IIB 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2181 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 31, 2019 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain 

Federal land in the State of New Mexico. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Chaco Cultural Herit3 age Area Protection Act of 2019’’. 

4 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress finds that— 

6 (1) there are archeological, sacred, and historic 

7 resources located throughout the Greater Chaco re8 gion, which spans the States of New Mexico, Ari9 zona, Utah, and Colorado; 

10 (2) the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, 

11 a unit of the National Park System and a United 

12 Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi13 zation World Heritage Site, is known around the 

14 world— 

15 (A) for multi-story buildings constructed 

16 by the Chacoan people that are still standing; 

17 and 

18 (B) as the nerve center of a culture that 

19 spread throughout and dominated the Four 

20 Corners area during the 9th, 10th, and 11th 

21 centuries; 

22 (3) the Chacoan people built hundreds of miles 

23 of roads and a network of villages, shrines, and com24 munications sites, many of which are still visible; 


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1 (4) many Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the 

2 Four Corners area claim cultural affiliation with, 

3 and are descended from, the Chacoan people; 

4 (5) the landscape around the Chaco Culture 

5 National Historical Park includes hundreds of inter6 nationally and nationally significant cultural re7 sources, including prehistoric roads, communities, 

8 and shrines— 

9 (A) many of which are related to the re10 sources found in the Chaco Culture National 

11 Historical Park, including the resources recog12 nized by the amendment made by section 3 of 

13 the Chacoan Outliers Protection Act of 1995 

14 (16 U.S.C. 410ii note; Public Law 104–11) 

15 providing for additional Chaco Culture Archeo16 logical Protection Sites; 

17 (B) a significant number of which are con18 centrated within the immediate area sur19 rounding the Chaco Culture National Historical 

20 Park; and 

21 (C) that are commonly recognized by ar22 cheologists; 

23 (6) long considered one of the best places for 

24 stargazing in the world, Chaco Culture National 

25 Historical Park— 


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1 (A) in 1991, established a night skies pro2 tection initiative and interpretive program to 

3 protect the night sky in the area of the Chaco 

4 Culture National Historical Park; and 

5 (B) in 2013, was certified as an Inter6 national Dark Sky Park; 

7 (7) the Greater Chaco landscape in the State of 

8 New Mexico extends beyond Chaco Culture National 

9 Historical Park and encompasses— 

10 (A) local communities, including Pueblos 

11 and Indian Tribes; and 

12 (B) public land, which includes additional 

13 cultural resources and sacred sites; 

14 (8) for over 110 years, the Federal Government 

15 has recognized the importance of the area in which 

16 the Chacoan people lived and has acted to protect 

17 historic and sacred sites in the area, including— 

18 (A) Chaco Canyon, which was designated 

19 as a National Monument in 1907 and as the 

20 Chaco Culture National Historical Park in 

21 1980; 

22 (B) the Aztec Ruins, which was designated 

23 as a National Monument in 1923 and expanded 

24 in each of 1928, 1930, 1948, and 1988; and 


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1 (C) the 39 Chaco Culture Archeological 

2 Protection Sites designated in 1995; 

3 (9) recognizes that the standard for Tribal con4 sultation is outlined in Executive Order No. 13175 

5 (25 U.S.C. 5301 note; relating to consultation and 

6 coordination with Indian Tribal governments); 

7 (10) extensive natural gas development has oc8 curred in the Greater Chaco region that affect the 

9 health, safety, economies, and quality of life of local 

10 communities; 

11 (11) renewed interest in oil exploration and pro12 duction within the Mancos/Gallup Shale play has in13 creased the potential for— 

14 (A) significant impacts on resources and 

15 visitor experiences at the Chaco Culture Na16 tional Historical Park; and 

17 (B) additional impacts on local commu18 nities in the Greater Chaco region, including 

19 Pueblos and Indian Tribes; 

20 (12) a mineral withdrawal in the landscape 

21 around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park 

22 would prevent leasing and development on Federal 

23 lands and of Federal minerals in the immediate area 

24 surrounding the Chaco Culture National Historical 

25 Park, which would protect resources and visitor exVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:51 Oct 31, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2181.RFS H2181

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1 periences at the Chaco Culture National Historical 

2 Park; and 

3 (13) additional studies and protective measures 

4 should be undertaken to address health, safety, and 

5 environmental impacts on communities and interests 

6 of Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the Greater Chaco 

7 landscape. 

