground,
natural or artificial, public or private, which are contained within,
flow through or border upon lands of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians, and which are contained with, flow through or border upon any
other lands where Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians member's rights
of hunting, fishing, trapping and gathering rice are reserved.
Section 2.03. "Person" means any municipality, governmental
sub-division, public or private corporation, individual, partnership,
or other entity, including but not limited to association, commission
or any interstate body, and includes any officer or governing or
managing body of any municipality, governmental sub-division, or public
or private corporation or other entity.
Section 2.04. "Day" means a 24 hour period which shall be from
12:00:00 a.m. to 11:59:59 p.m. in the Central Time zone of the United
States.
Section 2.05. "Standard" means water quality and quantity standards,
air quality standards and soil protection standards as outlined in this
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians Resource Protection Ordinance.
Section 2.06. "Clearcutting" means any timber harvested and timber
cutting on any and all tracts of land where the standing timber remains
after harvesting or cutting is less than 40 trees of 8 inches or
greater dbh per acre.
Section 2.07. "Road" means any roadway, whether paved, graveled or
otherwise surfaced, which is maintained for public use of four-wheeled
vehicles.
Section 2.08. "Lake" means any body or accumulation of water, whether
natural or artificial, the majority of which is open water, which is an
area 10 acres or more, and in depth at least 15 feet at some point.
Section 2.09. "Pond" means any body or accumulation of water, whether
natural or artificial, the majority of which is open water, which is an
area less than 10 acres, whether or not seasonal.
Section 2.10. "Marsh, Wetland" means any body or accumulation of water
whether natural or artificial, whether or not seasonal, where a
majority area of the surface water contains emergent vegetation.
Section 2.11. "Open Water" means a water surface absent of emergent
vegetation.
Section 2.12. "River, Stream" means any waterway or watercourse,
whether natural or artificial, whether or not seasonal, which follows a
flow channel to any lake, pond, marsh, river or to any other
accumulation of water.
Section 2.13. "Pollution, Water Pollution, Air Pollution" means the
man-made or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical,
biological or radiological integrity of the waters or atmosphere of the
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians.
Section 2.14. "Point Source" means any discernable, confined, and
discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, stack,
ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container,
rolling stock concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other
floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged.
Section 2.15. "Non-Point Source" means man-made or man-induced
pollution from any and all sources not included in the point source
definition.
Section 3. Jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of the Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa Indians under this Ordinance shall extend to:
Section 3.01. All lands within the exterior boundaries of the
constituent Bands of the Non-Removable Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians as created by treaty, Executive Order, or federal act,
notwithstanding the issuance of any patent and including rights-of-way
running through said land.
Section 3.02. All dependent Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Communities
within the state of Minnesota.
Section 3.03. All Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians allotments,
whether within or without the boundaries of member Bands, the Indian
titles to which have not been extinguished, including rights-of-way
running through the same.
Section 3.04. Jurisdiction shall extend over all persons or
corporation whether Indian or non-Indian.
Section 4. Enforcement. This Ordinance shall be enforced by
Reservation Conservation Officers or any other duty appointed officers
of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians or its member Bands or any
other persons as provided by the Ordinance of the Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa Indians or its member Bands.
Section 5. Violations and Penalties. Any violation of this Ordinance
shall be considered a civil offense subject to the following penalties.
Section 5.01. Pay the cost of any necessary cleanup, restoration or
reclamation caused by the violation, as ordered by the Court of Central
Jurisdiction, or by any administrative body with jurisdiction.
Section 5.02. Pay any actual damages for injury to property, life or
resources of any person, corporation, or public body or governmental
agency.
Section 5.03. Pay as punitive damages a penalty of up to five hundred
dollars per day for each day of continuing violation.
Section 5.04. All violations of this Ordinance may be enjoined by
order of any court with jurisdiction to prevent continuing violations.
Any violation of said order shall be in addition to said above
penalties and subject to punishment for contempt of court. Punishment
for said contempt shall be at the discretion of the court, subject only
to those limitations prescribed by law.
