IB 

Union Calendar No. 506 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3973 

[Report No. 112–692] 

To facilitate the development of energy on Indian lands by reducing Federal 

regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 7, 2012 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

OCTOBER 23, 2012 

Additional sponsors: Mr. GOSAR and Mr. BERG

OCTOBER 23, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on February 7, 2012] 

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A BILL 

To facilitate the development of energy on Indian lands by 

reducing Federal regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, and for other purposes. 

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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Native American Energy 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

7 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of Contents. 

Sec. 3. Appraisals. 

Sec. 4. Standardization. 

Sec. 5. Environmental reviews of major Federal actions on Indian lands. 

Sec. 6. Indian Energy Development Offices. 

Sec. 7. BLM Oil and Gas Fees. 

Sec. 8. Bonding requirements and nonpayment of attorneys’ fees to promote indian energy projects. 

Sec. 9. Tribal biomass demonstration project. 

Sec. 10. Tribal Resource Management Plans. 

Sec. 11. Leases of Restricted Lands for the Navajo Nation. 

Sec. 12. Nonapplicability of certain rules. 

8 SEC. 3. APPRAISALS. 

9 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title XXVI of the Energy Policy 

10 Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) is amended by adding 

11 at the end the following: 

12 ‘‘SEC. 2607. APPRAISAL REFORMS. 

13 ‘‘(a) OPTIONS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—With respect to a 

14 transaction involving Indian land or the trust assets of an 

15 Indian tribe that requires the approval of the Secretary, 

16 any appraisal relating to fair market value required to be 

17 conducted under applicable law, regulation, or policy may 

18 be completed by— 

19 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; 

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1 ‘‘(2) the affected Indian tribe; or 

2 ‘‘(3) a certified, third-party appraiser pursuant 

3 to a contract with the Indian tribe. 

4 ‘‘(b) TIME LIMIT ON SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND AC5 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 

6 Secretary receives an appraisal conducted by or for an In7 dian tribe pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of subsection 

8 (a), the Secretary shall— 

9 ‘‘(1) review the appraisal; and 

10 ‘‘(2) provide to the Indian tribe a written notice 

11 of approval or disapproval of the appraisal. 

12 ‘‘(c) FAILURE OF SECRETARY TO APPROVE OR DIS13 APPROVE.—If, after 60 days, the Secretary has failed to ap14 prove or disapprove any appraisal received, the appraisal 

15 shall be deemed approved. 

16 ‘‘(d) OPTION TO INDIAN TRIBES TO WAIVE AP17 PRAISAL.— 

18 ‘‘(1) An Indian tribe wishing to waive the re19 quirements of subsection (a), may do so after it has 

20 satisfied the requirements of subsections (2) and (3) 

21 below. 

22 ‘‘(2) An Indian tribe wishing to forego the neces23 sity of a waiver pursuant to this section must provide 

24 to the Secretary a written resolution, statement, or 

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1 other unambiguous indication of tribal intent, duly 

2 approved by the governing body of the Indian tribe. 

3 ‘‘(3) The unambiguous indication of intent pro4 vided by the Indian tribe to the Secretary under 

5 paragraph (2) must include an express waiver by the 

6 Indian tribe of any claims for damages it might have 

7 against the United States as a result of the lack of an 

8 appraisal undertaken. 

9 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

10 term ‘appraisal’ includes appraisals and other estimates of 

11 value. 

12 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop regu13 lations for implementing this section, including standards 

14 the Secretary shall use for approving or disapproving an 

15 appraisal.’’. 

16 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

17 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note) 

18 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 

19 title XXVI the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2607. Appraisal reforms.’’. 

20 SEC. 4. STANDARDIZATION. 

21 As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement 

23 procedures to ensure that each agency within the Depart24 ment of the Interior that is involved in the review, ap25 proval, and oversight of oil and gas activities on Indian 

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1 lands shall use a uniform system of reference numbers and 

2 tracking systems for oil and gas wells. 

3 SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF MAJOR FEDERAL AC4 TIONS ON INDIAN LANDS. 

5 Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act 

6 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) IN

7 GENERAL.—’’ before the first sentence, and by adding at 

8 the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF MAJOR FEDERAL ACTIONS ON INDIAN

10 LANDS.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any major Federal ac12 tion on Indian lands of an Indian tribe requiring the 

13 preparation of a statement under subsection 

14 (a)(2)(C), the statement shall only be available for re15 view and comment by the members of the Indian tribe 

16 and by any other individual residing within the af17 fected area. 

