I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 146 

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 

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) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than one year after 

9 the date of a land transaction made pursuant to this sec10 tion, the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with 

11 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Tennessee 

12 Valley Authority, shall submit revised maps that depict 

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

14 corrections made to the maps described in this section to 

15 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

17 Senate. 

18 (d) CONTOUR ELEVATION CLARIFICATION.—The 

19 contour elevations referred to in this Act are based on 

20 MSL Datum as established by the NGS Southeastern 

21 Supplementary Adjustment of 1936 (NGVD29). 

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

23 this section shall be subject to the conditions described 

24 in section 5. 


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1 SEC. 3. PERMANENT EASEMENTS TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR 

2 THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

3 (a) PERMANENT EASEMENTS.—The following perma4 nent easements for land below the 820-foot (MSL) con5 tour elevation for the following Federal lands in Monroe 

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

7 hereby taken into trust by the United States for the ben8 efit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: 

9 (1) CHOTA PENINSULA.—Approximately 8.5 

10 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota Memorial 

11 2’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee 

12 Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated 

13 April 30, 2015. 

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

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

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

17 Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated 

18 April 30, 2015. 

19 (b) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than one year after 

20 the date of a land transaction made pursuant to this sec21 tion, the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation with 

22 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Tennessee 

23 Valley Authority, shall submit to the Subcommittee on In24 dian, Insular and Alaska Native Affairs of the House of 

25 Representatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of 

26 the Senate revised maps that depict the lands subject to 


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1 easements taken into trust under this section, including 

2 any corrections necessary to the maps described in this 

3 section. 

4 (c) CONDITIONS.—The lands subject to easements 

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

6 use rights and conditions described in section 5. 

7 SEC. 4. TRUST ADMINISTRATION AND PURPOSES. 

8 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Except as described in sec9 tion 5, the lands subject to this Act shall be administered 

10 under the laws and regulations generally applicable to 

11 lands and interests in lands held in trust on behalf of In12 dian Tribes. 

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

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

15 principally for memorializing and interpreting the history 

16 and culture of Indians and recreational activities, includ17 ing management, operation, and conduct of programs of 

18 and for— 

19 (1) the Sequoyah birthplace memorial and mu20 seum; 

21 (2) the memorials to Chota and Tanasi as 

22 former capitals of the Cherokees; 

23 (3) the memorial and place of reinterment for 

24 remains of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

25 and other Cherokee tribes, including those human 


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1 remains and cultural items that are repatriated by 

2 the Tennessee Valley Authority to those Cherokee 

3 tribes under the National Graves Protection and Re4 patriation Act; and 

5 (4) interpreting the Trail of Tears National 

6 Historic Trail. 

7 (c) USE OF SUPPORT PROPERTY.—The land de8 scribed in section 2(a)(2) shall be used principally for the 

9 support of lands subject to this Act and the programs of10 fered by the Tribe relating to such lands and their pur11 poses including— 

12 (1) classrooms and conference rooms; 

13 (2) cultural interpretation and education pro14 grams; 

15 (3) temporary housing of guests participating 

16 in such programs or the management of the prop17 erties and programs; and 

18 (4) headquarters offices and support space for 

19 the trust properties and programs. 

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

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

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

23 trail from the general vicinity of the parking lot to 

24 the area of the Chota Memorial and beyond to the 

25 southern portion of the peninsula, including interVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:39 Jan 09, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H146.IH H146

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1 pretive signs, benches, and other compatible im2 provements; and 

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

4 trail between the Chota and Tanasi Memorials, in5 cluding interpretive signs, benches, and other com6 patible improvements. 

7 SEC. 5. USE RIGHTS, CONDITIONS. 

8 (a) FLOODING OF LAND AND ROADS.—The Ten9 nessee Valley Authority may temporarily and intermit10 tently flood the lands subject to this Act that lie below 

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

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

13 elevation. 

14 (b) FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES.—The Eastern 

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

16 and maintain— 

17 (1) water use facilities and nonhabitable struc18 tures, facilities, and improvements not subject to se19 rious damage if temporarily flooded on the land ad20 joining the Tellico Reservoir side of the lands subject 

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

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

23 received written consent from the Tennessee Valley 

24 Authority and subject to the terms of such approval; 

25 and 


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

2 (MSL) contour elevations on the Tellico Reservoir 

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

4 waters of Tellico Reservoir and in and on such 

5 waters after having received written consent from 

6 the Tennessee Valley Authority and subject to the 

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

8 operate, or maintain other nonhabitable structures, 

9 facilities, and improvements on such lands. 

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

11 Cherokee Indians may use the lands subject to this Act 

12 and Tellico Reservoir for ingress and egress to and from 

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

14 and from all structures, facilities, and improvements main15 tained in, on, or over such land or waters. 

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

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

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

19 statutory program for river control and development. 

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

21 construed to affect the right of the Tennessee Valley Au22 thority to— 

23 (1) draw down Tellico Reservoir; 

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

25 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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