Court appointee: Interior broke the law (Norton, Oil, & Data Destruction)

[Khephra]

Interior Department Secretary Gale Norton and other officials violated federal law and breached her trust duties to American Indians, according to a court-appointed official.

Special Master Alan Balaran said Interior illegally destroyed computerized information concerning rights-of-way (ROWs) fees for oil and gas companies that operate pipelines across Navajo lands.

The department cheated the Navajo Nation by allowing contracts with oil and gas companies that undervalued Navajo lands by 20 to 200 times below comparable lands owned by non-American Indians and other tribes, Balaran said.

Interior's Office of Appraisal Services "has erased, deleted and misplaced trust information vital to the valuation of ROWs running across Navajo allotted lands," Balaran wrote in his report. "It is doubtful, as a result, whether Navajo allottees are receiving fair market value for leases encumbering their land."

more.....................

http://www.fcw.com/fcw/articles/2003/0818/web-inter-08-21-03.asp

[hatrack]

1. What wonderfully coincidental timing!

At the exact moment that Chimpy's roaming the Northwest, grazing on equal parts forests and money, here comes a perfect example of ChimpCo, Inc.'s stewardship of the land and sense of (ir)responsibility towards Native Americans.

[BansheeBarbie]

2. The GOP Is Hardly Alone In Screwing Natives

The government under both parties has been inept in handling this matter. Actually, inept is too kind a word. It masks the blatant disregard of Native American rights and the level of corruption in our government.

At this point, we should just cede the Plains back to Native Americans and ask them to manage windfarms and buffalo herds for America's energy and food supplies. They could make a fair dollar doing that and have the equity of the land itself.

[hang a left]

3. Ah what the hell

let them take the heat! (not that I think it's ok for dems and not ok for gop) I just love it when they get bad press!

[silverweb]

5. Actually...

That's a great idea!

Welcome to DU, BansheeBarbie! :hi:

[htuttle]

4. Just another High Crime and/or Misdemeanor for the pile

Did they delete all the archival backups, too?

(edit: speling)

[pw]

6. Backups?

You mean you're supposed to back up your files?

The computer system for keeping track of this stuff appears, from all reports, to be a poor substitute for a spreadsheet on my mother's 20-year-old Kaypro.