Emergency Management in Indian Country

The winters can be hazardous in many parts of the country. With the spring comes the thaw and often flooding. Some Indian reservations in North Dakota, most notably the Spirit Lake Indian Reservation and the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa, have received major disaster declarations due to spring flooding. In other parts of the country, oftentimes it is tornadoes or battling fires. Tribes around the country experience other types of emergencies and disasters. Since the enactment of the Tribal Stafford Act in 2013, tribes have been able to request emergency or major disaster declarations directly from the President and independent of States. For many years, tribes were forced to rely on their State governor to make these requests on their behalf in order to receive Stafford Act assistance, assistance that is vital to tribal governments for protecting the health and safety of their citizens in the wake of emergency or major disasters. In 2015, 3 million gallons of toxic mine water swept downstream into the Navajo Nation's lands following the rupture of the Gold King Mine in Colorado. We still do not know the full impacts of this environmental disaster that sent polluted water into the Animas and San Juan Rivers and through the Navajo Nation. The Federal Government response to Gold King has been a frustrating experience for the Navajo Nation. The Government Accountability Office is studying tribal disaster declaration issues. The report will include ways to build and strengthen tribal capacity to request major disaster declarations and manage associated funding. The report will also inform discussions on how the Congress can work together to assist tribal governments in protecting public health, safety and property in the event of a major disaster in Indian country.