I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 5088 

To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims of the Fort Belknap 

Indian Community, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 28, 2023 

Mr. ROSENDALE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the settlement of the water rights claims 

of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, 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 ‘‘Fort Belknap Indian 

5 Community Water Rights Settlement Act of 2023’’. 

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSES. 

7 The purposes of this Act are— 

8 (1) to achieve a fair, equitable, and final settle9 ment of claims to water rights in the State of Mon10 tana for— 


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1 (A) the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

2 of the Fort Belknap Reservation of Montana; 

3 and 

4 (B) the United States, acting as trustee 

5 for the Fort Belknap Indian Community and 

6 allottees; 

7 (2) to authorize, ratify, and confirm the water 

8 rights compact entered into by the Fort Belknap In9 dian Community and the State, to the extent that 

10 the Compact is consistent with this Act; 

11 (3) to authorize and direct the Secretary— 

12 (A) to execute the Compact; and 

13 (B) to take any other actions necessary to 

14 carry out the Compact in accordance with this 

15 Act; 

16 (4) to authorize funds necessary for the imple17 mentation of the Compact and this Act; and 

18 (5) to authorize the exchange and transfer of 

19 certain Federal and State land. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) ALLOTTEE.—The term ‘‘allottee’’ means an 

23 individual who holds a beneficial real property inter24 est in an allotment of Indian land that is— 

25 (A) located within the Reservation; and 


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1 (B) held in trust by the United States. 

2 (2) BLACKFEET TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Blackfeet 

3 Tribe’’ means the Blackfeet Tribe of the Blackfeet 

4 Indian Reservation of Montana. 

5 (3) CERCLA.—The term ‘‘CERCLA’’ means the 

6 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa7 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et 

8 seq.). 

9 (4) COMMISSIONER.—The term ‘‘Commis10 sioner’’ means the Commissioner of Reclamation. 

11 (5) COMPACT.—The term ‘‘Compact’’ means— 

12 (A) the Fort Belknap-Montana water 

13 rights compact dated April 16, 2001, as con14 tained in section 85–20–1001 of the Montana 

15 Code Annotated (2021); and 

16 (B) any appendix (including appendix 

17 amendments), part, or amendment to the Com18 pact that is executed to make the Compact con19 sistent with this Act. 

20 (6) ENFORCEABILITY DATE.—The term ‘‘en21 forceability date’’ means the date described in sec22 tion 11(f). 

23 (7) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY.—The 

24 term ‘‘Fort Belknap Indian Community’’ means the 

25 Gros Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the Fort 


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1 Belknap Reservation of Montana, a federally recog2 nized Indian Tribal entity included on the list pub3 lished by the Secretary pursuant to section 104(a) 

4 of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 

5 1994 (25 U.S.C. 5131(a)). 

6 (8) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY COUN7 CIL.—The term ‘‘Fort Belknap Indian Community 

8 Council’’ means the governing body of the Fort 

9 Belknap Indian Community. 

10 (9) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN IRRIGATION

11 PROJECT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Fort 

13 Belknap Indian Irrigation Project’’ means the 

14 Federal Indian irrigation project constructed 

15 and operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, 

16 consisting of the Milk River unit, including— 

17 (i) the Three Mile unit; and 

18 (ii) the White Bear unit. 

19 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Fort 

20 Belknap Indian Irrigation Project’’ includes any 

21 addition to the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation 

22 Project constructed pursuant to this Act, in23 cluding expansion of the Fort Belknap Indian 

24 Irrigation Project, the Pumping Plant, delivery 


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1 Pipe and Canal, the Fort Belknap Reservoir 

2 and Dam, and the Peoples Creek Flood Project. 

3 (10) IMPLEMENTATION FUND.—The term ‘‘Im4 plementation Fund’’ means the Fort Belknap Indian 

5 Community Water Settlement Implementation Fund 

6 established by section 13(a). 

7 (11) 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. 5304). 

11 (12) LAKE ELWELL.—The term ‘‘Lake Elwell’’ 

12 means the water impounded on the Marias River in 

13 the State by Tiber Dam, a feature of the Lower 

14 Marias Unit of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin 

15 Program authorized by section 9 of the Act of De16 cember 22, 1944 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flood 

17 Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chapter 665). 

18 (13) MALTA IRRIGATION DISTRICT.—The term 

19 ‘‘Malta Irrigation District’’ means the public cor20 poration— 

21 (A) created on December 28, 1923, pursu22 ant to the laws of the State relating to irriga23 tion districts; and 

24 (B) headquartered in Malta, Montana. 


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1 (14) MILK RIVER.—The term ‘‘Milk River’’ 

2 means the mainstem of the Milk River and each 

3 tributary of the Milk River between the headwaters 

4 of the Milk River and the confluence of the Milk 

5 River with the Missouri River, consisting of— 

6 (A) Montana Water Court Basins 40F, 

7 40G, 40H, 40I, 40J, 40K, 40L, 40M, 40N, and 

8 40O; and 

9 (B) the portion of the Milk River and each 

10 tributary of the Milk River that flows through 

11 the Canadian Provinces of Alberta and Sas12 katchewan. 

13 (15) MILK RIVER PROJECT.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Milk River 

15 Project’’ means the Bureau of Reclamation 

16 project conditionally approved by the Secretary 

17 on March 14, 1903, pursuant to the Act of 

18 June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), 

19 commencing at Lake Sherburne Reservoir and 

20 providing water to a point approximately 6 

21 miles east of Nashua, Montana. 

