II

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1216

To resolve the 107th Meridian boundary dispute between the Crow Indian

Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe and the United States and

various other issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 13 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

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

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

JULY 14 (legislative day, JUNE 30), 1993

Ordered that, if and when reported by the Committee on Indian Affairs, that

the bill then be referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To resolve the 107th Meridian boundary dispute between

the Crow Indian Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Indian

Tribe and the United States and various other issues

pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation.

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 ‘‘Crow Settlement Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to settle

3 the dispute created by the Federal Government’s erro4 neous survey of the eastern boundary of the Crow Indian

5 Reservation and to resolve various other issues pertaining

6 to the Crow Indian Reservation.

7 (b) FINDINGS.—

8 (1) Under the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868,

9 (15 Stat. 649), the eastern boundary of the Crow

10 Indian Reservation was established as the 107th Me11 ridian for approximately 90 miles from the Yellow12 stone River to the boundary between Montana and

13 Wyoming.

14 (2) Under 1884 and 1900 Executive orders, the

15 western boundary of the Northern Cheyenne Res16 ervation was established as the 107th Meridian. The

17 107th Meridian is the common boundary between

18 the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations for

19 approximately 25 miles.

20 (3) From 1889 through 1891, a survey was

21 conducted of the eastern boundary of the Crow Res22 ervation. Instead of following the true 107th Merid23 ian, the 1891 survey line strayed to the west. As a

24 result of the erroneous survey, approximately 36,164

25 acres were excluded from the Crow Indian Reserva26 tion of which approximately 12,964 acres were in-
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1 cluded in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserva2 tion. Vast deposits of low sulphur coal underlie the

3 land excluded from the Crow Indian Reservation in4 cluding the land included in the Northern Cheyenne

5 Indian Reservation.

6 (4) The erroneous nature of the survey was not

7 discovered for several decades. Meanwhile, the areas

8 along the 107th Meridian to the north and south of

9 the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation were

10 opened to settlement in the late 1800’s and early

11 1900’s. Patents were issued to non-Indians and to

12 the State of Montana for most of the surface land

13 and a significant portion of the minerals in these

14 areas between the 107th Meridian and the erroneous

15 1891 survey line. The 12,964 acres erroneously in16 cluded in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation have

17 been treated as part of the Northern Cheyenne Res18 ervation and occupied by the Northern Cheyenne

19 Tribe, Northern Cheyenne allottees and their succes20 sors in interest.

21 (5) Following the discovery of the erroneous

22 1891 survey line in the 1950’s, bills to resolve the

23 107th Meridian boundary dispute were introduced in

24 Congress in the 1960’s and 1970’s, but no bill was

25 enacted into law.
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1 (6) In 1966, the United States completed con2 struction of Yellowtail Dam on the Crow Indian Res3 ervation as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin

4 Program. The Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program

5 also included the Hardin Bench Irrigation Unit and

6 other irrigation projects on the Crow Indian Res7 ervation which have not yet been constructed.

8 (7) The operation of the Yellowtail Afterbay

9 Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation has resulted in

10 a significant water quality problem on the Big Horn

11 River within the Crow Indian Reservation. Construc12 tion of a power plant and related facilities at the

13 existing Yellowtail Afterbay Dam will solve that

14 problem.

15 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

16 For purposes of this Act:

17 (1) The term ‘‘Crow Tribe’’ means the Crow

18 Tribe of Indians, the duly recognized governing body

19 of the Crow Indian Reservation.

20 (2) The term ‘‘disputed area’’ means the land,

21 approximately 36,165 acres, including the minerals,

22 located between the 107th Meridian and the 1891

23 survey line.
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1 (3) The term ‘‘1891 survey line’’ means the er2 roneous boundary line resulting from the survey of

3 the 107th Meridian which was completed in 1891.

4 (4) The term ‘‘Northern Cheyenne Tribe’’

5 means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Indians, the

6 duly recognized governing body of the Northern

7 Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

8 (5) The term ‘‘107th Meridian boundary dis9 pute’’ means the dispute resulting from the disparity

10 between the locations of the 107th Meridian and the

11 1891 survey line.

12 (6) The term ‘‘parcel No. 1’’ means the land,

13 approximately 11,317 acres, including all minerals,

14 within the area bounded on the south by the Mon15 tana/Wyoming border, on the east by the 107th Me16 ridian, on the north by the extension to the west of

17 the southern boundary of the Northern Cheyenne

18 Indian Reservation and on the west by the 1891 sur19 vey line.

20 (7) The term ‘‘parcel No. 2’’ means the land,

21 approximately 12,964 acres, including all minerals,

22 within the area bounded on the south by the exten23 sion to the west of the southern boundary of the

24 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, on the east

25 by the 107th Meridian, on the north by the exten-
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1 sion to the west of the northern boundary of the

2 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and on the

3 west by the 1891 survey line.

