I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3599 

To take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of 

the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

SEPTEMBER 24, 2015 

Mr. FLEISCHMANN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for 

the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, 

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 ‘‘Eastern Band Cher5 okee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LAND TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR THE EASTERN BAND 

7 OF CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

8 (a) LANDS INTO TRUST.—Subject to such rights of 

9 record as may be vested in third parties to rights-of-way 

10 or other easements or rights-of-record for roads, utilities, 


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1 or other purposes, the following Federal lands on or above 

2 the 820-foot (MSL) contour elevation in Monroe County, 

3 Tennessee, on the shores of Tellico Reservoir, are taken 

4 into trust by the United States for the benefit of the East5 ern Band of Cherokee Indians: 

6 (1) SEQUOYAH MUSEUM PROPERTY.—Approxi7 mately 46.0 acres of land generally depicted as 

8 ‘‘Sequoyah Museum’’, ‘‘Parcel 1’’, and ‘‘Parcel 2’’ 

9 on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee His10 toric Lands Reacquisition Map 1’’ and dated April 

11 30, 2015. 

12 (2) SUPPORT PROPERTY.—Approximately 11.9 

13 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Support Parcel’’ 

14 on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee His15 toric Lands Reacquisition Map 2’’ and dated April 

16 30, 2015. 

17 (3) CHOTA MEMORIAL PROPERTY AND TANASI

18 MEMORIAL PROPERTY.—Approximately 18.2 acres of 

19 land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota Memorial 1’’ and 

20 ‘‘Tanasi Memorial’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern 

21 Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 

22 3’’ and dated April 30, 2015, and including the 

23 Chota Memorial and all land within a circle with a 

24 radius of 86 feet measured from the center of the 


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1 Chota Memorial without regard to the elevation of 

2 the land within the circle. 

3 (b) PROPERTY ON LANDS.—In addition to the land 

4 taken into trust by subsection (a), the improvements on 

5 and appurtenances thereto, including memorials, are and 

6 shall remain the property of the Eastern Band of Cher7 okee Indians. 

8 (c) ADDITIONAL LANDS INTO TRUST.—The Eastern 

9 Band of Cherokee Indians may identify additional Federal 

10 lands on or above the 820-foot (MSL) contour elevation 

11 managed by the Tennessee Valley Authority that are of 

12 significant historical and cultural importance to the Cher13 okee and such lands shall be taken into trust by the 

14 United States for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cher15 okee Indians, if the Tennessee Valley Authority, Secretary 

16 of the Interior, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

17 agree to such lands being taken into trust. 

18 (d) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than one year after 

19 the date of a land transaction made pursuant to this sec20 tion, the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with 

21 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Tennessee 

22 Valley Authority, shall submit revised maps that depict 

23 the land taken into trust under this section, including any 

24 corrections made to the maps described in this section to 

25 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of RepVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:56 Sep 26, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3599.IH H3599

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1 resentatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

2 Senate. 

3 (e) CONTOUR ELEVATION CLARIFICATION.—The 

4 contour elevations referred to in this Act are based on 

5 MSL Datum as established by the NGS Southeastern 

6 Supplementary Adjustment of 1936 (NGVD29). 

7 (f) CONDITIONS.—The lands taken into trust under 

8 this section shall be subject to the conditions described 

9 in section 5. 

10 SEC. 3. PERMANENT EASEMENTS TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR 

11 THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

12 (a) PERMANENT EASEMENTS.—The following perma13 nent easements for land below the 820-foot (MSL) con14 tour elevation for the following Federal lands in Monroe 

15 County, Tennessee, on the shores of Tellico Reservoir, are 

16 hereby taken into trust by the United States for the ben17 efit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: 

18 (1) CHOTA PENINSULA.—Approximately 8.5 

19 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota Memorial 

20 2’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee 

21 Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated 

22 April 30, 2015. 

23 (2) CHOTA-TANASI TRAIL.—Approximately 11.4 

24 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota-Tanasi 

25 Trail’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee 


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1 Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated 

