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, 1993

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

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs

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’’.

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

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

7 the dispute created by the Federal Government’s erro8 neous survey of the eastern boundary of the Crow Indian
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1 Reservation and to resolve various other issues pertaining

2 to the Crow Indian Reservation.

3 (b) FINDINGS.—

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

5 (15 Stat. 649), the eastern boundary of the Crow

6 Indian Reservation was established as the 107th Me7 ridian for approximately 90 miles from the Yellow8 stone River to the boundary between Montana and

9 Wyoming.

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

11 western boundary of the Northern Cheyenne Res12 ervation was established as the 107th Meridian. The

13 107th Meridian is the common boundary between

14 the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Reservations for

15 approximately 25 miles.

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

17 conducted of the eastern boundary of the Crow Res18 ervation. Instead of following the true 107th Merid19 ian, the 1891 survey line strayed to the west. As a

20 result of the erroneous survey, approximately 36,164

21 acres were excluded from the Crow Indian Reserva22 tion of which approximately 12,964 acres were in23 cluded in the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserva24 tion. Vast deposits of low sulphur coal underlie the

25 land excluded from the Crow Indian Reservation in-
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1 cluding the land included in the Northern Cheyenne

2 Indian Reservation.

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

4 discovered for several decades. Meanwhile, the areas

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

6 the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation were

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

8 1900’s. Patents were issued to non-Indians and to

9 the State of Montana for most of the surface land

10 and a significant portion of the minerals in these

11 areas between the 107th Meridian and the erroneous

12 1891 survey line. The 12,964 acres erroneously in13 cluded in the Northern Cheyenne Reservation have

14 been treated as part of the Northern Cheyenne Res15 ervation and occupied by the Northern Cheyenne

16 Tribe, Northern Cheyenne allottees and their succes17 sors in interest.

18 (5) Following the discovery of the erroneous

19 1891 survey line in the 1950’s, bills to resolve the

20 107th Meridian boundary dispute were introduced in

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

22 enacted into law.

23 (6) In 1966, the United States completed con24 struction of Yellowtail Dam on the Crow Indian Res25 ervation as part of the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin
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1 Program. The Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program

2 also included the Hardin Bench Irrigation Unit and

3 other irrigation projects on the Crow Indian Res4 ervation which have not yet been constructed.

5 (7) The operation of the Yellowtail Afterbay

6 Dam by the Bureau of Reclamation has resulted in

7 a significant water quality problem on the Big Horn

8 River within the Crow Indian Reservation. Construc9 tion of a power plant and related facilities at the ex10 isting Yellowtail Afterbay Dam will solve that prob11 lem.

12 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

13 For purposes of this Act:

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

15 Tribe of Indians, the duly recognized governing body

16 of the Crow Indian Reservation.

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

18 approximately 36,165 acres, including the minerals,

19 located between the 107th Meridian and the 1891

20 survey line.

21 (3) The term ‘‘1891 survey line’’ means the er22 roneous boundary line resulting from the survey of

23 the 107th Meridian which was completed in 1891.

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

25 means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of Indians, the
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1 duly recognized governing body of the Northern

2 Cheyenne Indian Reservation.

3 (5) The term ‘‘107th Meridian boundary dis4 pute’’ means the dispute resulting from the disparity

5 between the locations of the 107th Meridian and the

6 1891 survey line.

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

8 approximately 11,317 acres, including all minerals,

9 within the area bounded on the south by the Mon10 tana/Wyoming border, on the east by the 107th Me11 ridian, on the north by the extension to the west of

12 the southern boundary of the Northern Cheyenne

13 Indian Reservation and on the west by the 1891 sur14 vey line.

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

16 approximately 12,964 acres, including all minerals,

17 within the area bounded on the south by the exten18 sion to the west of the southern boundary of the

19 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, on the east

20 by the 107th Meridian, on the north by the exten21 sion to the west of the northern boundary of the

22 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation and on the

23 west by the 1891 survey line.

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

25 approximately 2,469 acres, including all minerals,
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1 within the area bounded on the south by the exten2 sion to the west of the northern boundary of the

3 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation, on the east

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

5 boundary of the Crow Indian Reservation and on the

6 west by the 1891 survey line.

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

8 approximately 9,415 acres, including all minerals,

9 within the area bounded on the south by the north10 ern boundary of the Crow Indian Reservation, on

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

12 midpoint of the Yellowstone River and on the west

13 by the 1891 survey line.

