104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1973

AN ACT

To provide for the settlement of the Navajo-Hopi land

dispute, 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 ‘‘Navajo-Hopi Land

5 Dispute Settlement Act of 1996’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

2 The Congress finds that—

3 (1) it is in the public interest for the Tribe,

4 Navajos residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands,

5 and the United States to reach a peaceful resolution

6 of the longstanding disagreements between the par7 ties under the Act commonly known as the ‘‘Navajo8 Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974’’ (Public Law

9 93–531; 25 U.S.C. 640d et seq.);

10 (2) it is in the best interest of the Tribe and

11 the United States that there be a fair and final set12 tlement of certain issues remaining in connection

13 with the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974,

14 including the full and final settlement of the mul15 tiple claims that the Tribe has against the United

16 States;

17 (3) this Act, together with the Settlement

18 Agreement executed on December 14, 1995, and the

19 Accommodation Agreement (as incorporated by the

20 Settlement Agreement), provide the authority for the

21 Tribe to enter agreements with eligible Navajo fami22 lies in order for those families to remain residents

23 of the Hopi Partitioned Lands for a period of 75

24 years, subject to the terms and conditions of the Ac25 commodation Agreement;
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1 (4) the United States acknowledges and re2 spects—

3 (A) the sincerity of the traditional beliefs

4 of the members of the Tribe and the Navajo

5 families residing on the Hopi Partitioned

6 Lands; and

7 (B) the importance that the respective tra8 ditional beliefs of the members of the Tribe and

9 Navajo families have with respect to the culture

10 and way of life of those members and families;

11 (5) this Act, the Settlement Agreement, and the

12 Accommodation Agreement provide for the mutual

13 respect and protection of the traditional religious be14 liefs and practices of the Tribe and the Navajo fami15 lies residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands;

16 (6) the Tribe is encouraged to work with the

17 Navajo families residing on the Hopi Partitioned

18 Lands to address their concerns regarding the estab19 lishment of family or individual burial plots for de20 ceased family members who have resided on the

21 Hopi Partitioned Lands; and

22 (7) neither the Navajo Nation nor the Navajo

23 families residing upon Hopi Partitioned Lands were

24 parties to or signers of the Settlement Agreement

25 between the United States and the Hopi Tribe.
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1 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

2 Except as otherwise provided in this Act, for purposes

3 of this Act, the following definitions shall apply:

4 (1) ACCOMMODATION.—The term ‘‘Accommoda5 tion’’ has the meaning provided that term under the

6 Settlement Agreement.

7 (2) HOPI PARTITIONED LANDS.—The term

8 ‘‘Hopi Partitioned Lands’’ means lands located in

9 the Hopi Partitioned Area, as defined in section

10 168.1(g) of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (as

11 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act).

12 (3) NAVAJO PARTITIONED LANDS.—The term

13 ‘‘Navajo Partitioned Lands’’ has the meaning pro14 vided that term in the proposed regulations issued

15 on November 1, 1995, at 60 Fed. Reg. 55506.

16 (4) NEW LANDS.—The term ‘‘New Lands’’ has

17 the meaning provided that term in section

18 700.701(b) of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations.

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

20 the Secretary of the Interior.

21 (6) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.—The term

22 ‘‘Settlement Agreement’’ means the agreement be23 tween the United States and the Hopi Tribe exe24 cuted on December 14, 1995.

25 (7) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Hopi

26 Tribe.
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1 (8) NEWLY ACQUIRED TRUST LANDS.—The

2 term ‘‘newly acquired trust lands’’ means lands

3 taken into trust for the Tribe within the State of Ar4 izona pursuant to this Act or the Settlement Agree5 ment.

6 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.

7 The United States approves, ratifies, and confirms

8 the Settlement Agreement.

