II 

Calendar No. 514 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1879 

[Report No. 114–275] 

To improve processes in the Department of the Interior, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 28, 2015 

Mr. BARRASSO introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Indian Affairs 

JUNE 9, 2016 

Reported by Mr. BARRASSO, with an amendment 

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

A BILL 

To improve processes in the Department of the Interior, 

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 ‘‘Interior Improvement 

5 Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 19 

3 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In4 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 479), is amended— 

5 (1) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and inserting ‘‘Ef6 fective beginning on June 18, 1934, the term’’; and 

7 (2) by striking ‘‘any recognized Indian tribe 

8 now under Federal jurisdiction’’ and inserting ‘‘any 

9 federally recognized Indian tribe’’. 

10 (b) RETROACTIVE PROTECTION.—To the extent a 

11 trust acquisition by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant 

12 to the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In13 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), is sub14 jected to a challenge based on whether an Indian tribe was 

15 federally recognized or under Federal jurisdiction on June 

16 18, 1934, that acquisition is ratified and confirmed. 

17 SEC. 3. LAND ACQUISITION APPLICATIONS. 

18 The Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the 

19 ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), is amended by inserting 

20 after section 5 (25 U.S.C. 465) the following: 

21 ‘‘SEC. 5A. LAND ACQUISITION APPLICATIONS. 

22 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

23 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

24 an Indian tribe or individual Indian (as defined in 

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1 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) who sub2 mits an application under subsection (b). 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The term ‘application’ 

4 means an application submitted to the Department 

5 by an Indian tribe or individual Indian under sub6 section (b). 

7 ‘‘(3) CONTIGUOUS.—The term ‘contiguous’— 

8 ‘‘(A) means 2 parcels of land having a 

9 common boundary, notwithstanding the exist10 ence of non-navigable waters or a public road or 

11 right-of-way; and 

12 ‘‘(B) includes parcels that touch at a point. 

13 ‘‘(4) CONTIGUOUS JURISDICTION.—The term 

14 ‘contiguous jurisdiction’ means any county, county 

15 equivalent, or Indian tribe with authority and con16 trol over the land contiguous to the land under con17 sideration in an application. 

18 ‘‘(5) COUNTY AND COUNTY EQUIVALENT.—The 

19 terms ‘county’ and ‘county equivalent’ mean the 

20 largest territorial division for local government with21 in a State with the authority to enter into enforce22 able cooperative agreements with Indian tribes or in23 dividual Indians, as appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(6) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

25 means the Department of the Interior. 


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1 ‘‘(7) ECONOMIC IMPACT.—The term ‘economic 

2 impact’ means any anticipated costs associated with 

3 the development of or activity on the land under 

4 consideration in an application, including associated 

5 costs to a contiguous jurisdiction for utilities, public 

6 works, public safety, roads, maintenance, and other 

7 public service costs. 

8 ‘‘(8) FINAL DECISION.—The term ‘final deci9 sion’ means a decision that is final for the Depart10 ment, as determined or defined by the Secretary. 

11 ‘‘(9) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

12 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 

13 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

14 Act (25 U.S.C. 450b). 

15 ‘‘(10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ 

16 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

17 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe or indi19 vidual Indian seeking to have off-reservation fee or 

20 restricted land taken into trust for the benefit of 

21 that Indian tribe or individual Indian shall submit 

22 an application to the Secretary at such time, in such 

23 manner, and containing such information as this 

24 section and the Secretary require. 


