Obama Signs Omnibus Public Lands Management Act - Supports Tribal Water Rights

The following article is from the Indian Country Today website.

http://www.indiancountrytoday.com/home/content/42800437.html

New law settles tribal water rights
By Rob Capriccioso

Story Published: Apr 13, 2009
Story Updated: Apr 13, 2009

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama has signed the Omnibus Public Lands Management Act into law, which includes provisions that support tribal water rights and other positive Indian country developments.

As part of the law, the Navajo Nation achieved settled water rights to the San Juan River – a result that tribal leaders had long been working for via political and legal routes with state and federal officials.

The tribe had reached a deal with the State of New Mexico five years ago to develop the tribe’s rights to the river in a mission to build a water pipeline that would serve the reservation and other communities in the region. But the Bush administration opposed the agreement, citing its multi-million dollar cost.

The Obama administration did not share such concerns. In fact, Obama, who was endorsed by several Navajo leaders during his presidential campaign, noted the benefits the law would have for the nation’s largest tribe.

During the law’s signing ceremony, held in the East Room of the White House, Obama recognized Frank Chee Willetto Sr., a Navajo code talker from New Mexico who served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II.

“Because of this legislation, Frank, along with 80,000 others in the Navajo Nation, will have access to clean running water for the very first time,” Obama said.

Joe Shirley Jr., president of the Navajo Nation, noted after the signing ceremony that the development was a long time coming. He said tribal leaders and lawyers had been working to secure such a deal for three decades.

While Shirley said the law’s signing is a positive step, he noted that Congress still has to appropriate funds to build the pipeline.

In addition to the Navajo developments, the law also settled water rights for the Shoshone-Paiute Tribes of the Duck Valley Reservation. It also assists the 18 Pueblo tribes along the Rio Grande in New Mexico to assess and further develop irrigation systems.

Plus, it acquires land in trust for the Tuolumne Band of Me-Wuk Indians of California, as well as the Shivwits Band of Paiute Indians of Utah and for the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California.

The law begins the process to develop through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, which is expected to benefit the Native village of King Cove.

In total, the law incorporated approximately 150 individual bills, most of which were previously passed by the House or reported by a House or Senate committee during the 110th Congress.

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My note:

During the campaign, Mr. Obama pledged that when there's "a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you, the public, will have five days to look online and find out what's in it before I sign it."

On his campaign Web site, he vowed that would mean he "will not sign any non-emergency bill without giving the American public an opportunity to review and comment on the White House website for five days."

Of the nine bills Mr. Obama has signed so far in his term, he has signed six of them less than five days after Congress sent them to him. Of the other three, only on one did he wait more than five days from the time the bill was officially presented to him.

This is another bill signed by the President where, yet again, he failed to keep his promise to allow five days for public comment before he signed it.

The bill passed the House on a Wednesday, but the White House didn't post the measure for comments until Friday, leaving just two weekend days and parts of Friday and Monday for the public to register comments - well short of the president's five-day pledge.

Also, the bill was posted for only a couple hours before the White House announced that Mr. Obama would sign it. Seems like it would not have mattered about public input... he had already made up his mind that he would sign it.