22 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Milk River 

23 Project’’ includes— 

24 (i) the St. Mary Unit; 


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1 (ii) the Fresno Dam and Reservoir; 

2 and 

3 (iii) the Dodson pumping unit. 

4 (16) MISSOURI RIVER BASIN.—The term ‘‘Mis5 souri River Basin’’ means the hydrologic basin of 

6 the Missouri River, including tributaries. 

7 (17) OPERATIONS AND MAINTENANCE.—The 

8 term ‘‘operations and maintenance’’ means the Bu9 reau of Indian Affairs operations and maintenance 

10 activities related to costs described in section 

11 171.500 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

12 a successor regulation). 

13 (18) OPERATIONS, MAINTENANCE, AND RE14 PLACEMENT.—The term ‘‘operations, maintenance, 

15 and replacement’’ means— 

16 (A) any recurring or ongoing activity asso17 ciated with the day-to-day operation of a 

18 project; 

19 (B) any activity relating to scheduled or 

20 unscheduled maintenance of a project; and 

21 (C) any activity relating to repairing, re22 placing, or rehabilitating a feature of a project. 

23 (19) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI RIVER BASIN PRO24 GRAM.—The term ‘‘Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin 

25 Program’’ means the Pick-Sloan Missouri River 


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1 Basin Program (authorized by section 9 of the Act 

2 of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the 

3 ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chapter 

4 665)). 

5 (20) PMM.—The term ‘‘PMM’’ means the 

6 Principal Meridian, Montana. 

7 (21) RESERVATION.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Reserva9 tion’’ means the area of the Fort Belknap Res10 ervation in the State, as modified by this Act. 

11 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Reserva12 tion’’ includes— 

13 (i) all land and interests in land es14 tablished by— 

15 (I) the Agreement with the Gros 

16 Ventre and Assiniboine Tribes of the 

17 Fort Belknap Reservation, ratified by 

18 the Act of May 1, 1888 (25 Stat. 113, 

19 chapter 212), as modified by the 

20 Agreement with the Indians of the 

21 Fort Belknap Reservation of October 

22 9, 1895 (ratified by the Act of June 

23 10, 1896) (29 Stat. 350, chapter 

24 398); 


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1 (II) the Act of March 3, 1921 

2 (41 Stat. 1355, chapter 135); and 

3 (III) Public Law 94–114 (25 

4 U.S.C. 5501 et seq.); 

5 (ii) the land known as the ‘‘Hancock 

6 lands’’ purchased by the Fort Belknap In7 dian Community pursuant to the Fort 

8 Belknap Indian Community Council Reso9 lution No. 234–89 (October 2, 1989); and 

10 (iii) all land transferred to the United 

11 States to be held in trust for the benefit of 

12 the Fort Belknap Indian Community under 

13 section 6. 

14 (22) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

15 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

16 (23) ST. MARY UNIT.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘St. Mary 

18 Unit’’ means the St. Mary Storage Unit of the 

19 Milk River Project authorized by Congress on 

20 March 25, 1905. 

21 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘St. Mary 

22 Unit’’ includes— 

23 (i) Sherburne Dam and Reservoir; 

24 (ii) Swift Current Creek Dike; 

25 (iii) Lower St. Mary Lake; 


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1 (iv) St. Mary Canal Diversion Dam; 

2 and 

3 (v) St. Mary Canal and appur4 tenances. 

5 (24) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 

6 State of Montana. 

7 (25) TRIBAL WATER CODE.—The term ‘‘Tribal 

8 water code’’ means the Tribal water code enacted by 

9 the Fort Belknap Indian Community pursuant to 

10 section 5(g). 

11 (26) TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS.—The term ‘‘Trib12 al water rights’’ means the water rights of the Fort 

13 Belknap Indian Community, as described in Article 

14 III of the Compact and this Act, including the allo15 cation of water to the Fort Belknap Indian Commu16 nity from Lake Elwell under section 7. 

17 (27) TRUST FUND.—The term ‘‘Trust Fund’’ 

18 means the Aaniiih Nakoda Settlement Trust Fund 

19 established for the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

20 under section 12(a). 

21 SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF COMPACT. 

22 (a) RATIFICATION OF COMPACT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—As modified by this Act, the 

24 Compact is authorized, ratified, and confirmed. 


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1 (2) AMENDMENTS.—Any amendment to the 

2 Compact is authorized, ratified, and confirmed to 

3 the extent that the amendment is executed to make 

4 the Compact consistent with this Act. 

5 (b) EXECUTION.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the extent that the Com7 pact does not conflict with this Act, the Secretary 

8 shall execute the Compact, including all appendices 

9 to, or parts of, the Compact requiring the signature 

10 of the Secretary. 

11 (2) MODIFICATIONS.—Nothing in this Act pre12 cludes the Secretary from approving any modifica13 tion to an appendix to the Compact that is con14 sistent with this Act, to the extent that the modifica15 tion does not otherwise require congressional ap16 proval under section 2116 of the Revised Statutes 

17 (25 U.S.C. 177) or any other applicable provision of 

18 Federal law. 

19 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLIANCE.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—In implementing the Com21 pact and this Act, the Secretary shall comply with 

22 all applicable provisions of— 

23 (A) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 

24 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 


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1 (B) the National Environmental Policy Act 

2 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), including the 

3 implementing regulations of that Act; and 

4 (C) other applicable Federal environmental 

5 laws and regulations. 