2 April 30, 2015. 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL EASEMENTS.—The Eastern Band of 

4 Cherokee Indians may identify additional Federal lands 

5 below the 820-foot (MSL) contour elevation managed by 

6 the Tennessee Valley Authority that are, or are appur7 tenant to, lands of significant historical and cultural im8 portance to the Cherokee and a permanent easement for 

9 such lands shall be taken into trust by the United States 

10 for the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, 

11 if the Tennessee Valley Authority, Secretary of the Inte12 rior, and Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians agree to such 

13 grant. 

14 (c) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than one year after 

15 the date of a land transaction made pursuant to this sec16 tion, the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with 

17 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Tennessee 

18 Valley Authority, shall submit to the Subcommittee on In19 dian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs of the House of 

20 Representatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of 

21 the Senate revised maps that depict the lands subject to 

22 easements taken into trust under this section, including 

23 any corrections necessary to the maps described in this 

24 section. 


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1 (d) CONDITIONS.—The lands subject to easements 

2 taken into trust under this section shall be subject to the 

3 use rights and conditions described in section 5. 

4 SEC. 4. TRUST ADMINISTRATION AND PURPOSES. 

5 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Except as described in sec6 tion 5, the lands subject to this Act shall be administered 

7 under the laws and regulations generally applicable to 

8 lands and interests in lands held in trust on behalf of In9 dian Tribes. 

10 (b) USE OF LAND.—Except the lands described in 

11 section 2(a)(2), the lands subject to this Act shall be used 

12 principally for memorializing and interpreting the history 

13 and culture of Indians and recreational activities, includ14 ing management, operation, and conduct of programs of 

15 and for— 

16 (1) the Sequoyah birthplace memorial and mu17 seum; 

18 (2) the memorials to Chota and Tanasi as 

19 former capitals of the Cherokees; 

20 (3) the memorial and place of reinterment for 

21 remains of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

22 and other Cherokee tribes, including those human 

23 remains and cultural items that are repatriated by 

24 the Tennessee Valley Authority to those Cherokee 


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1 tribes under the National Graves Protection and Re2 patriation Act; and 

3 (4) interpreting the Trail of Tears National 

4 Historic Trail. 

5 (c) USE OF SUPPORT PROPERTY.—The land de6 scribed in section 2(a)(2) shall be used principally for the 

7 support of lands subject to this Act and the programs of8 fered by the Tribe relating to such lands and their pur9 poses including— 

10 (1) classrooms and conference rooms; 

11 (2) cultural interpretation and education pro12 grams; 

13 (3) temporary housing of guests participating 

14 in such programs or the management of the prop15 erties and programs; and 

16 (4) headquarters offices and support space for 

17 the trust properties and programs. 

18 (d) LAND USE.—The principal purposes of the use 

19 of the land described in section 3(a)— 

20 (1) paragraph (1), shall be for a recreational 

21 trail from the general vicinity of the parking lot to 

22 the area of the Chota Memorial and beyond to the 

23 southern portion of the peninsula, including inter24 pretive signs, benches, and other compatible im25 provements; and 


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1 (2) paragraph (2), shall be for a recreational 

2 trail between the Chota and Tanasi Memorials, in3 cluding interpretive signs, benches, and other com4 patible improvements. 

5 SEC. 5. USE RIGHTS, CONDITIONS. 

6 (a) FLOODING OF LAND AND ROADS.—The Ten7 nessee Valley Authority may temporarily and intermit8 tently flood the lands subject to this Act that lie below 

9 the 824-foot (MSL) contour elevation and the road access 

10 to such lands that lie below the 824-foot (MSL) contour 

11 elevation. 

