II 

112TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2110 

To settle claims of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe by authorizing the Secretary 

of the Interior to convey mineral rights in the State of Montana, and 

for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 15, 2012 

Mr. BAUCUS (for himself and Mr. TESTER) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To settle claims of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe by authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to convey mineral 

rights in the State of Montana, and for other purposes. 

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 ‘‘Northern Cheyenne 

5 Land Consolidation Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 


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1 (1) in 1877, the United States forcibly relo2 cated members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe 

3 from the Montana Territory to Oklahoma; 

4 (2) soon thereafter, in the face of great hard5 ship and suffering significant loss of life, the Tribe 

6 walked back to the Montana Territory to reclaim the 

7 ancestral homeland of the Tribe; 

8 (3) in 1884, President Arthur established a 

9 371,200-acre reservation for the Tribe extending 

10 eastward from the eastern boundary of the Crow In11 dian Reservation to approximately 12 miles east of 

12 Rosebud Creek in Montana; 

13 (4) the Tongue River Indian Reservation, as 

14 the reservation was known as at the time of estab15 lishment, included within the boundaries of the Res16 ervation— 

17 (A) tracts occupied legally and illegally by 

18 non-Indian settlers; and 

19 (B) tracts (including the subsurface rights) 

20 owned by the Northern Pacific Railway; 

21 (5) in addition to the Northern Cheyenne indi22 viduals living on the Tongue River Indian Reserva23 tion, Northern Cheyenne families, with encourage24 ment and assistance from the United States miliVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Feb 15, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2110.IS S2110

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1 tary, settled on land to the east of the Reservation 

2 and on both sides of the Tongue River; 

3 (6) in 1898, at the direction of Congress, the 

4 Secretary of the Interior dispatched Indian Inspector 

5 James McLaughlin to southeastern Montana to re6 port on opportunities for reducing hostilities between 

7 the Northern Cheyenne and non-Indian settlers; 

8 (7) in 1900, in accordance with the rec9 ommendations of McLaughlin— 

10 (A) President McKinley expanded the 

11 Tongue River Indian Reservation from the 

12 Crow Indian Reservation on the west to the 

13 middle of the Tongue River on the east; and 

14 (B) Congress appropriated funds— 

15 (i) to purchase settler land and claims 

16 and the Northern Pacific Railway land 

17 within the expanded Reservation; and 

18 (ii) to relocate to the expanded res19 ervation 46 Northern Cheyenne families 

20 who had settled on land to the east of the 

21 Tongue River; 

22 (8) however, when McLaughlin negotiated to 

23 purchase the tracts held by the Northern Pacific 

24 Railway within the expanded Northern Cheyenne 

25 Reservation, McLaughlin neglected to purchase the 


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1 subsurface rights of the Railway in 8 sections total2 ing approximately 5,000 acres; 

3 (9) the subsurface rights described in para4 graph (8)— 

5 (A) are currently owned by Great Northern 

6 Properties; and 

7 (B) constitute the only subsurface within 

8 the Reservation not owned by the Tribe; 

9 (10) the Tribe asserts that the Tribe retains 

10 claims against the United States arising from the 

11 continuing failure of the United States to acquire 

12 the subsurface rights described in paragraph (8) as 

13 directed by Congress; 

14 (11) in 2002, the Tribe brought suit against 

15 the Secretary, asserting that the proposed convey16 ances of the extensive Federal coal tracts to the 

17 State under the Department of the Interior and Re18 lated Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public 

19 Law 105–83; 111 Stat. 1543) would violate— 

20 (A) the Federal trust responsibility to the 

21 Tribe; and 

22 (B) several Federal laws; 

23 (12) although the Northern Cheyenne tribal 

24 community chronically suffers harsh economic condi25 tions and severe deficits in public services and faciliVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Feb 15, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2110.IS S2110

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1 ties, the community does not share in any significant 

2 portion of the public revenues generated by sur3 rounding energy development; 

4 (13) subsequently, the Tribe withdrew the 2002 

5 suit against the United States, with prejudice, based 

6 in large part on commitments that legislation sub7 stantially in the form of this Act (and further legis8 lation providing funding to the Tribe to address the 

9 impacts of coal development in areas adjoining the 

10 Reservation) would be introduced and pursued with 

11 support from the State, Great Northern Properties, 

12 and others; and 

13 (14) if the conveyances of mineral rights au14 thorized by this Act are carried out, the Tribe will 

15 waive all legal claims against the United States aris16 ing from the longstanding and continuing loss to the 