18 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Chairman of the 

19 Council on Environmental Quality shall develop reg20 ulations to implement this section, including descrip21 tions of affected areas for specific major Federal ac22 tions, in consultation with Indian tribes. 

23 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, each of 

24 the terms ‘Indian land’ and ‘Indian tribe’ has the 

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1 meaning given that term in section 2601 of the En2 ergy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501). 

3 ‘‘(4) CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

4 in the Native American Energy Act, except section 8 

5 of that Act, shall give the Secretary any additional 

6 authority over energy projects on Alaska Native 

7 Claims Settlement Act lands.’’. 

8 SEC. 6. INDIAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT OFFICES. 

9 Section 2602(a) of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (25 

10 U.S.C. 3502(a)) is amended— 

11 (1) by redesignating paragraph (3) as para12 graph (4); 

13 (2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the fol14 lowing: 

15 ‘‘(3) INDIAN ENERGY DEVELOPMENT OFFICES.— 

16 ‘‘(A) ESTABLISHMENT.—To assist the Sec17 retary in carrying out the Program, the Sec18 retary shall establish within the Department of 

19 the Interior not less than 5 offices. 

20 ‘‘(B) NAMING.—Each office established 

21 under subparagraph (A) shall be known as an 

22 ‘Indian Energy Development Office’. 

23 ‘‘(C) LOCATION.—The Secretary shall locate 

24 each Indian Energy Development Office— 

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1 ‘‘(i) within a regional or agency office 

2 of the Bureau of Indian Affairs; and 

3 ‘‘(ii) to the maximum extent prac4 ticable, in an area in which there exists a 

5 high quantity of tribal energy development 

6 opportunities, as determined by the Sec7 retary in consultation with Indian tribes. 

8 ‘‘(D) DIRECTORS.—Each Indian Energy 

9 Development Office established under this para10 graph shall be headed by a director. 

11 ‘‘(E) DUTIES.—The director of each Indian 

12 Energy Development Office shall— 

13 ‘‘(i) provide energy-related information 

14 and resources to Indian tribes and tribal 

15 members; 

16 ‘‘(ii) coordinate meetings and outreach 

17 among Indian tribes, tribal members, en18 ergy companies, and relevant Federal, 

19 State, and tribal agencies; 

20 ‘‘(iii) oversee, and ensure the timely 

21 processing of, Indian energy applications, 

22 permits, licenses, and other documents that 

23 are subject to development, review, or proc24 essing by— 

25 ‘‘(I) the Bureau of Indian Affairs; 

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1 ‘‘(II) the Bureau of Land Man2 agement; 

3 ‘‘(III) the National Park Service; 

4 ‘‘(IV) the United States Fish and 

5 Wildlife Service; 

6 ‘‘(V) the Bureau of Reclamation; 

7 ‘‘(VI) the Minerals Management 

8 Service; or 

9 ‘‘(VII) the Office of Special Trust10 ee for American Indians of the Depart11 ment of the Interior; and 

12 ‘‘(iv) consult with Indian tribes that 

13 will be served by an Indian Energy Devel14 opment Office to determine what services, 

15 information, facilities, or programs would 

16 best expedite the responsible development of 

17 energy resources. 

18 ‘‘(F) STAFF.—Each Indian Energy Devel19 opment Office established under this paragraph 

20 shall be adequately staffed to meet the demand 

21 for energy permitting in the region or agency 

22 where the office is established.’’. 

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1 SEC. 7. BLM OIL AND GAS FEES. 

2 The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu3 reau of Land Management, shall not collect any fee for any 

4 of the following: 

5 (1) For an application for a permit to drill on 

6 Indian land. 

7 (2) To conduct any oil or gas inspection activity 

8 on Indian land. 

9 (3) On any oil or gas lease for nonproducing 

10 acreage on Indian land. 

11 SEC. 8. BONDING REQUIREMENTS AND NONPAYMENT OF 

12 ATTORNEYS’ FEES TO PROMOTE INDIAN EN13 ERGY PROJECTS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—A plaintiff who obtains a prelimi15 nary injunction or administrative stay in an energy related 

16 action, but does not ultimately prevail on the merits of the 

17 energy related action, shall be liable for damages sustained 

18 by a defendant who— 

19 (1) opposed the preliminary injunction or ad20 ministrative stay; and 

21 (2) was harmed by the preliminary injunction 

22 or administrative stay. 

