Tribal Land Transfer Policy Implementation Guidelines

Background

On January 14, 2021, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) approved Resolution E-5076 and the Tribal Land Transfer Policy (TLTP) Implementation Guidelines. Resolution E-5076 ordered that within two years of its approval, the CPUC would consider opening a proceeding to consider revisions to the Implementation Guidelines. 

On February 10, 2022, the CPUC opened proceeding R.22-02-002, called an Order Instituting Rulemaking (OIR), to consider revisions to its TLTP Implementation Guidelines.

The TLTP was developed to provide an opportunity for Native American Tribes to regain lands within their ancestral territory that are currently owned by CPUC jurisdictional utilities. The TLTP establishes the CPUC’s preference for the transfer of real property to Tribes when investor-owned utilities (IOU) plan to dispose of real property within a Tribe’s ancestral territory. The OIR is intended to further efforts by the CPUC, in recognition of and respect for Tribal sovereignty, to prioritize the return of aboriginal lands to their rightful Tribal ownership.

The OIR will also consider the CPUC’s Tribal Consultation Policy and mechanisms to enhance participation by Tribes in the CPUC’s proceedings and programs. The CPUC will conduct outreach and consultation with California Tribes to seek input on the appropriate scope of the proceeding and provide information about the OIR, including how to participate in the proceeding.  

The CPUC welcomes comments and further suggestion as to additional issues that could be included in the scope of this OIR that would further the goals of the TLTP, promote improved positive government-to-government relationships between the CPUC and California Tribes, as well as improve capacity building and access for Tribal participation in CPUC proceedings and programs.

Contact

For more information, or to request a consultation with Commissioner Houck, please contact Commissioner Houck’s Chief of Staff, Pouneh Ghaffarian, at Pouneh.Ghaffarian@cpuc.ca.gov, Kathleen Yip, Advisor to Commissioner Houck, at Kathleen.Yip@cpuc.ca.gov, and CPUC Tribal Advisor at TribalAdvisor@cpuc.ca.gov.

You can also make your voice heard in this proceeding, and read the comments of others, on our online Docket Card comment section at https://apps.cpuc.ca.gov/c/R2202002. 

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More Information

• Proceeding Documents