Illegal Dumping on Tribal Lands: April-November 2003

April-November 2003
Four (4) Trainings throughout California

During the spring and fall of 2003, the California Integrated Waste Management Board (CIWMB) and the Tribal Legal Development Clinic (TLDC) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) School of Law offered a training course on the topic of Illegal Dumping on Tribal Land. Illegal dumping of waste is a problem in many jurisdictions. The unique status of tribal lands adds uncommon complications to any illegal dumping enforcement actions or mitigation measures. Different provisions of federal, state and tribal law may apply to a specific illegal dumping incident depending upon the responsible party and the specific violation. The applicable law may be the subject of multiple US Supreme Court decisions and thereby complicate any citation and court case. This class was part of our LEA training program's continuing efforts to offer training on solid waste issues to the Board designated local enforcement agencies (LEA) and other interested parties.

Illegal Dumping

Illegal dumping sites often contain household garbage, yard trash, tires, and household hazardous waste as well as other hazardous wastes including drug lab waste. This waste material is dumped on road rights-of-way, on rural land or on vacant urban lots. These sites may be public property or private property. Since multiple tribal, federal, state and local entities have varied authority and resources to enforce illegal dumping laws and to cleanup these sites, interagency cooperation is a successful strategy to cleanup existing illegal dumping areas and deter continued illegal dumping.

Goals of the Training

Allow tribal representatives and other interested parties to join with CIWMB and Local Enforcement Agency (LEA) staff to discuss the problem of illegal dumping on Tribal Lands
Discuss the potential of tribal agreement with state or local agencies to allow mutual cooperation to prevent illegal dumping on or near tribal lands
Describe CIWMB Grant Programs which may allow tribes to fund clean-up and illegal dumping prevention programs
Provide information resources on recycling and legal disposal options for solid waste including e-waste, used oil, household hazardous waste, appliances, and abandoned vehicles

Workshop Topics

Various dumping scenarios and sharing of additional scenarios
Tribal, federal, state and local governmental powers (criminal and civil regulatory) in Indian country
Multiplicity of tribal, state and local agencies involved in investigating, enforcing or prosecuting regulation offenses
Tribal and state statutory schemes and provisions regulating illegal dumping
Provisions required in intergovernmental agreements
Abbreviated mock negotiation of a tribal-state or local agreement

Summary

There were over Fifty (50) attendees among the four Illegal Dumping on Tribal Lands trainings held across California. The majority of the training attendees were tribal representatives.

Dates and Locations

Fresno--April 16, 2003
Palm Springs--May 22, 2003
Arcata--November 5, 2003
Sacramento--November 12, 2003

Presentations

If you would like a copy of the PowerPoint presentations and other class handouts, please contact Melissa Hoover-Hartwick at (916) 341-6813 and request a CD.

For questions regarding the presentations, please contact Dennis Corcoran at 916.341.6395 or

Tribal Legal Development Clinic
3220 Campbell Hall
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1548
phone: (310) 825-7315 fax: (310) 206-7060
aisc@ucla.edu

Current Training Schedule

Please visit our training calendar to view upcoming trainings.

Additional Resources

US Environmental Protection Agency

California Integrated Waste Management Board

California Highway Patrol

Vehicle Abatement Program

Training Archives Page

Last updated: November 01, 2007

LEA Training http://www.ciwmb.ca.gov/LEATraining/
Melissa Hoover-Hartwick: mhoover@ciwmb.ca.gov (916) 341-6813