23 (b) BOND.—Unless otherwise specifically exempted by 

24 Federal law, a court may not issue a preliminary injunc25 tion and an agency may not grant an administrative stay 

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1 in an energy related action until the plaintiff posts with 

2 the court or the agency a surety bond or cash equivalent— 

3 (1) in an amount the court or agency decides is 

4 30 percent of that amount that the court or agency 

5 considers is sufficient to compensate each defendant 

6 opposing the preliminary injunction or administra7 tive stay for damages, including but not limited to 

8 preliminary development costs, additional develop9 ment costs, and reasonable attorney fees, that each de10 fendant may sustain as a result of the preliminary 

11 injunction or administrative stay; 

12 (2) written by a surety licensed to do business in 

13 the state in which the Indian Land or other land 

14 where the activities are undertaken is situated; and 

15 (3) payable to each defendant opposing the pre16 liminary injunction or administrative stay, in the 

17 event that the plaintiff does not prevail on the merits 

18 of the energy related action, Provided, that, if there 

19 is more than one plaintiff, the court or agency shall 

20 establish the amount of the bond required by this Sub21 section for each plaintiff in a fair and equitable man22 ner. 

23 (c) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith24 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

25 award may be made under section 504 of title 5, United 

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1 States Code, or under section 2412 of title 28, United States 

2 Code, and no amounts may be obligated or expended from 

3 the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States Treas4 ury to pay any fees or other expenses under such sections 

5 to any plaintiff related to an energy related action. 

6 (d) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, the 

7 following definitions apply: 

8 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE STAY.—The term ‘‘Admin9 istrative Stay’’ means a stay or other temporary rem10 edy issued by a Federal agency, including the Depart11 ment of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, 

12 the Department of Energy, the Department of Com13 merce, and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

14 (2) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’ has 

15 the same meaning given such term in section 

16 203(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

17 Law 109–58; 25 U.S.C. 3501), including lands owned 

18 by Native Corporations under the Alaska Native 

19 Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 92–203; 43 

20 U.S.C. 1601). 

21 (3) ENERGY RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘‘en22 ergy related action’’ means a cause of action that— 

23 (A) is filed on or after the effective date of 

24 this Act; and 

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1 (B) seeks judicial review of a final agency 

2 action (as defined in section 702 of title 5, 

3 United States Code), to issue a permit, license, 

4 or other form of agency permission allowing: 

5 (i) any person or entity to conduct ac6 tivities on Indian Land, which activities 

7 involve the exploration, development, pro8 duction or transportation of oil, gas, coal, 

9 shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, 

10 wind or solar resources, underground coal 

11 gasification, biomass, or the generation of 

12 electricity, or 

13 (ii) any Indian Tribe, or any organi14 zation of two or more entities, at least one 

15 of which is an Indian tribe, to conduct ac16 tivities involving the exploration, develop17 ment, production or transportation of oil, 

18 gas, coal, shale gas, oil shale, geothermal re19 sources, wind or solar resources, under20 ground coal gasification, biomass, or the 

21 generation of electricity, regardless of where 

22 such activities are undertaken. 

23 (4) ULTIMATELY PREVAIL ON THE MERITS.—The 

24 phrase ‘‘Ultimately prevail on the merits’’ means, in 

25 a final enforceable judgment on the merits, the court 

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1 rules in the plaintiff’s favor on at least one cause of 

2 action which is an underlying rationale for the pre3 liminary injunction, and does not include cir4 cumstances where the final agency action is modified 

5 or amended by the issuing agency unless such modi6 fication or amendment is required pursuant to a 

7 final enforceable judgment of the court or a court-or8 dered consent decree. 

9 SEC. 9. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

10 The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 

11 3115a) is amended by inserting after section 2 the fol12 lowing: 

13 ‘‘SEC. 3. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

14 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2013 

15 through 2017, the Secretary shall enter into stewardship 

16 contracts or other agreements, other than agreements that 

17 are exclusively direct service contracts, with Indian tribes 

18 to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass en19 ergy production (including biofuel, heat, and electricity 

20 generation) on Indian forest land and in nearby commu21 nities by providing reliable supplies of woody biomass from 

22 Federal land. 

23 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in section 2 shall 

24 apply to this section. 

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1 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—In each fiscal year 

2 for which projects are authorized, the Secretary shall enter 

3 into contracts or other agreements described in subsection 

4 (a) to carry out at least 4 new demonstration projects that 

5 meet the eligibility criteria described in subsection (d). 

