On March 31, 2026, U.S. District Court Judge Anne M. Nardacci of the United States District Court for the Northern District of New York issued a decision ordering the Indian Health Service (“IHS”) to enter into an agreement with the Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe (“SRMT” or “the Tribe”) to assume responsibility for operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities under Title V of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (“ISDEAA”). The case is Saint Regis Mohawk Tribe v. United States, No. 8:24-cv-01479.
The case arose following a proposal by the SRMT, submitted under the ISDEAA Title V final offer provisions, to amend its ISDEAA Funding Agreement to include routine operation and maintenance of water and wastewater facilities on the Tribe’s reservation. The Tribe did not request any programmatic funding from the IHS to support those activities, planning instead to use its reprogramming authority under Title V and program income (i.e., third-party revenues) collected under its other ISDEAA programs. Nevertheless, the IHS rejected the proposal, taking the position that the agency lacked statutory authority to carry out routine operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities itself, and therefore it could not transfer such authority to a tribal contractor under the ISDEAA.
In briefs supporting its Motion for Summary Judgment, the SRMT cited multiple provisions of the Sanitation Facilities Construction Act (“SFCA”) and the Indian Health Care Improvement Act (“IHCIA”) that the Tribe argued provide statutory authority for the IHS to conduct routine operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities:
- The SFCA, 42 U.S.C. § 2004a(a)(1), authorizes the IHS to “construct, improve, extend, or otherwise provide and maintain, by contract or otherwise, essential sanitation facilities.”
- The IHCIA, 25 U.S.C. § 1632(b)(2), authorizes the Secretary to provide “operation and maintenance assistance for, and emergency repairs to, tribal sanitation facilities when necessary to avoid a health hazard or to protect the Federal investment in sanitation facilities[.]”
- The IHCIA, 25 U.S.C. § 1638e, authorizes the Secretary to use funds, equipment, and supplies available to the IHS to “plan, design,, [sic] construct, and operate health care or sanitation facilities for Indians, including pursuant to a contract or compact under the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act[.]”
- The Tribe also cited various provisions of the IHCIA, 25 U.S.C. §§ 1602(b), 1603(11), & 1621b, that together grant broad authority to the IHS to carry out “health promotion and disease prevention services,” including activities to make safe water and sanitation facilities available to Indian communities.
For its part, the IHS argued that these various provisions must be read “in context” to require the agency to turn sanitation facilities over to Tribes or other entities for ongoing operations and maintenance once constructed or acquired by the IHS. Judge Nardacci rejected that argument, finding that the plain language of both the SFCA and the IHCIA authorizes the IHS to turn over operation and maintenance to Tribes or to retain operation and maintenance responsibility for itself, at its discretion. She also rejected the IHS’s arguments that, under various rules of statutory interpretation, the agency’s “maintenance” authority is limited to emergency repairs and other limited circumstances, finding that “maintenance” should be given its plain meaning rather than be cabined by other provisions in the statute relating to facility construction and repair.
Although Judge Nardacci found the plain statutory language to be conclusive, the decision also states that even if the statutory language were ambiguous, the court would have held in the Tribe’s favor based on the so-called “Indian canon of construction.” That special rule of interpretation, which is codified in Title V of the ISDEAA, 25 U.S.C. § 5392(f), requires the courts to resolve statutory ambiguities in favor of Tribes. Title V further requires the Secretary to interpret federal laws and regulations so as to facilitate the inclusion of programs and services in a Title V Compact, as well as the achievement of tribal health goals and objectives. 25 U.S.C. § 5392.
Finding ample statutory authority to support the SRMT’s proposed amendment, Judge Nardacci found that the IHS had failed to establish that its rejection of the final offer proposal was proper under the Title V final offer provisions, and she ordered the IHS to enter into the amendment as proposed. Pursuant to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, the federal government has sixty days to file notice that it intends to appeal the decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Assuming the decision is not appealed or overturned, it will provide important precedent in support of the right of Tribes and tribal health organizations to address longstanding sanitation deficiencies in tribal communities by incorporating sanitation facilities operation and maintenance programs into their existing ISDEAA agreements.
Inquiries may be directed to:
Geoffrey Strommer (gstrommer@hobbsstraus.com)
Caroline Mayhew (cmayhew@hobbsstraus.com)
