IB 

Union Calendar No. 189 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1548 

[Report No. 113–263] 

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 

APRIL 12, 2013 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 12, 2013 

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 April 12, 2013] 

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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. BLM oil and gas fees. 

Sec. 7. Bonding requirements and nonpayment of attorneys’ fees to promote Indian energy projects. 

Sec. 8. Tribal biomass demonstration project. 

Sec. 9. Tribal resource management plans. 

Sec. 10. Leases of restricted lands for the Navajo Nation. 

Sec. 11. 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; 

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

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

2 to a contract with the Indian tribe. 

3 ‘‘(b) TIME LIMIT ON SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND AC4 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 

5 Secretary receives an appraisal conducted by or for an In6 dian tribe pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of subsection 

7 (a), the Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) review the appraisal; and 

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

10 of approval or disapproval of the appraisal. 

11 ‘‘(c) FAILURE OF SECRETARY TO APPROVE OR DIS12 APPROVE.—If, after 60 days, the Secretary has failed to ap13 prove or disapprove any appraisal received, the appraisal 

14 shall be deemed approved. 

15 ‘‘(d) OPTION TO INDIAN TRIBES TO WAIVE AP16 PRAISAL.— 

17 ‘‘(1) An Indian tribe wishing to waive the re18 quirements of subsection (a), may do so after it has 

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

20 below. 

21 ‘‘(2) An Indian tribe wishing to forego the neces22 sity of a waiver pursuant to this section must provide 

23 to the Secretary a written resolution, statement, or 

24 other unambiguous indication of tribal intent, duly 

25 approved by the governing body of the Indian tribe. 

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1 ‘‘(3) The unambiguous indication of intent pro2 vided by the Indian tribe to the Secretary under 

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

4 Indian tribe of any claims for damages it might have 

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

6 appraisal undertaken. 

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

8 term ‘appraisal’ includes appraisals and other estimates of 

9 value. 

10 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop regu11 lations for implementing this section, including standards 

12 the Secretary shall use for approving or disapproving an 

13 appraisal.’’. 

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

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

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

17 title XXVI the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2607. Appraisal reforms.’’. 

18 SEC. 4. STANDARDIZATION. 

19 As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 

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

21 procedures to ensure that each agency within the Depart22 ment of the Interior that is involved in the review, ap23 proval, and oversight of oil and gas activities on Indian 

24 lands shall use a uniform system of reference numbers and 

25 tracking systems for oil and gas wells. 

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1 SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF MAJOR FEDERAL AC2 TIONS ON INDIAN LANDS. 

3 Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act 

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

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

6 the end the following: 

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

8 LANDS.— 

9 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For any major Federal ac10 tion on Indian lands of an Indian tribe requiring the 

11 preparation of a statement under subsection 

12 (a)(2)(C), the statement shall only be available for re13 view and comment by the members of the Indian tribe 

14 and by any other individual residing within the af15 fected area. 

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

17 Council on Environmental Quality shall develop reg18 ulations to implement this section, including descrip19 tions of affected areas for specific major Federal ac20 tions, in consultation with Indian tribes. 

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

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

23 meaning given that term in section 2601 of the En24 ergy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501). 

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

26 in the Native American Energy Act, except section 7 

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1 of that Act, shall give the Secretary any additional 

2 authority over energy projects on Alaska Native 

3 Claims Settlement Act lands.’’. 

4 SEC. 6. BLM OIL AND GAS FEES. 

5 The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bu6 reau of Land Management, shall not collect any fee for any 

7 of the following: 

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

9 Indian land. 

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

11 on Indian land. 

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

13 acreage on Indian land. 

14 SEC. 7. BONDING REQUIREMENTS AND NONPAYMENT OF 

15 ATTORNEYS’ FEES TO PROMOTE INDIAN EN16 ERGY PROJECTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—A plaintiff who obtains a prelimi18 nary injunction or administrative stay in an energy related 

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

20 energy related action, shall be liable for damages sustained 

21 by a defendant who— 

22 (1) opposed the preliminary injunction or ad23 ministrative stay; and 

24 (2) was harmed by the preliminary injunction 

25 or administrative stay. 

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

2 Federal law, a court may not issue a preliminary injunc3 tion and an agency may not grant an administrative stay 

4 in an energy related action until the plaintiff posts with 

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

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

7 30 percent of that amount that the court or agency 

8 considers is sufficient to compensate each defendant 

9 opposing the preliminary injunction or administra10 tive stay for damages, including but not limited to 

11 preliminary development costs, additional develop12 ment costs, and reasonable attorney fees, that each de13 fendant may sustain as a result of the preliminary 

14 injunction or administrative stay; 

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

16 the State in which the Indian Land or other land 

17 where the activities are undertaken is situated; and 

18 (3) payable to each defendant opposing the pre19 liminary injunction or administrative stay, in the 

20 event that the plaintiff does not prevail on the merits 

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

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

23 establish the amount of the bond required by this sub24 section for each plaintiff in a fair and equitable man25 ner. 

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1 (c) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith2 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

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

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

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

6 the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States Treas7 ury to pay any fees or other expenses under such sections 

8 to any plaintiff related to an energy related action. 

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

10 following definitions apply: 

11 (1) ADMINISTRATIVE STAY.—The term ‘‘Admin12 istrative Stay’’ means a stay or other temporary rem13 edy issued by a Federal agency, including the Depart14 ment of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, 

15 the Department of Energy, the Department of Com16 merce, and the Environmental Protection Agency. 

