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[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1973 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.1973

                       One Hundred Fourth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
   the third day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-six

                                 An Act

 
 To provide for the settlement of the Navajo-Hopi land dispute, 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.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement 
Act of 1996''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that--
        (1) it is in the public interest for the Tribe, Navajos 
    residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands, and the United States to 
    reach a peaceful resolution of the longstanding disagreements 
    between the parties under the Act commonly known as the ``Navajo-
    Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974'' (Public Law 93-531; 25 U.S.C. 
    640d et seq.);
        (2) it is in the best interest of the Tribe and the United 
    States that there be a fair and final settlement of certain issues 
    remaining in connection with the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 
    1974, including the full and final settlement of the multiple 
    claims that the Tribe has against the United States;
        (3) this Act, together with the Settlement Agreement executed 
    on December 14, 1995, and the Accommodation Agreement (as 
    incorporated by the Settlement Agreement), provide the authority 
    for the Tribe to enter agreements with eligible Navajo families in 
    order for those families to remain residents of the Hopi 
    Partitioned Lands for a period of 75 years, subject to the terms 
    and conditions of the Accommodation Agreement;
        (4) the United States acknowledges and respects--
            (A) the sincerity of the traditional beliefs of the members 
        of the Tribe and the Navajo families residing on the Hopi 
        Partitioned Lands; and
            (B) the importance that the respective traditional beliefs 
        of the members of the Tribe and Navajo families have with 
        respect to the culture and way of life of those members and 
        families;
        (5) this Act, the Settlement Agreement, and the Accommodation 
    Agreement provide for the mutual respect and protection of the 
    traditional religious beliefs and practices of the Tribe and the 
    Navajo families residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands;
        (6) the Tribe is encouraged to work with the Navajo families 
    residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands to address their concerns 
    regarding the establishment of family or individual burial plots 
    for deceased family members who have resided on the Hopi 
    Partitioned Lands; and
        (7) neither the Navajo Nation nor the Navajo families residing 
    upon Hopi Partitioned Lands were parties to or signers of the 
    Settlement Agreement between the United States and the Hopi Tribe.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    Except as otherwise provided in this Act, for purposes of this Act, 
the following definitions shall apply:
        (1) Accommodation.--The term ``Accommodation'' has the meaning 
    provided that term under the Settlement Agreement.
        (2) Hopi partitioned lands.--The term ``Hopi Partitioned 
    Lands'' means lands located in the Hopi Partitioned Area, as 
    defined in section 168.1(g) of title 25, Code of Federal 
    Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act).
        (3) Navajo partitioned lands.--The term ``Navajo Partitioned 
    Lands'' has the meaning provided that term in the proposed 
    regulations issued on November 1, 1995, at 60 Fed. Reg. 55506.
        (4) New lands.--The term ``New Lands'' has the meaning provided 
    that term in section 700.701(b) of title 25, Code of Federal 
    Regulations.
        (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior.
        (6) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement Agreement'' 
    means the agreement between the United States and the Hopi Tribe 
    executed on December 14, 1995.
        (7) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Hopi Tribe.
        (8) Newly acquired trust lands.--The term ``newly acquired 
    trust lands'' means lands taken into trust for the Tribe within the 
    State of Arizona pursuant to this Act or the Settlement Agreement.

SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

    The United States approves, ratifies, and confirms the Settlement 
Agreement.

SEC. 5. CONDITIONS FOR LANDS TAKEN INTO TRUST.