14 (10) The word ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Sec15 retary of the Interior.

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

17 which has not been conveyed to private parties or to

18 the State of Montana by the United States.

19 (12) The term ‘‘undisposed of land’’ means sur20 face land which has not been conveyed to private

21 parties or to the State of Montana by the United

22 States.

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

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

25 methane or other minerals except coal, which have
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1 not been conveyed to private parties or to the State

2 of Montana by the United States.

3 SEC. 4. AUTHORITY TO SETTLE.

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

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

6 into a contract with the Crow Tribe providing for the set7 tlement of the 107th Meridian boundary dispute and other

8 issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation.

9 (b) CONTRACT WITH NORTHERN CHEYENNE

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

11 the Secretary shall enter into a contract with the Northern

12 Cheyenne Tribe to resolve the issues with respect to the

13 property within parcel No. 2.

14 (c) ENFORCEMENT OF CONTRACTS.—The contracts

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

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

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

18 Act do not provide adequate or complete relief, pursuant

19 to section 1505 of title 28, United States Code.

20 SEC. 5. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SETTLEMENT CON21 TRACTS.

22 (a) CROW/NORTHERN CHEYENNE SETTLEMENT.—

23 The contracts with the Crow and Northern Cheyenne

24 Tribes referred to in section 4 shall include the following
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1 terms and conditions with respect to the property within

2 parcel No. 2:

3 (1) The surface boundary between the Crow

4 and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations shall be

5 the 1891 survey line and the ownership of the sur6 face lands within parcel No. 2 shall be recognized as

7 being vested in the United States in trust for the

8 sole use and benefit of the Northern Cheyenne

9 Tribe, Northern Cheyenne allottees or their succes10 sors in interest or other persons whose claims,

11 rights, or interests are based on the 1891 survey

12 line.

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

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

15 methane, the boundary between the Crow and

16 Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations shall be the

17 1891 survey line and the ownership of such minerals

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

19 sole use and benefit of the Northern Cheyenne

20 Tribe.

21 (3) With respect to oil, gas, and coal methane

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

23 and Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservations shall be

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

25 gas and coal methane shall be vested in the United
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1 States in trust for the sole use and benefit of the

2 Crow Tribe.

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

4 Indian Affairs derived from the lands and minerals

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

6 earned on such funds, shall be divided equally be7 tween the Crow and Northern Cheyenne Tribes and

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

9 may determine.

10 (5) A disclaimer and relinquishment by the

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

12 land and minerals within parcel No. 2 described in

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

14 described in paragraph (4), and a disclaimer and re15 linquishment by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of all

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

17 parcel No. 2 described in paragraph (3), and to one18 half of the funds described in paragraph (4).

19 (6) A release by the Northern Cheyenne Tribe

20 of all persons and entities, including the United

21 States and the Crow Tribe, for any and all liability

22 arising out of the erroneous survey of the 107th Me23 ridian, and a release by the Crow Tribe of all per24 sons and entities, including the United States and

25 the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, for any and all liabil-
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1 ity arising from the erroneous survey of the 107th

2 Meridian.

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

4 The contract with the Crow Tribe referred to in section

5 4 shall include the following terms and conditions with re6 spect to the property within parcel Nos. 1, 3 and 4:

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

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

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

10 such coal shall be recognized as part of the Crow In11 dian Reservation.

12 (2) Title to the undisposed of surface lands

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

14 United States in trust for the sole use and benefit

15 of the Crow Tribe and such land shall be recognized

16 as part of the Crow Indian Reservation. Notwith17 standing the preceding provisions of this paragraph,

18 the State of Montana shall retain the same civil and

19 criminal authority over such lands in Parcel No. 4

20 that it currently has over lands restored to the Tribe

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

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

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

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

25 for the sole use and benefit of the Crow Tribe and
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1 such minerals shall be recognized as part of the

2 Crow Indian Reservation.

3 (4) A disclaimer and relinquishment by the

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

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

6 4, except for the rights, titles and interests recog7 nized as beneficially owned by the Crow Tribe in

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

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

10 and entities, including the United States, for any

11 and all liability arising from the erroneous survey of

12 the 107th Meridian.