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

18 the same meaning given such term in section 

19 203(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

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

21 by Native Corporations under the Alaska Native 

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

23 U.S.C. 1601). 

24 (3) ENERGY RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘‘en25 ergy related action’’ means a cause of action that— 

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

2 this Act; and 

3 (B) seeks judicial review of a final agency 

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

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

6 or other form of agency permission allowing: 

7 (i) any person or entity to conduct ac8 tivities on Indian Land, which activities 

9 involve the exploration, development, pro10 duction or transportation of oil, gas, coal, 

11 shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, 

12 wind or solar resources, underground coal 

13 gasification, biomass, or the generation of 

14 electricity, or 

15 (ii) any Indian Tribe, or any organi16 zation of two or more entities, at least one 

17 of which is an Indian tribe, to conduct ac18 tivities involving the exploration, develop19 ment, production or transportation of oil, 

20 gas, coal, shale gas, oil shale, geothermal re21 sources, wind or solar resources, under22 ground coal gasification, biomass, or the 

23 generation of electricity, regardless of where 

24 such activities are undertaken. 

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

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

3 a final enforceable judgment on the merits, the court 

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

5 action which is an underlying rationale for the pre6 liminary injunction, and does not include cir7 cumstances where the final agency action is modified 

8 or amended by the issuing agency unless such modi9 fication or amendment is required pursuant to a 

10 final enforceable judgment of the court or a court-or11 dered consent decree. 

12 (5) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ 

13 means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other orga14 nized group or community, including any Alaska Na15 tive village or regional or village corporation as de16 fined in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native 

17 Claims Settlement Act (43 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.), which 

18 is recognized as eligible for the special programs and 

19 services provided by the United States to Indians be20 cause of their status as Indians. 

21 SEC. 8. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

22 The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 is amended 

23 by inserting after section 2 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) the following: 

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

2 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2014 

3 through 2018, the Secretary shall enter into stewardship 

4 contracts or other agreements, other than agreements that 

5 are exclusively direct service contracts, with Indian tribes 

6 to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass en7 ergy production (including biofuel, heat, and electricity 

8 generation) on Indian forest land and in nearby commu9 nities by providing reliable supplies of woody biomass from 

10 Federal land. 

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

12 apply to this section. 

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

14 for which projects are authorized, the Secretary shall enter 

15 into contracts or other agreements described in subsection 

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

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

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

19 into a contract or other agreement under this subsection, 

20 an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary an applica21 tion— 

22 ‘‘(1) containing such information as the Sec23 retary may require; and 

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

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

26 under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and 

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1 ‘‘(B) the demonstration project proposed to 

2 be carried out by the Indian tribe. 

3 ‘‘(e) SELECTION.—In evaluating the applications sub4 mitted under subsection (c), the Secretary— 

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

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

7 Public Law 108–278; and whether a proposed dem8 onstration project would— 

9 ‘‘(A) increase the availability or reliability 

10 of local or regional energy; 

11 ‘‘(B) enhance the economic development of 

12 the Indian tribe; 

13 ‘‘(C) improve the connection of electric 

14 power transmission facilities serving the Indian 

15 tribe with other electric transmission facilities; 

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

17 of Federal land or Indian forest land or range18 land; or 

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

20 biomass; and 

21 ‘‘(2) shall exclude from consideration any mer22 chantable logs that have been identified by the Sec23 retary for commercial sale. 

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

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1 ‘‘(1) ensure that the criteria described in sub2 section (c) are publicly available by not later than 

3 120 days after the date of enactment of this section; 

4 and 

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

6 with Indian tribes and appropriate intertribal orga7 nizations likely to be affected in developing the appli8 cation and otherwise carrying out this section. 

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

10 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report that describes, 

11 with respect to the reporting period— 

12 ‘‘(1) each individual tribal application received 

13 under this section; and 

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

15 pursuant to this section. 

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

17 carrying out a contract or agreement under this section, 

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

19 shall incorporate into the contract or agreement, to the ex20 tent practicable, management plans (including forest man21 agement and integrated resource management plans) in ef22 fect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the respective 

23 Indian tribe. 

24 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A stewardship contract or other agree25 ment entered into under this section— 

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

2 years; and 

3 ‘‘(2) may be renewed in accordance with this sec4 tion for not more than an additional 10 years.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. TRIBAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

6 Unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Federal law 

7 enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, any ac8 tivity conducted or resources harvested or produced pursu9 ant to a tribal resource management plan or an integrated 

10 resource management plan approved by the Secretary of the 

11 Interior under the National Indian Forest Resources Man12 agement Act (25 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or the American In13 dian Agricultural Resource Management Act (25 U.S.C. 

14 3701 et seq.), shall be considered a sustainable management 

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

16 requirement that requires a demonstration of such sustain17 ability. 

18 SEC. 10. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO 

19 NATION. 

20 Subsection (e)(1) of the first section of the Act of Au21 gust 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(e)(1); commonly referred to as 

22 the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’), is amended— 

23 (1) by striking ‘‘, except a lease for’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘, including leases for’’; 

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

2 first place it appears and all that follows and insert3 ing ‘‘99 years;’’; 

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

5 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

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

7 ‘‘(C) in the case of a lease for the exploration, de8 velopment, or extraction of mineral resources, includ9 ing geothermal resources, 25 years, except that any 

10 such lease may include an option to renew for one ad11 ditional term not to exceed 25 years.’’. 

12 SEC. 11. NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN RULES. 

13 No rule promulgated by the Department of the Interior 

14 regarding hydraulic fracturing used in the development or 

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

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

17 of Indians except with the express consent of the beneficiary 

18 on whose behalf such land is held in trust or restricted sta19 tus. 

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Union Calendar No. 189 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1548 

[Report No. 113–263] 

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 imNOVEMBER 12, 2013 

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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