89–010 

1See 11 Stat. 401, Chap. 66. 

Calendar No. 699 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 115–399 

GILA RIVER INDIAN COMMUNITY FEDERAL RIGHTS-OFWAY, EASEMENTS AND BOUNDARY CLARIFICATION ACT 

NOVEMBER 29, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. HOEVEN, from the Committee on Indian Affairs, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 4032] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

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

H.R. 4032, to confirm undocumented Federal rights-of-way or easements on the Gila River Indian Reservation, clarify the northern 

boundary of the Gila River Indian Community’s Reservation, to 

take certain land located in Maricopa County and Pinal County, 

Arizona, into trust for the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community, and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommends the bill do 

pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 4032 is to confirm undocumented federal 

rights-of-way or easements on the Gila River Indian Reservation, 

clarify the reservation’s northern boundary, and take certain land 

located in Maricopa County and Pinal County, Arizona into trust 

for the benefit of the Gila River Indian Community (‘‘Tribe’’). 

BACKGROUND

The Gila River Indian Reservation was established on February 

28, 1859, for the Pima and Maricopa Tribes which confederated 

into what is known today as the Gila River Indian Community.1

The reservation was later expanded by several executive orders beVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:24 Dec 06, 2018 Jkt 089010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR399.XXX SR399
2 

2See President R. B. Hayes. Executive Order, 1 Kapp. 806, 807 (June 14, 1879). 3See Letter 529901 ‘‘E’’. U.S. Surveyor General, General Land Office, U.S. Department of the 

Interior. July 29, 1919. 4 Id. 5 25 U.S.C. § 177 

6For example, surveying errors by the United States led to the City of Phoenix’s construction 

of a wastewater treatment plant which is currently discharging effluent, and the materials contained within such effluent, onto land rightfully granted to, and owned by, the Community. 

Moreover, the City of Phoenix is causing twice-treated effluent to enter the Reservation through 

recharge of the aquifer underlying the Community’s northern boundary. 7See Gila River Indian Community v. Jewell, Civil Action No. 05–02249 (D.C. Cir. 2006). 

tween 1876 and 1915 in Maricopa and Pinal counties, Arizona. 

President Rutherford B. Hayes signed one of these Executive Orders on June 14, 1879, which established the northwesterly corner 

of the reservation, and expanded the northern boundary of the 

Tribe’s reservation to the middle of the Salt River.2

According to the Tribe, the new northwestern boundary was not 

immediately surveyed after President Hayes’ Executive Order was 

issued. In 1895, the northern boundary of the reservation was surveyed, but rejected by the U.S. General Land Office; the northern 

boundary had been marked at the left bank of the Salt River, rather than the ‘‘middle of the . . . Salt River,’’ as called for in the Executive Order.3

Between 1910 and 1920 there were attempts to properly survey 

the boundary, but these efforts were complicated by the disposal of 

land immediately adjacent to the reservation. In its 1919 letter, the 

General Land Office explained that the encroachment upon the 

Tribe’s land resulted from the failure to timely survey the reservation’s boundaries in the wake of the Executive Order.4

The Tribe maintained that the final survey inaccurately established the mid-point of the Salt River, but failed to consider the 

northerly accretion of the River. The Tribe further alleged that the 

City of Phoenix inaccurately relied on an erroneous northern 

boundary to its reservation; by accepting the erroneous and fixed 

boundary, and by issuing patents for land based an inaccurate survey, the United States transferred the Tribe’s reservation lands to 

non-Indians, in violation of the law, including, but not limited to, 

the Non-Intercourse Act.5 Thus, the Tribe believed that, because of 

surveying errors, and the further northward movement of the Salt 

River since that time, the Tribe lost land on the northern portion 

of its reservation which has since contributed to boundary disputes.6

In 2006, the Tribe brought a complaint against the United States 

seeking an accounting and reconciliation of its trust fund accounts, 

and non-monetary trust assets or resources. The Tribe asserted 

claims for monetary damages relating to the United States’ mismanagement of the Tribe’s trust funds, and non-monetary trust assets or resources. The claims included breach of trust claims 

against the United States for failing to document rights-of-way 

across the reservation, collect rent, and account for the Tribe’s and 

individual allottees’ trust assets. Additionally, the claims included 

a breach of the United States’ fiduciary duty for its failure to accurately survey the reservation’s northwesterly boundary, resulting 

in illegal patenting of lands to non-Indians (i.e. the ‘‘Tres Rios 

boundary dispute’’). 