6 (2) COMPLIANCE.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—In implementing the 

8 Compact and this Act, the Fort Belknap Indian 

9 Community shall prepare any necessary envi10 ronmental documents, consistent with all appli11 cable provisions of— 

12 (i) the Endangered Species Act of 

13 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

14 (ii) the National Environmental Policy 

15 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4231 et seq.), in16 cluding the implementing regulations of 

17 that Act; and 

18 (iii) all other applicable Federal envi19 ronmental laws and regulations. 

20 (B) AUTHORIZATIONS.—The Secretary 

21 shall— 

22 (i) independently evaluate the docu23 mentation submitted under subparagraph 

24 (A); and 


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1 (ii) be responsible for the accuracy, 

2 scope, and contents of that documentation. 

3 (3) EFFECT OF EXECUTION.—The execution of 

4 the Compact by the Secretary under this section 

5 shall not constitute a major Federal action for pur6 poses of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

7 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

8 (4) COSTS.—Any costs associated with the per9 formance of the compliance activities under this sub10 section shall be paid from funds deposited in the 

11 Trust Fund, subject to the condition that any costs 

12 associated with the performance of Federal approval 

13 or other review of such compliance work or costs as14 sociated with inherently Federal functions shall re15 main the responsibility of the Secretary. 

16 SEC. 5. TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS. 

17 (a) CONFIRMATION OF TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Tribal water rights are 

19 ratified, confirmed, and declared to be valid. 

20 (2) USE.—Any use of the Tribal water rights 

21 shall be subject to the terms and conditions of the 

22 Compact and this Act. 

23 (3) CONFLICT.—In the event of a conflict be24 tween the Compact and this Act, this Act shall con25 trol. 


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1 (b) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of Con2 gress to provide to each allottee benefits that are equiva3 lent to, or exceed, the benefits the allottees possess on the 

4 day before the date of enactment of this Act, taking into 

5 consideration— 

6 (1) the potential risks, cost, and time delay as7 sociated with litigation that would be resolved by the 

8 Compact and this Act; 

9 (2) the availability of funding under this Act 

10 and from other sources; 

11 (3) the availability of water from the Tribal 

12 water rights; and 

13 (4) the applicability of section 7 of the Act of 

14 February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 390, chapter 119; 25 

15 U.S.C. 381), and this Act to protect the interests of 

16 allottees. 

17 (c) TRUST STATUS OF TRIBAL WATER RIGHTS.— 

18 The Tribal water rights— 

19 (1) shall be held in trust by the United States 

20 for the use and benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian 

21 Community and allottees in accordance with this 

22 Act; and 

23 (2) shall not be subject to loss through non-use, 

24 forfeiture, or abandonment. 

25 (d) ALLOTTEES.— 


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1 (1) APPLICABILITY OF THE ACT OF FEBRUARY

2 8, 1887.—The provisions of section 7 of the Act of 

3 February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 390, chapter 119; 25 

4 U.S.C. 381), relating to the use of water for irriga5 tion purposes, shall apply to the Tribal water rights. 

6 (2) ENTITLEMENT TO WATER.—Any entitle7 ment to water of an allottee under Federal law shall 

8 be satisfied from the Tribal water rights. 

9 (3) ALLOCATIONS.—An allottee shall be entitled 

10 to a just and equitable allocation of water for irriga11 tion purposes. 

12 (4) CLAIMS.— 

13 (A) EXHAUSTION OF REMEDIES.—Before 

14 asserting any claim against the United States 

15 under section 7 of the Act of February 8, 1887 

16 (24 Stat. 390, chapter 119; 25 U.S.C. 381), or 

17 any other applicable law, an allottee shall ex18 haust remedies available under the Tribal water 

19 code or other applicable Tribal law. 

20 (B) ACTION FOR RELIEF.—After the ex21 haustion of all remedies available under the 

22 Tribal water code or other applicable Tribal 

23 law, an allottee may seek relief under section 7 

24 of the Act of February 8, 1887 (24 Stat. 390, 


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1 chapter 119; 25 U.S.C. 381), or other applica2 ble law. 

3 (5) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY.—The Sec4 retary shall have the authority to protect the rights 

5 of allottees in accordance with this section. 

6 (e) AUTHORITY OF THE FORT BELKNAP INDIAN

7 COMMUNITY.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Fort Belknap Indian 

9 Community shall have the authority to allocate, dis10 tribute, and lease the Tribal water rights for use on 

11 the Reservation in accordance with the Compact, 

12 this Act, and applicable Federal law. 

13 (2) OFF-RESERVATION USE.—The Fort 

14 Belknap Indian Community may allocate, distribute, 

15 and lease the Tribal water rights for off-Reservation 

16 use in accordance with the Compact, this Act, and 

17 applicable Federal law— 

18 (A) subject to the approval of the Sec19 retary; or 

20 (B) pursuant to Tribal water leasing regu21 lations consistent with the requirements of sub22 section (f). 

23 (3) LAND LEASES BY ALLOTTEES.—Notwith24 standing paragraph (1), an allottee may lease any 

25 interest in land held by the allottee, together with 


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1 any water right determined to be appurtenant to the 

2 interest in land, in accordance with the Tribal water 

3 code. 

