A federal appeals court has upheld the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to let Oklahoma administer federal environmental programs in parts of Indian Country, rejecting a challenge brought by the Pawnee Nation in a 2-1 ruling Oct. 16.
The case, Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma v. Zeldin, turns on a provision known as the “Midnight Rider,” a late addition to a 2005 transportation law that allowed Oklahoma to extend its EPA-approved environmental programs onto reservation lands.
Oklahoma did not invoke the law until 2020, after the U.S. Supreme Court’s McGirt v. Oklahoma decision affirmed that the Muscogee (Creek) Nation’s reservation remained intact for purposes of federal law. The EPA under President Donald Trump approved the state’s request that year.
Tribal governments, including the Pawnee Nation, asked the EPA under President Joe Biden to revisit the approval. The agency proposed withdrawing it in 2021 but left Oklahoma’s authority in place during reconsideration. In January 2025, it replaced the original approval with one requiring the state to seek consensus with affected tribes.
After Trump returned to the White House, the EPA removed that condition in May 2025, prompting the Pawnee Nation’s petition for review.
The tribe argued the Midnight Rider expired in 2009 and that the EPA retained authority to impose conditions. Writing for the majority, U.S. Circuit Judge Timothy Tymkovich said the statute contained no sunset clause and did not permit the Biden‑era condition.
“Congress’s command that the EPA ‘shall approve’ a valid request does not authorize the agency to shrink that approval by attaching a condition to it,” Tymkovich wrote.
Earthjustice attorney Michael Freeman, representing the Pawnee Nation, said the ruling was disappointing and the tribe was weighing its options, according to Reuters.
U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Federico dissented, saying the EPA could impose protections for tribal interests.
“This court should not so readily acquiesce to the total displacement of the tribes as the first sovereigns of their land absent a clear statement from Congress to the contrary,” he wrote.
