IB 

Union Calendar No. 775 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 210 

[Report No. 115–993] 

To facilitate the development of energy on Indian lands by reducing Federal 

regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

OCTOBER 23, 2018 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SESSIONS and Mr. CRAMER

OCTOBER 23, 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 facilitate the development of energy on Indian lands by 

reducing Federal regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, 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 ‘‘Native American Energy 

5 Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. APPRAISALS. 

7 (a) AMENDMENT.—Title XXVI of the Energy Policy 

8 Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) is amended by adding 

9 at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘SEC. 2607. APPRAISAL REFORMS. 

11 ‘‘(a) OPTIONS TO INDIAN TRIBES.—With respect to a 

12 transaction involving Indian land or the trust assets of an 

13 Indian tribe that requires the approval of the Secretary, 

14 any appraisal relating to fair market value required to be 

15 conducted under applicable law, regulation, or policy may 

16 be completed by— 

17 ‘‘(1) the Secretary; 

18 ‘‘(2) the affected Indian tribe; or 

19 ‘‘(3) a certified, third-party appraiser pursuant 

20 to a contract with the Indian tribe. 

21 ‘‘(b) TIME LIMIT ON SECRETARIAL REVIEW AND AC22 TION.—Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 

23 Secretary receives an appraisal conducted by or for an In24 dian tribe pursuant to paragraphs (2) or (3) of subsection 

25 (a), the Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) review the appraisal; and 

2 ‘‘(2) provide to the Indian tribe a written notice 

3 of approval or disapproval of the appraisal. 

4 ‘‘(c) FAILURE OF SECRETARY TO APPROVE OR DIS5 APPROVE.—If, after 60 days, the Secretary has failed to ap6 prove or disapprove any appraisal received, the appraisal 

7 shall be deemed approved. 

8 ‘‘(d) OPTION TO INDIAN TRIBES TO WAIVE AP9 PRAISAL.— 

10 ‘‘(1) An Indian tribe wishing to waive the re11 quirements of subsection (a), may do so after it has 

12 satisfied the requirements of paragraphs (2) and (3). 

13 ‘‘(2) An Indian tribe wishing to forego the neces14 sity of a waiver pursuant to this section must provide 

15 to the Secretary a written resolution, statement, or 

16 other unambiguous indication of tribal intent, duly 

17 approved by the governing body of the Indian tribe. 

18 ‘‘(3) The unambiguous indication of intent pro19 vided by the Indian tribe to the Secretary under 

20 paragraph (2) must include an express waiver by the 

21 Indian tribe of any claims for damages it might have 

22 against the United States as a result of the lack of an 

23 appraisal undertaken. 


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1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this subsection, the 

2 term ‘appraisal’ includes appraisals and other estimates of 

3 value. 

4 ‘‘(f) REGULATIONS.—The Secretary shall develop regu5 lations for implementing this section, including standards 

6 the Secretary shall use for approving or disapproving an 

7 appraisal.’’. 

8 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

9 of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (42 U.S.C. 13201 note) 

10 is amended by adding at the end of the items relating to 

11 title XXVI the following: 

‘‘Sec. 2607. Appraisal reforms.’’. 

12 SEC. 3. STANDARDIZATION. 

13 As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 

14 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall implement 

15 procedures to ensure that each agency within the Depart16 ment of the Interior that is involved in the review, ap17 proval, and oversight of oil and gas activities on Indian 

18 lands shall use a uniform system of reference numbers and 

19 tracking systems for oil and gas wells. 