4 (f) TRIBAL WATER LEASING REGULATIONS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—At the discretion of the Fort 

6 Belknap Indian Community, any water lease of the 

7 Fort Belknap Indian Community of the Tribal water 

8 rights for use on or off the Reservation shall not re9 quire the approval of the Secretary if the lease— 

10 (A) is executed under tribal regulations, 

11 approved by the Secretary under this sub12 section; 

13 (B) is in accordance with the Compact; 

14 and 

15 (C) does not exceed a term of 100 years, 

16 except that a lease may include an option to 

17 renew for 1 additional term of not to exceed 

18 100 years. 

19 (2) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY OVER

20 TRIBAL WATER LEASING REGULATIONS.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

22 have the authority to approve or disapprove any 

23 Tribal water leasing regulations issued in ac24 cordance with paragraph (1). 


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1 (B) CONSIDERATIONS FOR APPROVAL.— 

2 The Secretary shall approve any Tribal water 

3 leasing regulations issued in accordance with 

4 paragraph (1) if the Tribal water leasing regu5 lations— 

6 (i) provide for an environmental re7 view process that includes— 

8 (I) the identification and evalua9 tion of any significant effects of the 

10 proposed action on the environment; 

11 and 

12 (II) a process for ensuring that— 

13 (aa) the public is informed 

14 of, and has a reasonable oppor15 tunity to comment on, any sig16 nificant environmental impacts of 

17 the proposed action identified by 

18 the Fort Belknap Indian Com19 munity; and 

20 (bb) the Fort Belknap In21 dian Community provides re22 sponses to relevant and sub23 stantive public comments on 

24 those impacts prior to its ap25 proval of a water lease; and 


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1 (ii) are consistent with this Act and 

2 the Compact. 

3 (3) REVIEW PROCESS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

5 days after the date on which Tribal water leas6 ing regulations under paragraph (1) are sub7 mitted to the Secretary, the Secretary shall re8 view and approve or disapprove the regulations. 

9 (B) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION.—If the 

10 Secretary disapproves the Tribal water leasing 

11 regulations described in subparagraph (A), the 

12 Secretary shall include written documentation 

13 with the disapproval notification that describes 

14 the basis for this disapproval. 

15 (C) EXTENSION.—The deadline described 

16 in subparagraph (A) may be extended by the 

17 Secretary, after consultation with the Fort 

18 Belknap Indian Community. 

19 (4) FEDERAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—Not20 withstanding paragraphs (2) and (3), if the Fort 

21 Belknap Indian Community carries out a project or 

22 activity funded by a Federal agency, the Fort 

23 Belknap Indian Community— 


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1 (A) shall have the authority to rely on the 

2 environmental review process of the applicable 

3 Federal agency; and 

4 (B) shall not be required to carry out a 

5 tribal environmental review process under this 

6 subsection. 

7 (5) DOCUMENTATION.—If the Fort Belknap In8 dian Community issues a lease pursuant to Tribal 

9 water leasing regulations under paragraph (1), the 

10 Fort Belknap Indian Community shall provide the 

11 Secretary and the State a copy of the lease, includ12 ing any amendments or renewals to the lease. 

13 (6) LIMITATION OF LIABILITY.— 

14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The United States 

15 shall not be liable in any claim relating to the 

16 negotiation, execution, or approval of any lease 

17 or exchange agreement or storage agreement, 

18 including any claims relating to the terms in19 cluded in such an agreement, made pursuant to 

20 Tribal water leasing regulations under para21 graph (1). 

22 (B) OBLIGATIONS.—The United States 

23 shall have no trust obligation or other obliga24 tion to monitor, administer, or account for— 


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1 (i) any funds received by the Fort 

2 Belknap Indian Community as consider3 ation under any lease or exchange agree4 ment or storage agreement; or 

5 (ii) the expenditure of those funds. 

6 (g) TRIBAL WATER CODE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding Article 

8 IV.A.2. of the Compact, not later than 4 years after 

9 the date on which the Fort Belknap Indian Commu10 nity approves the Compact in accordance with sec11 tion 11(f)(1), the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

12 shall enact a Tribal water code that provides for— 

13 (A) the management, regulation, and gov14 ernance of all uses of the Tribal water rights in 

15 accordance with the Compact and this Act; and 

16 (B) the establishment by the Fort Belknap 

17 Indian Community of the conditions, permit re18 quirements, and other requirements for the allo19 cation, distribution, or use of the Tribal water 

20 rights in accordance with the Compact and this 

21 Act. 

22 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Subject to the approval of 

23 the Secretary, the Tribal water code shall provide— 


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1 (A) that use of water by allottees shall be 

2 satisfied with water from the Tribal water 

3 rights; 

4 (B) a process by which an allottee may re5 quest that the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

6 provide water for irrigation use in accordance 

7 with this Act, including the provision of water 

8 under any allottee lease under section 4 of the 

9 Act of June 25, 1910 (36 Stat. 856, chapter 

10 431; 25 U.S.C. 403); 

11 (C) a due process system for the consider12 ation and determination by the Fort Belknap 

13 Indian Community of any request of an allottee 

14 (or a successor in interest to an allottee) for an 

15 allocation of water for irrigation purposes on al16 lotted land, including a process for— 

