Native American Voices Finally Consider Energy Projects – Hydropower Ruling Is a Victory for Environmental Justice on Tribal Lands

The United States has a protracted history of exploiting resources on indigenous lands while ignoring tribal resistance. But federal energy regulators' decision to disclaim permits for seven planned hydropower projects suggests the tide may very well be turning.

As the U.S. transitions from fossil fuels to scrub energy, developers are searching for sites to generate electricity from renewable sources. But in an unexpected move, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Permits denied on February 15, 2024 for seven proposed hydroelectric projects in Arizona and New Mexico.

The reason: These projects were throughout the Navajo Nation and were proposed without prior consultation with the tribe. FERC said it was “Establishing a new policy that the Commission will not issue preliminary permits for projects proposing the use of tribal lands if the tribe on whose land the project is to be located rejects the permit.”

we’re a cultural anthropologist and a Water resources geographer who’ve been studying tensions between indigenous rights, climate policy, and water management within the United States and globally for over 20 years. In our view, the Commission's decision could mark a historic turning point for intergovernmental relations between the U.S. government and indigenous nations.

How might this recent approach impact future energy development on tribal lands across the United States? Given the federal government's long history of exploiting Native American resources without tribal consent, we’re monitoring FERC's actions for more evidence before concluding that a brand new era has begun.

Extraction on tribal lands

Around the world, many indigenous communities argue that their lands have been treated this manner Sacrificial zones for development. This also includes the USA, where the federal government holds 56.2 million acres in trust for various tribes and individuals, primarily in western states.

The Trust the responsibility Requires the U.S. government to guard the lands, resources, and rights of indigenous peoples and to respect tribal sovereignty. Advising tribes on decisions that affect them is prime to this relationship.

Energy resources on Native American lands include: Coal, oil, uranium, Solar, wind and hydropower. There is a protracted history Coal and uranium mining in Navajo Territory within the southwest, and tribal lands at the moment are targets Renewable energy projects. Large portions of known reserves of vital clean energy minerals, comparable to copper and cobalt, exist on or near homeland.

Many past energy projects have left scars. Navajo lands are affected by abandoned uranium mining sites that endanger the health of residents. Over 1.1 million hectares Tribal areas were flooded through lots of of dams built for hydroelectric power and irrigation. Fossil fuel pipelines like Dakota Access in North Dakota and Line 5 in Wisconsin and Michigan carries oil through Native lands, endangering water supplies within the event of a leak or spill.

Impact of the hydroelectric project

The seven permits that FERC denied in February 2024 were requested by private firms that wanted to construct pumped storage power plants. These systems pump water uphill to a reservoir for storage. When electricity is required, the water flows downhill through turbines, generating electricity because it flows back right into a lower reservoir or river.

Currently there may be over 60 pumped storage suggestions Pumped hydro storage typically requires the development of big concrete-lined tunnels, power plants, pipelines and transmission systems to make it possible Cause damage to surrounding properties.

Extracting water for hydroelectric power could impact rivers and sacred sites culturally and spiritually vital for a lot of tribes. These projects also pose a threat Water safety – a critical issue in arid western states.

Colorado River water is already over-allocated to western states, which have the legal right to withdraw more water than is on the market within the river. Therefore, many pumped storage projects would require groundwater to fill their reservoirs. The proposed one Big Canyon Project in ArizonaFor example, as much as 19 billion gallons of groundwater could be required, drawn from aquifers that provide local springs and streams.

FERC’s Trust Responsibility

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is an independent agency Licenses and supervision interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas and oil; natural gas pipelines and terminals; and hydropower projects. Under a Act of 1986The agency must consider aspects comparable to environmental quality, biodiversity, recreational activities and tribal contributions when making licensing decisions.

However, the US government has a protracted history of success Implementation of projects despite resistance from locals. For example under the Pick-Sloan planIn the late Nineteen Fifties and early Sixties, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers built five dams on the Missouri River, flooding over 350,000 acres of tribal land. Tribes weren’t consultedand communities were forcibly relocated from their ancestral homelands.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton enacted Executive Order 13175, which directs federal agencies to conduct “regular and meaningful consultation and cooperation with tribal officials” to develop federal policies that impact tribes. Each agency interprets do that.

In his first week in office of 2021, President Joe Biden affirmed this responsibility and appointed U.S. Representative Deb Haaland as Secretary of the Interior – the primary Native American to guide the agency that manages the U.S. trust responsibilities to Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

FERC’s recent direction

Tribes have described the record of FERC consultations with Native Americans as “miserable.” However, the agency has recently begun to make its operations more inclusive.

In 2021 it’s established a brand new office for public participation, a move that then-Chairman Richard Glick called “long overdue.” And in 2022, the agency released its Equity Action Planto make it easier for underserved groups to take part in decision-making.

In canceling the projects in February, FERC cited Concerns of the Navajo Nation, including negative impacts on water, cultural and natural resources and biodiversity. It also states: “To avoid permit denials, potential applicants should work closely with tribal stakeholders prior to submitting applications to ensure that tribes are fully informed about proposed projects on their lands and to determine their willingness to support project development.” to be considered.”

Balancing clean energy and environmental justice

Many other energy projects are proposed or planned on or near tribal lands, including a dozen pumped storage power plants on the Colorado Plateau. All 12 are rejected by tribes due to a scarcity of consultation and since the tribes are still fighting to secure their very own legal access to water on this contested basin under the 1922 Colorado River Compact.

We recently analyzed FERC's handling of this Big Canyon Pumped Storage Project, which could be situated on Navajo land in Arizona, and concluded that the agency had not adequately consulted the tribe in its preliminary approval. As a part of its February ruling, the agency has reopened the general public comment period on Big Canyon for one more 30 days, with a choice expected later in 2024.

The Biden administration has set ambitious goals to halt climate change and speed up the transition to scrub energy Promoting environmental justice. In our view, achieving these goals requires the Federal Government to meet its trust responsibility more seriously and consistently.