IB 

Union Calendar No. 442 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 146 

[Report No. 115–584] 

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 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

FEBRUARY 27, 2018 

Additional sponsors: Mr. ROE of Tennessee, Mr. JONES, Mr. COOK, Mr. 

MEADOWS, Mr. DENHAM, Mr. COLE, and Mr. HUDSON

FEBRUARY 27, 2018 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on January 3, 2017] 


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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. 


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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 of 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, or 

11 other purposes, the following Federal lands managed by the 

12 Tennessee Valley Authority and located on or above the 820- 

13 foot (MSL) contour elevation in Monroe County, Tennessee, 

14 on the shores of Tellico Reservoir, are declared to be held 

15 in trust by the United States for the use and benefit of the 

16 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: 

17 (1) SEQUOYAH MUSEUM PROPERTY.—Approxi18 mately 46.0 acres of land generally depicted as 

19 ‘‘Sequoyah Museum’’, ‘‘Parcel 1’’, and ‘‘Parcel 2’’ on 

20 the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic 

21 Lands Reacquisition Map 1’’ and dated April 30, 

22 2015. 

23 (2) SUPPORT PROPERTY.—Approximately 11.9 

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

25 on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee Historic 


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1 Lands Reacquisition Map 2’’ and dated April 30, 

2 2015. 

3 (3) CHOTA MEMORIAL PROPERTY AND TANASI

4 MEMORIAL PROPERTY.—Approximately 18.2 acres of 

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

6 ‘‘Tanasi Memorial’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band 

7 of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ 

8 and dated April 30, 2015, and including the Chota 

9 Memorial and all land within a circle with a radius 

10 of 86 feet measured from the center of the Chota Me11 morial without regard to the elevation of the land 

12 within the circle. 

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

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

15 appurtenances thereto, including memorials, are and shall 

16 remain the property of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indi17 ans. 

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

19 date of a land transaction made pursuant to this section, 

20 the Tennessee Valley Authority, after consultation with the 

21 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Secretary of the 

22 Interior, shall submit revised maps that depict the land 

23 taken into trust under this section, including any correc24 tions made to the maps described in this section to the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:26 Feb 27, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H146.RH H146

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1 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives 

2 and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the Senate. 

3 (d) CONTOUR ELEVATION CLARIFICATION.—The con4 tour elevations referred to in this Act are based on MSL 

5 Datum as established by the NGS Southeastern Supple6 mentary Adjustment of 1936 (NGVD29). 

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

8 this section shall be subject to the conditions described in 

9 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) contour 

14 elevation for the following Federal lands in Monroe County, 

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

16 to be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of 

17 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 His21 toric Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated April 

22 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) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than one year after the 

4 date of a land transaction made pursuant to this section, 

5 the Tennessee Valley Authority, after consultation with the 

6 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Secretary of the 

7 Interior, shall submit to the Committee on Natural Re8 sources of the House of Representatives and the Committee 

9 on Indian Affairs of the Senate revised maps that depict 

10 the lands subject to easements taken into trust under this 

11 section, including any corrections necessary to the maps de12 scribed in this section. 

13 (c) CONDITIONS.—The lands subject to easements taken 

14 into trust under this section shall be subject to the use rights 

15 and conditions described in section 5. 

16 SEC. 4. TRUST ADMINISTRATION AND PURPOSES. 

17 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Except as described in sec18 tion 5, the lands subject to this Act shall be administered 

19 under the laws and regulations generally applicable to 

20 lands and interests in lands held in trust on behalf of In21 dian tribes. 

22 (b) USE OF LAND.—Except the lands described in sec23 tion 2(a)(2), the lands subject to this Act shall be used prin24 cipally for memorializing and interpreting the history and 

25 culture of Indians and recreational activities, including 


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1 management, operation, and conduct of programs of and 

2 for— 

3 (1) the Sequoyah birthplace memorial and mu4 seum; 

5 (2) the memorials to Chota and Tanasi as 

6 former capitals of the Cherokees; 

7 (3) the memorial and place of reinterment for re8 mains of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and 

9 other Cherokee tribes, including those transferred to 

10 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and other 

11 Cherokee tribes and those human remains and cul12 tural items transferred by the Tennessee Valley Au13 thority to those Cherokee tribes under the Native 

14 American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 

15 (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); and 

16 (4) interpreting the Trail of Tears National His17 toric Trail. 

18 (c) USE OF SUPPORT PROPERTY.—The land described 

19 in section 2(a)(2) shall be used principally for the support 

20 of lands subject to this Act and the programs offered by 

21 the Tribe relating to such lands and their purposes includ22 ing— 

23 (1) classrooms and conference rooms; 

24 (2) cultural interpretation and education pro25 grams; 


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1 (3) temporary housing of guests participating in 

2 such programs or the management of the properties 

3 and programs; and 

4 (4) headquarters offices and support space for the 

5 trust properties and programs. 

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

7 the land described in section 3(a)— 

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

9 trail from the general vicinity of the parking lot to 

10 the area of the Chota Memorial and beyond to the 

11 southern portion of the peninsula, including interpre12 tive signs, benches, and other compatible improve13 ments; and 

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

15 trail between the Chota and Tanasi Memorials, in16 cluding interpretive signs, benches, and other compat17 ible improvements. 