17 (i) appeal and adjudication of any de18 nied or disputed distribution of water; and 

19 (ii) resolution of any contested admin20 istrative decision; 

21 (D) a requirement that any allottee assert22 ing a claim relating to the enforcement of rights 

23 of the allottee under the Tribal water code, in24 cluding to the quantity of water allocated to 

25 land of the allottee, shall exhaust all remedies 


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1 available to the allottee under Tribal law before 

2 initiating an action against the United States 

3 or petitioning the Secretary pursuant to sub4 section (d)(4)(B); 

5 (E) a process by which an owner of fee 

6 land within the boundaries of the Reservation 

7 may apply for use of a portion of the Tribal 

8 water rights; and 

9 (F) a process for the establishment of a 

10 controlled Groundwater area and for the man11 agement of that area in cooperation with estab12 lishment of a contiguous controlled Ground13 water area off the Reservation established pur14 suant to Section B.2. of Article IV of the Com15 pact and State law. 

16 (3) ACTION BY SECRETARY.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—During the period be18 ginning on the date of enactment of this Act 

19 and ending on the date on which a Tribal water 

20 code described in paragraphs (1) and (2) is en21 acted, the Secretary shall administer, with re22 spect to the rights of allottees, the Tribal water 

23 rights in accordance with the Compact and this 

24 Act. 


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1 (B) APPROVAL.—The Tribal water code 

2 described in paragraphs (1) and (2) shall not be 

3 valid unless— 

4 (i) the provisions of the Tribal water 

5 code required by paragraph (2) are ap6 proved by the Secretary; and 

7 (ii) each amendment to the Tribal 

8 water code that affects a right of an allot9 tee is approved by the Secretary. 

10 (C) APPROVAL PERIOD.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

12 approve or disapprove the Tribal water 

13 code or an amendment to the Tribal water 

14 code by not later than 180 days after the 

15 date on which the Tribal water code or 

16 amendment to the Tribal water code is 

17 submitted to the Secretary. 

18 (ii) EXTENSIONS.—The deadline de19 scribed in clause (i) may be extended by 

20 the Secretary, after consultation with the 

21 Fort Belknap Indian Community. 

22 (h) ADMINISTRATION.— 

23 (1) NO ALIENATION.—The Fort Belknap In24 dian Community shall not permanently alienate any 

25 portion of the Tribal water rights. 


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1 (2) PURCHASES OR GRANTS OF LAND FROM IN2 DIANS.—An authorization provided by this Act for 

3 the allocation, distribution, leasing, or other ar4 rangement entered into pursuant to this Act shall be 

5 considered to satisfy any requirement for authoriza6 tion of the action required by Federal law. 

7 (3) PROHIBITION ON FORFEITURE.—The non8 use of all or any portion of the Tribal water rights 

9 by any water user shall not result in the forfeiture, 

10 abandonment, relinquishment, or other loss of all or 

11 any portion of the Tribal water rights. 

12 (i) EFFECT.—Except as otherwise expressly provided 

13 in this section, nothing in this Act— 

14 (1) authorizes any action by an allottee against 

15 any individual or entity, or against the Fort Belknap 

16 Indian Community, under Federal, State, Tribal, or 

17 local law; or 

18 (2) alters or affects the status of any action 

19 brought pursuant to section 1491(a) of title 28, 

20 United States Code. 

21 (j) PICK-SLOAN MISSOURI RIVER BASIN PROGRAM

22 POWER RATES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

24 provision of law, the Secretary, in cooperation with 

25 the Secretary of Energy, shall make available the 


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1 Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program irrigation 

2 project pumping power rates to the Fort Belknap 

3 Indian Community, the Fort Belknap Indian Irriga4 tion Project, and any projects funded under this Act. 

5 (2) AUTHORIZED PURPOSES.—The power rates 

6 made available under paragraph (1) shall be author7 ized for the purposes of wheeling, administration, 

8 and payment of irrigation project pumping power 

9 rates, including project use power for gravity power. 

10 SEC. 6. EXCHANGE AND TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LAND INTO 

11 TRUST. 

12 (a) EXCHANGE OF FEDERAL AND STATE LAND.— 

13 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

14 (A) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public 

15 land’’ means, as applicable— 

16 (i) public lands (as defined in section 

17 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Man18 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

19 and 

20 (ii) land managed by the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture under the jurisdiction of the 

22 Forest Service. 

23 (B) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term 

24 ‘‘Secretary concerned’’ means, as applicable— 


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1 (i) the Secretary, with respect to the 

2 public land managed by the Department of 

3 the Interior; and 

4 (ii) the Secretary of Agriculture, with 

5 respect to land managed by the Forest 

6 Service. 

7 (2) NEGOTIATIONS AUTHORIZED.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary con9 cerned shall offer to enter into negotiations 

10 with the State for the purpose of exchanging 

11 Federal land described in paragraph (4) for the 

12 State land described in paragraph (3). 

13 (B) REQUIREMENT.—Any exchange of 

14 land made pursuant to this subsection shall be 

15 subject to the requirements of this subsection. 

16 (C) PRIORITY.—In carrying out this para17 graph, the Secretary concerned shall, during the 

18 5-year period beginning on the date of enact19 ment of this Act, give priority to an exchange 

20 of public land located within the State for trust 

21 land owned by the State. 