9 SEC. 5. CONDITIONS FOR LANDS TAKEN INTO TRUST.

10 The Secretary shall take such action as may be nec11 essary to ensure that the following conditions are met

12 prior to taking lands into trust for the benefit of the Tribe

13 pursuant to the Settlement Agreement:

14 (1) SELECTION OF LANDS TAKEN INTO

15 TRUST.—

16 (A) PRIMARY AREA.—In accordance with

17 section 7(a) of the Settlement Agreement, the

18 primary area within which lands acquired by

19 the Tribe may be taken into trust by the Sec20 retary for the benefit of the Tribe under the

21 Settlement Agreement shall be located in north22 ern Arizona.

23 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR LANDS TAKEN

24 INTO TRUST IN THE PRIMARY AREA.—Lands
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1 taken into trust in the primary area referred to

2 in subparagraph (A) shall be—

3 (i) land that is used substantially for

4 ranching, agriculture, or another similar

5 use; and

6 (ii) to the extent feasible, in contig7 uous parcels.

8 (2) ACQUISITION OF LANDS.—Before taking

9 any land into trust for the benefit of the Tribe

10 under this section, the Secretary shall ensure that—

11 (A) at least 85 percent of the eligible Nav12 ajo heads of household (as determined under

13 the Settlement Agreement) have entered into an

14 accommodation or have chosen to relocate and

15 are eligible for relocation assistance (as deter16 mined under the Settlement Agreement); and

17 (B) the Tribe has consulted with the State

18 of Arizona concerning the lands proposed to be

19 placed in trust, including consulting with the

20 State concerning the impact of placing those

21 lands into trust on the State and political sub22 divisions thereof resulting from the removal of

23 land from the tax rolls in a manner consistent

24 with the provisions of part 151 of title 25, Code

25 of Federal Regulations.
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1 (3) PROHIBITION.—The Secretary may not,

2 pursuant to the provisions of this Act and the Set3 tlement Agreement, place lands, any portion of

4 which are located within or contiguous to a 5-mile

5 radius of an incorporated town or city (as those

6 terms are defined by the Secretary) in northern Ari7 zona, into trust for benefit of the Tribe without spe8 cific statutory authority.

9 (4) EXPEDITIOUS ACTION BY THE SEC10 RETARY.—Consistent with all other provisions of

11 this Act, the Secretary is directed to take lands into

12 trust under this Act expeditiously and without undue

13 delay.

14 SEC. 6. ACQUISITION THROUGH CONDEMNATION OF CER15 TAIN INTERSPERSED LANDS.

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—

17 (1) ACTION BY THE SECRETARY.—

18 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall

19 take action as specified in subparagraph (B), to

20 the extent that the Tribe, in accordance with

21 section 7(b) of the Settlement Agreement—

22 (i) acquires private lands; and

23 (ii) requests the Secretary to acquire

24 through condemnation interspersed lands

25 that are owned by the State of Arizona
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1 and are located within the exterior bound2 aries of those private lands in order to

3 have both the private lands and the State

4 lands taken into trust by the Secretary for

5 the benefit of the Tribe.

6 (B) ACQUISITION THROUGH CONDEMNA7 TION.—With respect to a request for an acqui8 sition of lands through condemnation made

9 under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall,

10 upon the recommendation of the Tribe, take

11 such action as may be necessary to acquire the

12 lands through condemnation and, with funds

13 provided by the Tribe, pay the State of Arizona

14 fair market value for those lands in accordance

15 with applicable Federal law, if the conditions

16 described in paragraph (2) are met.

17 (2) CONDITIONS FOR ACQUISITION THROUGH

18 CONDEMNATION.—The Secretary may acquire lands

19 through condemnation under this subsection if—

20 (A) that acquisition is consistent with the

21 purpose of obtaining not more than 500,000

22 acres of land to be taken into trust for the

23 Tribe;
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1 (B) the State of Arizona concurs with the

2 United States that the acquisition is consistent

3 with the interests of the State; and

4 (C) the Tribe pays for the land acquired

5 through condemnation under this subsection.

6 (b) DISPOSITION OF LANDS.—If the Secretary ac7 quires lands through condemnation under subsection (a),

8 the Secretary shall take those lands into trust for the

9 Tribe in accordance with this Act and the Settlement

10 Agreement.

11 (c) PRIVATE LANDS.—The Secretary may not ac12 quire private lands through condemnation for the purpose

13 specified in subsection (a)(2)(A).

