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Dear USET/USET SPF Family,
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has issued a Dear Tribal Leader Letter announcing a Listening Session on civil affirmative litigation and environmental justice in support of Tribal Homelands. The DOJ Environment and Natural Resources Division (ENRD), through its Indian Resource Section, conducts affirmative litigation as Trustee in three categories of cases: 1) Water rights adjudications; 2) Asserting treaty hunting, fishing, and gathering rights; and 3) Protecting Tribal Lands and jurisdiction. The Indian Resource Section also litigates to defend agency actions taken in furtherance of Tribal Nation interests. ENRD has also brought environmental enforcement cases pursuant to the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) for cleanup of legacy contamination on Tribal Lands.
This Listening Session will be held on Tuesday, November 29, 2022 from 1:00 to 2:30pm ET and will be a hybrid in-person and virtual event. The in-person event will be held at the Great Hall of the Department of Justice, located at 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20530-0001. Attendees that would like to attend in-person or virtually must email OTJ@usdoj.gov and provide their name, Tribal Nation affiliation, email, and indicate if they will be participating in-person or virtually.
While the Dear Tribal Leader Letter does not indicate a deadline for written comments, DOJ is encouraging that comments be submitted by Friday,
November 25, 2022 to OTJ@usdoj.gov. To view additional information on affirmative civil litigation handled by ENRD as well as Framing Questions for this Listening Session, please view the Dear Tribal Leader Letter by clicking here. Questions should be directed to the DOJ Office of Tribal Justice at (202) 514-8812, or by emailing OTJ@usdoj.gov.
For more information, please contact Brian Howard, USET SPF Senior Policy Analyst, at bhoward@usetinc.org.
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