22 (3) STATE LAND.—The Secretary concerned is 

23 authorized to accept the following parcels of land 

24 owned by the State located on and off of the Res25 ervation: 


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1 (A) 717.56 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 E., 

2 sec. 16. 

3 (B) 707.04 acres in T. 27 N., R. 22 E., 

4 sec. 16. 

5 (C) 640 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 E., sec. 

6 36. 

7 (D) 640 acres in T. 26 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

8 16. 

9 (E) 640 acres in T. 26 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

10 36. 

11 (F) 640 acres in T. 26 N., R. 26 E., sec. 

12 16. 

13 (G) 640 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 E., sec. 

14 36. 

15 (H) 640 acres in T. 27 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

16 16. 

17 (I) 640 acres in T. 27 N., R. 25 E., sec. 

18 36. 

19 (J) 640 acres in T. 28 N., R. 22 E., sec. 

20 36. 

21 (K) 640 acres in T. 28 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

22 16. 

23 (L) 640 acres in T. 28 N., R. 24 E., sec. 

24 36. 


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1 (M) 640 acres in T. 28 N., R. 25 E., sec. 

2 16. 

3 (N) 640 acres in T. 28 N., R. 25 E., sec. 

4 36. 

5 (O) 640 acres in T. 28 N., R. 26 E., sec. 

6 16. 

7 (P) 94.96 acres in T. 28 N., R. 26 E., sec. 

8 36, under lease by the Fort Belknap Indian 

9 Community Council on the date of enactment of 

10 this Act, comprised of— 

11 (i) 30.68 acres in lot 5; 

12 (ii) 26.06 acres in lot 6; 

13 (iii) 21.42 acres in lot 7; and 

14 (iv) 16.8 acres in lot 8. 

15 (Q) 652.32 acres in T. 29 N., R. 22 E., 

16 sec. 16, excluding the 73.36 acres under lease 

17 by individuals who are not members of the Fort 

18 Belknap Indian Community, on the date of en19 actment of this Act. 

20 (R) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 22 E., sec. 

21 36. 

22 (S) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

23 16. 

24 (T) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 24 E., sec. 

25 16. 


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1 (U) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 24 E., sec. 

2 36. 

3 (V) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 25 E., sec. 

4 16. 

5 (W) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 25 E., sec. 

6 36. 

7 (X) 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 26 E., sec. 

8 16. 

9 (Y) 663.22 acres in T. 30 N., R. 22 E., 

10 sec. 16, excluding the 58.72 acres under lease 

11 by individuals who are not members of the Fort 

12 Belknap Indian Community on the date of en13 actment of this Act. 

14 (Z) 640 acres in T. 30 N., R. 22 E., sec. 

15 36. 

16 (AA) 640 acres in T. 30 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

17 16. 

18 (BB) 640 acres in T. 30 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

19 36. 

20 (CC) 640 acres in T. 30 N., R. 24 E., sec. 

21 16. 

22 (DD) 640 acres in T. 30 N., R. 24 E., sec. 

23 36. 

24 (EE) 640 acres in T. 30 N., R. 25 E., sec. 

25 16. 


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1 (FF) 275.88 acres in T. 30 N., R. 26 E., 

2 sec. 36, under lease by the Fort Belknap Indian 

3 Community Council on the date of enactment of 

4 this Act. 

5 (GG) 640 acres in T. 31 N., R. 22 E., sec. 

6 36. 

7 (HH) 640 acres in T. 31 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

8 16. 

9 (II) 640 acres in T. 31 N., R. 23 E., sec. 

10 36. 

11 (JJ) 34.04 acres in T. 31 N., R. 26 E., 

12 sec. 16, lot 4. 

13 (4) FEDERAL LAND.—Subject to valid existing 

14 rights, and the requirements of this subsection, the 

15 Secretary concerned is authorized to convey to the 

16 State any public land within the State, except for 

17 land that is included within the National Landscape 

18 Conservation System established by section 2002(a) 

19 of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 

20 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7202(a)), without regard to wheth21 er that land has been identified as available for dis22 posal in a land use plan. 

23 (5) LAND INTO TRUST.—On completion of the 

24 land exchange authorized by this subsection, the 

25 Secretary shall, as soon as practicable after the enVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Nov 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5088.IH H5088

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1 forceability date, take the land received by the 

2 United States pursuant to this subsection into trust 

3 for the benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian Commu4 nity. 

5 (6) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

6 (A) EQUAL VALUE.—The values of the 

7 Federal land and State land exchanged under 

8 this subsection shall be equal, except that the 

9 Secretary concerned may— 

10 (i) exchange land that is of approxi11 mately equal value if such an exchange 

12 complies with the requirements of section 

13 206(h) of the Federal Land Policy and 

14 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

15 1716(h)) (and any regulations imple16 menting that section) without regard to 

17 the monetary limitation described in para18 graph (1)(A) of that section; and 

19 (ii) make or accept an equalization 

20 payment, or waive an equalization pay21 ment, if such a payment or waiver of a 

22 payment complies with the requirements of 

23 section 206(b) of that Act (43 U.S.C. 

24 1716(b)) (and any regulations imple25 menting that section). 