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1 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may ap2 prove complete applications described in paragraph 

3 (1) on a discretionary basis, subject to the condition 

4 that the application includes— 

5 ‘‘(A) a written request for approval of a 

6 trust acquisition by the United States for the 

7 benefit of the applicant; 

8 ‘‘(B) the legal name of the applicant, in9 cluding, in the case of an applicant that is an 

10 Indian tribe, the tribal name of the applicant as 

11 the name appears in the list of recognized In12 dian tribes published by the Secretary in the 

13 Federal Register pursuant to section 104 of the 

14 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

15 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a–1); 

16 ‘‘(C) a legal description of the land to be 

17 acquired; 

18 ‘‘(D) a description of the need for the pro19 posed acquisition of the property; 

20 ‘‘(E) a description of the purpose for which 

21 the property is to be used; 

22 ‘‘(F) a legal instrument to verify current 

23 ownership, such as a deed; 

24 ‘‘(G) statutory authority for the proposed 

25 acquisition of the property; 


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1 ‘‘(H) a business plan for management of 

2 the land to be acquired, if the application is for 

3 business purposes; 

4 ‘‘(I) the location of the land to be acquired 

5 relative to State and reservation boundaries; 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(J) a copy of any cooperative agreement 

8 between the applicant and a contiguous juris9 diction. 

10 ‘‘(3) FINAL DECISION.—After considering an 

11 application described in this subsection and in ac12 cordance with subsection (c) and any other applica13 ble Federal law or regulation, a final decision to ap14 prove or deny the completed application shall be 

15 issued. 

16 ‘‘(c) STATUTORY NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIRE17 MENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(1) NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIREMENTS

19 FOR INITIAL APPLICATIONS.— 

20 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

22 days after the date on which the Secretary 

23 receives an initial application, the Sec24 retary shall make that application, whether 

25 complete or incomplete, available to the 


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1 public on the website of the Department, 

2 subject to applicable Federal privacy laws. 

3 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIRE4 MENT.—Not later than 30 days after the 

5 date on which the Secretary receives an 

6 initial application, the Secretary shall pro7 vide by certified mail notice of the applica8 tion to contiguous jurisdictions. 

9 ‘‘(B) COMMENT.—Each contiguous juris10 diction notified under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

11 shall have not fewer than 30 days, beginning on 

12 the date that the contiguous jurisdiction re13 ceives the notice, to comment on that initial ap14 plication. 

15 ‘‘(2) NOTICE REQUIREMENT FOR ANY APPLICA16 TION UPDATE, MODIFICATION, OR WITHDRAWAL.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If at any time an ap18 plication is updated, modified, or withdrawn, 

19 not later than 5 days after the date on which 

20 the Secretary receives notice of that update, 

21 modification, or withdrawal, the Secretary shall 

22 make that information available to the public 

23 on the website of the Department, subject to 

24 any applicable Federal privacy laws. 


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1 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—If an application has 

2 been updated or modified in any way, the notice 

3 described in subparagraph (A) shall include a 

4 description of the changes made and the up5 dated or modified application, whether complete 

6 or incomplete, available on the website of the 

7 Department, subject to any applicable Federal 

8 privacy laws. 

9 ‘‘(3) NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIREMENTS

10 FOR COMPLETED APPLICATIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

12 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

13 days after the date on which the Secretary 

14 receives a completed application, the Sec15 retary shall make that application available 

16 to the public on the website of the Depart17 ment, subject to any applicable Federal 

18 privacy laws. 

19 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIRE20 MENTS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

21 date on which the Secretary receives a 

22 completed application, the Secretary shall 

23 provide by certified mail notice of the ap24 plication to contiguous jurisdictions. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REG2 ISTER.—Not later than 5 days after the 

3 date on which the Secretary receives a 

4 completed application, the Secretary shall 

5 publish in the Federal Register notice of 

6 the completed application. 

7 ‘‘(B) COMMENT.—Contiguous jurisdictions 

8 shall have not fewer than 30 days, beginning on 

9 the date on which the contiguous jurisdiction 

10 receives notice under subparagraph (A)(ii), to 

11 comment on that completed application. 

12 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF DECISION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 days 

14 after a final decision to approve or deny an ap15 plication is issued, the Secretary shall issue a 

16 notice of decision and make the notice of deci17 sion available to the public on the website of the 

18 Department. 

19 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REG20 ISTER.—Not later than 5 days after a final de21 cision to approve or deny an application is 

22 issued, the Secretary shall publish in the Fed23 eral Register the notice of decision described in 

24 subparagraph (A). 

25 ‘‘(d) ENCOURAGING LOCAL COOPERATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall encour2 age, but may not require, applicants to enter into co3 operative agreements with contiguous jurisdictions. 

4 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

6 give weight and preference to an application 

7 with a cooperative agreement described in para8 graph (1). 

9 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—A coopera10 tive agreement described in paragraph (1) may 

11 include terms relating to mitigation, changes in 

12 land use, dispute resolution, fees, and other 

13 terms determined by the parties to be appro14 priate. 

15 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF COOPERATIVE

16 AGREEMENT.— 

17 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an applicant 

18 submits to the Secretary a cooperative 

19 agreement or multiple cooperative agree20 ments executed between the applicant and 

21 contiguous jurisdictions, the Secretary 

22 shall issue a final decision to approve or 

23 deny a complete application not later 

24 than— 


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1 ‘‘(I) 60 days after the date of 

2 completion of the review process 

3 under the National Environmental 

4 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

5 et seq.) described in clause (ii); or 

6 ‘‘(II) if that review process is not 

7 applicable, 30 days after the date on 

8 which a complete application is re9 ceived by the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(ii) TIMELINE.—Completion of the 

11 review process under the National Environ12 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

13 4321 et seq.) described in clause (i) may 

14 refer to— 

15 ‘‘(I) the issuance of a categorical 

16 exclusion determination in accordance 

17 with section 6.204 of title 40, Code of 

18 Federal Regulations (or successor reg19 ulations); 

20 ‘‘(II) an environmental assess21 ment finding of no significant impact 

22 in accordance with section 6.206 of 

23 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations 

24 (or successor regulations); or 


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1 ‘‘(III) the issuance of a record of 

2 decision in accordance with section 

3 6.208 of title 40, Code of Federal 

4 Regulations (or successor regulations). 

5 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ISSUE

6 TIMELY FINAL DECISION.—If the Secretary 

7 fails to issue a final decision by the date 

8 described in clause (i), the application shall 

9 be— 

10 ‘‘(I) deemed approved on an 

11 automatic basis; and 

12 ‘‘(II) treated as a final decision. 

13 ‘‘(D) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOT SUB14 MITTED.— 

15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an applicant 

16 does not submit to the Secretary a cooper17 ative agreement executed between the ap18 plicant and contiguous jurisdictions, the 

19 Secretary shall issue a written determina20 tion of mitigation by the date that is not 

21 later than 30 days after a complete appli22 cation is received by the Secretary, which 

23 shall— 

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1 tions have been mitigated to the ex2 tent practicable; and 

3 ‘‘(II) explain the basis of that de4 termination. 

5 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION OF MITIGA6 TION.—The Secretary shall consider a de7 termination of mitigation in making a final 

8 decision to approve or deny an application, 

9 but that determination shall not halt or 

10 unduly delay the regular processing of an 

11 application. 

12 ‘‘(iii) CONSIDERATIONS.—In making a 

13 determination of mitigation described in 

14 clause (i), the Secretary shall take into 

15 consideration— 

16 ‘‘(I) the anticipated economic im17 pact of approving an application on 

18 contiguous jurisdictions; and 

19 ‘‘(II) whether the absence of a 

20 cooperative agreement is attributable 

21 to the failure of any contiguous juris22 diction to work in good faith to reach 

23 an agreement with the applicant. 

24 ‘‘(iv) NOTICE.—The Secretary shall 

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1 termination of mitigation described in 

2 clause (i) to the applicant and contiguous 

3 jurisdictions not less than 5 days after a 

4 determination of mitigation is issued. 

5 ‘‘(v) GOOD FAITH PROTECTION.— 

6 Failure to submit a cooperative agreement 

7 shall not prejudice an application if the 

8 Secretary determines that the failure to 

9 submit is attributable to the failure of any 

10 contiguous jurisdiction to work in good 

11 faith to reach an agreement. 

12 ‘‘(3) RECIPROCAL NOTICE AND COMMENT.— 

13 The Secretary shall also encourage contiguous juris14 dictions to engage in local cooperation through recip15 rocal notice and comment procedures, particularly 

16 with regard to changes in land use. 

17 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

18 ‘‘(1) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 60 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec20 retary shall initiate consultation with Indian tribes 

21 regarding the implementation of this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) SUMMARY.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 the date on which the consultation described in 

24 paragraph (1) is initiated, the Secretary shall issue 


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1 a summary of the consultation and the summary 

2 shall be published in the Federal Register. 

3 ‘‘(3) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after the date on which the summary described in 

5 paragraph (2) is published in the Federal Register, 

6 the Secretary shall, through a rulemaking under sec7 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, modify exist8 ing regulations, guidance, rules, and policy state9 ments, as necessary to carry out this section. 

10 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An applicant or contiguous 

12 jurisdiction may seek review of a final decision. 

13 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—An applicant 

14 or contiguous jurisdiction may seek review in a 

15 United States district court only after exhausting all 

16 available administrative remedies.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 

18 (a) OTHER LAND DETERMINATIONS.—Nothing in 

19 this Act (or an amendment made by this Act) impacts any 

20 other Federal Indian land determination. 

21 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 

22 (or the amendments made by this Act) affects— 

23 (1) the application or effect of any Federal law 

24 other than the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 

25 et seq.); or 


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1 (2) any limitation on the authority of the Sec2 retary of the Interior under any Federal law or reg3 ulation other than the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

4 U.S.C. 461 et seq.). 

5 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

6 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Interior Improvement 

7 Act’’. 

8 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The first sentence of section 19 of 

10 the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian 

11 Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 479), is amended— 

12 (1) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and inserting ‘‘Effec13 tive beginning on June 18, 1934, the term’’; and 

14 (2) by striking ‘‘any recognized Indian tribe now 

15 under Federal jurisdiction’’ and inserting ‘‘any feder16 ally recognized Indian tribe’’. 

17 (b) RETROACTIVE PROTECTION.—To the extent a trust 

18 acquisition by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant to the 

19 Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘Indian Re20 organization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), is subjected to 

21 a challenge based on whether an Indian tribe was federally 

22 recognized or under Federal jurisdiction on June 18, 1934, 

23 that acquisition is ratified and confirmed. 


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1 SEC. 3. IMPROVING LAND ACQUISITIONS. 

2 The Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the 

3 ‘‘Indian Reorganization Act’’), is amended by inserting 

4 after section 5 (25 U.S.C. 465) the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 5A. LAND ACQUISITION APPLICATIONS. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) APPLICANT.—The term ‘applicant’ means 

8 an Indian tribe or individual Indian who— 

9 ‘‘(A) submits an application under sub10 section (b)(1)(A); or 

11 ‘‘(B) is deemed an applicant under sub12 section (b)(1)(B). 

13 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION.—The term ‘application’ 

14 means an application submitted to the Department 

15 by an applicant under subsection (b). 

16 ‘‘(3) CONTIGUOUS.—The term ‘contiguous’— 

17 ‘‘(A) means 2 parcels of land having a com18 mon boundary, notwithstanding the existence of 

19 non-navigable waters or a public road or right20 of-way; and 

21 ‘‘(B) includes parcels that touch at a point. 

22 ‘‘(4) CONTIGUOUS JURISDICTION.—The term 

23 ‘contiguous jurisdiction’ means any county, county 

24 equivalent, or Indian tribe, or the Federal Govern25 ment, with governmental jurisdiction over the land 


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1 contiguous to the land under consideration in an ap2 plication. 

3 ‘‘(5) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘cooperative 

5 agreement’ means any enforceable contract by 

6 which the parties bind themselves to work jointly 

7 and productively toward some mutually bene8 ficial end. 

9 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—The term ‘cooperative 

10 agreement’ includes a memorandum of under11 standing, an intergovernmental agreement, or 

12 any other enforceable contract. 

13 ‘‘(6) COUNTY AND COUNTY EQUIVALENT .—The 

14 terms ‘county’ and ‘county equivalent’ mean the larg15 est territorial division for local government within a 

16 State with the authority to enter into enforceable co17 operative agreements with Indian tribes or individual 

18 Indians. 

19 ‘‘(7) DEPARTMENT.—The term ‘Department’ 

20 means the Department of the Interior. 

21 ‘‘(8) DETERMINATION OF MITIGATION.—The term 

22 ‘determination of mitigation’ means a written Secre23 tarial determination that— 


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1 ‘‘(A) describes whether anticipated impacts 

2 on contiguous jurisdictions have been mitigated 

3 to the maximum extent practicable; and 

4 ‘‘(B) explains the basis of that determina5 tion. 

6 ‘‘(9) EXPLANATION OF FINAL DECISION.—The 

7 term ‘explanation of final decision’ means a written 

8 explanation— 

9 ‘‘(A) of the basis of a final decision to ap10 prove or deny an application; and 

11 ‘‘(B) that explicitly addresses all require12 ments and considerations described in subsection 

13 (e)(1). 

14 ‘‘(10) FINAL DECISION.—The term ‘final deci15 sion’ means a decision that is final for the Depart16 ment, as determined or defined by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(11) IMPACTS.—The term ‘impacts’ means the 

18 anticipated costs and benefits to the applicant, contig19 uous jurisdictions, and any other Indian tribe with 

20 governmental functions, infrastructure, or services 

21 that would be directly, immediately, and significantly 

22 impacted by the proposed acquisition. 

23 ‘‘(12) INDIAN TRIBE .—The term ‘Indian tribe’ 

24 means an Indian tribe included in the list published 

25 by the Secretary in the Federal Register pursuant to 


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1 section 104 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe 

2 List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a–1). 

3 ‘‘(13) MITIGATE.—The term ‘mitigate’ means to 

4 avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, or compensate for 

5 adverse impacts to the applicant, contiguous jurisdic6 tions, and any other Indian tribe with governmental 

7 functions, infrastructure, or services that would be di8 rectly, immediately, and significantly impacted by 

9 the proposed acquisition. 

10 ‘‘(14) NOTICE OF FINAL DECISION.—The term 

11 ‘notice of final decision’ means a notice of a final de12 cision to accept or deny an application to take land 

13 into trust that— 

14 ‘‘(A) is made available to the public; and 

15 ‘‘(B) contains— 

16 ‘‘(i) a legal description of the land; 

17 and 

18 ‘‘(ii) instructions on how to obtain a 

19 copy of the final decision. 

20 ‘‘(15) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 ‘‘(b) DISCRETIONARY OFF-RESERVATION ACQUISI23 TIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe or in2 dividual Indian seeking to have off-reservation 

3 fee or restricted land taken into trust for the ben4 efit of that Indian tribe or individual Indian 

5 shall submit an application to the Secretary at 

6 such time, in such manner, and containing such 

7 information as this section and the Secretary re8 quire. 

9 ‘‘(B) PENDING APPLICATIONS.—On the re10 quest of an Indian tribe or individual Indian 

11 whose application to take land into trust is 

12 pending as of the first date on which an applica13 tion may be filed under the application process 

14 established by this section, the Secretary shall 

15 deem the Indian tribe or individual Indian an 

16 ‘applicant’ under this section, subject to the con17 dition that the Indian tribe or individual Indian 

18 supplements the pending application as nec19 essary to comply with this subsection. 

20 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS.—The Sec21 retary may approve complete applications described 

22 in paragraph (1), subject to the condition that the ap23 plication includes— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a written request for approval of a 

2 trust acquisition by the United States for the 

3 benefit of the applicant; 

4 ‘‘(B) the legal name of the applicant, in5 cluding, in the case of an applicant that is an 

6 Indian tribe, the tribal name of the applicant as 

7 the name appears in the list of recognized In8 dian tribes published by the Secretary in the 

9 Federal Register pursuant to section 104 of the 

10 Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

11 1994 (25 U.S.C. 479a–1); 

12 ‘‘(C) a legal description of the land to be ac13 quired; 

14 ‘‘(D) a description of the need for the pro15 posed acquisition of the property; 

16 ‘‘(E) a description of the purpose for which 

17 the property is to be used; 

18 ‘‘(F) a legal instrument to verify current 

19 ownership, such as a deed; 

20 ‘‘(G) statutory authority for the proposed 

21 acquisition of the property; 

22 ‘‘(H) a business plan for management of the 

23 land to be acquired, if the application is for 

24 business purposes; and 


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1 ‘‘(I) the location of the land to be acquired 

2 relative to State and reservation boundaries. 

3 ‘‘(c) STATUTORY NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIRE4 MENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(1) INITIAL APPLICATIONS.— 

6 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

7 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

8 days after the date on which the Secretary 

9 receives an initial application, the Sec10 retary shall make that application, whether 

11 complete or incomplete, available to the 

12 public on the website of the Department, 

13 subject to applicable Federal privacy laws. 

14 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL NOTICE BY CER15 TIFIED MAIL.—Not later than 30 days after 

16 the date on which the Secretary receives an 

17 initial application, the Secretary shall pro18 vide by certified mail notice of the applica19 tion to contiguous jurisdictions. 

20 ‘‘(B) COMMENTS.— 

21 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each contiguous 

22 jurisdiction notified under subparagraph 

23 (A)(ii) shall have not fewer than 60 days, 

24 beginning on the date that the contiguous 


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1 jurisdiction receives the notice, to comment 

2 on that initial application. 

3 ‘‘(ii) RESPONSE TO COMMENTS.—An 

4 applicant shall have not fewer than 60 

5 days, beginning on the date on which a con6 tiguous jurisdiction submits a comment 

7 under clause (i), to respond to comments 

8 submitted on an initial application. 

9 ‘‘(2) APPLICATION UPDATES, MODIFICATIONS, 

10 AND WITHDRAWALS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If at any time an ap12 plication is updated, modified, or withdrawn, 

13 not later than 10 days after the date on which 

14 the Secretary receives notice of that update, 

15 modification, or withdrawal, the Secretary shall 

16 make that information available to the public on 

17 the website of the Department, subject to any ap18 plicable Federal privacy laws. 

19 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION.—If an application has 

20 been updated or modified in any way, the notice 

21 described in subparagraph (A) shall include a 

22 description of the changes made and the updated 

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1 ment, subject to any applicable Federal privacy 

2 laws. 

3 ‘‘(3) COMPLETED APPLICATIONS.— 

4 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 

6 days after the date on which the Secretary 

7 receives a completed application, the Sec8 retary shall make that application available 

9 to the public on the website of the Depart10 ment, subject to any applicable Federal pri11 vacy laws. 

12 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL NOTICE BY CER13 TIFIED MAIL.—Not later than 30 days after 

14 the date on which the Secretary receives a 

15 completed application, the Secretary shall 

16 provide by certified mail notice of the ap17 plication to contiguous jurisdictions. 

18 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REG19 ISTER.—Not later than 10 days after the 

20 date on which the Secretary receives a com21 pleted application, the Secretary shall pub22 lish in the Federal Register notice of the 

23 completed application. 

24 ‘‘(B) COMMENTS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Each contiguous 

2 jurisdiction shall have not fewer than 60 

3 days, beginning on the date on which the 

4 contiguous jurisdiction receives notice under 

5 subparagraph (A)(ii), to comment on that 

6 completed application. 

7 ‘‘(ii) RESPONSE TO COMMENTS.—An 

8 applicant shall have not fewer than 60 

9 days, beginning on the date on which a con10 tiguous jurisdiction submits a comment 

11 under clause (i), to respond to comments 

12 submitted on a completed application. 

13 ‘‘(d) ENCOURAGING LOCAL COOPERATION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall encour15 age, but not require, applicants to enter into coopera16 tive agreements with contiguous jurisdictions. 

17 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 

18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

19 evaluate applications accompanied by 1 or more 

20 cooperative agreements with contiguous jurisdic21 tions in accordance with the expedited process 

22 described in subparagraph (C)(i). 

23 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—A coopera24 tive agreement described in paragraph (1) may 

25 include terms relating to mitigation, changes in 


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1 land use, dispute resolution, fees, and other terms 

2 determined by the parties to be appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(C) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT SUB4 MITTED.— 

5 ‘‘(i) EXPEDITED PROCESS.—If an ap6 plicant submits to the Secretary 1 or more 

7 cooperative agreements executed between the 

8 applicant and contiguous jurisdictions, the 

9 Secretary shall issue a final decision to ap10 prove or deny a complete application not 

11 later than 120 days after the date on 

12 which— 

13 ‘‘(I) clear title to the land under 

14 consideration is verified; and 

15 ‘‘(II) all applicable requirements 

16 under Federal law and regulation are 

17 satisfied. 

18 ‘‘(ii) DEEMED APPROVED.—If the Sec19 retary fails to issue a final decision by the 

20 dates described in clause (i), the application 

21 shall be deemed approved and treated as a 

22 final decision of the Department, subject to 

23 the condition that all requirements de24 scribed in clause (i) are satisfied. 


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1 ‘‘(D) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOT SUB2 MITTED.— 

3 ‘‘(i) DETERMINATION OF MITIGA4 TION.—If an applicant does not submit to 

5 the Secretary 1 or more cooperative agree6 ments executed between the applicant and 

7 the contiguous jurisdictions, the Secretary 

8 shall issue a written determination of miti9 gation by the date that is not later than 180 

10 days after a complete application is re11 ceived by the Secretary. 

12 ‘‘(ii) CONSIDERATIONS FOR DETER13 MINATION.—In making a determination of 

14 mitigation described in clause (i), the Sec15 retary shall consider— 

16 ‘‘(I) the anticipated impacts on 

17 contiguous jurisdictions and the appli18 cant of approving or not approving an 

19 application; 

20 ‘‘(II) any relevant comments and 

21 responses to comments received by the 

22 Secretary under this section; and 

23 ‘‘(III) whether the absence of a co24 operative agreement is attributable to 

25 the failure of any contiguous jurisdicVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jun 09, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1879.RS S1879

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1 tion to work in good faith to reach an 

2 agreement with the applicant. 

3 ‘‘(iii) GOOD FAITH PROTECTION.— 

4 Failure to submit a cooperative agreement 

5 shall not prejudice an application if the 

6 Secretary determines that the failure to sub7 mit is attributable to the failure of any con8 tiguous jurisdiction to work in good faith, 

9 honestly and without fraud or unfair deal10 ing, to reach an agreement. 

11 ‘‘(iv) GUARANTEED REGULAR PROC12 ESSING.—In making a determination of 

13 mitigation, the Secretary shall not unduly 

14 delay the regular processing of an applica15 tion. 

16 ‘‘(v) NOTICE OF DETERMINATION.—The 

17 Secretary shall provide by certified mail a 

18 copy of the determination of mitigation de19 scribed under this subsection to the appli20 cant and contiguous jurisdictions not fewer 

21 than 10 days after a determination of miti22 gation is issued. 

23 ‘‘(3) RECIPROCAL NOTICE AND COMMENT.—The 

24 Secretary shall also encourage contiguous jurisdic25 tions to engage in local cooperation through recipVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:27 Jun 09, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S1879.RS S1879

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1 rocal notice and comment procedures, particularly 

2 with regard to changes in land use. 

3 ‘‘(e) FINAL DECISION ON APPLICATION.— 

4 ‘‘(1) FINAL DECISION.—The Secretary shall issue 

5 a final decision to approve or deny a completed ap6 plication after— 

7 ‘‘(A) clear title to the land under consider8 ation is verified; 

9 ‘‘(B) all applicable requirements under Fed10 eral law and regulation are satisfied; and 

11 ‘‘(C) consideration of— 

12 ‘‘(i) all application materials and in13 formation submitted by the applicant under 

14 this section; 

15 ‘‘(ii) all comments and responses to 

16 comments submitted to the Secretary under 

17 this section; 

18 ‘‘(iii) a determination of mitigation 

19 issued under subsection (d), if any; 

20 ‘‘(iv) relevant and material cooperative 

21 agreements between the applicant and con22 tiguous jurisdictions, if any; 

23 ‘‘(v) relevant and material cooperative 

24 agreements between the applicant and non25 contiguous jurisdictions, if any; and 


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1 ‘‘(vi) any other information the Sec2 retary identifies as relevant and material to 

3 the final decision to approve or deny an ap4 plication. 

5 ‘‘(2) TRANSPARENCY.— 

6 ‘‘(A) NOTICE AND EXPLANATION OF FINAL

7 DECISION.—Not later than 10 days after a final 

8 decision to approve or deny an application is 

9 issued, the Secretary shall— 

10 ‘‘(i) publish a notice of final decision 

11 and explanation of final decision on the 

12 website of the Department and in the Fed13 eral Register; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) provide by certified mail a copy 

15 of the notice of final decision and expla16 nation of final decision. 

17 ‘‘(B) ADDITIONAL NOTICE.—In addition to 

18 the notice required by subparagraph (A), the 

19 Secretary shall publish a notice of final decision 

20 in a newspaper of general circulation serving the 

21 affected area of the decision. 

22 ‘‘(C) INCLUSION.—The requirements de23 scribed in subparagraphs (A) and (B) apply to 

24 an application deemed approved under sub25 section (d)(2)(C)(ii). 


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1 ‘‘(f) SAFEGUARDING PROPRIETARY INFORMATION.— 

2 Nothing in this Act requires the publication or release of 

3 proprietary information submitted by an applicant under 

4 this section. 

5 ‘‘(g) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

6 ‘‘(1) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 90 days 

7 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec8 retary shall initiate consultation with Indian tribes 

9 regarding the implementation of this section. 

10 ‘‘(2) SUMMARY.—Not later than 180 days after 

11 the date on which the consultation described in para12 graph (1) is initiated, the Secretary shall issue a 

13 summary of the consultation and the summary shall 

14 be published in the Federal Register. 

15 ‘‘(3) RULEMAKING.—Not later than 90 days 

16 after the date on which the summary described in 

17 paragraph (2) is published in the Federal Register, 

18 the Secretary shall, through a rulemaking under sec19 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, modify exist20 ing regulations, guidance, rules, and policy state21 ments, as necessary to carry out this section. 

22 ‘‘(h) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Interested parties may seek 

23 review of a final decision in a United States district court 

24 after exhausting all administrative remedies available 

25 under subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, of title 


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1 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘Adminis2 trative Procedure Act’).’’. 

3 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 

4 (a) OTHER LAND DETERMINATIONS.—Nothing in this 

5 Act (or an amendment made by this Act) impacts any other 

6 Federal Indian land determination. 

7 (b) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this Act 

8 (or the amendments made by this Act) affects— 

9 (1) the application or effect of any Federal law 

10 other than the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 461 

11 et seq.); or 

12 (2) any limitation on the authority of the Sec13 retary of the Interior under any Federal law or regu14 lation other than the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 U.S.C. 

15 461 et seq.). 


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Calendar No. 514 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 1879 

[Report No. 114–275] 

A BILL 

To improve processes in the Department of the 

Interior, and for other purposes. 

JUNE 9, 2016 

Reported with an amendment 


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