The Wyoming Legislature’s Joint Minerals Committee approved a bill draft last month requiring the provision of notice to Tribal governments about industrial siting permit applications in their area.
The legislation would not allow Tribal governments to become official parties to the industrial siting permit process, however, or to receive any associated impact assistance payments.
The Legislature’s Select Committee on Tribal Relations considered recommending that those items be included in the bill draft this summer, but in the end, they decided “that was a little too much,” Wyoming Sen. Affie Ellis, R-Cheyenne, said.
Ellis is a member of both committees.
‘Baby step’
During the Tribal Relations Committee meeting in August, Northern Arapaho Business Council spokesman Travis McNiven said Tribal officials “hope that at least the notification piece will be considered strongly at this stage – and then, as appropriate, the (other items).”
Later, Wyoming Sen. Cale Case, R-Lander, expressed his preference for limiting the bill draft to notifications only, adding that “there is a future where there’s some inclusive thinking about this, (but) we haven’t really figured out how the governments work together.”
Wyoming Sen. Eric Barlow, R-Gillette, agreed that the bill would become “much more complex” if it involved the potential distribution of impact assistance money to “two sovereign governments.”
“It may be something (we) should be looking at and thinking about for the future,” he said. “(But) I don’t know that we’re ready for that in the context of the bill before us.”
Wyoming Rep. Ken Chestek, D-Laramie, took a different view, expressing his support for Tribal eligibility in the impact assistance program.
“Giving them the option to apply for (impact assistance) is, I think, a sign of respect to Tribal governments that we owe them,” he said.
Ellis echoed Chestek’s sentiment “about Tribes being eligible and impacted for projects that are off-reservation but close to Tribal communities” – but she also acknowledged that “there are some things to be sorted out” in that area that will require “a lot of intensive thought and work.”
Last month, she told the Minerals Committee that her “takeaway” from the Tribal Relations Commitee meeting was that the notification bill represents “a baby step.”
She also reiterated that the purpose of the Tribal notifications bill is “to be transparent” with all entities that might be affected by industrial sting projects.
“When Tribes are not notified at the front end, it creates a whole bunch of problems at the back end,” Ellis said. “This really is intended to provide Tribes notice (so they can) be involved to the extent that they’re interested and want to be.”
The bill draft now goes to the Wyoming Legislature for full consideration during the upcoming legislative session in January.
Legislative meetings can be viewed here.