12 (b) FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES.—The Eastern 

13 Band of Cherokee Indians may construct, own, operate, 

14 and maintain— 

15 (1) water use facilities and nonhabitable struc16 tures, facilities, and improvements not subject to se17 rious damage if temporarily flooded on the land ad18 joining the Tellico Reservoir side of the lands subject 

19 to this Act that lie between the 815-foot and 820- 

20 foot (MSL) contour elevations, but only after having 

21 received written consent from the Tennessee Valley 

22 Authority and subject to the terms of such approval; 

23 and 

24 (2) water use facilities between the 815-foot 

25 (MSL) contour elevations on the Tellico Reservoir 


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1 side of the lands subject to this Act and the adjacent 

2 waters of Tellico Reservoir and in and on such 

3 waters after having received written consent from 

4 the Tennessee Valley Authority and subject to the 

5 terms of such approval, but may not construct, own, 

6 operate, or maintain other nonhabitable structures, 

7 facilities, and improvements on such lands. 

8 (c) INGRESS AND EGRESS.—The Eastern Band of 

9 Cherokee Indians may use the lands subject to this Act 

10 and Tellico Reservoir for ingress and egress to and from 

11 such land and the waters of the Tellico Reservoir and to 

12 and from all structures, facilities, and improvements main13 tained in, on, or over such land or waters. 

14 (d) RIVER CONTROL AND DEVELOPMENT.—The use 

15 rights under this section may not be exercised so as to 

16 interfere in any way with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 

17 statutory program for river control and development. 

18 (e) TVA AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

19 construed to affect the right of the Tennessee Valley Au20 thority to— 

21 (1) draw down Tellico Reservoir; 

22 (2) fluctuate the water level thereof as may be 

23 necessary for its management of the Reservoir; or 


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1 (3) permanently flood lands adjacent to lands 

2 subject to this Act that lie below the 815-foot (MSL) 

3 contour elevation. 

4 (f) RIGHT OF ENTRY.—The lands subject to this Act 

5 shall be subject to a reasonable right of entry by the per6 sonnel of the Tennessee Valley Authority and agents of 

7 the Tennessee Valley Authority operating in their official 

8 capacities as necessary for purposes of carrying out the 

9 Tennessee Valley Authority’s statutory program for river 

10 control and development. 

11 (g) ENTRY ONTO LAND.—To the extent that the 

12 Tennessee Valley Authority’s operations on the lands sub13 ject to this Act do not unreasonably interfere with the 

14 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ maintenance of an ap15 propriate setting for the memorialization of Cherokee his16 tory or culture on the lands and its operations on the 

17 lands, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shall allow 

18 the Tennessee Valley Authority to enter the lands to clear, 

19 ditch, dredge, and drain said lands and apply larvicides 

20 and chemicals thereon or to conduct bank protection work 

21 and erect structures necessary in the promotion and fur22 therance of public health, flood control, and navigation. 

23 (h) LOSS OF HYDROPOWER CAPACITY.—All future 

24 development of the lands subject to this Act shall be sub25 ject to compensation to the Tennessee Valley Authority 


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1 for loss of hydropower capacity as provided in the Ten2 nessee Valley Authority Flood Control Storage Loss 

3 Guideline, unless agreed to otherwise by the Tennessee 

4 Valley Authority. 

5 (i) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY.—The Tennessee 

6 Valley Authority shall not be liable for any loss or damage 

7 resulting from— 

8 (1) the temporary and intermittent flooding of 

9 lands subject to this Act; 

10 (2) the permanent flooding of adjacent lands as 

11 provided in this section; 

12 (3) wave action in Tellico Reservoir; or 

13 (4) fluctuation of water levels for purposes of 

14 managing Tellico Reservoir. 

15 SEC. 6. LANDS SUBJECT TO THE ACT. 

16 For the purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘lands subject 

17 to this Act’’ means lands and interests in lands (including 

18 easements) taken into trust for the benefit of the Eastern 

19 Band of Cherokee Indians pursuant to or under this Act. 

20 SEC. 7. GAMING PROHIBITION. 

21 No class II or class III gaming, as defined in the In22 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), 

23 shall be conducted on lands subject to this Act. 

Æ 


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