49–010 

Calendar No. 542 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 113–317 

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 

DECEMBER 12, 2014.—and ordered to be printed 

Mr. TESTER, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2442] 

The Committee on Indian Affairs, to which was referred the bill 

(S. 2442) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land 

into trust for the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment 

and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 2442 is to require the Secretary of the Interior 

to take certain land and mineral rights on the Northern Cheyenne 

Indian Reservation of Montana into trust for the benefit of the 

Northern Cheyenne Tribe, to transfer all amounts in the Tribe’s 

Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund to the Tribe’s Permanent Fund, 

and to inventory fractionated lands and report on the implementation of land consolidation activities on the Reservation. 

BACKGROUND

The Northern Cheyenne Tribe is one of seven federally-recognized tribes in the state of Montana. The Tribe has an enrolled 

membership of over 10,800, nearly half of which reside on the 

Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. The Reservation is approximately 440,000 acres and is located southeast of Billings, 

Montana. Over 95 percent of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation is held in trust for the Tribe and/or its members and nearly the entire subsurface estate is held in trust by the United States 

for the benefit of the Tribe. 


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However, due to an error by the United States in 1900, 5,000 

subsurface acres within the Reservation were not transferred into 

trust ownership for the benefit of the Tribe. These subsurface 

tracts are currently owned in fee by Great Northern Properties. In 

2002, the Tribe dismissed its lawsuit against the United States 

that concerned the transfer of coal tracts near the Reservation to 

the State of Montana in return for the United States’ cooperation 

in re-acquiring the 5,000 subsurface acres within the Reservation, 

among other consideration. In return for securing the subsurface 

tracts within the Reservation’s boundary through this legislation, 

the Tribe would waive any claims it has against the United States 

related to the federal government’s failure to secure those mineral 

interests for the Tribe in the early 20th century. 

Additionally, the Tribe owns numerous tracts of land in fee 

throughout the Reservation. The Tribe has acquired these tracts 

through its efforts to reduce fractionation of the land within the 

Reservation boundaries. This legislation would require these tracts 

of land to be held in trust by the United States on behalf of the 

Tribe. 

The Tribe also has adjudicated water rights that it secured 

through the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved Water Rights 

Settlement Act of 1992. A portion of that Act provided for a Trust 

Fund to enable the Tribe to develop its water rights and create 

other economic development opportunities. This legislation would 

enable the Tribe to exert greater authority over that Trust Fund. 

NEED FOR LEGISLATION

This legislation, S. 2442, is needed to complete a land transaction 

between the United States, the Tribe and a private landowner. The 

bill would divest the federal government of off-reservation mineral 

interests in exchange for a private landowner transferring its onreservation mineral interests to the Secretary, to hold the property 

in trust for the benefit of the Tribe. The legislation is also needed 

to extinguish any potential claims stemming from the United 

States’ failure to secure the transfer of the on-reservation mineral 

interests to the Tribe in the early 20th Century. The legislation 

would also transfer all amounts in a settlement act trust fund into 

the Tribe’s Permanent Fund, which requires Congressional action. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2442 was introduced on June 5, 2014, by Senators Jon Tester 

and John Walsh. The bill was referred to the Committee on Indian 

Affairs. On July 9, 2014, the Committee held a hearing on the bill. 

On July 30, 2014, the Committee met at a business meeting to consider the bill. One amendment was offered and adopted, and the 

bill, as amended, was ordered to be reported favorably to the Senate by voice vote. 

There is a House companion bill, H.R. 4350; however, the bills 

are not identical. Additionally, another Senate bill, S. 2256, was introduced on April 11, 2014, and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. S. 2256 does not include the land consolidation provisions found in this legislation. Similar bills were 

also introduced in the 112th Congress (S. 647, S. 2110, and H.R. 

1158). 


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SUMMARY OF THE AMENDMENT

Chairman Tester filed an amendment in the nature of a substitute at a July 30, 2014, business meeting. The amendment made 

the following changes: 

Fee to Trust Provisions 

Section 4 of the legislation would direct the Secretary to take certain tracts of land identified in two maps into trust for the benefit 

of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. The amendment inserted a limitation excluding any land identified in the map located in South Dakota from being taken into trust by the Secretary pursuant to this 

Act. 

Mineral Interest Conveyances 

The amendment removed a reference in section 5(a)(2)(A)(ii) to a 

1984 Bureau of Land Management Resource Management Plan. 

The legislation, as introduced, would have kept the limitations of 

land use found in the Resource Management Plan in place for the 

tracts being transferred out of federal ownership. In its place, a 

new provision was added as section 5(a)(2)(C), which states that 

nothing in the legislation shall ‘‘affect, abridge, or amend any valid 

existing rights of any surface owner of a specific tract or any adjacent tracts.’’ These provisions are in addition to the protections required under subsection 5(a)(2)(A), which requires surface owners 

to provide consent prior to any development of coal through techniques other than underground mining. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF BILL AS ORDERED REPORTED

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 provides that the Act may be cited as the ‘‘Northern 

Cheyenne Lands Act.’’ 

