Yakama Indian Nation Treaty rights and development of cleanup standards for D and D and ER actions
- Yakama Indian Nation Environmental Restoration/Waste Management Program, Union Gap, WA (United States)
The Yakama Indian Nation (YIN) is a sovereign government located in the Northwestern United States. In 1855, the US government recognized Yakama Nation dominion on 12.2 million acres of land, or more than one-quarter of present-day Washington State. In the Treaty of 1855 between US and Yakama representatives, the YIN ceded control on 10.8 million acres of its ancestral land to the US government, but retained certain perpetual rights to that land. The Hanford Nuclear Site is located on Yakama ceded land, upon which the YIN retains rights to fish, hunt, gather roots and berries, and to pasture horses and cattle. The YIN has been recognized by the US Department of Energy as having regulatory authority concerning Hanford operations. This authority requires incorporation of YIN Treaty rights in the development of environmental cleanup standards for D and D and ER actions. The legal and policy framework upon which YIN environmental protection standards are based includes protection of the health, safety and well-being of YIN Tribal members, protection of the environment necessary to support Treaty protected resources, and preservation of the culture which sustains the unique YIN lifestyle and religion. The basis for Yakama cleanup standards will address risk, environmental, and cultural factors. It is recognized that the unique Yakama lifestyle and diet create specific exposure pathways for hazardous and radioactive materials which are not routinely factored into risk models used to calculate doses.
- OSTI ID:
- 225511
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-950917-; ISBN 0-7918-1219-7; TRN: IM9621%%441
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 5. international conference on radioactive waste management and environmental remediation, Berlin (Germany), 3-9 Sep 1995; Other Information: PBD: 1995; Related Information: Is Part Of Fifth international conference on radioactive waste management and environmental remediation -- ICEM `95: Proceedings. Volume 2: Management of low-level waste and remediation of contaminated sites and facilities; Slate, S.; Baker, R.; Benda, G. [eds.]; PB: 911 p.
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Energy Efficiency and Infrastructure Upgrades on Nuclear Clean-up Sites: The Hanford Experience - 18641
Fish Passage Assessment: Big Canyon Creek Watershed, Technical Report 2004.