18 SEC. 5. USE RIGHTS, CONDITIONS. 

19 (a) FLOODING OF LAND AND ROADS.—The Tennessee 

20 Valley Authority may temporarily and intermittently flood 

21 the lands subject to this Act that lie below the 824-foot 

22 (MSL) contour elevation and the road access to such lands 

23 that lie below the 824-foot (MSL) contour elevation. 


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1 (b) FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES.—The Eastern 

2 Band of Cherokee Indians may construct, own, operate, and 

3 maintain— 

4 (1) water use facilities and nonhabitable struc5 tures, facilities, and improvements not subject to seri6 ous damage if temporarily flooded on the land adjoin7 ing the Tellico Reservoir side of the lands subject to 

8 this Act that lie between the 815-foot and 820-foot 

9 (MSL) contour elevations, but only after having re10 ceived written consent from the Tennessee Valley Au11 thority and subject to the terms of such approval; and 

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

13 (MSL) contour elevations on the Tellico Reservoir side 

14 of the lands subject to this Act and the adjacent 

15 waters of Tellico Reservoir and in and on such waters 

16 after having received written consent from the Ten17 nessee Valley Authority and subject to the terms of 

18 such approval, but may not construct, own, operate, 

19 or maintain other nonhabitable structures, facilities, 

20 and improvements on such lands. 

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

22 Cherokee Indians may use the lands subject to this Act and 

23 Tellico Reservoir for ingress and egress to and from such 

24 land and the waters of the Tellico Reservoir and to and 


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1 from all structures, facilities, and improvements main2 tained in, on, or over such land or waters. 

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

4 rights under this section may not be exercised so as to inter5 fere in any way with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s stat6 utory program for river control and development. 

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

8 construed to affect the right of the Tennessee Valley Author9 ity to— 

10 (1) draw down Tellico Reservoir; 

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

12 necessary for its management of the Reservoir; or 

13 (3) permanently flood lands adjacent to lands 

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

15 contour elevation. 

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

17 shall be subject to a reasonable right of entry by the per18 sonnel of the Tennessee Valley Authority and agents of the 

19 Tennessee Valley Authority operating in their official ca20 pacities as necessary for purposes of carrying out the Ten21 nessee Valley Authority’s statutory program for river con22 trol and development. 

23 (g) ENTRY ONTO LAND.—To the extent that the Ten24 nessee Valley Authority’s operations on the lands subject to 

25 this Act do not unreasonably interfere with the Eastern 


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1 Band of Cherokee Indians’ maintenance of an appropriate 

2 setting for the memorialization of Cherokee history or cul3 ture on the lands and its operations on the lands, the East4 ern Band of Cherokee Indians shall allow the Tennessee Val5 ley Authority to enter the lands to clear, ditch, dredge, and 

6 drain said lands and apply larvicides and chemicals there7 on or to conduct bank protection work and erect structures 

8 necessary in the promotion and furtherance of public health, 

9 flood control, and navigation. 

10 (h) LOSS OF HYDROPOWER CAPACITY.—All future de11 velopment of the lands subject to this Act shall be subject 

12 to compensation to the Tennessee Valley Authority for loss 

13 of hydropower capacity as provided in the Tennessee Valley 

14 Authority Flood Control Storage Loss Guideline, unless 

15 agreed to otherwise by the Tennessee Valley Authority. 

16 (i) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY.—The United States 

17 shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting from— 

18 (1) the temporary and intermittent flooding of 

19 lands subject to this Act; 

20 (2) the permanent flooding of adjacent lands as 

21 provided in this section; 

22 (3) wave action in Tellico Reservoir; or 

23 (4) fluctuation of water levels for purposes of 

24 managing Tellico Reservoir. 


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1 (j) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Tennessee 

2 Valley Authority shall— 

3 (1) retain sole and exclusive Federal responsi4 bility and liability to fund and implement any envi5 ronmental remediation requirements that are required 

6 under applicable Federal or State law for any land 

7 or interest in land to be taken into trust under this 

8 Act, as well as the assessments under paragraph (2) 

9 to identify the type and quantity of any potential 

10 hazardous substances on the lands; 

11 (2) prior to the acquisition in trust, carry out 

12 an assessment and notify the Secretary of the Interior 

13 and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians whether 

14 any hazardous substances were stored on the lands 

15 and, if so, whether those substances— 

16 (A) were stored for 1 year or more on the 

17 lands; 

18 (B) were known to have been released on the 

19 lands; or 

20 (C) were known to have been disposed of on 

21 the lands; and 

22 (3) if the assessment under paragraph (2) shows 

23 that hazardous substances were stored, released, or 

24 disposed of on the lands, include in its notice under 


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1 paragraph (2) to the Secretary of the Interior and the 

2 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians— 

3 (A) the type and quantity of such hazardous 

4 substances; 

5 (B) the time at which such storage, release, 

6 or disposal took place on the lands; and 

7 (C) a description of any remedial actions, if 

8 any, taken on the lands. 

9 SEC. 6. LANDS SUBJECT TO THE ACT. 

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

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

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

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

14 SEC. 7. GAMING PROHIBITION. 

15 No class II or class III gaming, as defined in the In16 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), shall 

17 be conducted on lands subject to this Act. 


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Union Calendar No. 442 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 146 

[Report No. 115–584] 

A BILL 

To take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into 

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

FEBRUARY 27, 2018 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


daltland on DSKBBV9HB2PROD with BILLS