4 (8) The term ‘‘parcel No. 3’’ means the land,

5 approximately 2,469 acres, including all minerals,

6 within the area bounded on the south by the exten7 sion to the west of the northern boundary of the

8 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, on the east

9 by the 107th Meridian, on the north by the northern

10 boundary of the Crow Indian Reservation and on the

11 west by the 1891 survey line.

12 (9) The term ‘‘parcel No. 4’’ means the land,

13 approximately 9,415 acres, including all minerals,

14 within the area bounded on the south by the north15 ern boundary of the Crow Indian Reservation, on

16 the east by the 107th Meridian, on the north by the

17 midpoint of the Yellowstone River and on the west

18 by the 1891 survey line.

19 (10) The word ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec20 retary of the Interior.

21 (11) The term ‘‘undisposed of coal’’ means coal

22 which has not been conveyed to private parties or to

23 the State of Montana by the United States.

24 (12) The term ‘‘undisposed of land’’ means sur25 face land which has not been conveyed to private
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1 parties or to the State of Montana by the United

2 States.

3 (13) The term ‘‘undisposed of oil, gas, coal

4 methane or other minerals’’ means oil, gas, coal

5 methane or other minerals except coal, which have

6 not been conveyed to private parties or to the State

7 of Montana by the United States.

8 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO SETTLE.

9 (a) CONTRACT WITH CROW TRIBE.—Subject to the

10 terms and conditions of this Act, the Secretary shall enter

11 into a contract with the Crow Tribe providing for the set12 tlement of the 107th Meridian boundary dispute and other

13 issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation.

14 (b) CONTRACT WITH NORTHERN CHEYENNE

15 TRIBE.—Subject to the terms and conditions of this Act,

16 the Secretary shall enter into a contract with the Northern

17 Cheyenne Tribe to resolve the issues with respect to the

18 property within parcel No. 2.

19 (c) ENFORCEMENT OF CONTRACTS.—The contracts

20 authorized in subsections (a) and (b) shall be enforceable

21 pursuant to subchapter II of chapter 5 of title 5, United

22 States Code, or, where the remedies available under that

23 Act do not provide adequate or complete relief, pursuant

24 to section 1505 of title 28, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 5. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SETTLEMENT CON2 TRACTS.

3 (a) CROW/NORTHERN CHEYENNE SETTLEMENT.—

4 The contracts with the Crow and Northern Cheyenne

5 Tribes referred to in section 4 shall include the following

6 terms and conditions with respect to the property within

7 parcel No. 2:

8 (1) The surface boundary between the Crow

9 and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations shall be

10 the 1891 survey line and the ownership of the sur11 face lands within parcel No. 2 shall be recognized as

12 being vested in the United States in trust for the

13 sole use and benefit of the Northern Cheyenne

14 Tribe, Northern Cheyenne allottees or their succes15 sors in interest or other persons whose claims,

16 rights, or interests are based on the 1891 survey

17 line.

18 (2) With respect to the coal and other minerals

19 within parcel No. 2 except for oil, gas, and coal

20 methane, the boundary between the Crow and

21 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations shall be the

22 1891 survey line and the ownership of such minerals

23 shall be vested in the United States in trust for the

24 sole use and benefit of the Northern Cheyenne

25 Tribe.
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1 (3) With respect to oil, gas, and coal methane

2 within parcel No. 2, the boundary between the Crow

3 and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations shall be

4 the 107th Meridian and the ownership of such oil,

5 gas and coal methane shall be vested in the United

6 States in trust for the sole use and benefit of the

7 Crow Tribe.

8 (4) The funds held in escrow by the Bureau of

9 Indian Affairs derived from the lands and minerals

10 within parcel No. 2, together with all of the interest

11 earned on such funds, shall be divided equally be12 tween the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Tribes and

13 may be used by each tribe for such purposes as it

14 may determine.

15 (5) A disclaimer and relinquishment by the

16 Crow Tribe of all right, title, claim or interest in the

17 land and minerals within parcel No. 2 described in

18 paragraphs (1) and (2), and to one-half of the funds

19 described in paragraph (4), and a disclaimer and re20 linquishment by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of all

21 right, title, claim or interest in the minerals within

22 parcel No. 2 described in paragraph (3), and to one23 half of the funds described in paragraph (4).

