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[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 647 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 647

 To authorize the conveyance of mineral rights by the Secretary of the 
       Interior in the State of Montana, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 17, 2011

  Mr. Baucus introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
       referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
 To authorize the conveyance of mineral rights by the Secretary of the 
       Interior in the State of Montana, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Montana Mineral Conveyance Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) under section 503(a)(2) of the Department of the 
        Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public 
        Law 105-83; 111 Stat. 1617), the Secretary of the Interior has 
        conveyed mineral rights in certain very large tracts of coal to 
        the State of Montana, the tracts of which lie as near as 3 or 4 
        miles east of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation;
            (2) development of the coal tracts and other existing and 
        proposed major developments of Federal, State, and private 
        energy resources in areas surrounding the Northern Cheyenne 
        Indian Reservation yield substantial public revenues to the 
        State (including political subdivisions of the State), thereby 
        assisting the State (including political subdivisions of the 
        State) in addressing the impacts of the development;
            (3) although the Northern Cheyenne tribal community 
        chronically suffers harsh economic conditions and severe 
        deficits in public services and facilities, the community does 
        not share in any significant portion of the public revenues 
        generated by surrounding energy development;
            (4) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has few, if any, sources of 
        revenue available to address development impacts;
            (5) in 2002, the Tribe brought suit against the Secretary, 
        asserting that the proposed conveyances of the extensive 
        Federal coal tracts to the State under the Department of the 
        Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public 
        Law 105-83; 111 Stat. 1543) would violate--
                    (A) several Federal laws (including regulations); 
                and
                    (B) the Federal trust responsibility to the Tribe;
            (6) subsequently, the Tribe withdrew the suit described in 
        paragraph (5) with prejudice, based in substantial part on 
        commitments that legislation substantially in the form of this 
        Act (and further legislation providing funding to the Tribe to 
        address the impacts of coal development in areas adjoining the 
        Reservation) would be introduced and pursued with support from 
        the State, Great Northern Properties, and others;
            (7) the Tribe asserts that the Tribe retains claims against 
        the United States arising from the failure of the United States 
        to acquire mineral rights underlying approximately 5,000 acres 
        of Reservation land when the Reservation, at the direction of 
        Congress, was expanded eastward to the Tongue River in 1900, 
        the mineral rights of which, as of the date of enactment of 
        this Act, are owned by Great Northern Properties; and
            (8) if the conveyances of mineral rights are carried out 
        under this Act, the Tribe will waive all legal claims against 
        the United States arising from the longstanding and continuing 
        loss of the Tribe of mineral rights relating to the Reservation 
        land.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Cheyenne tracts.--The term ``Cheyenne tracts'' means 
        the aggregate tract of land that--
                    (A) is located in the eastern portion of the State 
                within the boundaries of the Reservation;
                    (B) comprises approximately 5,000 acres;
                    (C) is generally depicted on the map entitled 
                ``Cheyenne Coal Land Conveyance'' and dated April 7, 
                2010; and
                    (D) is comprised of land located in--
                            (i) T. 2 S., R. 44 E., sec. 17;
                            (ii) T. 2 S., R. 44 E., sec. 19, E\1/2\ and 
                        E\1/2\W\1/2\, Lots 1-4;
                            (iii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 5, S\1/2\ and 
                        S\1/2\N\1/2\, Lots 1-4;
                            (iv) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 7, E \1/2\ and 
                        E\1/2\W\1/2\, Lots 1-4;
                            (v) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 9, N\1/2\, 
                        SW\1/4\, and W\1/2\SE\1/4\, Lots 2-4;
                            (vi) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 17;
                            (vii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 19, E\1/2\ 
                        and E\1/2\W\1/2\, Lots 1-4; and
                            (viii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 21, N\1/2\, 
                        SW\1/4\, and SW\1/4\ SE\1/4\, Lots 1 and 2.
            (2) Federal tracts.--The term ``Federal tracts'' means the 
        unleased tracts of land that--
                    (A) are located in the State;
                    (B) are located outside of the boundaries of the 
                Reservation;
                    (C) consist of approximately 5,000 acres;
                    (D) are generally depicted on the map entitled 
                ``Federal Coal Land Conveyance'' and dated March 18, 
                2011; and
                    (E) are comprised of land located in--
                            (i) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 26, S\1/2\;
                            (ii) T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 34;
                            (iii) T. 3 S., R. 45 E., sec. 30, E\1/
                        2\SW\1/4\ and SE\1/4\, Lots 1-4;
                            (iv) T. 4 S., R. 44 E., sec. 2, S\1/2\N\1/
                        2\ and S\1/2\, Lots 1-4;
                            (v) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 4, S\1/2\N\1/2\ 
                        and S\1/2\, Lots 1-4;
                            (vi) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 8;
                            (vii) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 10;
                            (viii) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 14; and
                            (ix) T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 22.
            (3) Great northern properties.--The term ``Great Northern 
        Properties'' means--
                    (A) the Great Northern Properties Limited 
                Partnership, which is a Delaware limited partnership; 
                and
                    (B) any successor to the ownership interest of 
                Great Northern Properties in any coal or iron that 
                underlies the Cheyenne tracts.
            (4) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the 
        Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Montana.
            (7) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Northern Cheyenne 
        Tribe.