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

14 settlement of the 107th Meridian boundary dispute with

15 the Crow Tribe, the contract with the Crow Tribe referred

16 to in section 4 shall include the following land exchange

17 provisions:

18 (1) The Secretary shall negotiate with the State

19 of Montana for the purpose of exchanging public

20 lands within the State of Montana for up to approxi21 mately 46,625 acres of State trust lands within the

22 Crow Indian Reservation and the disputed area. The

23 value of the public lands and State trust lands ex24 changed pursuant to this provision shall be substan25 tially equal. The value of improvements on such
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1 lands shall be given due consideration. Lands ex2 changed shall be selected so that the financial im3 pact on local governments, if any, will be minimized.

4 The Secretary shall provide such financial and other

5 assistance to the State of Montana as may be nec6 essary to obtain the appraisals and other adminis7 trative requirements necessary to accomplish this ex8 change. Upon the approval by the Secretary and the

9 State of Montana of an exchange pursuant to this

10 paragraph, the Secretary is authorized to receive

11 title to such State trust lands involved in the ex12 change on behalf of the United States and to trans13 fer title to the public lands involved in the exchange

14 to the State of Montana by such means of convey15 ance as the Secretary deems appropriate. State trust

16 lands acquired pursuant to the exchange shall be

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

18 and benefit of the Crow Tribe and shall be deemed

19 part of the Crow Indian Reservation.

20 (2) If, for any reason, the exchange for all or

21 any portion of the State trust lands described in

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

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

24 and in cooperation with the Crow Tribe, the Sec25 retary shall develop and implement a program to
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1 provide the Crow Tribe with land in an amount suf2 ficient to make up the difference between the value

3 of all the State trust lands within the Crow Indian

4 Reservation and the disputed area and the value of

5 any State trust lands exchanged and acquired pursu6 ant to paragraph (1). In carrying out this program,

7 the Secretary is authorized to transfer title to public

8 lands within the State of Montana to the Crow Tribe

9 and to exchange public lands within the State of

10 Montana for private lands of substantially equal

11 value within the Crow Indian Reservation. The value

12 of improvements on all such lands shall be given due

13 consideration. Title to the public lands transferred

14 pursuant to this paragraph, other than by exchange,

15 and to the private lands acquired pursuant to this

16 paragraph shall be vested in the United States in

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

18 and shall be deemed part of the Crow Indian Res19 ervation. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions

20 of this paragraph, the State of Montana shall retain

21 civil and criminal authority over the surface only of

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

23 not contiguous to the existing Crow Reservation,

24 which authority shall not be exclusive.
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1 (d) YELLOWTAIL AFTERBAY POWER PLANT.—As

2 part of the settlement of the 107th Meridian boundary dis3 pute with the Crow Tribe and to bring the Federal Gov4 ernment’s operation of Yellowtail Afterbay Dam into com5 pliance with applicable water quality standards, the Sec6 retary, subject to the availability of funds, shall construct

7 and operate a power plant and bypass at the Yellowtail

8 Afterbay Dam. The cost of constructing such power plant

9 and bypass shall be nonreimbursable. The Secretary, in

10 consultation and cooperation with the Secretary of Energy

11 and the Crow Tribe, is authorized to sell or to make ar12 rangements for the sale or marketing of the power gen13 erated at the Yellowtail Afterbay Dam to produce maxi14 mum revenues. Revenues from the sale of power generated

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

16 incurred in the operation, maintenance and repair of the

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

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

19 the revenues from the sale of such power shall be trans20 ferred to the Crow Tribe and used for such purposes as

21 the Crow Tribe may determine, subject to the Secretary’s

22 approval. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence, the

23 Crow Tribe, may, in its discretion, elect to utilize any por24 tion of the power generated at the Yellowtail Afterbay
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1 Dam in lieu of receiving the revenues produced by the sale

2 of that power.

3 (e) CROW TRIBAL TRUST FUND.—

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

5 United States a revolving account to be known as

6 the ‘‘Crow Tribal Trust Account’’.

7 (2) Amounts in the Crow Tribal Trust Account

8 shall be available, without fiscal year limitations, to

9 the Secretary for distribution to the Crow Tribe in

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

11 this Act.