24 (6) A release by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe

25 of all persons and entities, including the United
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1 States and the Crow Tribe, for any and all liability

2 arising out of the erroneous survey of the 107th Me3 ridian, and a release by the Crow Tribe of all per4 sons and entities, including the United States and

5 the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, for any and all liabil6 ity arising from the erroneous survey of the 107th

7 Meridian.

8 (b) PROPERTY WITHIN PARCEL NOS. 1, 3 AND 4.—

9 The contract with the Crow Tribe referred to in section

10 4 shall include the following terms and conditions with re11 spect to the property within parcel Nos. 1, 3 and 4:

12 (1) Title to the undisposed of coal within parcel

13 No. 1 shall be vested in the United States in trust

14 for the sole use and benefit of the Crow Tribe and

15 such coal shall be recognized as part of the Crow In16 dian Reservation.

17 (2) Title to the undisposed of surface lands

18 within parcel Nos. 1, 3 and 4 shall be vested in the

19 United States in trust for the sole use and benefit

20 of the Crow Tribe and such land shall be recognized

21 as part of the Crow Indian Reservation. Notwith22 standing the preceding provisions of this paragraph,

23 the State of Montana shall retain the same civil and

24 criminal authority over such lands in Parcel No. 4
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1 that it currently has over lands restored to the Tribe

2 under the Act of May 19, 1958, (72 Stat. 121).

3 (3) Title to the undisposed of oil, gas, coal

4 methane or other minerals within parcel Nos. 1, 3

5 and 4 shall be vested in the United States in trust

6 for the sole use and benefit of the Crow Tribe and

7 such minerals shall be recognized as part of the

8 Crow Indian Reservation.

9 (4) A disclaimer and relinquishment by the

10 Crow Tribe of all right, title, claim or interest in all

11 the lands and minerals within parcel Nos. 1, 3 and

12 4, except for the rights, titles and interests recog13 nized as beneficially owned by the Crow Tribe in

14 paragraphs (1), (2) and (3).

15 (5) A release by the Crow Tribe of all persons

16 and entities, including the United States, for any

17 and all liability arising from the erroneous survey of

18 the 107th Meridian.

19 (c) EXCHANGE OF PUBLIC LANDS.—As part of the

20 settlement of the 107th Meridian boundary dispute with

21 the Crow Tribe, the contract with the Crow Tribe referred

22 to in section 4 shall include the following land exchange

23 provisions:

24 (1) The Secretary shall negotiate with the State

25 of Montana for the purpose of exchanging public
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1 lands within the State of Montana for up to approxi2 mately 46,625 acres of State trust lands within the

3 Crow Indian Reservation and the disputed area. The

4 value of the public lands and State trust lands ex5 changed pursuant to this provision shall be substan6 tially equal. The value of improvements on such

7 lands shall be given due consideration. Lands ex8 changed shall be selected so that the financial im9 pact on local governments, if any, will be minimized.

10 The Secretary shall provide such financial and other

11 assistance to the State of Montana as may be nec12 essary to obtain the appraisals and other adminis13 trative requirements necessary to accomplish this ex14 change. Upon the approval by the Secretary and the

15 State of Montana of an exchange pursuant to this

16 paragraph, the Secretary is authorized to receive

17 title to such State trust lands involved in the ex18 change on behalf of the United States and to trans19 fer title to the public lands involved in the exchange

20 to the State of Montana by such means of convey21 ance as the Secretary deems appropriate. State trust

22 lands acquired pursuant to the exchange shall be

23 vested in the United States in trust for the sole use

24 and benefit of the Crow Tribe and shall be deemed

25 part of the Crow Indian Reservation.
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1 (2) If, for any reason, the exchange for all or

2 any portion of the State trust lands described in

3 paragraph (1) is not completed within 5 years from

4 the date of enactment of this Act, at the request of

5 and in cooperation with the Crow Tribe, the Sec6 retary shall develop and implement a program to

7 provide the Crow Tribe with land in an amount suf8 ficient to make up the difference between the value

9 of all the State trust lands within the Crow Indian

10 Reservation and the disputed area and the value of

11 any State trust lands exchanged and acquired pursu12 ant to paragraph (1). In carrying out this program,

13 the Secretary is authorized to transfer title to public

14 lands within the State of Montana to the Crow Tribe

15 and to exchange public lands within the State of

16 Montana for private lands of substantially equal

17 value within the Crow Indian Reservation. The value

18 of improvements on all such lands shall be given due

19 consideration. Title to the public lands transferred

20 pursuant to this paragraph, other than by exchange,

21 and to the private lands acquired pursuant to this

22 paragraph shall be vested in the United States in

23 trust for the sole use and benefit of the Crow Tribe

24 and shall be deemed part of the Crow Indian Res25 ervation. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions
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1 of this paragraph, the State of Montana shall retain

2 civil and criminal authority over the surface only of

3 any such lands in the event that any such lands are

4 not contiguous to the existing Crow Reservation,

5 which authority shall not be exclusive.