Section 6. Notice of Violations. The Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians or its member Bands through their duly appointed officers shall
give a written notice to any violators of this ordinance. Said notice
shall be served upon any violator by giving a copy of said notice to
the violator if he/she can be located within the jurisdiction of the
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians or its member Bands. Service of
said notice may be given to serving a copy to said violator or leaving
the notice at the residence of place of business of said violator, with
any adult and who resides in the residence or is employed at the
business of the violator. In the event the person or business causing
the violation is not within the jurisdiction of the Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa Indians or its member Bands, then a notice may be posted on
the land where offense is occurring. It shall be posted in a
conspicuous place. A copy shall also be mailed to the last known
residence or business address of the violator. Said notice shall
specify the nature of the violation, the location of the violation, and
the section of this Ordinance being violated. It shall set a date for
a hearing before the court or administrative body as established by
Band law. Said hearing shall be no sooner than five days after service
of said notice. In the event that no actual service can be made on a
violator because he cannot be found, does not have a residence or place
of business within the jurisdiction of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians, then said notice of violation shall be published twice during
two consecutive weeks in a newspaper in the county where said violation
occurred. An affidavit of said publication shall be filed with the
appropriate court or administrative body and shall constitute proof of
service of said notice.
Section 6.01. In the event a defendant fails to appear before the
court or appropriate administrative body on the date set for a
preliminary appearance, the court or administrative body may declare
the defendant to be in default and award any appropriate relief to the
complainant as provided by this Ordinance.
Section 6.02. In the event a defendant does appear on the date set in
the notice of violation, the court of administrative body hearing said
matter shall set a date as soon as practicable for a full evidentiary
hearing on the violation if the defendant denies the violation or
responsibility for the violation.
Section 7. Permits. Permits shall be required for all of the
following activities and application for said permits shall be on forms
supplied by the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians. Approval for said
permits shall be obtained from the Public Works Commission on the
reservation where said activity will occur. Fees for said permits
shall be the sum specified by the Band Ordinance and so stated on the
appropriate application form.
Section 7.01. Construction of septic systems and drainfields, and any
other type of individual or multi-family sewage disposal system,
whether the construction is for a new system or for the up-grading of
an old system.
Section 7.02. Municipal, community, and village sewage treatment
plant, and any other sewage disposal system.
Section 8. Permits. Permits shall be required for all the following
activities and application for said permits shall be on forms supplied
by the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians. Approval for said permits
must be obtained from the Department of Natural Resources on the
reservation where said activity will occur. Fees for said permits
shall be the sum specified by the Ordinance and so stated on the
appropriate application form.
Section 8.01. Any and all excavation, mining, road building, draining,
dredging, filling, and any other earth removal or disposition projects
with the exception of excavation necessary for single family housing
units.
Section 8.02. Any and all insecticide, herbicide, fungicide, algacide,
and any other pesticide use, no matter the application procedure, with
the exception for household use of pesticides for public health
measures.
Section 8.03. Any and all industrial and commercial point source
discharges into the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians waters.
Section 8.04. Any and all commercial and private non-point source
discharges into the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians waters.
Section 8.05. Any and all commercial and private air emissions
relating to the production of goods, products or materials.
Section 8.06. Any and all forestry clearcutting activities and cutting
of timber by any method where the tract to be logged is adjacent to any
lake, stream, pond or road.
Section 8.07. Any and all developments and improvements of parks,
landings, beaches, harbors and canals and other related facilities,
whether public or private.
Section 9. Environmental Assessments and Impact Statements. The
issuance of any and all permits will be preceded by an Environmental
Assessment Worksheet. These assessments shall be completed by the MLBC
Research Laboratory, based upon work plans submitted by the permitee
and site inspection, laboratory analysis and any other pertinent data.
If in the findings of the assessment, an Environmental Impact Statement
is proposed, then a public hearing to determine the necessity of the
Environmental Impact Statement will be conducted. If an Environmental
Impact Statement is requested by the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians Environmental Board, the MLBC Research Laboratory will produce
and present, within ninety days of the date of request, and at the
permittee's expense, and EIS for public hearing before said Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa Indians Environmental Board for issuance or
non-issuance of the permit based on the findings of the EIS shall be
final.
Section 10. Format for the Environmental Impact Statement. The
components of all Environmental Impact Statements shall be as follows:
(1) environmental impacts, both beneficial and degrading, (2) social
impacts, both beneficial and degrading, and (3) economic impacts, both
beneficial and degrading.
Section 11. Variances. Any and all requests for a variance from the
provisions of the Ordinance shall be present before, and subject to the
approval of the appropriate Mille Lacs Band Assembly in the manner they
shall prescribe. The decision of the Mille Lacs Band Assembly shall be
final.