20 SEC. 4. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS OF MAJOR FEDERAL AC21 TIONS ON INDIAN LANDS. 

22 Section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act 

23 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332) is amended by inserting ‘‘(a) IN

24 GENERAL.—’’ before the first sentence, and by adding at 

25 the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) REVIEW OF MAJOR FEDERAL ACTIONS ON INDIAN

2 LANDS.— 

3 ‘‘(1) REVIEW AND COMMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

5 subparagraph (B), the statement required under 

6 subsection (a)(2)(C) for a major Federal action 

7 regarding an activity on Indian lands of an In8 dian tribe shall only be available for review and 

9 comment by— 

10 ‘‘(i) Indian tribes in the affected area 

11 and individual members of those tribes 

12 wherever they reside; 

13 ‘‘(ii) Other individuals who reside in 

14 the affected area; and 

15 ‘‘(iii) State and local governments 

16 within the affected area. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION.—Subparagraph (A) shall 

18 not apply to a statement for a major Federal ac19 tion regarding an activity on Indian lands of an 

20 Indian tribe related to gaming under the Indian 

21 Gaming Regulatory Act. 

22 ‘‘(2) REGULATIONS.—The Chairman of the 

23 Council on Environmental Quality shall develop reg24 ulations to implement this section, including descripVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Oct 23, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H210.RH H210

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1 tions of affected areas for specific major Federal ac2 tions, in consultation with Indian tribes. 

3 ‘‘(3) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection, each of 

4 the terms ‘Indian land’ and ‘Indian tribe’ has the 

5 meaning given that term in section 2601 of the En6 ergy Policy Act of 1992 (25 U.S.C. 3501). 

7 ‘‘(4) CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY.—Nothing 

8 in the Native American Energy Act, except section 6 

9 of that Act, shall give the Secretary any additional 

10 authority over energy projects on Alaska Native 

11 Claims Settlement Act lands.’’. 

12 SEC. 5. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

13 (a) TIME FOR FILING COMPLAINT.—Any energy re14 lated action must be filed not later than the end of the 60- 

15 day period beginning on the date of the final agency action. 

16 Any energy related action not filed within this time period 

17 shall be barred. 

18 (b) DISTRICT COURT VENUE AND DEADLINE.—All en19 ergy related actions— 

20 (1) shall be brought in the United States District 

21 Court for the District of Columbia; and 

22 (2) shall be resolved as expeditiously as possible, 

23 and in any event not more than 180 days after such 

24 cause of action is filed. 


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1 (c) APPELLATE REVIEW.—An interlocutory order or 

2 final judgment, decree or order of the district court in an 

3 energy related action may be reviewed by the United States 

4 Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The 

5 District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals shall resolve 

6 such appeal as expeditiously as possible, and in any event 

7 not more than 180 days after such interlocutory order or 

8 final judgment, decree or order of the district court was 

9 issued. 

10 (d) LIMITATION ON CERTAIN PAYMENTS.—Notwith11 standing section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, no 

12 award may be made under section 504 of title 5, United 

13 States Code, or under section 2412 of title 28, United States 

14 Code, and no amounts may be obligated or expended from 

15 the Claims and Judgment Fund of the United States Treas16 ury to pay any fees or other expenses under such sections, 

17 to any person or party in an energy related action. 

18 (e) LEGAL FEES.—In any energy related action in 

19 which the plaintiff does not ultimately prevail, the court 

20 shall award to the defendant (including any intervenor-de21 fendants), other than the United States, fees and other ex22 penses incurred by that party in connection with the energy 

23 related action, unless the court finds that the position of 

24 the plaintiff was substantially justified or that special cir25 cumstances make an award unjust. Whether or not the posiVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Oct 23, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H210.RH H210

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1 tion of the plaintiff was substantially justified shall be de2 termined on the basis of the administrative record, as a 

3 whole, which is made in the energy related action for which 

4 fees and other expenses are sought. 

5 (f) DEFINITIONS.—For the purposes of this section, the 

6 following definitions apply: 

7 (1) AGENCY ACTION.—The term ‘‘agency action’’ 

8 has the same meaning given such term in section 551 

9 of title 5, United States Code. 