14 SEC. 7. ACTION TO QUIET POSSESSION.

15 If the United States fails to discharge the obligations

16 specified in section 9(c) of the Settlement Agreement with

17 respect to voluntary relocation of Navajos residing on

18 Hopi Partitioned Lands, or section 9(d) of the Settlement

19 Agreement, relating to the implementation of sections

20 700.137 through 700.139 of title 25, Code of Federal

21 Regulations, on the New Lands, including failure for rea22 son of insufficient funds made available by appropriations

23 or otherwise, the Tribe may bring an action to quiet pos24 session that relates to the use of the Hopi Partitioned

25 Lands after February 1, 2000, by a Navajo family that
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1 is eligible for an accommodation, but fails to enter into

2 an accommodation.

3 SEC. 8. PAYMENT TO STATE OF ARIZONA.

4 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—Subject

5 to subsection (b), there are authorized to be appropriated

6 to the Department of the Interior $250,000 for fiscal year

7 1998, to be used by the Secretary of the Interior for mak8 ing a payment to the State of Arizona.

9 (b) PAYMENT.—The Secretary shall make a payment

10 in the amount specified in subsection (a) to the State of

11 Arizona after an initial acquisition of land from the State

12 has been made by the Secretary pursuant to section 6.

13 SEC. 9. 75-YEAR LEASING AUTHORITY.

14 The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69

15 Stat. 539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) is amended by

16 adding at the end the following new subsections:

17 ‘‘(c) LEASES INVOLVING THE HOPI TRIBE AND THE

18 HOPI PARTITIONED LANDS ACCOMMODATION AGREE19 MENT.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), a lease of land

20 by the Hopi Tribe to Navajo Indians on the Hopi Parti21 tioned Lands may be for a term of 75 years, and may

22 be extended at the conclusion of the term of the lease.

23 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section—

24 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Hopi Partitioned Lands’ means

25 lands located in the Hopi Partitioned Area, as de-
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1 fined in section 168.1(g) of title 25, Code of Federal

2 Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment

3 of this subsection); and

4 ‘‘(2) the term ‘Navajo Indians’ means members

5 of the Navajo Tribe.’’.

6 SEC. 10. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NAVAJO-HOPI RELO7 CATION HOUSING PROGRAM.

8 Section 25(a)(8) of Public Law 93–531 (25 U.S.C.

9 640d–24(a)(8)) is amended by striking ‘‘1996, and 1997’’

10 and inserting ‘‘1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000’’.

11 SEC. 11. EFFECT OF THIS ACT ON CASES INVOLVING THE

12 NAVAJO NATION AND THE HOPI TRIBE.

13 Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this

14 Act shall be interpreted or deemed to preclude, limit, or

15 endorse, in any manner, actions by the Navajo Nation that

16 seek, in court, an offset from judgments for payments re17 ceived by the Hopi Tribe under the Settlement Agreement.

18 SEC. 12. WATER RIGHTS.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—

20 (1) WATER RIGHTS.—Subject to the other pro21 visions of this section, newly acquired trust lands

22 shall have only the following water rights:

23 (A) The right to the reasonable use of

24 groundwater pumped from such lands.
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1 (B) All rights to the use of surface water

2 on such lands existing under State law on the

3 date of acquisition, with the priority date of

4 such right under State law.

5 (C) The right to make any further bene6 ficial use on such lands which is unappropriated

7 on the date each parcel of newly acquired trust

8 lands is taken into trust. The priority date for

9 the right shall be the date the lands are taken

10 into trust.

11 (2) RIGHTS NOT SUBJECT TO FORFEITURE OR

12 ABANDONMENT.—The Tribe’s water rights for newly

13 acquired trust lands shall not be subject to forfeiture

14 or abandonment arising from events occurring after

15 the date the lands are taken into trust.

16 (b) RECOGNITION AS VALID USES.—

17 (1) GROUNDWATER.—With respect to water

18 rights associated with newly acquired trust lands,

19 the Tribe, and the United States on the Tribe’s be20 half, shall recognize as valid all uses of groundwater

21 which may be made from wells (or their subsequent

22 replacements) in existence on the date each parcel of

23 newly acquired trust land is acquired and shall not

24 object to such groundwater uses on the basis of

25 water rights associated with the newly acquired trust
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1 lands. The Tribe, and the United States on the

2 Tribe’s behalf, may object only to the impact of

3 groundwater uses on newly acquired trust lands

4 which are initiated after the date the lands affected

5 are taken into trust and only on grounds allowed by

6 the State law as it exits when the objection is made.