17 Tribe of the Reservation mineral rights owned by 

18 Great Northern Properties. 

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

20 In this Act: 

21 (1) CHEYENNE TRACTS.—The term ‘‘Cheyenne 

22 tracts’’ means the aggregate tract of land that— 

23 (A) is located in the eastern portion of the 

24 State within the boundaries of the Reservation; 

25 (B) comprises approximately 5,000 acres; 


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1 (C) is generally depicted on the map enti2 tled ‘‘Cheyenne Coal Land Conveyance’’ and 

3 dated April 7, 2010; and 

4 (D) is comprised of land located in— 

5 (i) T. 2 S., R. 44 E., sec. 17; 

(ii) T. 2 S., R. 44 E., sec. 19, E1 6 ⁄2

and E1⁄2W1 7 ⁄2, Lots 1–4; 

(iii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 5, S1 8 ⁄2 and 

S1⁄2N1 9 ⁄2, Lots 1–4; 

(iv) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 7, E 1 10 ⁄2

and E1⁄2W1 11 ⁄2, Lots 1–4; 

(v) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 9, N1 12 ⁄2, 

SW1⁄4, and W1⁄2SE1 13 ⁄4, Lots 2–4; 

14 (vi) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 17; 

(vii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 19, E1 15 ⁄2

and E1⁄2W1 16 ⁄2, Lots 1–4; and 

(viii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 21, N1 17 ⁄2, 

SW1⁄4, and SW1⁄4 SE1 18 ⁄4, Lots 1 and 2. 

19 (2) FEDERAL TRACTS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

20 tracts’’ means the tracts of land that— 

21 (A) are located in the State; 

22 (B) are located outside of the boundaries 

23 of the Reservation; 

24 (C) consist of approximately 4,500 acres; 


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1 (D) are generally depicted on the map en2 titled ‘‘Federal Coal Land Conveyance’’ and 

3 dated November 30, 2011; and 

4 (E) are comprised of land located in the 

5 following 2 areas: 

6 (i) The area commonly known as 

7 ‘‘Bridge Creek’’, which is comprised of 

8 land located in— 

9 (I) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 26, 

S1 10 ⁄2; 

11 (II) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 34; 

12 (III) T. 3 S., R. 45 E., sec. 30, 

E1⁄2SW1⁄4 and SE1 13 ⁄4, Lots 3–4; and 

14 (IV) T. 4 S., R. 44 E., sec. 2, 

SE1⁄4NW1⁄4 , SW1⁄4NE1 15 ⁄4, Lots 2–4. 

16 (ii) The area commonly known as the 

17 ‘‘Bull Mountains’’, which is comprised of 

18 land located in— 

19 (I) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 4, 

S1⁄2N1⁄2 and S1 20 ⁄2, Lots 1–4; 

21 (II) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 8; 

22 (III) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 10; 

23 (IV) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 14; 

24 and 


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1 (V) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 22, 

S1⁄2NW1 2 ⁄4.

3 (3) GREAT NORTHERN PROPERTIES.—The term 

4 ‘‘Great Northern Properties’’ means— 

5 (A) the Great Northern Properties Limited 

6 Partnership, which is a Delaware limited part7 nership; and 

8 (B) any successor to the ownership interest 

9 of Great Northern Properties in any coal or 

10 iron that underlies the Cheyenne tracts. 

11 (4) RESERVATION.—The term ‘‘Reservation’’ 

12 means the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. 

13 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (6) SIGNAL PEAK ENERGY.—The term ‘‘Signal 

16 Peak Energy’’ means Signal Peak Energy, LLC, a 

17 Delaware limited liability company. 

18 (7) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

19 of Montana. 

20 (8) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 

21 Northern Cheyenne Tribe. 

22 SEC. 4. MINERAL RIGHTS CONVEYANCES. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

24 date on which the Secretary receives all notifications deVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Feb 15, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2110.IS S2110

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1 scribed in subsection (b), the following shall be completed 

2 in a single transaction: 

3 (1) Great Northern Properties shall convey to 

4 the Tribe all mineral interests of Great Northern 

5 Properties underlying the Cheyenne tracts. 

6 (2) The Secretary shall terminate any existing 

7 Federal lease to Signal Peak Energy for the coal un8 derlying the Federal tracts described in section 

9 3(2)(E)(ii). 