Section 12. Water - Policy and Goals. The waters of the Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa Indians will be protected from degradation. The
quality of the water will be maintained or improved to guarantee the
treaty rights of the members of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa
Indians.
Section 13. Water - Definitions. All standards will be interpreted to
mean a maximum allowable limit unless otherwise stated.
Section 13.01. "Ambient" means that concentration which exists without
point source pollution as established by MLBC Research Lab.
Section 13.02. "LC(50)" means the concentration of toxicant that is
lethal (fatal) to 50 percent (50%) of the sensitive resident species
organisms tested under the test conditions in a specific time.
Section 13.03. "Toxicant, Toxic Substance" means those pollutants or
combination of pollutants, including disease-causing agents, which
after discharge and upon exposure, ingestion, inhalation, or
assimilation into any organism, either directly from the environment or
indirectly by ingestion through food chains, will, on the basis of
information available to the MLBC, cause death, disease, behaviorial
abnormalities, cancer, genetic mutations, physiological malfunctions,
including malfunctions in reproduction, or physical deformation, in
such organism or their offspring.
Section 14. Water - Standards.
Constituent Concentration or Limits
Alkalinity 20 mg/l or more as CaCo(3) for fresh water
aquatic life except where natural
concentration are less
Ammonia .02 mg/l as (un-ionized ammonia) for fresh
water aquatic life
Constituent Concentration or Limits
Arsenic 50 ug/l for domestic water supply
Barium 1 mg/l for domestic water supply
Beryilium 11 ug/l for the protection of aquatic life in
soft fresh water 1,100 ug/l for the
protection of aquatic life in hard fresh
water
Boron 750 ug/l
Cadmium 10 ug/l for domestic water supply
Aquatic Life
Soft Water Hard Water
0.4 ug/l 1,2 ug/l
Chlorine 2.0 ug/l for salmonid fish 10 ug/l for other
fresh water fish
Chromium 50 ug/l for domestic water supply 100 ug/l
for fresh water aquatic life
Fecal Coliform
Bacteria 200 colonial/100 ml.
Color 75 color units on platinum - cobalt scale for
domestic water supplies
Copper 1 mg/l for domestic water supply 0.1 x 96
hours LC50 for fresh water aquatic life
Cynaide 5.0 ug/l for fresh water aquatic life
Gases, total
dissolved 110% of saturation at existing atmosphere and
hydrostatic pressures
Iron 0.3 mg/l for domestic water supply 1.0 mg/l
for fresh water aquatic life
Lead 50 ug/l for domestic water supply 0.1 x 96
hour LC50 for fresh water aquatic life
Manganese 50 ug/l for domestic water supply and fresh
water aquatic life
Mercury 2.0 ug/l for domestic water supply .05 ug/l
for fresh water aquatic life
Nickel .01 x 96 hour LC50 for fresh water aquatic
life
Nitrate, Nitrite 10 mg/l nitrate nitrogen for domestic water
supply, not to exceed ambient NO(2) - NO(3)
for all water systems, as established by MLBC
Research Lab
Oil & Grease Domestic water supplies virtually free from
oil and grease .01 x 96 hour LC50 for fresh
water aquatic life
Constituent Concentration or Limits
Dissolved Solids &
Salinity 250 mg/l for chlorides and sulfates in
domestic water supply
Natural Salinity % % Variation Permitted
0 to 3.5 1
3.5 to 13.5 2
13.5 to 35 4
Settleable & Suspended
Solids & Turbidity Fresh water fish and other aquatic life;
settleable and suspended solids should not
reduce the depth of the compensation point
for photosynthetic activity
Sulfide 2 ug/l undissociated H(2)S for fresh water
aquatic life
Sulfate Not to exceed ambient SO4 for all waters, as
established by MLBC Research Lab
Temperature No thermal pollution shall be discharged into
any waters on the reservations
Dissolve O(2) 5.0 mg/l minimum for fresh water aquatic life
Pesticides No measureable amounts of any pesticide or
any other toxicant will occur in any surface
or groundwater
pH 5 - 9 for domestic water supply 5.5 - 9.0 for
fresh water aquatic life
Phenol 1 ug/l for all waters
Phosphorus Not to exceed ambient total phosphorus for
all water systems as established by MLBC
Research Lab
Polychorinate
Biphenyls (PCB) .001 ug/l for all waters
Phthalate esters .1 ug/l for fresh water aquatic life
Selenium 10 ug/l for domestic water supply .01 x 96
hour LC50 for fresh water aquatic life
Silver 50 ug/l for domestic water supply .01 x 96
hour LC50 for fresh water aquatic life
Zinc 5 mb/l for domestic water supply .01 x 96
hour LC50 for fresh water aquatic life
Water quality Any and all men made or man induced
regulation of water flow on or through any
Reservation of the Mille Lacs Band of
Chippewa Indians shall be subject to the
stipulations set forth in these Mille Lacs
Band of Chippewa Indians Natural Resources
Protection Laws for the provision of
adequate water quantities for the
preservation and protection of natural
resources.
Litter No littering, refuse or garbage disposal will
be permitted in any waters of the Mille Lacs
Bands of Chippewa Indians.
Section 15. Air - Policy and Goals. The air quality within the
reservations is affected by many pollutants and chemicals, which may
travel through the atmosphere from distant sources. These chemicals
and pollutants are deposited on reservation lands and waters, the
result being a direct threat to the natural resources of the
reservation. Pursuant to Class 1 - Air Quality.
Section 16. Air - Definitions. "BACT, best available control
technology" means that method of limiting emissions to the minimum
amount possible.
Section 17. Air - Standards. These standards will be those as set
forth by 42 USC Section 7474 and the Clean Air Act.
Section 18. Soils - Policy and goals. The soils within the
jurisdiction of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians are an integral
part of the total natural resource spectrum. Fish, furbearers, wild
rice and other wildlife are directly affected by the types of, and the
maintenance of, vegetative cover upon the soils. The management of
these soils will be within this context. In addition, alternatives to
chemical usage upon the soils shall be considered the policy of the
Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians.
Section 19. Soil - Definitions. "Soil" means all soils, metals,
minerals, gases, liquid, gravels or other elemented or complexed
materials, in any physical state, which lie on or in the earth's
surface to a depth of 15 feet.
Section 20. Soils - Standards. Natural erosion rectification
measures, such as seeding, planting or otherwise establishing
vegetative cover, will be utilized by the landowner.
Section 20.01. Permits will be required for any project or development
other than farming which involves excavation, soil removal or
disposition, and shall include provisions for the seeding of planting
to establish vegetative cover.
Section 20.02. Agricultural lands shall be protected from wind and
water erosion through the use of sound agricultural principles,
including but not limited to, terracing, tree breaks, grass waterways
and maintaining vegetative cover on tilled lands during the non-growing
season.
Section 21. Subsurface Resources. Groundwater - refer to Section 2
and subsections. All other subsurface resources will be managed at the
discretion of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians - Department of
Natural Resources. Management will include analysis of potential
environmental effects for all exploration, mining, or extractions,
which are or may be practiced on the lands under the jurisdiction of
the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians.
Section 22. Forestry - Policy and Goals. The forestry resource on the
lands under the jurisdiction of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians
will be managed to preserve and protect said lands in a perpetually
productive state. This will be done by applying sound silvicultural
practices to the harvesting of the timber, and by making provision for
new forest growth as timber is removed. The guiding document shall be
CFR 25, Part 141, Forestry Manual 53 BIAM, dated June 21, 1978, and
supplements. Any superceding documents pertaining to forestry
management on Indian lands will be subject to the approval of the
governing body of the Mille Lacs Band of Chippewa Indians.
Section 23. Forestry - Standards. No clearcutting of timber will be
permitted within a 100 foot border of any lake, pond or river.
Section 23.01. No clearcutting of timber will be permitted within 100
feet of any road.
Section 23.02. Permits for logging will include stipulations for the
re-seeding of logged area and logging equipment trails.
Section 23.03. Users of insecticides, herbicides, or any other
chemical or pesticides for forestry management activities will be
required to obtain a permit.
Section 24. State Civil Jurisdiction. Any person by a violation of
this Ordinance may bring a civil cause of action in the appropriate
state court seeking damages pursuant to the provisions of Title 28,
United States Code, Section 1360; P.L. 83-280 which states:
Any tribal ordinance or custom heretofore or herafter adopted by
an Indian tribe, band or community in the exercise of any
authority which it may possess shall, if no inconsistent with any
applicable civil law of the State, be given full force and effect
in the determination of civil causes of action pursuant to this
Section.
Added Aug. 15, 1953, C. 505(3) 4, 67 Stat. 589, and amended Aug.
24, 1954, c. 910, (3)2, 68 Stat. 795, Aug. 8, 1958, P.L. 85-615,
(3)2, 74 Stat. 545.
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