6 (d) YELLOWTAIL AFTERBAY POWER PLANT.—As

7 part of the settlement of the 107th Meridian boundary dis8 pute with the Crow Tribe and to bring the Federal Gov9 ernment’s operation of Yellowtail Afterbay Dam into com10 pliance with applicable water quality standards, the Sec11 retary, subject to the availability of funds, shall construct

12 and operate a power plant and bypass at the Yellowtail

13 Afterbay Dam. The cost of constructing such power plant

14 and bypass shall be nonreimbursable. The Secretary, in

15 consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of Energy

16 and the Crow Tribe, is authorized to sell or to make ar17 rangements for the sale or marketing of the power gen18 erated at the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam to produce maxi19 mum revenues. Revenues from the sale of power generated

20 at that power plant shall first be used to defray the costs

21 incurred in the operation, maintenance and repair of the

22 plant. The contract with the Crow Tribe referred to in

23 section 4 of this Act shall provide that the remainder of

24 the revenues from the sale of such power shall be trans25 ferred to the Crow Tribe and used for such purposes as
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1 the Crow Tribe may determine, subject to the Secretary’s

2 approval. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the

3 Crow Tribe, may, in its discretion, elect to utilize any por4 tion of the power generated at the Yellowtail Afterbay

5 Dam in lieu of receiving the revenues produced by the sale

6 of that power.

7 (e) CROW TRIBAL TRUST FUND.—

8 (1) There is established in the Treasury of the

9 United States a revolving account to be known as

10 the ‘‘Crow Tribal Trust Account’’.

11 (2) Amounts in the Crow Tribal Trust Account

12 shall be available, without fiscal year limitations, to

13 the Secretary for distribution to the Crow Tribe in

14 accordance with section 6(b), and other provisions of

15 this Act.

16 (3) The Crow Tribal Trust Account shall con17 sist of such amounts as are appropriated to it in ac18 cordance with the authorizations provided by this

19 Act.

20 (4) As part of the settlement of the 107th

21 Meridian boundary dispute and other issues pertain22 ing to the Crow Indian Reservation, in the contract

23 with the Crow Tribe referred to in section 4 of this

24 Act, the Secretary, on behalf of the United States,

25 shall pay, from moneys appropriated pursuant to
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1 this Act, into the Crow Tribal Trust Account

2 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and each of the

3 next following 9 fiscal years.

4 (f) ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO CROW TRIBAL

5 TRUST FUND.—In addition to the amounts authorized to

6 be appropriated in subsection (e)(4), as part of the settle7 ment of the 107th Meridian boundary dispute and other

8 issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation, in the

9 contract with the Crow Tribe referred to in section 4 of

10 this Act, the Secretary, on behalf of the United States,

11 subject to the availability of moneys appropriated pursu12 ant to this Act, shall pay the following amounts into the

13 Crow Tribal Trust Account:

14 (1) Commencing with fiscal year 1994 and each

15 fiscal year thereafter, an amount which shall be

16 nonreimbursable and nonreturnable and equal to the

17 amounts of royalties received and retained by the

18 United States during the previous fiscal year from

19 the East Decker, West Decker and Spring Creek

20 coal mines in the State of Montana for the life of

21 those mines, including any extensions of the existing

22 leases or expansions to adjacent or nearby coal de23 posits owned by the Federal Government.

24 (2) Commencing with fiscal year 1994, and

25 each fiscal year thereafter, an amount, which shall
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1 be nonreimbursable and nonreturnable, equal to the

2 receipts from all deposits to the United States

3 Treasury for the preceding fiscal year from the sale

4 of power generated at Yellowtail Dam.

5 SEC. 6. ADMINISTRATION OF CROW TRIBAL TRUST FUND.

6 (a) INVESTMENT.—All sums deposited in, accruing to

7 and remaining in the Crow Tribal Trust Account, shall

8 be invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest9 bearing deposits and securities in accordance with the Act

10 of June 24, 1938 (52 Stat. 1037, 25 U.S.C. 162a).

