Controversial EPA decision gives Oklahoma governor regulatory power over tribal lands

Andrew Wheeler.
(Image credit: USAN WALSH/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

The Environmental Protection Agency has granted Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt's (R) request to re-establish regulatory control over environmental issues on certain tribal lands, TYT reported Monday after obtaining a letter from EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler that outlines the decision.

Earlier this year, the Supreme Court's decision in McGirt v. Oklahoma determined the Creek Nation's reservation in eastern Oklahoma "had not been disestablished by Congress and remained Indian country under federal law," which would impede the state from implementing regulatory programs in that area. But a 2005 statute specific to Oklahoma, Wheeler's letter explains, requires the EPA administrator to approve a request from the state to implement the regulatory program "in areas of the state that are in Indian country, without any further demonstration of authority by the state," should that request meet certain requirements.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
Explore More
Tim O'Donnell

Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.