7 The Tribe, and the United States on the Tribe’s be8 half, shall not object to the impact of groundwater

9 uses on the Tribe’s right to surface water estab10 lished pursuant to subsection (a)(3) when those

11 groundwater uses are initiated before the Tribe initi12 ates its beneficial use of surface water pursuant to

13 subsection (a)(3).

14 (2) SURFACE WATER.—With respect to water

15 rights associated with newly acquired trust lands,

16 the Tribe, and the United States on the Tribe’s be17 half, shall recognize as valid all uses of surface

18 water in existence on or prior to the date each parcel

19 of newly acquired trust land is acquired and shall

20 not object to such surface water uses on the basis

21 of water rights associated with the newly acquired

22 trust lands, but shall have the right to enforce the

23 priority of its rights against all junior water rights

24 the exercise of which interfere with the actual use of

25 the Tribe’s senior surface water rights.
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1 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in

2 paragraph (1) or (2) shall preclude the Tribe, or the

3 United States on the Tribe’s behalf, from asserting

4 objections to water rights and uses on the basis of

5 the Tribe’s water rights on its currently existing

6 trust lands.

7 (c) APPLICABILITY OF STATE LAW ON LANDS

8 OTHER THAN NEWLY ACQUIRED LANDS.—The Tribe,

9 and the United States on the Tribe’s behalf, further recog10 nize that State law applies to water uses on lands, includ11 ing subsurface estates, that exist within the exterior

12 boundaries of newly acquired trust lands and that are

13 owned by any party other than the Tribe.

14 (d) ADJUDICATION OF WATER RIGHTS ON NEWLY

15 ACQUIRED TRUST LANDS.—The Tribe’s water rights on

16 newly acquired trust lands shall be adjudicated with the

17 rights of all other competing users in the court now presid18 ing over the Little Colorado River Adjudication, or if that

19 court no longer has jurisdiction, in the appropriate State

20 or Federal court. Any controversies between or among

21 users arising under Federal or State law involving the

22 Tribe’s water rights on newly acquired trust lands shall

23 be resolved in the court now presiding over the Little Colo24 rado River Adjudication, or, if that court no longer has

25 jurisdiction, in the appropriate State or Federal court.
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1 Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to affect any

2 court’s jurisdiction; provided, that the Tribe shall admin3 ister all water rights established in subsection (a).

4 (e) PROHIBITION.—Water rights for newly acquired

5 trust lands shall not be used, leased, sold, or transported

6 for use off of such lands or the Tribe’s other trust lands,

7 provided that the Tribe may agree with other persons hav8 ing junior water rights to subordinate the Tribe’s senior

9 water rights. Water rights for newly acquired trust lands

10 can only be used on those lands or other trust lands of

11 the Tribe located within the same river basin tributary to

12 the main stream of the Colorado River.

13 (f) SUBSURFACE INTERESTS.—On any newly ac14 quired trust lands where the subsurface interest is owned

15 by any party other than the Tribe, the trust status of the

16 surface ownership shall not impair any existing right of

17 the subsurface owner to develop the subsurface interest

18 and to have access to the surface for the purpose of such

19 development.

20 (g) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION WITH RESPECT TO

21 WATER RIGHTS OF OTHER FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED IN22 DIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in this section shall affect the

23 water rights of any other federally recognized Indian tribe

24 with a priority date earlier than the date the newly ac25 quired trust lands are taken into trust.
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1 (h) STATUTORY CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this

2 section shall be construed to determine the law applicable

3 to water use on lands owned by the United States, other

4 than on the newly acquired trust lands. The granting of

5 the right to make beneficial use of unappropriated surface

6 water on the newly acquired trust lands with a priority

7 date such lands are taken into trust shall not be construed

8 to imply that such right is a Federal reserved water right.

9 Nothing in this section or any other provision of this Act

10 shall be construed to establish any Federal reserved right

11 to groundwater. Authority for the Secretary to take land

12 into trust for the Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agree13 ment and this Act shall be construed as having been pro14 vided solely by the provisions of this Act.

Passed the Senate September 26, 1996.

Attest:

Secretary.
104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1973

AN ACT

To provide for the settlement of the Navajo-Hopi

land dispute, and for other purposes.