Yakima judge: Toppenish will pay up
YAKIMA -- On the surface, it was a courtroom battle over money. The Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency sued Toppenish to make up payments it lost for years.
The deeper issue is the agency's right to collect based on state law.
State law allows the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency to collect supplemental money from cities within their boundaries.
It's done to help the clean air agency when it's short of funding and needs to make up the difference.
The agency sued the Toppenish after it stopped paying the agency almost five years ago, owing close to $17,000.
A Yakima judge determined Wednesday the city of Toppenish has to pay.
KIMA asked the clean air agency, "Have you had issues like this in the past?"
"We have had issues like this in the past but never had to opportunity to define the correct answer. This provided that for us," said Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency Spokesperson Dave Caprile.
KIMA pulled the court documents on the case and found the city of Toppenish paid the money to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency for almost 40 years.
The city stopped paying in 2007. So what changed?
Toppenish says the change came from the 2005 Federal Air rules For Reservations.
The rules give the Environmental Protection Agency authority to manage air quality on reservations.
Before that, few rules of the Clean Air Act applied to Indian reservations.
Toppenish says there was uncertainty about overlap between federal and state laws.
"The challenge is understanding which rules apply and who has authority for implementing them and how these costs are to be addressed," said Toppenish City Attorney Patrick Spurgin.
The agency says it's not concerned with the money or controlling Indian land, but wanted clarity regarding the law.
"We have no jurisdiction on the reservation, we want no jurisdiction on the reservation, that is not an attempt to gain jurisdiction at all," said Caprile.
But the judge made it clear; the city will pay Yakima's Regional Clean Air Agency.
The clean air agency tells Action News that Wapato is another reservation city that hasn't been paying its share.
The deeper issue is the agency's right to collect based on state law.
State law allows the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency to collect supplemental money from cities within their boundaries.
It's done to help the clean air agency when it's short of funding and needs to make up the difference.
The agency sued the Toppenish after it stopped paying the agency almost five years ago, owing close to $17,000.
A Yakima judge determined Wednesday the city of Toppenish has to pay.
KIMA asked the clean air agency, "Have you had issues like this in the past?"
"We have had issues like this in the past but never had to opportunity to define the correct answer. This provided that for us," said Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency Spokesperson Dave Caprile.
KIMA pulled the court documents on the case and found the city of Toppenish paid the money to the Yakima Regional Clean Air Agency for almost 40 years.
The city stopped paying in 2007. So what changed?
Toppenish says the change came from the 2005 Federal Air rules For Reservations.
The rules give the Environmental Protection Agency authority to manage air quality on reservations.
Before that, few rules of the Clean Air Act applied to Indian reservations.
Toppenish says there was uncertainty about overlap between federal and state laws.
"The challenge is understanding which rules apply and who has authority for implementing them and how these costs are to be addressed," said Toppenish City Attorney Patrick Spurgin.
The agency says it's not concerned with the money or controlling Indian land, but wanted clarity regarding the law.
"We have no jurisdiction on the reservation, we want no jurisdiction on the reservation, that is not an attempt to gain jurisdiction at all," said Caprile.
But the judge made it clear; the city will pay Yakima's Regional Clean Air Agency.
The clean air agency tells Action News that Wapato is another reservation city that hasn't been paying its share.
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