10 (2) INDIAN LAND.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’ has 

11 the same meaning given such term in section 

12 203(c)(3) of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (Public 

13 Law 109–58; 25 U.S.C. 3501), including lands owned 

14 by Native Corporations under the Alaska Native 

15 Claims Settlement Act (Public Law 92–203; 43 

16 U.S.C. 1601). 

17 (3) ENERGY RELATED ACTION.—The term ‘‘en18 ergy related action’’ means a cause of action that— 

19 (A) is filed on or after the effective date of 

20 this Act; and 

21 (B) seeks judicial review of a final agency 

22 action to issue a permit, license, or other form 

23 of agency permission allowing: 

24 (i) any person or entity to conduct ac25 tivities on Indian Land, which activities 


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1 involve the exploration, development, pro2 duction or transportation of oil, gas, coal, 

3 shale gas, oil shale, geothermal resources, 

4 wind or solar resources, underground coal 

5 gasification, biomass, or the generation of 

6 electricity; or 

7 (ii) any Indian Tribe, or any organi8 zation of two or more entities, at least one 

9 of which is an Indian tribe, to conduct ac10 tivities involving the exploration, develop11 ment, production or transportation of oil, 

12 gas, coal, shale gas, oil shale, geothermal re13 sources, wind or solar resources, under14 ground coal gasification, biomass, or the 

15 generation of electricity, regardless of where 

16 such activities are undertaken. 

17 (4) ULTIMATELY PREVAIL.—The phrase ‘‘ulti18 mately prevail’’ means, in a final enforceable judg19 ment, the court rules in the party’s favor on at least 

20 one cause of action which is an underlying rationale 

21 for the preliminary injunction, administrative stay, 

22 or other relief requested by the party, and does not in23 clude circumstances where the final agency action is 

24 modified or amended by the issuing agency unless 

25 such modification or amendment is required pursuant 


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1 to a final enforceable judgment of the court or a 

2 court-ordered consent decree. 

3 SEC. 6. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

4 The Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 is amended 

5 by inserting after section 2 (25 U.S.C. 3115a) the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 3. TRIBAL BIOMASS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. 

7 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—For each of fiscal years 2016 

8 through 2020, the Secretary shall enter into stewardship 

9 contracts or other agreements, other than agreements that 

10 are exclusively direct service contracts, with Indian tribes 

11 to carry out demonstration projects to promote biomass en12 ergy production (including biofuel, heat, and electricity 

13 generation) on Indian forest land and in nearby commu14 nities by providing reliable supplies of woody biomass from 

15 Federal land. 

16 ‘‘(b) DEFINITIONS.—The definitions in section 2 shall 

17 apply to this section. 

18 ‘‘(c) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.—In each fiscal year 

19 for which projects are authorized, the Secretary shall enter 

20 into contracts or other agreements described in subsection 

21 (a) to carry out at least 4 new demonstration projects that 

22 meet the eligibility criteria described in subsection (d). 

23 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA.—To be eligible to enter 

24 into a contract or other agreement under this subsection, 


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1 an Indian tribe shall submit to the Secretary an applica2 tion— 

3 ‘‘(1) containing such information as the Sec4 retary may require; and 

5 ‘‘(2) that includes a description of— 

6 ‘‘(A) the Indian forest land or rangeland 

7 under the jurisdiction of the Indian tribe; and 

8 ‘‘(B) the demonstration project proposed to 

9 be carried out by the Indian tribe. 

10 ‘‘(e) SELECTION.—In evaluating the applications sub11 mitted under subsection (c), the Secretary— 

12 ‘‘(1) shall take into consideration the factors set 

13 forth in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 2(e) of 

14 Public Law 108–278; and whether a proposed dem15 onstration project would— 

16 ‘‘(A) increase the availability or reliability 

17 of local or regional energy; 

18 ‘‘(B) enhance the economic development of 

19 the Indian tribe; 

20 ‘‘(C) improve the connection of electric 

21 power transmission facilities serving the Indian 

22 tribe with other electric transmission facilities; 

23 ‘‘(D) improve the forest health or watersheds 

24 of Federal land or Indian forest land or range25 land; or 


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1 ‘‘(E) otherwise promote the use of woody 

2 biomass; and 

3 ‘‘(2) shall exclude from consideration any mer4 chantable logs that have been identified by the Sec5 retary for commercial sale. 