Section 2. Findings 

Section 2 describes the Congressional findings related to the Act, 

including the history of the land the Northern Cheyenne Tribe 

seeks to have placed into trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 

Section 3. Definitions 

Section 3 defines the key terms used throughout this Act. 

Section 4. Tribal fee land to be taken into trust 

Section 4 mandates that the Secretary take 1,567 acres of land 

(specified by two maps dated April 22, 2014, and titled: (1) ‘Northern Cheyenne Lands Act-Fee-to-Trust Lands’ and (2) the ‘Northern 

Cheyenne Lands Act-Fee-to-Trust Lands—Lame Deer Townsite’) 

into trust for the benefit of the Tribe within 60 days of the enactment of this Act. Subsection (b) includes a limitation prohibiting 

any tracts of land identified on the maps located within the state 

of South Dakota from being taken into trust pursuant to this section of the Act. This would not preclude the South Dakota land 

from going into trust via another legislative or administrative procedure. 


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Section 5. Mineral rights to be taken into trust 

Section 5(a) mandates that within 60 days of the Secretary being 

notified that a revenue sharing agreement remains in effect and 

Great Northern Properties has offered to convey its mineral interests on the Reservation to the Tribe, the Secretary shall convey certain federally-owned mineral interests to Great Northern Properties in exchange for Great Northern Properties’ conveyance of its 

mineral interests on the Reservation to the Tribe. The Secretary 

will ensure that there is a covenant on the land that limits the 

method of mining available on the tracts conveyed to Great Northern Properties to underground mining techniques. Similar to the 

surface owner protections afforded by the Surface Mining Control 

and Reclamation Act, any other mining techniques are prohibited 

until a surface owner gives written consent to mine using other 

techniques on that surface owner’s specific tract. 

Section 5(a)(1) contains a minor drafting error regarding the 

mineral estate transfer between the United States and Great 

Northern Properties. Both subparagraphs of that section should 

reference the same map, titled ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Land Act— 

Coal Tracts’’ and dated April 22, 2014. That map depicts both the 

tracts that are to be transferred from Great Northern Properties to 

the Secretary to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe, and 

the tracts that are to be transferred from the United States to 

Great Northern Properties. However, subparagraph (B) contains an 

error by referencing the incorrect title of the map. Subparagraph 

(B) should be read to reference the ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Land 

Act—Coal Tracts’’ map dated April 22, 2014, which is the same 

map correctly referenced in subparagraph (A) of the same section. 

Section 5(b) states that the mineral interests on the Reservation 

conveyed to the Tribe shall be held in trust by the Secretary upon 

request by the Tribe and the mineral interests shall not be subject 

to taxation by the State. Section 5(c) requires the revenue sharing 

agreement between the Tribe and Great Northern Properties be in 

place and remain in effect prior to the transfer of any mineral interests under this section. 

Section 5(d) contains a waiver of all legal claims against the 

United States for the failure of the United States to take the 5,000 

acres of subsurface mineral interests into trust on behalf of the 

Tribe any and all claims by Great Northern Properties against the 

United States relating to the value of the coal mineral interests. 

Section 5(e) describes the ability of the Secretary or Great Northern Properties to rescind any conveyance made pursuant to the Act 

within one year of any mineral interests conveyed under the Act 

being invalidated by a final judgment of a federal court. If any conveyances are rescinded under subsection (e), the legal waivers 

found in subsection (d) shall no longer apply. 

Section 6. Transfer of Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund to tribe 

Section 6(a) mandates that within 30 days after enactment of 

this Act, all amounts in the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund shall 

be deposited in the Tribe’s Permanent Fund. Subsection (b) states 

that the funds that are attributable to the principal of the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund will be continually maintained and any 

interest earned on the principal will be used in the same manner 

as interest earned in the Permanent Fund. Subsection (c) states 


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that the Tribe waives any and all claims arising from the management of the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund by the United States. 

Section 7. Land consolidation and fractionation reporting 

Section 7(a) requires the Secretary, in consultation with the 

Tribe, to inventory the fractionated land interests held by the 

United States for the benefit of the Tribe or individual Indians on 

the Reservation. The inventory is required to include details about 

the fractionated land on the Reservation that is suitable for agricultural purposes. The Secretary will submit the inventory to the 

Senate Committee on Indian Affairs and the House of Representatives Committee on Natural Resources within 180 days of enactment of this Act. Subsection (b) requires the Secretary to prepare 

annual reports for the first five years that discuss (1) the obstacles 

of consolidating fractionated trust land ownership, (2) the progress 

achieved toward reducing the level of fractionation, (3) an analysis 

of the progress made to making agricultural use economical, and 

(4) any applicable outcomes or lessons learned from land consolidation activities. 

Section 8. Eligibility for other federal benefits 

Section 8 provides that the transfer of the trust fund under section 6 will not reduce or deny any Federal service, benefit, or program to the Tribe or tribal member to which the Tribe or tribal 

member is entitled to as a federally-recognized Indian tribe or 

member thereof. 

Section 9. Authorization of appropriations 

Section 9 authorizes the appropriations of the sums necessary to 

carry out this Act. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following cost estimate was produced by the Congressional 

Budget Office on August 28, 2014. 