6 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible to enter 

7 into a contract or other agreement under this subsection, 

8 an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary an applica9 tion— 

10 ‘‘(1) containing such information as the Sec11 retary may require; and 

12 ‘‘(2) that includes a description of— 

13 ‘‘(A) the Indian forest land or rangeland 

14 under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and 

15 ‘‘(B) the demonstration project proposed to 

16 be carried out by the Indian tribe. 

17 ‘‘(e) SELECTION.—In evaluating the applications sub18 mitted under subsection (c), the Secretary— 

19 ‘‘(1) shall take into consideration the factors set 

20 forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(e) of 

21 Public Law 108–278; and whether a proposed dem22 onstration project would— 

23 ‘‘(A) increase the availability or reliability 

24 of local or regional energy; 

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1 ‘‘(B) enhance the economic development of 

2 the Indian tribe; 

3 ‘‘(C) improve the connection of electric 

4 power transmission facilities serving the Indian 

5 tribe with other electric transmission facilities; 

6 ‘‘(D) improve the forest health or watersheds 

7 of Federal land or Indian forest land or range8 land; or 

9 ‘‘(E) otherwise promote the use of woody 

10 biomass; and 

11 ‘‘(2) shall exclude from consideration any mer12 chantable logs that have been identified by the Sec13 retary for commercial sale. 

14 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall— 

15 ‘‘(1) ensure that the criteria described in sub16 section (c) are publicly available by not later than 

17 120 days after the date of enactment of this section; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practicable, consult 

20 with Indian tribes and appropriate intertribal orga21 nizations likely to be affected in developing the appli22 cation and otherwise carrying out this section. 

23 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than September 20, 2015, the 

24 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes, 

25 with respect to the reporting period— 

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1 ‘‘(1) each individual tribal application received 

2 under this section; and 

3 ‘‘(2) each contract and agreement entered into 

4 pursuant to this section. 

5 ‘‘(h) INCORPORATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—In 

6 carrying out a contract or agreement under this section, 

7 on receipt of a request from an Indian tribe, the Secretary 

8 shall incorporate into the contract or agreement, to the ex9 tent practicable, management plans (including forest man10 agement and integrated resource management plans) in ef11 fect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the respective 

12 Indian tribe. 

13 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A stewardship contract or other agree14 ment entered into under this section— 

15 ‘‘(1) shall be for a term of not more than 20 

16 years; and 

17 ‘‘(2) may be renewed in accordance with this sec18 tion for not more than an additional 10 years.’’. 

19 SEC. 10. TRIBAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

20 Unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Federal law 

21 enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, any ac22 tivity conducted or resources harvested or produced pursu23 ant to a tribal resource management plan or an integrated 

24 resource management plan approved by the Secretary of the 

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1 agement Act (25 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or the American In2 dian Agricultural Resource Management Act (25 U.S.C. 

3 3701 et seq.), shall be considered a sustainable management 

4 practice for purposes of any Federal standard, benefit, or 

5 requirement that requires a demonstration of such sustain6 ability. 

7 SEC. 11. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO 

8 NATION. 

9 Subsection (e)(1) of the first section of the Act of Au10 gust 9, 1955, (25 U.S.C. 415(e)(1); commonly referred to 

11 as the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’) is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘, except a lease for’’ and insert13 ing ‘‘, including leases for’’; 

14 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘25’’ the 

15 first place it appears and all that follows and insert16 ing ‘‘99 years;’’; 

17 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

18 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

19 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

20 ‘‘(C) in the case of a lease for the explo21 ration, development, or extraction of mineral re22 sources, including geothermal resources, 25 years, 

23 except that any such lease may include an op24 tion to renew for one additional term not to ex25 ceed 25 years.’’. 

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1 SEC. 12. NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN RULES. 

2 No rule promulgated by the Department of the Interior 

3 regarding hydraulic fracturing used in the development or 

4 production of oil or gas resources shall have any effect on 

5 any land held in trust or restricted status for the benefit 

6 of Indians except with the express consent of the beneficiary 

7 on whose behalf such land is held in trust or restricted sta8 tus. 

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Union Calendar No. 506 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3973 

[Report No. 112–692] 

A BILL 

To facilitate the development of energy on Indian 

other purposes. pede tribal development of Indian lands, and for lands by reducing Federal regulations that imOCTOBER 23, 2012 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 

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