SEC. 4. MINERAL RIGHTS CONVEYANCES.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other Federal law (including 
regulations) that otherwise applies to the conveyance of any Federal 
coal right, title, or interest, if Great Northern Properties conveys to 
the Tribe all mineral interests of Great Northern Properties underlying 
the Cheyenne tracts in accordance with this Act, the Secretary shall 
convey to Great Northern Properties all right, title, and interest of 
the United States in and to the coal underlying the Federal tracts.
    (b) Immunities.--The mineral interests underlying the Cheyenne 
tracts conveyed to the Tribe under subsection (a) shall not be subject 
to taxation by the State (including any political subdivision of the 
State).

SEC. 5. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF MINERAL CONVEYANCES.

    (a) Waiver of Legal Claims.--In return for the mineral conveyances 
under section 4(a), the Tribe shall waive each claim relating to the 
failure of the United States to acquire in trust for the Tribe as part 
of the Reservation the private mineral interests underlying the 
Cheyenne tracts.
    (b) Condition.--As a condition of the mineral conveyances by the 
Secretary under section 4(a), the Tribe and Great Northern Properties 
shall jointly notify the Secretary in writing that the Tribe and Great 
Northern Properties have agreed on a formula for the sharing of revenue 
from coal produced from any portion of the Federal tracts.
    (c) Completion of Mineral Conveyances.--Notwithstanding any other 
Federal law (including regulations) that otherwise applies to the 
conveyance of any Federal coal right, title, or interest, after 
satisfaction of the condition described in subsection (b) and not later 
than 90 days after the date on which the Secretary receives written 
notification under subsection (b), the mineral conveyances under 
section 4(a) shall be completed in a single transaction.
    (d) Rescission of Mineral Conveyances.--
            (1) In general.--If any portion of the mineral conveyances 
        under section 4(a) is invalidated by a Federal district court, 
        and the judgment of the Federal district court is not vacated 
        or reversed on appeal, the Secretary or Great Northern 
        Properties may rescind completely each mineral conveyance under 
        section 4(a).
            (2) Effect.--If the Secretary or Great Northern Properties 
        carries out a rescission under paragraph (1), the waiver of the 
        Tribe under subsection (a) shall be considered to be rescinded.

SEC. 6. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FEDERAL BENEFITS.

    No sums or other benefits provided to the Tribe under this Act 
shall result in the reduction or denial of any Federal services, 
benefits, or programs to the Tribe or to any member of the Tribe to 
which the Tribe or member is entitled or eligible because of--
            (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recognized 
        Indian tribe; or
            (2) the status of the member as a member of the Tribe.

SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act such 
sums as are necessary.
                                 <all>
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