S. 2442 — Introduced in Senate

II 113th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 2442 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES June 5, 2014 Mr. Walsh (for himself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs A BILL To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land and mineral rights on the reservation of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana and other culturally important land into trust for the benefit of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Northern Cheyenne Lands Act. 2. Findings Congress finds that— (1) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has depended on the land of the Tribe and the land-based resources of the Tribe to support its way of life since time immemorial; (2) the Tribe has made supreme and historic sacrifices to repossess and maintain the homeland of the Tribe, including the Reservation of the Tribe in the State of Montana; (3) the Tribe suffers from tremendous social and economic challenges, including a lack of employment opportunities on the Reservation, which can be improved by strengthening the control of the Tribe over the land base, natural resources, and trust funds of the Tribe; (4) the Tribe seeks a variety of resolutions to outstanding legal obstacles that have prevented the Tribe from consolidating subsurface and surface trust ownership on the Reservation; (5) the Tribe and the members of the Tribe are the beneficial owners of more than 95 percent of the surface land of the Reservation and all but approximately 5,000 subsurface acres of the Reservation; (6) the Tribe seeks to obtain ownership of approximately 5,000 subsurface acres on the Reservation that the Tribe does not own as a result of an error made by the United States when the Reservation was expanded in 1900; (7) in 2002, the Tribe agreed by settlement to dismiss a lawsuit against the United States which alleged that the United States failed to protect the Reservation from the impacts of coal development in return for assistance in securing tribal ownership of the subsurface rights described in paragraph (6) substantially in the form of this Act, and to secure mitigation funding to address the impacts of coal development in areas adjacent to the Reservation, among other conditions; (8) to increase tribal ownership of the surface land, the Tribe has purchased approximately 932 acres of land within the Reservation that were, for various reasons, taken out of trust ownership status; (9) the Tribe has purchased approximately 635 acres of land near Bear Butte, South Dakota, which the Tribe considers sacred ground for the members of the Tribe, as well as for members of other Indian tribes; (10) the Tribe seeks to have the land and subsurface within the Reservation and the Bear Butte land described in this section taken into trust by the United States for the benefit of the Tribe; (11) the Tribe seeks clarification, consistent with the 1999 settlement with the United States, that the principal of the funds arising from the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 (Public Law 102–374; 106 Stat. 1186; 108 Stat. 707), the earnings from which are paid to the Tribe and managed as the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund by the Office of Special Trustee, may be transferred to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Permanent Fund, which has historically provided strong returns to the Tribe in direct support of tribal self-determination and to offset limited Federal funding of important tribal governmental services; and (12) if the conveyances of land and funds authorized under this Act are carried out, the Tribe has agreed to waive all legal claims against the United States arising out of the longstanding loss of the subsurface rights and the management of the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund by the United States. 3. Definitions In this Act: (1) Fund The term Fund means the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund identified in the June 7, 1999 Agreement Settling Certain Issues Relating to the Tongue River Dam Project, which was entered into by the Tribe, the State, and delegates of the Secretary, and managed by the Office of Special Trustee in the Department of the Interior. (2) Great Northern Properties The term Great Northern Properties means the Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership, which is a Delaware limited partnership. (3) Permanent Fund The term Permanent Fund means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe Permanent Fund managed by the Tribe pursuant to the Plan for Investment, Management and Use of the Fund, as amended by vote of the tribal membership on November 2, 2010. (4) Reservation The term Reservation means the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. (5) Secretary The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. (6) State The term State means the State of Montana. (7) Tribe The term Tribe means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. 4. Tribal fee land to be taken into trust Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe the approximately 1,567 acres of land depicted on— (1) the map entitled Northern Cheyenne Lands Act – Fee-to-Trust Lands and dated April 22, 2014; and (2) the map entitled Northern Cheyenne Lands Act – Fee-to-Trust Lands – Lame Deer Townsite and dated April 22, 2014. 