    The Secretary shall take such action as may be necessary to ensure 
that the following conditions are met prior to taking lands into trust 
for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement:
        (1) Selection of lands taken into trust.--
            (A) Primary area.--In accordance with section 7(a) of the 
        Settlement Agreement, the primary area within which lands 
        acquired by the Tribe may be taken into trust by the Secretary 
        for the benefit of the Tribe under the Settlement Agreement 
        shall be located in northern Arizona.
            (B) Requirements for lands taken into trust in the primary 
        area.--Lands taken into trust in the primary area referred to 
        in subparagraph (A) shall be--
                (i) land that is used substantially for ranching, 
            agriculture, or another similar use; and
                (ii) to the extent feasible, in contiguous parcels.
        (2) Acquisition of lands.--Before taking any land into trust 
    for the benefit of the Tribe under this section, the Secretary 
    shall ensure that--
            (A) at least 85 percent of the eligible Navajo heads of 
        household (as determined under the Settlement Agreement) have 
        entered into an accommodation or have chosen to relocate and 
        are eligible for relocation assistance (as determined under the 
        Settlement Agreement); and
            (B) the Tribe has consulted with the State of Arizona 
        concerning the lands proposed to be placed in trust, including 
        consulting with the State concerning the impact of placing 
        those lands into trust on the State and political subdivisions 
        thereof resulting from the removal of land from the tax rolls 
        in a manner consistent with the provisions of part 151 of title 
        25, Code of Federal Regulations.
        (3) Prohibition.--The Secretary may not, pursuant to the 
    provisions of this Act and the Settlement Agreement, place lands, 
    any portion of which are located within or contiguous to a 5-mile 
    radius of an incorporated town or city (as those terms are defined 
    by the Secretary) in northern Arizona, into trust for benefit of 
    the Tribe without specific statutory authority.
        (4) Expeditious action by the secretary.--Consistent with all 
    other provisions of this Act, the Secretary is directed to take 
    lands into trust under this Act expeditiously and without undue 
    delay.
SEC. 6. ACQUISITION THROUGH CONDEMNATION OF CERTAIN INTERSPERSED LANDS.
    (a) In General.--
        (1) Action by the secretary.--
            (A) In general.--The Secretary shall take action as 
        specified in subparagraph (B), to the extent that the Tribe, in 
        accordance with section 7(b) of the Settlement Agreement--
                (i) acquires private lands; and
                (ii) requests the Secretary to acquire through 
            condemnation interspersed lands that are owned by the State 
            of Arizona and are located within the exterior boundaries 
            of those private lands in order to have both the private 
            lands and the State lands taken into trust by the Secretary 
            for the benefit of the Tribe.
            (B) Acquisition through condemnation.--With respect to a 
        request for an acquisition of lands through condemnation made 
        under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall, upon the 
        recommendation of the Tribe, take such action as may be 
        necessary to acquire the lands through condemnation and, with 
        funds provided by the Tribe, pay the State of Arizona fair 
        market value for those lands in accordance with applicable 
        Federal law, if the conditions described in paragraph (2) are 
        met.
        (2) Conditions for acquisition through condemnation.--The 
    Secretary may acquire lands through condemnation under this 
    subsection if--
            (A) that acquisition is consistent with the purpose of 
        obtaining not more than 500,000 acres of land to be taken into 
        trust for the Tribe;
            (B) the State of Arizona concurs with the United States 
        that the acquisition is consistent with the interests of the 
        State; and
            (C) the Tribe pays for the land acquired through 
        condemnation under this subsection.
    (b) Disposition of Lands.--If the Secretary acquires lands through 
condemnation under subsection (a), the Secretary shall take those lands 
into trust for the Tribe in accordance with this Act and the Settlement 
Agreement.
    (c) Private Lands.--The Secretary may not acquire private lands 
through condemnation for the purpose specified in subsection (a)(2)(A).

SEC. 7. ACTION TO QUIET POSSESSION.

    If the United States fails to discharge the obligations specified 
in section 9(c) of the Settlement Agreement with respect to voluntary 
relocation of Navajos residing on Hopi Partitioned Lands, or section 
9(d) of the Settlement Agreement, relating to the implementation of 
sections 700.137 through 700.139 of title 25, Code of Federal 
Regulations, on the New Lands, including failure for reason of 
insufficient funds made available by appropriations or otherwise, the 
Tribe may bring an action to quiet possession that relates to the use 
of the Hopi Partitioned Lands after February 1, 2000, by a Navajo 
family that is eligible for an accommodation, but fails to enter into 
an accommodation.

SEC. 8. PAYMENT TO STATE OF ARIZONA.

    (a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Subject to subsection (b), 
there are authorized to be appropriated to the Department of the 
Interior $250,000 for fiscal year 1998, to be used by the Secretary of 
the Interior for making a payment to the State of Arizona.
    (b) Payment.--The Secretary shall make a payment in the amount 
specified in subsection (a) to the State of Arizona after an initial 
acquisition of land from the State has been made by the Secretary 
pursuant to section 6.

SEC. 9. 75-YEAR LEASING AUTHORITY.

    The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat. 539, 
chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) is amended by adding at the end the 
following new subsections:
    ``(c) Leases Involving the Hopi Tribe and the Hopi Partitioned 
Lands Accommodation Agreement.--Notwithstanding subsection (a), a lease 
of land by the Hopi Tribe to Navajo Indians on the Hopi Partitioned 
Lands may be for a term of 75 years, and may be extended at the 
conclusion of the term of the lease.
    ``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
        ``(1) the term `Hopi Partitioned Lands' means lands located in 
    the Hopi Partitioned Area, as defined in section 168.1(g) of title 
    25, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the date of 
    enactment of this subsection); and
        ``(2) the term `Navajo Indians' means members of the Navajo 
    Tribe.''.
  SEC. 10. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NAVAJO-HOPI RELOCATION HOUSING 
      PROGRAM.
    Section 25(a)(8) of Public Law 93-531 (25 U.S.C. 640d-24(a)(8)) is 
amended by striking ``1996, and 1997'' and inserting ``1996, 1997, 
1998, 1999, and 2000''.
  SEC. 11. EFFECT OF THIS ACT ON CASES INVOLVING THE NAVAJO NATION AND 
      THE HOPI TRIBE.
    Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act shall be 
interpreted or deemed to preclude, limit, or endorse, in any manner, 
actions by the Navajo Nation that seek, in court, an offset from 
judgments for payments received by the Hopi Tribe under the Settlement 
Agreement.

SEC. 12. WATER RIGHTS.