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1 (B) IMPACTS ON LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.— 

2 In selecting public land to offer to the State, 

3 the Secretary concerned may— 

4 (i) consider the financial impacts of 

5 exchanging specific Federal land on local 

6 governments; and 

7 (ii) attempt to minimize the financial 

8 impact of the exchange on local govern9 ments. 

10 (C) EXISTING AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

11 (i) FEDERAL LAND TRANSFERRED TO

12 THE STATE.— 

13 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal 

14 land transferred to the State under 

15 this subsection shall be conveyed sub16 ject to any valid existing rights, con17 tracts, leases, permits, and rights-of18 way, unless the holder of the right, 

19 contract, lease, permit, or right-of-way 

20 requests an earlier termination in ac21 cordance with existing law. 

22 (II) ASSUMPTION BY STATE.— 

23 The State shall assume all benefits 

24 and obligations of the Forest Service 

25 or the Bureau of Land Management, 


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1 as applicable, under the existing 

2 rights, contracts, leases, permits, and 

3 rights-of-way described in subclause 

4 (I). 

5 (ii) STATE LAND TRANSFERRED TO

6 THE UNITED STATES.— 

7 (I) IN GENERAL.—Any State 

8 land transferred to the United States 

9 under this subsection shall be con10 veyed and taken into trust for the 

11 benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian 

12 Community subject to any valid exist13 ing rights, contracts, leases, permits, 

14 and rights-of-way, unless the holder of 

15 the right, contract, lease, permit, or 

16 right-of-way requests an earlier termi17 nation in accordance with existing 

18 law. 

19 (II) ASSUMPTION BY BIA.—The 

20 Bureau of Indian Affairs shall— 

21 (aa) assume all benefits and 

22 obligations of the State under the 

23 existing rights, contracts, leases, 

24 permits, and rights-of-way de25 scribed in subclause (I); and 


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1 (bb) disburse to the Fort 

2 Belknap Indian Community any 

3 amounts that accrue to the 

4 United States from those rights, 

5 contracts, leases, permits, and 

6 rights-of-way, after the date of 

7 transfer from any sale, bonus, 

8 royalty, or rental relating to that 

9 land in the same manner as 

10 amounts received from other land 

11 held by the Secretary in trust for 

12 the benefit of the Fort Belknap 

13 Indian Community. 

14 (D) PERSONAL PROPERTY.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any improvements 

16 constituting personal property, as defined 

17 by State law, belonging to the holder of a 

18 right, contract, lease, permit, or right-of19 way on land transferred to the United 

20 States under this subsection shall— 

21 (I) remain the property of the 

22 holder; and 

23 (II) be removed not later than 90 

24 days after the date on which the 

25 right, contract, lease, permit, or rightVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Nov 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00035 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5088.IH H5088

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1 of-way expires, unless the Fort 

2 Belknap Indian Community and the 

3 holder agree otherwise. 

4 (ii) REMAINING PROPERTY.—Any per5 sonal property described in clause (i) re6 maining with the holder described in that 

7 clause beyond the 90-day period described 

8 in subclause (II) of that clause shall— 

9 (I) become the property of the 

10 Fort Belknap Indian Community; and 

11 (II) be subject to removal and 

12 disposition at the discretion of the 

13 Fort Belknap Indian Community. 

14 (iii) LIABILITY OF PREVIOUS HOLD15 ER.—The holder of personal property de16 scribed in clause (i) shall be liable for costs 

17 incurred by the Fort Belknap Indian Com18 munity in removing and disposing of the 

19 personal property under clause (ii)(II). 

20 (7) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Notwith21 standing the descriptions of the parcels of land 

22 owned by the State under paragraph (3), the State 

23 may, with the consent of the Fort Belknap Indian 

24 Community, make technical corrections to the legal 


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1 land descriptions to more specifically identify the 

2 State parcels to be exchanged. 

3 (8) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall provide 

4 $10,000,000 of financial or other assistance to the 

5 State and the Fort Belknap Indian Community as 

6 may be necessary to obtain the appraisals, and to 

7 satisfy administrative requirements, necessary to ac8 complish the exchanges under paragraph (2). 

9 (b) FEDERAL LAND TRANSFERS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 

11 rights and the requirements of this subsection, all 

12 right, title, and interest of the United States in and 

13 to the land described in paragraph (2) shall be held 

14 by the United States in trust for the benefit of the 

15 Fort Belknap Indian Community as part of the Res16 ervation on the enforceability date. 

17 (2) FEDERAL LAND.— 

18 (A) BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PAR19 CELS.— 

20 (i) 59.46 acres in T. 25 N., R. 22 E., 

21 sec. 4, comprised of— 

22 (I) 19.55 acres in lot 10; 

23 (II) 19.82 acres in lot 11; and 

24 (III) 20.09 acres in lot 16. 


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(ii) 324.24 acres in the N1 1 ⁄2 of T. 25 

2 N., R. 22 E., sec. 5. 

3 (iii) 403.56 acres in T. 25 N., R. 22 

4 E., sec. 9, comprised of— 

5 (I) 20.39 acres in lot 2; 

6 (II) 20.72 acres in lot 7; 

7 (III) 21.06 acres in lot 8; 

8 (IV) 40.00 acres in lot 9; 

9 (V) 40.00 acres in lot 10; 

10 (VI) 40.00 acres in lot 11; 

11 (VII) 40.00 acres in lot 12; 

12 (VIII) 21.39 acres in lot 13; and 

(IX) 160 acres in SW1 13 ⁄4. 

