§ 941k TITLE 25—INDIANS Page 336

States shall approve any deed or other instrument which conveys to the United States lands

purchased pursuant to the provisions of this section and the Settlement Agreement. The Secretary or the Tribe may erect permanent improvements of a substantial value, or any other

improvements authorized by law on such land

after such land is conveyed to the United States.

(h) Easements over Reservation

(1) The acquisition of lands for the Expanded

Reservation shall not extinguish any easements

or rights-of-way then encumbering such lands

unless the Secretary or the Tribe enters into a

written agreement with the owners terminating

such easements or rights-of-way.

(2)(A) The Tribe, with the approval of the Secretary, shall have the power to grant or convey

easements and rights-of-way, in a manner consistent with the Settlement Agreement.

(B) Unless the Tribe and the State agree upon

a valuation formula for pricing easements over

the Reservation, the Secretary shall be subject

to proceedings for condemnation and eminent

domain to acquire easements and rights of way

for public purposes through the Reservation

under the laws of the State in circumstances

where no other reasonable access is available.

(C) With the approval of the Tribe, the Secretary may grant easements or rights-of-way

over the Reservation for private purposes, and

implied easements of necessity shall apply to all

lands acquired by the Tribe, unless expressly excluded by the parties.

(i) Jurisdictional status

Only land made part of the Reservation shall

be governed by the special jurisdictional provisions set forth in the Settlement Agreement and

the State Act.

(j) Sale and transfer of Reservation lands

With the approval of the Secretary, the Tribe

may sell, exchange, or lease lands within the

Reservation, and sell timber or other natural resources on the Reservation under circumstances

and in the manner prescribed by the Settlement

Agreement and the State Act.

(k) Time limit on acquisitions

All acquisitions of contiguous land to expand

the Reservation or of non-contiguous lands to be

placed in Reservation status shall be completed

or under contract of purchase within 10 years

from the date the last payment is made into the

Land Acquisition Trust; except that for a period

of 20 years after the date the last payment is

made into the Catawba Land Acquisition Trust

Fund, the Tribe may, subject to the limitation

on the total size of the Reservation, continue to

add parcels to up to two Reservation areas so

long as the parcels acquired are contiguous to

one of those two Reservation areas.

(l) Leases of Reservation lands

The provisions of section 415 of this title shall

not apply to the Tribe and its Reservation. The

Tribe is authorized to lease its Reservation

lands for terms up to but not exceeding 99 years,

with or without the approval of the Secretary.

With regard to any lease of Reservation lands

not approved by the Secretary, the Secretary

shall be exculpated by the Tribe from any liability arising out of any loss incurred by the Tribe

as a result of the unapproved lease.

(m) Non-applicability of BIA land acquisition

regulations

The general land acquisition regulations of

the Bureau of Indian Affairs, contained in part

151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, shall

not apply to the acquisition of lands authorized

by this section.

(Pub. L. 103–116, §12, Oct. 27, 1993, 107 Stat. 1133.)

SECTION REFERRED TO IN OTHER SECTIONS

This section is referred to in section 941a of this title.

§ 941k. Non-Reservation properties

(a) Acquisition of non-Reservation properties

The Tribe may draw upon the corpus or accumulated income of the Catawba Land Acquisition Trust Fund or the Catawba Economic Development Trust Fund to acquire and hold parcels of real estate outside the Reservation for

the purposes and in the manner delineated in

the Settlement Agreement. Jurisdiction and

status of all non-Reservation lands shall be governed by section 15 of the Settlement Agreement.

(b) Authority to dispose of lands

Notwithstanding any other provision of law,

the Tribe may lease, sell, mortgage, restrict, encumber, or otherwise dispose of such non-Reservation lands in the same manner as other persons and entities under State law, and the Tribe

as land owner shall be subject to the same obligations and responsibilities as other persons and

entities under State, Federal, and local law.

(c) Restrictions

Ownership and transfer of non-Reservation

parcels shall not be subject to Federal law restrictions on alienation, including (but not limited to) the restrictions imposed by Federal

common law and the provisions of section 177 of

this title.

(Pub. L. 103–116, §13, Oct. 27, 1993, 107 Stat. 1136.)

§ 941l. Games of chance

(a) Inapplicability of Indian Gaming Regulatory

Act

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.

2701 et seq.) shall not apply to the Tribe.

(b) Games of chance generally

The Tribe shall have the rights and responsibilities set forth in the Settlement Agreement

and the State Act with respect to the conduct of

games of chance. Except as specifically set forth

in the Settlement Agreement and the State Act,

all laws, ordinances, and regulations of the

State, and its political subdivisions, shall govern the regulation of gambling devices and the

conduct of gambling or wagering by the Tribe on

and off the Reservation.

(Pub. L. 103–116, §14, Oct. 27, 1993, 107 Stat. 1136.)

REFERENCES IN TEXT

The Indian Gaming Regulatory Act, referred to in

subsec. (a), is Pub. L. 100–497, Oct. 17, 1988, 102 Stat.

2467, as amended, which is classified principally to