,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #ddd #aacth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,h4 ,r4 #dcej ,report ,no4 #aac-eig ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #a1 #bjad ,mr4 ,daines introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources ,september #ae1 #bjad ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed ,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,april #a1 #bjad ,a ,,bill ,to direct the ,secretary of the ,interior to take lands and mineral rights on the reservation of the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe of ,montana and other culturally important lands into trust1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,northern ,cheyenne ,lands ,act4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe has depended on its lands and land-based resources to support its way of life since time immemorial4 7#b7 ,the ,tribe has made supreme and historic sacrifices to repossess and maintain its homeland1 including its ,reservation in ,montana4 7#c7 ,the ,tribe currently suffers from tremendous social and economic challenges1 including a lack of employment opportunities on the ,reservation1 which can be improved by strengthening its control over its land base1 natural resources1 and trust funds4 7#d7 ,the ,tribe and its members are currently the beneficial owners of over #ie percent of the surface lands on the ,northern ,cheyenne ,reservation and all but approximately #e1jjj subsurface acres of the ,reservation4 7#e7 ,the ,tribe seeks to obtain ownership of approximately #e1jjj subsurface acres on its ,reservation it does not own because of an error by the ,united ,states to secure that subsurface when the ,reservation was expanded in #aijj4 7#f7 ,in #bjjb1 the ,tribe agreed by settlement to dismiss its lawsuit against the ,united ,states1 which alleged that the ,united ,states failed to protect the ,reservation from the impacts of coal development1 in return for assistance in securing tribal ownership of those subsurface rights substantially in the form of this ,act1 and to secure mitigation funding to address the impacts of coal development in areas adjacent to the ,reservation1 among other conditions4 7#g7 ,to increase tribal ownership of the surface lands1 the ,tribe has purchased approximately #icb acres of land within its ,reservation that were taken out of trust ownership status for various reasons4 7#h7 ,the ,tribe has purchased approximately #fce acres of land near ,bear ,butte1 ,south ,dakota1 which the ,tribe considers sacred ground for its members1 as well as for members of other tribes4 7#i7 ,the ,tribe now seeks to have the aforementioned lands and subsurface within the ,reservation and ,bear ,butte lands taken into trust on its behalf by the ,united ,states4 7#aj7 ,if the actions authorized by this ,act are completed1 the ,tribe will waive all legal claims against the ,united ,states arising out of the longstanding loss of the subsurface rights and arising out of the ,united ,states management of the ,northern ,cheyenne ,trust ,fund4 #c4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,fund ,the term ,fund means the ,northern ,cheyenne ,trust ,fund identified in the ,june #g1 #aiii ,agreement ,settling ,certain ,issues ,relating to the ,tongue ,river ,dam ,project which was entered into by the ,tribe1 the ,state of ,montana1 and delegates of the ,secretary of the ,interior1 and managed by the ,office of ,special ,trustee in the ,department of the ,interior4 7#b7 ,great northern properties ,the term ,great ,northern ,properties means the ,great ,northern ,properties ,limited ,partnership1 which is a ,delaware limited partnership4 7#c7 ,permanent fund ,the term ,permanent ,fund means the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe ,permanent ,fund managed by the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe pursuant to the ,plan for ,investment1 ,management and ,use of the ,fund1 as amended by vote of the ,tribal membership on ,november #b1 #bjaj4 7#d7 ,reservation ,the term ,reservation means the ,northern ,cheyenne ,reservation4 7#e7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of the ,interior4 7#f7 ,state ,the term ,state means the ,state of ,montana4 7#g7 ,tribe ,the term ,tribe means the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe4 #d4 ,tribal fee lands to be taken into trust ,not later than #fj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary shall take the approximately #a1efh acres of land depicted on the map entitled ,northern ,cheyenne ,land ,act--,fee-to-,trust ,lands and dated ,march #bf1 #bjad1 and on the map entitled ,northern ,cheyenne ,land ,act--,fee-to-,trust ,lands--,lame ,deer ,townsite1 and dated ,march #bf1 #bjad1 into trust for the benefit of the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe4 #e4 ,mineral rights to be taken into trust 7a7 ,completion of mineral conveyances ,not later