MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • August 13, 2023
While L.D. 2004 would have augmented Wabanaki sovereignty, it would have continued to prevent the Wabanaki tribes from exercising sovereignty over environmental regulation on tribal lands and waters. While the Environmental Protection Agency continues to wield preeminent authority over pollution standards, its 1984 Indian Policy grants tribes agency in the design and implementation of air and water quality regulation. When EPA regulations are inadequate for tribal needs, federally recognized tribes retain the sovereign power to set stricter pollution standards than federal and state agencies. Preventing full Indigenous sovereignty over pollution regulation in Maine continues to foreclose potentially innovative tribal measures to counteract the disastrous effects of climate change. ~ David W. Everson, assistant professor of sociology, University of Southern Maine