(1)The general assembly hereby finds
and declares that:
(a)The Southern Ute Indian tribe and the state of Colorado have entered into
an intergovernmental agreement, as set forth in House Bill 00-1324, enacted at the
second regular session of the sixty-second general assembly and found at 24-62-101, C.R.S.;
(b)Pursuant to said intergovernmental agreement, the tribe and the state
have agreed to create a tribal/state environmental commission with the authority to
promulgate rules and regulations for one air quality program for all lands, all
persons, and all air pollution sources within the exterior boundaries of the Southern
Ute Indian reservation;
(c)As governments that share contiguous physical boundaries, it is in the
interest of the environment and all residents of the res
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(1) The general assembly hereby finds
and declares that:
(a) The Southern Ute Indian tribe and the state of Colorado have entered into
an intergovernmental agreement, as set forth in House Bill 00-1324, enacted at the
second regular session of the sixty-second general assembly and found at 24-62-101, C.R.S.;
(b) Pursuant to said intergovernmental agreement, the tribe and the state
have agreed to create a tribal/state environmental commission with the authority to
promulgate rules and regulations for one air quality program for all lands, all
persons, and all air pollution sources within the exterior boundaries of the Southern
Ute Indian reservation;
(c) As governments that share contiguous physical boundaries, it is in the
interest of the environment and all residents of the reservation and the state of
Colorado to work together to ensure consistent and comprehensive air quality
regulation on the reservation;
(d) The establishment of a single collaborative authority for all lands within
the exterior boundaries of the reservation best advances rational, sound, air quality
management and will minimize duplicative efforts and expenditures of monetary
and program resources by the tribe and the state;
(e) Pursuant to the intergovernmental agreement, the tribe will seek
delegation from the United States environmental protection agency to administer
certain programs under the federal Clean Air Act, 42 U.S.C. sec. 7401 et seq.
(1970), as the same is in effect on November 15, 1990, such delegation being
contingent upon the existence of the tribal/state commission and the
intergovernmental agreement.
(2) It is the intent of the general assembly in enacting this part 13 to
establish state authority for the creation of a commission that will establish a
separate reservation air program for all lands within the exterior boundaries of the
Southern Ute Indian reservation, as provided in the intergovernmental agreement.
Therefore, for the duration of the intergovernmental agreement, all lands within the
exterior boundaries of the reservation shall be subject to the authority of the
commission and the provisions of the reservation air program, as described in this
part 13 and in the intergovernmental agreement, and shall not be subject to the
authority of the Colorado air quality control commission or the provisions of parts 1
to 12 of this article, except as otherwise provided in the intergovernmental
agreement and in this part 13.
(3) In article IV of the intergovernmental agreement, the tribe and the state
agreed that neither party intended to alter the existing sovereignty or jurisdiction of
any party, and by approving the intergovernmental agreement, neither party
conceded or agreed to any jurisdiction of the other party that would not otherwise
exist. To the extent the state has jurisdiction over non-Indians on fee lands within
the exterior boundaries of the reservation, it is the intent of the general assembly in
enacting this part 13 that the commission shall exercise such authority for the
purposes set forth in this part 13.
(4) The general assembly enacts this part 13 with the understanding that the
tribe has also adopted tribal legislation that will carry out the terms of the
intergovernmental agreement with respect to persons, air pollution sources, and
lands within the reservation that are subject to the jurisdiction of the tribe.
(5) The general assembly hereby declares that its intent in enacting senate
bill 02-235 is to ratify the continued existence of the Southern Ute Indian
tribe/state of Colorado environmental commission after December 13, 2001.