12 (3) The Crow Tribal Trust Account shall con13 sist of such amounts as are appropriated to it in ac14 cordance with the authorizations provided by this

15 Act.

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

17 Meridian boundary dispute and other issues pertain18 ing to the Crow Indian Reservation, in the contract

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

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

21 shall pay, from moneys appropriated pursuant to

22 this Act, into the Crow Tribal Trust Account

23 $10,000,000 for fiscal year 1994, and each of the

24 next following 9 fiscal years.
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1 (f) ADDITIONAL CONTRIBUTIONS TO CROW TRIBAL

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

3 be appropriated in subsection (e)(4), as part of the settle4 ment of the 107th Meridian boundary dispute and other

5 issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation, in the

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

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

8 subject to the availability of moneys appropriated pursu9 ant to this Act, shall pay the following amounts into the

10 Crow Tribal Trust Account:

11 (1) Commencing with fiscal year 1994 and each

12 fiscal year thereafter, an amount which shall be

13 nonreimbursable and nonreturnable and equal to the

14 amounts of royalties received and retained by the

15 United States during the previous fiscal year from

16 the East Decker, West Decker and Spring Creek

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

18 those mines, including any extensions of the existing

19 leases or expansions to adjacent or nearby coal de20 posits owned by the Federal Government.

21 (2) Commencing with fiscal year 1994, and

22 each fiscal year thereafter, an amount, which shall

23 be nonreimbursable and nonreturnable, equal to the

24 receipts from all deposits to the United States
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1 Treasury for the preceding fiscal year from the sale

2 of power generated at Yellowtail Dam.

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

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

5 and remaining in the Crow Tribal Trust Account, shall

6 be invested by the Secretary of the Treasury in interest7 bearing deposits and securities in accordance with the Act

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

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

10 received on moneys in the Crow Tribal Trust Account

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

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

13 development, youth and elderly programs and other tribal

14 purposes in accordance with plans and budgets developed

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

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

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

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

19 commercial loans for economic development projects on or

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

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

22 on moneys in the Crow Tribal Account shall be distributed

23 to members of the Crow Tribe on a per capita basis.

24 (c) INTEREST ADJUSTMENTS.—(1) If and to the ex25 tent that any portion of the sums described in section
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1 5(e)(4) are appropriated after fiscal year 1994 and the

2 following 9 fiscal years or in lesser amounts than provided

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

4 Tribal Trust Fund, subject to appropriations, in addition

5 to the full contributions, adjustments representing the in6 terest income, as determined by the Secretary in his sole

7 discretion, that would have been earned on any unpaid

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

9 been appropriated in full at the beginning of each fiscal

10 year for fiscal years 1994 through 2003.

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

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

13 and deposited in the Crow Tribal Trust Fund more than

14 60 days after the close of the preceding fiscal year or in

15 lesser amounts than provided in those subsections, there

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

17 to appropriations, in addition to the full contributions, ad18 justments representing the interest income, as determined

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

20 been earned on any unpaid amounts had the amounts au21 thorized in sections 5(f)(1) and 5(f)(2) been appropriated

22 and deposited in full in a timely manner.

23 SEC. 7. CROW IRRIGATION PROJECT.

24 At such time as the settlement contract between the

25 Crow Tribe and the Secretary becomes effective, the au-
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1 thority of the Bureau of Reclamation to construct and op2 erate the Hardin Bench, Little Horn, Custer Bench,

3 Wyola, Benteen Flat, Battlefield and Crow Irrigation

4 Projects on the Crow Indian Reservation as part of the

5 Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program is revoked; ex6 cept that nothing in this Act shall affect the reserved

7 water rights appurtenant to any lands within the Crow

8 Indian Reservation.

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

10 No payments pursuant to this Act shall result in the

11 reduction or denial of any Federal services or programs

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

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

14 because of their status as federally recognized Indian

15 tribes or members of such tribes. No payments pursuant

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

17 tax.

18 SEC. 9. EXCHANGES OF LAND AND MINERALS.

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

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

21 or minerals within the disputed area recognized or ob22 tained pursuant to paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section

23 5(b), or paragraph (1) of section 5(c) or any of the Crow

24 Tribe’s land obtained pursuant to paragraph (2) of section

25 5(c) for other land or minerals of substantially equivalent
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1 value within the Crow Indian Reservation. Lands or min2 erals received by the tribe in such exchange shall be con3 sidered to be vested in the United States in trust for the

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

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

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

7 SEC. 10. EFFECTIVENESS CONTRACTS.

8 The contracts entered into by the Crow Tribe and

9 the Northern Cheyenne Tribe pursuant to this Act provid10 ing for the settlement of the 107th Meridian dispute and

11 other issues pertaining to the Crow Indian Reservation

12 shall not take effect until the contracts are approved and

13 executed in accordance with the requirements and proce14 dures set forth in each tribe’s constitution.

15 SEC. 11. APPROPRIATIONS AUTHORIZED.

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

17 as may be required to implement the provisions of this

18 Act.

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