    (a) In General.--
        (1) Water rights.--Subject to the other provisions of this 
    section, newly acquired trust lands shall have only the following 
    water rights:
            (A) The right to the reasonable use of groundwater pumped 
        from such lands.
            (B) All rights to the use of surface water on such lands 
        existing under State law on the date of acquisition, with the 
        priority date of such right under State law.
            (C) The right to make any further beneficial use on such 
        lands which is unappropriated on the date each parcel of newly 
        acquired trust lands is taken into trust. The priority date for 
        the right shall be the date the lands are taken into trust.
        (2) Rights not subject to forfeiture or abandonment.--The 
    Tribe's water rights for newly acquired trust lands shall not be 
    subject to forfeiture or abandonment arising from events occurring 
    after the date the lands are taken into trust.
    (b) Recognition as valid uses.--
        (1) Groundwater.--With respect to water rights associated with 
    newly acquired trust lands, the Tribe, and the United States on the 
    Tribe's behalf, shall recognize as valid all uses of groundwater 
    which may be made from wells (or their subsequent replacements) in 
    existence on the date each parcel of newly acquired trust land is 
    acquired and shall not object to such groundwater uses on the basis 
    of water rights associated with the newly acquired trust lands. The 
    Tribe, and the United States on the Tribe's behalf, may object only 
    to the impact of groundwater uses on newly acquired trust lands 
    which are initiated after the date the lands affected are taken 
    into trust and only on grounds allowed by the State law as it 
    exists when the objection is made. The Tribe, and the United States 
    on the Tribe's behalf, shall not object to the impact of 
    groundwater uses on the Tribe's right to surface water established 
    pursuant to subsection (a)(3) when those groundwater uses are 
    initiated before the Tribe initiates its beneficial use of surface 
    water pursuant to subsection (a)(3).
        (2) Surface water.--With respect to water rights associated 
    with newly acquired trust lands, the Tribe, and the United States 
    on the Tribe's behalf, shall recognize as valid all uses of surface 
    water in existence on or prior to the date each parcel of newly 
    acquired trust land is acquired and shall not object to such 
    surface water uses on the basis of water rights associated with the 
    newly acquired trust lands, but shall have the right to enforce the 
    priority of its rights against all junior water rights the exercise 
    of which interfere with the actual use of the Tribe's senior 
    surface water rights.
        (3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (1) or (2) 
    shall preclude the Tribe, or the United States on the Tribe's 
    behalf, from asserting objections to water rights and uses on the 
    basis of the Tribe's water rights on its currently existing trust 
    lands.
    (c) Applicability of State Law on Lands Other Than Newly Acquired 
Lands.--The Tribe, and the United States on the Tribe's behalf, further 
recognize that State law applies to water uses on lands, including 
subsurface estates, that exist within the exterior boundaries of newly 
acquired trust lands and that are owned by any party other than the 
Tribe.
    (d) Adjudication of Water Rights on Newly Acquired Trust Lands.--
The Tribe's water rights on newly acquired trust lands shall be 
adjudicated with the rights of all other competing users in the court 
now presiding over the Little Colorado River Adjudication, or if that 
court no longer has jurisdiction, in the appropriate State or Federal 
court. Any controversies between or among users arising under Federal 
or State law involving the Tribe's water rights on newly acquired trust 
lands shall be resolved in the court now presiding over the Little 
Colorado River Adjudication, or, if that court no longer has 
jurisdiction, in the appropriate State or Federal court. Nothing in 
this subsection shall be construed to affect any court's jurisdiction: 
Provided, That the Tribe shall administer all water rights established 
in subsection (a).
    (e) Prohibition.--Water rights for newly acquired trust lands shall 
not be used, leased, sold, or transported for use off of such lands or 
the Tribe's other trust lands: Provided, That the Tribe may agree with 
other persons having junior water rights to subordinate the Tribe's 
senior water rights. Water rights for newly acquired trust lands can 
only be used on those lands or other trust lands of the Tribe located 
within the same river basin tributary to the main stream of the 
Colorado River.
    (f) Subsurface Interests.--On any newly acquired trust lands where 
the subsurface interest is owned by any party other than the Tribe, the 
trust status of the surface ownership shall not impair any existing 
right of the subsurface owner to develop the subsurface interest and to 
have access to the surface for the purpose of such development.
    (g) Statutory Construction with Respect to Water Rights of Other 
Federally Recognized Indian Tribes.--Nothing in this section shall 
affect the water rights of any other federally recognized Indian tribe 
with a priority date earlier than the date the newly acquired trust 
lands are taken into trust.
    (h) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to determine the law applicable to water use on lands owned 
by the United States, other than on the newly acquired trust lands. The 
granting of the right to make beneficial use of unappropriated surface 
water on the newly acquired trust lands with a priority date such lands 
are taken into trust shall not be construed to imply that such right is 
a Federal reserved water
right. Nothing in this section or any other provision of this Act shall 
be construed to establish any Federal reserved right to groundwater. 
Authority for the Secretary to take land into trust for the Tribe 
pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and this Act shall be construed as 
having been provided solely by the provisions of this Act.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.
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