6 ‘‘(f) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall— 

7 ‘‘(1) ensure that the criteria described in sub8 section (c) are publicly available by not later than 

9 120 days after the date of enactment of this section; 

10 and 

11 ‘‘(2) to the maximum extent practicable, consult 

12 with Indian tribes and appropriate intertribal orga13 nizations likely to be affected in developing the appli14 cation and otherwise carrying out this section. 

15 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than one year subsequent to 

16 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall 

17 submit to Congress a report that describes, with respect to 

18 the reporting period— 

19 ‘‘(1) each individual tribal application received 

20 under this section; and 

21 ‘‘(2) each contract and agreement entered into 

22 pursuant to this section. 

23 ‘‘(h) INCORPORATION OF MANAGEMENT PLANS.—In 

24 carrying out a contract or agreement under this section, 

25 on receipt of a request from an Indian tribe, the Secretary 


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1 shall incorporate into the contract or agreement, to the ex2 tent practicable, management plans (including forest man3 agement and integrated resource management plans) in ef4 fect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the respective 

5 Indian tribe. 

6 ‘‘(i) TERM.—A stewardship contract or other agree7 ment entered into under this section— 

8 ‘‘(1) shall be for a term of not more than 20 

9 years; and 

10 ‘‘(2) may be renewed in accordance with this sec11 tion for not more than an additional 10 years. 

12 ‘‘SEC. 4. TRIBAL FOREST MANAGEMENT DEMONSTRATION 

13 PROJECT. 

14 ‘‘The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Ag15 riculture may carry out demonstration projects by which 

16 federally recognized Indian tribes or tribal organizations 

17 may contract to perform administrative, management, and 

18 other functions of programs of the Tribal Forest Protection 

19 Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a et seq.) through contracts en20 tered into under the Indian Self-Determination and Edu21 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450 et seq.).’’. 

22 SEC. 7. TRIBAL RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS. 

23 Unless otherwise explicitly exempted by Federal law 

24 enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, any ac25 tivity conducted or resources harvested or produced pursuVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Oct 23, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H210.RH H210

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1 ant to a tribal resource management plan or an integrated 

2 resource management plan approved by the Secretary of the 

3 Interior under the National Indian Forest Resources Man4 agement Act (25 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.) or the American In5 dian Agricultural Resource Management Act (25 U.S.C. 

6 3701 et seq.) shall be considered a sustainable management 

7 practice for purposes of any Federal standard, benefit, or 

8 requirement that requires a demonstration of such sustain9 ability. 

10 SEC. 8. LEASES OF RESTRICTED LANDS FOR THE NAVAJO 

11 NATION. 

12 Subsection (e)(1) of the first section of the Act of Au13 gust 9, 1955 (25 U.S.C. 415(e)(1); commonly referred to as 

14 the ‘‘Long-Term Leasing Act’’), is amended— 

15 (1) by striking ‘‘, except a lease for’’ and insert16 ing ‘‘, including leases for’’; 

17 (2) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘25’’ the 

18 first place it appears and all that follows and insert19 ing ‘‘99 years;’’; 

20 (3) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

21 and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 

22 (4) by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(C) in the case of a lease for the exploration, de24 velopment, or extraction of mineral resources, includ25 ing geothermal resources, 25 years, except that any 


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1 such lease may include an option to renew for one ad2 ditional term not to exceed 25 years.’’. 

3 SEC. 9. NONAPPLICABILITY OF CERTAIN RULES. 

4 No rule promulgated by the Department of the Interior 

5 regarding hydraulic fracturing used in the development or 

6 production of oil or gas resources shall have any effect on 

7 any land held in trust or restricted status for the benefit 

8 of Indians except with the express consent of the beneficiary 

9 on whose behalf such land is held in trust or restricted sta10 tus. 


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Union Calendar No. 775 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 210 

[Report No. 115–993] 

A BILL 

To facilitate the development of energy on Indian 

other purposes. pede tribal development of Indian lands, and for lands by reducing Federal regulations that imOCTOBER 23, 2018 

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


pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS