§9626 Indian Tribes

Summary

Gives tribal governments many of the same rights and duties as a State for certain cleanup and emergency rules: notification of releases (section 9603(a)), consultation on cleanup plans (section 9604(c)(2)), access to information (section 9604(e)), health authority roles (section 9604(i)), and roles under the national cleanup plan and how to submit cleanup priorities (section 9605). It does not include the rule about listing at least one facility per State on the National Priorities List. If the President decides that the only proper cleanup is permanently moving tribal members away from a contaminated site because it is cost effective and needed for health, the tribal government must agree before any relocation happens. The President, with the Secretary of the Interior, must make sure the tribe gets all relocation benefits and that replacement land of equal value is available and acceptable. Any land bought for relocation will be held in trust by the United States for the tribe. The President must also survey hazardous waste sites on Indian lands with tribal input and include that survey and recommendations on tribal program needs in a report to Congress with the President’s FY1988 budget request. A tribe’s action under this law is not barred until whichever comes later: the normal time limit for bringing the claim, or 2 years after the United States, acting as trustee for the tribe, gives written notice it will not bring a claim or fails to bring one within the law’s time limits.