than #fj days after the date on which the ,secretary receives the notification described in subsection 7d71 in a single transaction-- 7#a7 ,great ,northern ,properties shall convey to the ,tribe all right1 title1 and interest of ,great ,northern ,properties1 consisting of coal and iron ore mineral interests1 underlying the land on the ,northern ,cheyenne ,reservation generally depicted as ,great ,northern ,properties on the map entitled ,northern ,cheyenne ,land ,act--,coal ,tracts and dated ,february #bg1 #bjad2 7#b7 the ,secretary shall convey to ,great ,northern ,properties all right1 title1 and interest of the ,united ,states in and to the coal mineral interests underlying the land generally depicted as ,bull ,mountains and ,east ,fork on the map entitled ,northern ,cheyenne ,land ,act--,coal ,tracts and dated ,february #bg1 #bjad2 and 7#c7 the ,secretary shall ensure that the deed for the conveyance authorized by paragraph 7#b7 shall include a covenant1 running with the land-- 7,a7 that precludes the coal conveyed from being mined by methods other than underground mining techniques until any surface owner 7as defined in section #gad of ,public ,law #ie-hg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #acjd7;e777 for any specific tract has given written consent to ,great ,northern ,properties to enter such specific tract and commence surface mining2 and 7,b7 shall not create any property interest in the ,united ,states or any surface owner 7as defined in section #gad of ,public ,law #ie-hg 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #acjd7;e7774 7b7 ,trust status ,upon tribal request1 the coal and iron ore mineral interests conveyed to the ,tribe under this section shall be held in trust by the ,united ,states for the benefit of the ,tribe4 7c7 ,immunities ,the right1 title1 and interests conveyed to the ,tribe under subsection 7a77#a7 shall not be subject to taxation by the ,state of ,montana 7including any political subdivision of the ,state of ,montana74 7d7 ,revenue sharing agreement ,consistent with the ,settlement ,agreement entered into effective ,february #ai1 #bjjb1 by the ,montana ,state ,board of ,land ,commissioners and the ,tribe1 the ,tribe and ,great ,northern ,properties have agreed on a formula for sharing revenue from development of the ,northern ,cheyenne ,federal ,tracts in the event that the ,northern ,cheyenne ,federal ,tracts are developed at a later date4 ,the ,tribe shall notify the ,secretary in writing that the revenue sharing agreement remains in effect4 7e7 ,waiver of legal claims ,in return for the conveyances of mineral interests under subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 the ,tribe shall waive any and all claims arising from the continuing failure of the ,united ,states to acquire the private coal and iron ore mineral interests identified in subsection 7a77#a7 in trust for the ,tribe as part of the ,reservation as directed by ,congress in #aijj2 and 7#b7 ,great ,northern ,properties shall waive any claim against the ,united ,states relating to the value or completion of the conveyances under subsection 7a74 7f7 ,rescission of mineral conveyances ,if any portion of the mineral conveyances under subsection 7a7 is invalidated by a court of competent jurisdiction and the judgment of that court is not vacated or reversed on appeal-- 7#a7 not later than #a year after the date on which there is a final judgment1 the ,secretary or ,great ,northern ,properties may rescind completely each mineral conveyance under subsection 7a72 and 7#b7 if the ,secretary or ,great ,northern ,properties carries out a rescission under paragraph 7#a71 the waiver of the ,tribe under this section shall be considered to be rescinded4 #f4 ,transfer of ,northern ,cheyenne ,trust ,fund to ,tribe 7a7 ,transfer of fund ,not later than #cj days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,fund shall be transferred to the ,tribe and deposited into the ,tribe's ,permanent ,fund4 7b7 ,permitted uses of fund ,the principal of the ,fund1 upon deposit in the ,permanent ,fund1 shall be maintained in perpetuity1 and the earnings of the ,permanent ,fund shall be used as provided in the ,northern ,cheyenne ,tribe ,permanent ,fund ,plan4 7c7 ,waiver of legal claims ,in return for transfer of the ,fund under subsection 7a71 the ,tribe shall waive any and all claims arising from the ,united ,states management of the ,fund4 #g4 ,eligibility for other ,federal benefits ,no sums or other benefits provided to the ,tribe under this ,act shall result in the reduction or denial of any ,federal services1 benefits1 or programs to the ,tribe or to any member of the ,tribe to which the ,tribe or member is entitled or eligible because of-- 7#a7 the status of the ,tribe as a federally recognized ,indian tribe2 or 7#b7 the status of the member as a member of the ,tribe4 ,september #ae1 #bjad ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed