II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1879 

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 

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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

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

8 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In9 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 479), is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘The term’’ and inserting ‘‘Ef2 fective beginning on June 18, 1934, the term’’; and 

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

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

5 federally recognized Indian tribe’’. 

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

7 trust acquisition by the Secretary of the Interior pursuant 

8 to the Act of June 18, 1934 (commonly known as the ‘‘In9 dian Reorganization Act’’) (25 U.S.C. 461 et seq.), is sub10 jected to a challenge based on whether an Indian tribe was 

11 federally recognized or under Federal jurisdiction on June 

12 18, 1934, that acquisition is ratified and confirmed. 

13 SEC. 3. LAND ACQUISITION APPLICATIONS. 

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 an Indian tribe or individual Indian (as defined in 

21 section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Edu22 cation Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b)) who sub23 mits an application under subsection (b). 

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

25 means an application submitted to the Department 


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1 by an Indian tribe or individual Indian under sub2 section (b). 

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

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

5 common boundary, notwithstanding the exist6 ence of non-navigable waters or a public road or 

7 right-of-way; and 

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

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

10 ‘contiguous jurisdiction’ means any county, county 

11 equivalent, or Indian tribe with authority and con12 trol over the land contiguous to the land under con13 sideration in an application. 

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

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

16 largest territorial division for local government with17 in a State with the authority to enter into enforce18 able cooperative agreements with Indian tribes or in19 dividual Indians, as appropriate. 

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

21 means the Department of the Interior. 

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

23 impact’ means any anticipated costs associated with 

24 the development of or activity on the land under 

25 consideration in an application, including associated 


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1 costs to a contiguous jurisdiction for utilities, public 

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

3 public service costs. 

4 ‘‘(8) FINAL DECISION.—The term ‘final deci5 sion’ means a decision that is final for the Depart6 ment, as determined or defined by the Secretary. 

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

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

9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

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

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

12 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 ‘‘(b) APPLICATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—An Indian tribe or indi15 vidual Indian seeking to have off-reservation fee or 

16 restricted land taken into trust for the benefit of 

17 that Indian tribe or individual Indian shall submit 

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

19 manner, and containing such information as this 

20 section and the Secretary require. 

21 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The Secretary may ap22 prove complete applications described in paragraph 

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

24 that the application 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 

13 acquired; 

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 

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

24 business purposes; 


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

2 relative to State and reservation boundaries; 

3 and 

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

5 between the applicant and a contiguous juris6 diction. 

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

8 application described in this subsection and in ac9 cordance with subsection (c) and any other applica10 ble Federal law or regulation, a final decision to ap11 prove or deny the completed application shall be 

12 issued. 

13 ‘‘(c) STATUTORY NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIRE14 MENTS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIREMENTS

16 FOR INITIAL APPLICATIONS.— 

17 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

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

19 days after the date on which the Secretary 

20 receives an initial application, the Sec21 retary shall make that application, whether 

22 complete or incomplete, available to the 

23 public on the website of the Department, 

24 subject to applicable Federal privacy laws. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIRE2 MENT.—Not later than 30 days after the 

3 date on which the Secretary receives an 

4 initial application, the Secretary shall pro5 vide by certified mail notice of the applica6 tion to contiguous jurisdictions. 

7 ‘‘(B) COMMENT.—Each contiguous juris8 diction notified under subparagraph (A)(ii) 

9 shall have not fewer than 30 days, beginning on 

10 the date that the contiguous jurisdiction re11 ceives the notice, to comment on that initial ap12 plication. 

13 ‘‘(2) NOTICE REQUIREMENT FOR ANY APPLICA14 TION UPDATE, MODIFICATION, OR WITHDRAWAL.— 

15 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If at any time an ap16 plication is updated, modified, or withdrawn, 

17 not later than 5 days after the date on which 

18 the Secretary receives notice of that update, 

19 modification, or withdrawal, the Secretary shall 

20 make that information available to the public 

21 on the website of the Department, subject to 

22 any applicable Federal privacy laws. 

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

24 been updated or modified in any way, the notice 

25 described in subparagraph (A) shall include a 


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1 description of the changes made and the up2 dated or modified application, whether complete 

3 or incomplete, available on the website of the 

4 Department, subject to any applicable Federal 

5 privacy laws. 

6 ‘‘(3) NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIREMENTS

7 FOR COMPLETED APPLICATIONS.— 

8 ‘‘(A) NOTICE.— 

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

10 days after the date on which the Secretary 

11 receives a completed application, the Sec12 retary shall make that application available 

13 to the public on the website of the Depart14 ment, subject to any applicable Federal 

15 privacy laws. 

16 ‘‘(ii) ADDITIONAL NOTICE REQUIRE17 MENTS.—Not later than 30 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary receives a 

19 completed application, the Secretary shall 

20 provide by certified mail notice of the ap21 plication to contiguous jurisdictions. 

22 ‘‘(iii) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REG23 ISTER.—Not later than 5 days after the 

24 date on which the Secretary receives a 

25 completed application, the Secretary shall 


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1 publish in the Federal Register notice of 

2 the completed application. 

3 ‘‘(B) COMMENT.—Contiguous jurisdictions 

4 shall have not fewer than 30 days, beginning on 

5 the date on which the contiguous jurisdiction 

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

7 comment on that completed application. 

8 ‘‘(4) NOTICE OF DECISION.— 

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

10 after a final decision to approve or deny an ap11 plication is issued, the Secretary shall issue a 

12 notice of decision and make the notice of deci13 sion available to the public on the website of the 

14 Department. 

15 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION IN FEDERAL REG16 ISTER.—Not later than 5 days after a final de17 cision to approve or deny an application is 

18 issued, the Secretary shall publish in the Fed19 eral Register the notice of decision described in 

20 subparagraph (A). 

21 ‘‘(d) ENCOURAGING LOCAL COOPERATION.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall encour23 age, but may not require, applicants to enter into co24 operative agreements with contiguous jurisdictions. 

25 ‘‘(2) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.— 


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

2 give weight and preference to an application 

3 with a cooperative agreement described in para4 graph (1). 

5 ‘‘(B) TERMS OF AGREEMENT.—A coopera6 tive agreement described in paragraph (1) may 

7 include terms relating to mitigation, changes in 

8 land use, dispute resolution, fees, and other 

9 terms determined by the parties to be appro10 priate. 

11 ‘‘(C) SUBMISSION OF COOPERATIVE

12 AGREEMENT.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an applicant 

14 submits to the Secretary a cooperative 

15 agreement or multiple cooperative agree16 ments executed between the applicant and 

17 contiguous jurisdictions, the Secretary 

18 shall issue a final decision to approve or 

19 deny a complete application not later 

20 than— 

21 ‘‘(I) 60 days after the date of 

22 completion of the review process 

23 under the National Environmental 

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

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


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

2 applicable, 30 days after the date on 

3 which a complete application is re4 ceived by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(ii) TIMELINE.—Completion of the 

6 review process under the National Environ7 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

8 4321 et seq.) described in clause (i) may 

9 refer to— 

10 ‘‘(I) the issuance of a categorical 

11 exclusion determination in accordance 

12 with section 6.204 of title 40, Code of 

13 Federal Regulations (or successor reg14 ulations); 

15 ‘‘(II) an environmental assess16 ment finding of no significant impact 

17 in accordance with section 6.206 of 

18 title 40, Code of Federal Regulations 

19 (or successor regulations); or 

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

21 decision in accordance with section 

22 6.208 of title 40, Code of Federal 

23 Regulations (or successor regulations). 

24 ‘‘(iii) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ISSUE

25 TIMELY FINAL DECISION.—If the Secretary 


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1 fails to issue a final decision by the date 

2 described in clause (i), the application shall 

3 be— 

4 ‘‘(I) deemed approved on an 

5 automatic basis; and 

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

7 ‘‘(D) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT NOT SUB8 MITTED.— 

9 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—If an applicant 

10 does not submit to the Secretary a cooper11 ative agreement executed between the ap12 plicant and contiguous jurisdictions, the 

13 Secretary shall issue a written determina14 tion of mitigation by the date that is not 

15 later than 30 days after a complete appli16 cation is received by the Secretary, which 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) describe whether any eco19 nomic impacts on contiguous jurisdic20 tions have been mitigated to the ex21 tent practicable; and 

22 ‘‘(II) explain the basis of that de23 termination. 

24 ‘‘(ii) DETERMINATION OF MITIGA25 TION.—The Secretary shall consider a deVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jul 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1879.IS S1879

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1 termination of mitigation in making a final 

2 decision to approve or deny an application, 

3 but that determination shall not halt or 

4 unduly delay the regular processing of an 

5 application. 

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

7 determination of mitigation described in 

8 clause (i), the Secretary shall take into 

9 consideration— 

10 ‘‘(I) the anticipated economic im11 pact of approving an application on 

12 contiguous jurisdictions; and 

13 ‘‘(II) whether the absence of a 

14 cooperative agreement is attributable 

15 to the failure of any contiguous juris16 diction to work in good faith to reach 

17 an agreement with the applicant. 

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

19 provide by certified mail a copy of the de20 termination of mitigation described in 

21 clause (i) to the applicant and contiguous 

22 jurisdictions not less than 5 days after a 

23 determination of mitigation is issued. 

24 ‘‘(v) GOOD FAITH PROTECTION.— 

25 Failure to submit a cooperative agreement 


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1 shall not prejudice an application if the 

2 Secretary determines that the failure to 

3 submit is attributable to the failure of any 

4 contiguous jurisdiction to work in good 

5 faith to reach an agreement. 

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

7 The Secretary shall also encourage contiguous juris8 dictions to engage in local cooperation through recip9 rocal notice and comment procedures, particularly 

10 with regard to changes in land use. 

11 ‘‘(e) IMPLEMENTATION.— 

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

13 after the date of enactment of this section, the Sec14 retary shall initiate consultation with Indian tribes 

15 regarding the implementation of this section. 

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

17 the date on which the consultation described in 

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

19 a summary of the consultation and the summary 

20 shall be published in the Federal Register. 

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

22 after the date on which the summary described in 

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

24 the Secretary shall, through a rulemaking under sec25 tion 553 of title 5, United States Code, modify existVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:19 Jul 29, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1879.IS S1879

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1 ing regulations, guidance, rules, and policy state2 ments, as necessary to carry out this section. 

3 ‘‘(f) JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 

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

5 jurisdiction may seek review of a final decision. 

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

7 or contiguous jurisdiction may seek review in a 

8 United States district court only after exhausting all 

9 available administrative remedies.’’. 

10 SEC. 4. EFFECT. 

11 (a) OTHER LAND DETERMINATIONS.—Nothing in 

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

13 other Federal Indian land determination. 

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

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

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

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

18 et seq.); or 

19 (2) any limitation on the authority of the Sec20 retary of the Interior under any Federal law or reg21 ulation other than the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 

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

Æ 


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