Summary: S. 2442 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to convey 9,400 acres of land containing coal deposits 

to Great Northern Properties, a private company, if the company 

conveys certain mineral rights to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe. 

The land conveyances would not be finalized unless the tribe 

waived all claims related to the failure of the United States to acquire certain mineral rights underlying the tribe’s reservation land. 

The bill also would direct the Secretary of the Interior to compile 

an inventory of land interests held in trust by the federal government for the benefit of the tribe. 

Based on information provided by BLM, the tribe, and firms operating in the coal industry, CBO estimates that enacting the legislation would reduce net offsetting receipts (thus increasing direct 

spending) by $2 million in 2024; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues and would 

have no significant effect on discretionary spending. 

S. 2442 would preempt the authority of state and local governments to tax land and mineral interests conveyed to the Northern 

Cheyenne Tribe of Montana. Those requirements would be mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA), 

but CBO estimates that the costs of the mandates would be miniVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jan 10, 2015 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR317.XXX SR317

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mal. The bill would benefit the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Montana. The bill contains no private-sector mandates as defined in 

UMRA. 

Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated budgetary effect of S. 2442 is shown in the following table. The costs 

of this legislation fall within budget functions 300 (natural resources and environment) and 450 (community and regional development). 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2015– 

2019 

2015– 

2024 

CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING 

Estimated Budget Authority ...................... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 

Estimated Outlays ..................................... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 

Basis of estimate: For this estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted near the end of fiscal year 2014. 

Forgone receipts from bonus bids: S. 2442 would require BLM to 

convey 9,400 acres of federal land containing coal deposits to Great 

Northern Properties. 

Based on information provided by BLM and firms operating in 

the coal industry, CBO estimates that the affected lands contain 

113 million tons of coal. CBO expects that, under current law, the 

federal government will lease lands containing up to 90 percent of 

that coal starting by 2024 or possibly later. Based on information 

regarding recent bonus bids paid for federal lands in western states 

containing coal, CBO expects that firms would pay about 35 cents 

per ton to lease the affected land, and we estimate that the bonus 

bids for those leases would total about $36 million. Because firms 

generally pay bonus bids on coal leases in five equal installments 

over a five-year period, CBO estimates that gross proceeds from 

bonus bids (before the government pays states their share) would 

be about $7 million a year. We assess a 50 percent chance that the 

lease sale would occur in 2024 and an equal chance that it would 

not occur until later. Therefore, accounting for that uncertainty, we 

project a loss of receipts (before payouts to states) of $3 million to 

$4 million per year. Because BLM would distribute 49 percent of 

those proceeds to the state of Montana, we estimate that enacting 

the bill would reduce net offsetting receipts by $2 million in 2024. 

CBO also estimates that conveying the lands would not affect offsetting receipts from royalties because any production on those 

lands would not occur until after 2024 under current law. 

Waiver of claims: The Northern Cheyenne Tribe asserts claims 

against the federal government because the government did not acquire mineral rights on lands that were added to the reservation 

in 1900. Under the bill, the tribe would waive those claims. CBO 

expects that any litigation related to the claims would not be completed or settled within the next 10 years. Therefore, we estimate 

that the waiver of those claims would not affect direct spending 

during the next decade. 

Pay-as-You-Go considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act 

of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement procedures 

for legislation affecting direct spending or revenues. S. 2442 would 

reduce the amount of offsetting receipts that would be deposited in 

the Treasury from certain coal leases; therefore, pay-as-you-go proVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:02 Jan 10, 2015 Jkt 049010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR317.XXX SR317

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cedures apply. The net changes in outlays that are subject to those 

pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following table. 

CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU GO EFFECTS FOR S. 2442, THE NORTHERN CHEYENNE LANDS ACT, 

AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE HOUSE COMMITTEE ON NATURAL RESOURCES ON MAY 29, 2014 

By fiscal year, in millions of dollars— 

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2014– 

2019 

2014– 

2024 

NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (¥) IN THE DEFICIT 

Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact .... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 2 

Estimated intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 2442 

would preempt the authority of state and local governments to tax 

land and mineral interests conveyed to the Northern Cheyenne 

Tribe of Montana. Those requirements would be mandates as defined in UMRA, but CBO estimates that the costs of the mandates 

would be minimal. The bill would benefit the Northern Cheyenne 

Tribe of Montana. The bill contains no private-sector mandates as 

defined in UMRA. 

Previous CBO estimate: On July 18, 2014, CBO transmitted a 

cost estimate for H.R. 4350, the Northern Cheyenne Lands Act, as 

ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on 

May 29, 2014. The two bills are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the same. 

Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Jeff LaFave and Martin 

von Gnechten; Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: 

Jon Sperl; Impact on the Private Sector: Marin Burnett. 

Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY AND PAPERWORK IMPACT STATEMENT

Paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate requires each report accompanying a bill to evaluate the regulatory and paperwork impact that would be incurred in carrying 

out the bill. The Committee believes that S. 2442 will have a minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee has received no communications from the Executive Branch regarding S. 2442. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In accordance with subsection 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee finds that the enactment of S. 

2442 will not make any changes in existing law. 

Æ 


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