8 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this Act: 

10 (1) COVERED LEASE.—The term ‘‘covered 

11 lease’’ means any oil and gas lease for Federal 

12 land— 

13 (A) on which drilling operations have not 

14 been commenced before the end of the primary 

15 term of the applicable lease; 

16 (B) that is not producing oil or gas in pay17 ing quantities; and 

18 (C) that is not subject to a valid coopera19 tive or unit plan of development or operation 

20 certified by the Secretary to be necessary. 

21 (2) FEDERAL LAND.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

23 land’’ means— 

24 (i) any Federal land or interest in 

25 Federal land that is within the boundaries 


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1 of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal 

2 Area, as depicted on the Map; and 

3 (ii) any land or interest in land lo4 cated within the boundaries of the Chaco 

5 Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area, as de6 picted on the Map, that is acquired by the 

7 Federal Government after the date of en8 actment of this Act. 

9 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal 

10 land’’ does not include trust land (as defined in 

11 section 3765 of title 38, United States Code). 

12 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map 

13 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management enti14 tled ‘‘Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area’’ 

15 and dated April 2, 2019. 

16 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 SEC. 4. WITHDRAWAL OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND IN THE 

19 STATE OF NEW MEXICO. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any valid existing 

21 rights, the Federal land is withdrawn from— 

22 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis23 posal under the public land laws; 

24 (2) location, entry, and patent under mining 

25 laws; and 


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1 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

2 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

3 (b) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall be made 

4 available for inspection at each appropriate office of the 

5 Bureau of Land Management. 

6 (c) CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO INDIAN

7 TRIBES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary 

8 may convey the Federal land to, or exchange the Federal 

9 land with, an Indian Tribe in accordance with a resource 

10 management plan that is approved as of the date of enact11 ment of this Act, as subsequently developed, amended, or 

12 revised in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 

13 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and 

14 any other applicable law. 

15 SEC. 5. OIL AND GAS LEASE MANAGEMENT. 

16 (a) TERMINATION OF NON-PRODUCING LEASES.—A 

17 covered lease— 

18 (1) shall automatically terminate by operation 

19 of law pursuant to section 17(e) of the Mineral 

20 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(e)) and subpart 3108 

21 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc22 cessor regulations); and 

23 (2) may not be extended by the Secretary. 

24 (b) WITHDRAWAL OF TERMINATED, RELINQUISHED, 

25 OR ACQUIRED LEASES.—Any portion of the Federal land 


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1 subject to a covered lease terminated under subsection (a) 

2 or otherwise or relinquished or acquired by the United 

3 States on or after the date of enactment of this Act is 

4 withdrawn from— 

5 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis6 posal under the public land laws; 

7 (2) location, entry, and patent undermining 

8 laws; and 

9 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

10 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 

11 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 

12 Nothing in this Act— 

13 (1) affects the mineral rights of an Indian 

14 Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe to trust land 

15 or allotment land; or 

16 (2) precludes improvements to, or rights-of-way 

17 for water, power, or road development on, the Fed18 eral land to assist communities adjacent to or in the 

19 vicinity of the Federal land. 

20 SEC. 7. DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS. 

21 The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of 

22 complying with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010, 

23 shall be determined by reference to the latest statement 

24 titled ‘‘Budgetary Effects of PAYGO Legislation’’ for this 

25 Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional Record 


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1 by the Chairman of the House Budget Committee, pro2 vided that such statement has been submitted prior to the 

3 vote on passage. 

Passed the House of Representatives October 30, 

2019. 

Attest: CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 

Clerk. 


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