11 (b) DISTRIBUTION OF INTEREST.—Only the interest

12 received on moneys in the Crow Tribal Trust Account

13 shall be available for distribution to the Crow Tribe, and

14 then only for use for education, land acquisition, economic

15 development, youth and elderly programs and other tribal

16 purposes in accordance with plans and budgets developed

17 by the Crow Tribe and approved by the Secretary; except

18 that, subject to the Secretary’s approval, up to 25 percent

19 of the moneys in the Crow Tribal Trust Account at any

20 time may be pledged by the Crow Tribe as security for

21 commercial loans for economic development projects on or

22 near the Crow Indian Reservation. No part of any moneys

23 in the Crow Tribal Trust Account or of the interest earned

24 on moneys in the Crow Tribal Account shall be distributed

25 to members of the Crow Tribe on a per capita basis.
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1 (c) INTEREST ADJUSTMENTS.—(1) If and to the ex2 tent that any portion of the sums described in section

3 5(e)(4) are appropriated after fiscal year 1994 and the

4 following 9 fiscal years or in lesser amounts than provided

5 in section 5(e)(4), there shall be deposited in the Crow

6 Tribal Trust Fund, subject to appropriations, in addition

7 to the full contributions, adjustments representing the in8 terest income, as determined by the Secretary in his sole

9 discretion, that would have been earned on any unpaid

10 amounts had the amounts authorized in section 5(e)(4)

11 been appropriated in full at the beginning of each fiscal

12 year for fiscal years 1994 through 2003.

13 (2) If and to the extent that any portion of the sums

14 described in sections 5(f)(1) and 5(f)(2) are appropriated

15 and deposited in the Crow Tribal Trust Fund more than

16 60 days after the close of the preceding fiscal year or in

17 lesser amounts than provided in those subsections, there

18 shall be deposited in the Crow Tribal Trust Fund, subject

19 to appropriations, in addition to the full contributions, ad20 justments representing the interest income, as determined

21 by the Secretary in his sole discretion, that would have

22 been earned on any unpaid amounts had the amounts au23 thorized in sections 5(f)(1) and 5(f)(2) been appropriated

24 and deposited in full in a timely manner.
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1 SEC. 7. CROW IRRIGATION PROJECT.

2 At such time as the settlement contract between the

3 Crow Tribe and the Secretary becomes effective, the au4 thority of the Bureau of Reclamation to construct and op5 erate the Hardin Bench, Little Horn, Custer Bench,

6 Wyola, Benteen Flat, Battlefield and Crow Irrigation

7 Projects on the Crow Indian Reservation as part of the

8 Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program is revoked; ex9 cept that nothing in this Act shall affect the reserved

10 water rights appurtenant to any lands within the Crow

11 Indian Reservation.

12 SEC. 8. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER SERVICES NOT AFFECTED.

13 No payments pursuant to this Act shall result in the

14 reduction or denial of any Federal services or programs

15 to the Crow Tribe, the Northern Cheyenne Tribe or any

16 of their members, to which they are entitled, or eligible

17 because of their status as federally recognized Indian

18 tribes or members of such tribes. No payments pursuant

19 to this Act shall be subject to Federal or State income

20 tax.

21 SEC. 9. EXCHANGES OF LAND AND MINERALS.

22 Subject to the Secretary’s approval, the Crow Tribe

23 is authorized to exchange any of the Crow Tribe’s land

24 or minerals within the disputed area recognized or ob25 tained pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section

26 5(b), or paragraph (1) of section 5(c) or any of the Crow
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1 Tribe’s land obtained pursuant to paragraph (2) of section

2 5(c) for other land or minerals of substantially equivalent

3 value within the Crow Indian Reservation. Lands or min4 erals received by the tribe in such exchange shall be con5 sidered to be vested in the United States in trust for the

6 sole use and benefit of the Crow Tribe and a part of its

7 reservation. Lands and minerals received by a non-Indian

8 in such exchange shall be considered to be owned in fee.

9 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVENESS CONTRACTS.

10 The contracts entered into by the Crow Tribe and

11 the Northern Cheyenne Tribe pursuant to this Act provid12 ing for the settlement of the 107th Meridian dispute and

13 other issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation

14 shall not take effect until the contracts are approved and

15 executed in accordance with the requirements and proce16 dures set forth in each tribe’s constitution.

17 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.

18 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

19 as may be required to implement the provisions of this

20 Act.

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