10 (3) The Secretary shall convey to Great North11 ern Properties all right, title, and interest of the 

12 United States in and to the coal underlying the Fed13 eral tracts. 

14 (b) NOTIFICATIONS.—As a condition of the convey15 ances authorized under subsection (a)— 

16 (1) Great Northern Properties and the Tribe 

17 shall provide joint written notification to the Sec18 retary that Great Northern Properties and the Tribe 

19 have agreed on a revenue sharing formula for all 

20 coal produced from the Federal tracts; and 

21 (2) Great Northern Properties and Signal Peak 

22 Energy shall provide joint written notification to the 

23 Secretary that Great Northern Properties and Sig24 nal Peak Energy have agreed on terms and condiVerDate Mar 15 2010 23:01 Feb 15, 2012 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2110.IS S2110

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1 tions for the lease of coal in the Federal tracts de2 scribed in section 3(2)(E)(ii). 

3 (c) BONUS PAYMENTS.—All bonus payments re4 quired in a Federal lease sale for coal underlying the Fed5 eral tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii) shall be re6 tained by the United States and distributed in accordance 

7 with the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), re8 gardless of the termination of the lease under subsection 

9 (a)(2). 

10 (d) IMMUNITIES.—The mineral interests underlying 

11 the Cheyenne tracts conveyed to the Tribe under sub12 section (a) shall not be subject to taxation by the State 

13 (including any political subdivision of the State). 

14 (e) WAIVER OF LEGAL CLAIMS.—In return for the 

15 mineral conveyances and termination of Federal leases 

16 under subsection (a)— 

17 (1) the Tribe shall waive each claim relating to 

18 the failure of the United States to acquire in trust 

19 for the Tribe as part of the Reservation the private 

20 mineral interests underlying the Cheyenne tracts; 

21 (2) Great Northern Properties shall waive any 

22 claim against the United States relating to the value 

23 or completion of the conveyances under this section; 

24 and 


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1 (3) Signal Peak Energy shall waive any claim 

2 against the United States relating to the terms or 

3 termination of the lease of coal in the Federal tracts 

4 described in section 3(2)(E)(ii). 

5 (f) RESCISSION OF MINERAL CONVEYANCES.—If any 

6 portion of the mineral conveyances under subsection (a) 

7 is invalidated by a Federal district court, and the judg8 ment of the Federal district court is not vacated or re9 versed on appeal— 

10 (1) not later than 1 year after the date on 

11 which there is a final judgment, the Secretary or 

12 Great Northern Properties may rescind completely 

13 each mineral conveyance under subsection (a); and 

14 (2) if the Secretary or Great Northern Prop15 erties carries out the rescission under paragraph (1), 

16 the waiver of the Tribe under subsection (e) shall be 

17 considered to be rescinded. 

18 (g) PROHIBITION OF STRIP MINING IN THE BULL

19 MOUNTAINS FEDERAL TRACTS.—On completion of the 

20 mineral conveyances authorized by subsection (a), the coal 

21 underlying the Bull Mountains Federal tracts described in 

22 section 3(2)(E)(ii) shall not be strip mined. 

23 SEC. 5. SYSTEMATIC SUBSIDENCE EVALUATION REPORT. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—After the completion of the min25 eral conveyances authorized under section 4(a), but not 


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1 later than December 31, 2013, and every 2 years there2 after, Signal Peak Energy shall, as a condition of the con3 veyances, prepare a report on the effects of subsidence in 

4 the Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii). 

5 (b) REQUIREMENTS.—The report prepared under 

6 subsection (a) shall, with respect to the tracts described 

7 in subsection (a)— 

8 (1) summarize subsidence monitoring data re9 quired by the State pursuant to the regulatory pro10 gram that implements an approved cooperative 

11 agreement, as described in section 740.4 of title 30, 

12 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regula13 tions); 

14 (2) describe the occurrence and severity of 

15 cracking, fissure development, rock toppling, erosion, 

16 slope failure, sloughing, and landslide risks; 

17 (3) describe the potential for subsidence-related 

18 surface hazards for humans, livestock, and wildlife; 

19 and 

20 (4) evaluate the accuracy of the predictive sub21 sidence model applied pursuant to the State regu22 latory program that implements an approved cooper23 ative agreement, as described in section 740.4 of 

24 title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor 

25 regulations). 


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1 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—Signal Peak Energy 

2 shall submit to, and make available for public inspection 

3 at, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality 

4 the reports prepared under subsection (a). 

5 SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FEDERAL BENEFITS. 

6 No sums or other benefits provided to the Tribe 

7 under this Act shall result in the reduction or denial of 

8 any Federal services, benefits, or programs to the Tribe 

9 or to any member of the Tribe to which the Tribe or mem10 ber is entitled or eligible because of— 

11 (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recog12 nized Indian tribe; or 

13 (2) the status of the member as a member of 

14 the Tribe. 

15 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

17 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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