PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005 119 STAT. 451

Public Law 109–47

109th Congress

An Act

To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation in Arizona,

and for other purposes.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, PURPOSES.

(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Colorado

River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act’’.

(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

(1) The Act of March 3, 1865, created the Colorado River

Indian Reservation (hereinafter ‘‘Reservation’’) along the Colorado River in Arizona and California for the ‘‘Indians of said

river and its tributaries’’.

(2) In 1873 and 1874, President Grant issued Executive

Orders to expand the Reservation southward and to secure

its southern boundary at a clearly recognizable geographic location in order to forestall non-Indian encroachment and conflicts

with the Indians of the Reservation.

(3) In 1875, Mr. Chandler Robbins surveyed the Reservation (hereinafter ‘‘the Robbins Survey’’) and delineated its new

southern boundary, which included approximately 16,000 additional acres (hereinafter ‘‘the La Paz lands’’), as part of the

Reservation.

(4) On May 15, 1876, President Grant issued an Executive

Order that established the Reservation’s boundaries as those

delineated by the Robbins Survey.

(5) In 1907, as a result of increasingly frequent trespasses

by miners and cattle and at the request of the Bureau of

Indian Affairs, the General Land Office of the United States

provided for a resurvey of the southern and southeastern areas

of the Reservation.

(6) In 1914, the General Land Office accepted and approved

a resurvey of the Reservation conducted by Mr. Guy Harrington

in 1912 (hereinafter the ‘‘Harrington Resurvey’’) which confirmed the boundaries that were delineated by the Robbins

Survey and established by Executive Order in 1876.

(7) On November 19, 1915, the Secretary of the Interior

reversed the decision of the General Land Office to accept

the Harrington Resurvey, and upon his recommendation on

November 22, 1915, President Wilson issued Executive Order

No. 2273 ‘‘. . . to correct the error in location said southern

boundary line . . .’’—and thus effectively excluded the La Paz

lands from the Reservation.

Colorado River

Indian

Reservation

Boundary

Correction Act.

Aug. 2, 2005

[H.R. 794]

119 STAT. 452 PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005

(8) Historical evidence compiled by the Department of the

Interior supports the conclusion that the reason given by the

Secretary in recommending that the President issue the 1915

Executive Order—‘‘to correct an error in locating the southern

boundary’’—was itself in error and that the La Paz lands should

not have been excluded from the Reservation.

(9) The La Paz lands continue to hold cultural and historical significance, as well as economic development potential,

for the Colorado River Indian tribes, who have consistently

sought to have such lands restored to their Reservation.

(c) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are:

(1) To correct the south boundary of the Reservation by

reestablishing such boundary as it was delineated by the Robbins Survey and affirmed by the Harrington Resurvey.

(2) To restore the La Paz lands to the Reservation, subject

to valid existing rights under Federal law and to provide for

continued reasonable public access for recreational purposes.

(3) To provide for the Secretary of the Interior to review

and ensure that the corrected Reservation boundary is resurveyed and marked in conformance with the public system of

surveys extended over such lands.

SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CORRECTION, RESTORATION, DESCRIPTION.

(a) BOUNDARY.—The boundaries of the Colorado River Indian

Reservation are hereby declared to include those boundaries as

were delineated by the Robbins Survey, affirmed by the Harrington

Survey, and described as follows: The approximately 15,375 acres

of Federal land described as ‘‘Lands Identified for Transfer to Colorado River Indian Tribes’’ on the map prepared by the Bureau

of Land Management entitled ‘‘Colorado River Indian Reservation

Boundary Correction Act, and dated January 4, 2005’’, (hereinafter

referred to as the ‘‘Map’’).

(b) MAP.—The Map shall be available for review at the Bureau

of Land Management.

(c) RESTORATION.—Subject to valid existing rights under Federal law, all right, title, and interest of the United States to those

lands within the boundaries declared in subsection (a) that were

excluded from the Colorado River Indian Reservation pursuant

to Executive Order No. 2273 (November 22, 1915) are hereby

restored to the Reservation and shall be held in trust by the

United States on behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

(d) EXCLUSION.—Excluded from the lands restored to trust

status on behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes that are

described in subsection (a) are 2 parcels of Arizona State Lands

identified on the Map as ‘‘State Lands’’ and totaling 320 acres

and 520 acres.

SEC. 3. RESURVEY AND MARKING.

The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the boundary

for the restored lands described in section 2(a) is surveyed and

clearly marked in conformance with the public system of surveys

extended over such lands.

SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS.

The restored lands described in section 2(a) and shown on

the Map shall have no Federal reserve water rights to surface

water or ground water from any source.

PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005 119 STAT. 453

SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS.

Continued access to the restored lands described in section

(2)(a) for hunting and other existing recreational purposes shall

remain available to the public under reasonable rules and regulations promulgated by the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.

(a) IN GENERAL.—The restored lands described in section (2)(a)

shall be subject to all rights-of-way, easements, leases, and mining

claims existing on the date of the enactment of this Act. The

United States reserves the right to continue all Reclamation

projects, including the right to access and remove mineral materials

for Colorado River maintenance on the restored lands described

in section (2)(a).

(b) ADDITIONAL RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—Notwithstanding any other

provision of law, the Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe,

shall grant additional rights-of-way, expansions, or renewals of

existing rights-of-way for roads, utilities, and other accommodations

to adjoining landowners or existing right-of-way holders, or their

successors and assigns, if—

(1) the proposed right-of-way is necessary to the needs

of the applicant;

(2) the proposed right-of-way acquisition will not cause

significant and substantial harm to the Colorado River Indian

Tribes; and

(3) the proposed right-of-way complies with the procedures

in part 169 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations consistent

with this subsection and other generally applicable Federal

laws unrelated to the acquisition of interests on trust lands,

except that section 169.3 of those regulations shall not be

applicable to expansions or renewals of existing rights-of-way

for roads and utilities.

(c) FEES.—The fees charged for the renewal of any valid lease,

easement, or right-of-way subject to this section shall not be greater

than the current Federal rate for such a lease, easement, or rightof-way at the time of renewal if the holder has been in substantial

compliance with all terms of the lease, easement, or right-of-way.

SEC. 7. GAMING.

Land taken into trust under this Act shall neither be considered

to have been taken into trust for gaming nor be used for gaming

119 STAT. 454 PUBLIC LAW 109–47—AUG. 2, 2005

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 794:

CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 151 (2005):

April 12, considered and passed House.

July 26, considered and passed Senate.

Æ

(as that term is used in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25

U.S.C. 2701 et seq.)).

Approved August 2, 2005.