Peak North Dakota, LLC v. Great Plains Regional Director, 47 IBIA 166 (2008)

INTERIOR BOARD OF INDIAN APPEALS Peak North Dakota, LLC v. Great Plains Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs 47 IBIA 166 (07/31/2008)

United States Department of the Interior

OFFICE OF HEARINGS AND APPEALS INTERIOR BOARD OF INDIAN APPEALS 801 NORTH QUINCY STREET SUITE 300 ARLINGTON, VA 22203

PEAK NORTH DAKOTA, LLC, Appellant, v. GREAT PLAINS REGIONAL DIRECTOR, BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, Appellee.

Order Dismissing Appeal

Docket No. IBIA 08-96-A

July 31, 2008

Peak North Dakota, LLC (Peak), appealed to the Board of Indian Appeals (Board), pursuant to 25 C.F.R. § 2.8, when the Great Plains Regional Director, Bureau of Indian Affairs (Regional Director; BIA) failed to issue a decision (or set a timetable for doing so) on the merits of a request for action filed by Peak, dated April 15, 2008.1 Peak's request for action was filed during the course of an appeal by EOG Resources, Inc. (EOG), which was pending before the Regional Director, regarding an oil and gas lease sale on the Fort Berthold Reservation.2 After receiving Peak's appeal, the Board requested a status report from the Regional Director, and, to the extent that Peak's appeal otherwise divested him of jurisdiction over

Section 2.8 is an action-prompting provision, which allows a party to appeal from the "inaction" of a BIA official if the party has submitted a demand for action pursuant to section 2.8, and the BIA official has failed to issue a decision on the merits or otherwise respond to the demand.1

the matter, authorized the Regional Director to continue to consider Peak's April 15, 2008, request and to take action or to make a decision on that request. On July 25, 2008, the Board received a joint motion from Peak and the Regional Director to dismiss this appeal "without prejudice." The motion states that the Regional Director issued a decision on June 25, 2008, which Peak agrees rendered moot the claims it raised in this section 2.8 appeal. The Board agrees that the Regional Director's June 25, 2008, decision renders this appeal moot, and construes the joint motion as a request for dismissal of this appeal without prejudice to Peak's rights with respect to the merits of the underlying matter, including its right to appeal from or participate in any appeal from the June 25, 2008, decision.3 Therefore, pursuant to the authority delegated to the Board of Indian Appeals by the Secretary of the Interior, 43 C.F.R. § 4.1, the Board grants the joint motion and dismisses this appeal...