The United States entered into a settlement with the Tribe.7 As 

part of the settlement negotiations, the Tribe agreed to waive its 

3 

claims related to the Tres Rios boundary dispute. In exchange, the 

federal government agreed to pay $12.5 million to the Tribe, and 

to transfer approximately 3,400 acres of land owned by the Bureau 

of Land Management to the Tribe. The Tribe, and the United 

States, filed the fully executed Joint Stipulation of Settlement with 

the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on June 22, 

2016. On March 20, 2017, the Tribe and the United States filed a 

joint stipulation to dismiss the Gila River trust case with prejudice. 

SUMMARY

The bill, H.R. 4032, reflects the terms of the settlement. The bill 

establishes the northwest boundary of the reservation, and settles 

the Tres Rios boundary dispute. The legislation includes a mandatory trust acquisition of 3,400 acres of federal land for the Tribe as 

part of the boundary dispute settlement. Lastly, the bill provides 

for surveys and the creation of a map of the federal rights-of-way 

on the Reservation. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

The bill, H.R. 4032, was introduced on October 12, 2017, by Congressman O’Halleran and referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources of the House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs. On February 6, 2018, the 

Subcommittee on Indian, Insular, and Alaska Native Affairs held 

a legislative hearing on the bill. At that time, the Gila River Indian 

Community Governor Stephen Lewis testified in support of the bill. 

On May 8, 2018, H.R. 4032 was considered by the Committee on 

Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. At that time, 

Congressman Grijalva introduced Amendment No. 086, which 

made technical changes to the legislation, and was adopted by 

unanimous consent. On July 17, 2018, H.R. 4032 passed the House 

of Representatives under suspension of the rules, and on July 18, 

2018, H.R. 4032 was received in the Senate and referred to the 

Committee on Indian Affairs. 

The Committee held a legislative hearing on November 14, 2018 

at which it received testimony on H.R. 4032. Gila River Indian 

Community Councilman Barney B. Enos, Jr. testified in support of 

H.R. 4032, noting that the bill was critical ‘‘to enable the Community to obtain the full benefits of the settlement the Community 

reached with the United States resolving federal litigation that 

originated in 2006.’’ The Committee also received testimony from 

Darryl LaCounte, Acting Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

in support of the bill. On November 28, 2018 the Committee held 

a business meeting, and reported H.R. 4032 favorably without 

amendment. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

This Act may be cited as the Gila River Indian Community Federal-Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act. 

Section 2. Purposes 

Section 2 declares the intent of the Act is to codify the negotiated 

trust accounting and mismanagement settlement. 

4 

Section 3. Definitions 

This section defines terms used in the Act. 

Section 4. Land into trust for benefit of the community 

Subsection (a) provides that, after a request by the Tribe, the 

Secretary of the Interior will take the Lower Sonoran Lands into 

trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 

Subsection (b) provides that the map of the lands taken into 

trust must be on file and made publicly available no later than 180 

days after enactment of the Act. 

Subsection (c) provides that the Lower Sonoran Lands are to be 

part of the reservation once they are taken into trust. 

Subsection (d) states that Class II and III gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.) shall not be 

allowed at any time on the land taken into trust for the Community under subsection (a).. 

Subsection (e) requires the Secretary of the Interior to publish 

the full metes-and-bounds description of the Lower Sonoran Lands 

no later than 180 days after the enactment of this Act. 

Section 5. Establishment of fixed northern boundary 

Subsection (a) provides that the northern boundary of the Gila 

River Indian Community Reservation, created by the 1879 Executive Order, is modified to be fixed, permanent, and not ambulatory. 

Subsection (b) provides that the portion of the reservation boundary created by the Executive Order (along the middle of the Salt 

River) is modified to be a fixed and permanent boundary. 

Subsection (c) provides that, subject to available appropriations, 

the Secretary of the Interior will ensure that the new reservation 

boundary, as described in subsection (b), is surveyed and clearly 

marked. 

Subsection (d) provides that the Reservation boundary, resurveyed pursuant to the Act, shall become the northern boundary of 

the Reservation, and no other portion of the reservation boundary 

will be affected by this Act except as specifically set forth in the 

Act. 

Subsection (e) provides that the Secretary shall publish in the 

Federal Register the modification and the resurvey of the reservation boundary as set forth in subsections (b) and (c), which shall 

constitute the fixed northern boundary of the Reservation. 