5. Mineral rights to be taken into trust (a) Completion of mineral conveyances (1) In general Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary receives the notification described in subsection (c), in a single transaction— (A) Great Northern Properties shall convey to the Tribe all right, title, and interest of Great Northern Properties, consisting of coal and iron ore mineral interests, underlying the land on the Reservation generally depicted as Great Northern Properties on the map entitled Northern Cheyenne Land Act – Coal Tracts and dated April 22, 2014; and (B) subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall convey to Great Northern Properties all right, title, 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 Federal Tracts and dated April 22, 2014. (2) Requirement The Secretary shall ensure that the deed for the conveyance authorized by paragraph (1)(B) shall include a covenant running with the land that— (A) precludes the coal conveyed from being mined by any method other than underground mining techniques— (i) until any surface owner (as defined in section 714(e) of Public Law 95–87 (30 U.S.C. 1304(e))) for a specific tract has provided to Great Northern Properties written consent to enter the specific tract and commence surface mining; and (ii) except as determined to be acceptable for further consideration for leasing in the document of the Bureau of Land Management entitled Billings Resource Area Final EIS and Resource Management Plan and dated September 1984; and (B) shall not create any property interest in the United States or any surface owner (as defined in section 714(e) of Public Law 95–87 (30 U.S.C. 1304(e))). (b) Treatment of land transferred to Tribe (1) In general At the request of the Tribe, the Secretary shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe the mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe under subsection (a)(1)(A). (2) No State taxation The mineral interests conveyed to the Tribe under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall not be subject to taxation by the State (including any political subdivision of the State). (c) Revenue sharing agreement The Tribe shall notify the Secretary, in writing, that— (1) consistent with a settlement agreement entered into between the Tribe and the State in 2002, the Tribe and Great Northern Properties have agreed on a formula for sharing revenue from development of the mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(B) if those mineral interests are developed; (2) the revenue sharing agreement remains in effect as of the date of enactment of this Act; and (3) Great Northern Properties has offered to convey the mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(A) to the Tribe. (d) Waiver of legal claims As a condition of the conveyances of mineral interests under subsection (a)(1)— (1) the Tribe shall waive any and all claims relating to the failure of the United States to acquire and take into trust on behalf of the Tribe the mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(A), as directed by Congress in 1900; and (2) Great Northern Properties shall waive any and all claims against the United States relating to the value of the coal mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(B). (e) Rescission of mineral conveyances If any portion of the mineral interests conveyed under subsection (a)(1) is invalidated by final judgment of a court of the United States— (1) not later than 1 year after the date on which the final judgment is rendered, the Secretary or Great Northern Properties may agree to rescind the conveyances under subsection (a)(1); and (2) if the conveyances are rescinded under paragraph (1), the waivers under subsection (d) shall no longer apply. 6. Transfer of Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund to Tribe (a) In general Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, all amounts in the Fund shall be deposited in the Permanent Fund. (b) Use of amounts Of the amounts transferred to the Permanent Fund under subsection (a)— (1) the portion that is attributable to the principal of the Fund shall be maintained in perpetuity; and (2) any interest earned on the amounts described in paragraph (1) shall be used in the same manner as interest earned on amounts in the Permanent Fund may be used. (c) Waiver of legal claims As a condition of the transfer under subsection (a), the Tribe shall waive any and all claims arising from the management of the Fund by the United States. 7. Land consolidation and fractionation reporting (a) Inventory (1) In general The Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, shall prepare an inventory of fractionated land interests held by the United States in trust for the benefit of— (A) the Tribe; or (B) individual Indians on the Reservation. (2) Agricultural purposes The inventory prepared by the Secretary under this subsection shall include details currently available about fractionated land on the Reservation suitable for agricultural purposes. (3) Submission The Secretary shall submit the inventory prepared under this subsection to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives by not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act. (b) Report (1) In general The Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, shall prepare periodic reports regarding obstacles to consolidating trust land ownership on the Reservation. (2) Contents The reports under this subsection shall include— (A) a description of existing obstacles to consolidating trust land ownership, including the extent of fractionation; (B) a description of progress achieved by the Tribe toward reducing fractionation and increasing trust land ownership; (C) an analysis of progress achieved by the Tribe toward making agricultural use economical on trust land; and (D) any applicable outcomes and lessons learned from land consolidation activities undertaken pursuant to the Indian Land Consolidation Act (25 U.S.C. 2201 et seq.). (3) Submission The Secretary shall submit the reports under this subsection to the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives not less frequently than once each calendar year for the 5-year period beginning on the date of enactment of this Act. 8. Eligibility for other Federal benefits The transfer under section 6 shall not result in the reduction or denial of any Federal service, benefit, or program to the Tribe or to any member of the Tribe to which the Tribe or member is entitled or eligible because of— (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recognized Indian tribe; or (2) the status of the member as a member of the Tribe. 9. Authorization of appropriations There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such sums as are necessary.