Section 6. Satisfaction and substitution of claims 

This section provides that the negotiated settlement and the benefits received by the Tribe, pursuant to this Act, shall be in complete replacement of, substitution for, and full satisfaction of, all 

claims that the Tribe, its members, and allottees may have had 

against the United States. 

The bill becomes effective on the later of the date on which the 

Secretary publishes the Federal Register notice required under section 4(e), publishes in the Federal Register the notice required 

under section 5(e), and completes the surveys for the Federal 

rights-of-way required by the language of the bill. 

5 

Section 7. Federal rights-of-way 

Subsection (a) provides that all the rights-of-way depicted in the 

ROW, Easements, and Federal and Tribal Facilities Map accompanying this Act are established, ratified, and confirmed. 

Subsection (b) provides for the location of recordation of all 

rights-of-way established, ratified, and confirmed in Subsection (a). 

Subsection (c) provides that the Federal Government shall be 

considered the grantee or applicant for any and all rights-of-way 

established pursuant to this Act. 

Subsection (d) provides that either at the request of the tribe, or 

pursuant to 25 C.F.R. § 404–409, any rights-of-way established by 

this Act may be cancelled. Requests for cancellation shall be documented by a tribal resolution. 

Subsection (e) provides that the granting of any rights-of-way or 

easement, other than those depicted in the ROW, Easements, and 

Federal and Tribal Facilities Map accompanying this Act, may only 

be done in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations. 

Section 8. Survey 

Subsection (a) provides that the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) 

shall undertake and complete a survey of each of the federal rightsof-way established under this Act no later than six years after enactment. 

Subsection (b) provides that the BIA is authorized, subject to 

available appropriations, to contract for the survey of all federal 

rights-of-way established pursuant to this Act to the Tribe or a 

third party. 

Subsection (c) provides that upon completion of all surveys authorized and undertaken, the Tribe and the Bureau of Indian Affairs can determine if any anomalies exist with respect to certain 

federal rights-of-way, and can choose to remove that anomaly from 

the ROW, Easements, and Federal Tribal Facilities Map. 

Section 9. Hunt highway 

This section clarifies that nothing in this Act shall impact any 

right-of-way or easement associated with Hunt Highway in Pinal 

County, Arizona, including the portion that traverses the reservation. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

On June 22, 2018, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) prepared a cost estimate for H.R. 4032, as considered by the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives. The 

bill was not amended during consideration by the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs, so that there should be no changes to affect the cost estimate. The subsequent cost estimate can be published in the Congressional Record. The Chairman of the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives received the following letter, and cost estimate, for H.R. 4032 from 

the Director of the CBO. 

6 

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, June 22, 2018. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed revised cost estimate for H.R. 4032, the Gila 

River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, Easements and 

Boundary Clarification Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Robert Reese. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL, Director. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 4032—Gila River Indian Community Federal Rights-of-Way, 

Easements and Boundary Clarification Act 

H.R. 4032 would direct the Department of the Interior (DOI) to 

take about 3,400 acres of land into trust for the benefit of the Gila 

River Indian Community. The bill also would establish a permanent northern boundary for the tribe’s reservation and would establish and ratify three rights-of-way and one grazing permit on that 

land. DOI would be required to survey the new tribal boundary and 

the rights-of-way and publish those surveys. Using information 

from DOI, CBO estimates that the administrative expenses associated with those activities would not be significant. 

The land that could be taken into trust under the bill is currently managed by DOI and yields no financial benefits to the federal government. DOI is in the process of transferring that land to 

the Gila River Indian Community through a noncompetitive, direct 

land sale. H.R. 4032 specifies that once the sale of the land is finalized DOI shall, at the request of the tribe, take the land into trust 

for the benefit of the tribe. 

Enacting H.R. 4032 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4032 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

H.R. 4032 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

This cost estimate for the Gila River Indian Community Federal 

Rights-of-Way, Easements and Boundary Clarification Act supersedes the estimate transmitted on June 12, 2018, for the same bill. 

CBO’s earlier estimate was based incorrect information indicating 

that the sale would not proceed under the bill and title to the land 

would be transferred to the tribe for no consideration. This revised 

cost estimate corrects that error. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Robert Reese. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

7 

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 H.R. 4032 will have minimal impact on regulatory or paperwork requirements. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The Committee has received no communications from the Executive Branch regarding H.R. 4032. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In accordance with Committee rules, subsection 12 of rule XXVI 

of the Standing Rules of the Senate is waived. In the opinion of the 

Committee, it is necessary to dispense with subsection 12 of rule 

XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate to expedite the business 

of the Senate. 

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