14 (iv) 70.63 acres in T. 25 N., R. 22 

15 E., sec. 13, comprised of— 

16 (I) 18.06 acres in lot 5; 

17 (II) 18.25 acres in lot 6; 

18 (III) 18.44 acres in lot 7; and 

19 (IV) 15.88 acres in lot 8. 

20 (v) 71.12 acres in T. 25 N., R. 22 E., 

21 sec. 14, comprised of— 

22 (I) 17.65 acres in lot 5; 

23 (II) 17.73 acres in lot 6; 

24 (III) 17.83 acres in lot 7; and 

25 (IV) 17.91 acres in lot 8. 


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1 (vi) 103.29 acres in T. 25 N., R. 22 

2 E., sec. 15, comprised of— 

3 (I) 21.56 acres in lot 6; 

4 (II) 29.50 acres in lot 7; 

5 (III) 17.28 acres in lot 8; 

6 (IV) 17.41 acres in lot 9; and 

7 (V) 17.54 acres in lot 10. 

8 (vii) 160 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

9 sec. 1, comprised of— 

(I) 80 acres in the S1 10 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 11 ⁄4; and 

(II) 80 acres in the W1 12 ⁄2 of the 

SW1 13 ⁄4. 

14 (viii) 567.50 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 

15 E., sec. 2, comprised of— 

(I) 82.54 acres in the E1 16 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 17 ⁄4; 

(II) 164.96 acres in the NE1 18 ⁄4; 

19 and 

(III) 320 acres in the S1 20 ⁄2. 

21 (ix) 240 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

22 sec. 3, comprised of— 

(I) 40 acres in the SE1 23 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 24 ⁄4; 

(II) 160 acres in the SW1 25 ⁄4; and 


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(III) 40 acres in the SW1 1 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 2 ⁄4. 

3 (x) 120 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

4 sec. 4, comprised of— 

(I) 80 acres in the E1 5 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 6 ⁄4; and 

(II) 40 acres in the NW1 7 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 8 ⁄4. 

9 (xi) 200 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

10 sec. 5, comprised of— 

(I) 160 acres in the SW1 11 ⁄4; and 

(II) 40 acres in the SW1 12 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 13 ⁄4. 

(xii) 40 acres in the SE1 14 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 15 ⁄4 of T. 26 N., R. 21 E., sec. 6. 

16 (xiii) 240 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

17 sec. 8, comprised of— 

(I) 40 acres in the NE1 18 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 19 ⁄4; 

(II) 160 acres in the NW1 20 ⁄4; and 

(III) 40 acres in the NW1 21 ⁄4 of 

the SE1 22 ⁄4. 

(xiv) 320 acres in the E1 23 ⁄2 of T. 26 

24 N., R. 21 E., sec. 9. 


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1 (xv) 640 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

2 sec. 10. 

3 (xvi) 600 acres in T. 26 N., R. 21 E., 

4 sec. 11, comprised of— 

(I) 320 acres in the N1 5 ⁄2; 

(II) 80 acres in the N1 6 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 7 ⁄4; 

(III) 160 acres in the SW1 8 ⁄4; and 

(IV) 40 acres in the SW1 9 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 10 ⁄4. 

11 (xvii) 525.81 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 

12 E., sec. 21, comprised of— 

13 (I) 6.62 acres in lot 1; 

14 (II) 5.70 acres in lot 2; 

15 (III) 56.61 acres in lot 5; 

16 (IV) 56.88 acres in lot 6; 

(V) 320 acres in the W1 17 ⁄2; and 

(VI) 80 acres in the W1 18 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 19 ⁄4. 

20 (xviii) 719.58 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 

21 E., sec. 28. 

22 (xix) 560 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 E., 

23 sec. 29, comprised of— 

(I) 320 acres in the N1 24 ⁄2; 


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(II) 160 acres in the N1 1 ⁄2 of the 

S1 2 ⁄2; and 

(III) 80 acres in the S1 3 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 4 ⁄4. 

5 (xx) 400 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 E., 

6 sec. 32, comprised of— 

(I) 320 acres in the S1 7 ⁄2; and 

(II) 80 acres in the S1 8 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 9 ⁄4. 

10 (xxi) 455.51 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 

11 E., sec. 33, comprised of— 

12 (I) 58.25 acres in lot 3; 

13 (II) 58.5 acres in lot 4; 

14 (III) 58.76 acres in lot 5; 

(IV) 40 acres in the NW1 15 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 16 ⁄4; 

(V) 160 acres in the SW1 17 ⁄4; and 

(VI) 80 acres in the W1 18 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 19 ⁄4. 

20 (xxii) 88.71 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 

21 E., sec. 1, comprised of— 

22 (I) 24.36 acres in lot 1; 

23 (II) 24.35 acres in lot 2; and 

(III) 40 acres in the SW1 24 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 25 ⁄4. 


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1 (xxiii) 80 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 E., 

2 sec. 3, comprised of— 

3 (I) 40 acres in lot 11; and 

4 (II) 40 acres in lot 12. 

5 (xxiv) 80 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 E., 

6 sec. 11, comprised of— 

(I) 40 acres in the NW1 7 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 8 ⁄4; and 

(II) 40 acres in the SW1 9 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 10 ⁄4. 

11 (xxv) 200 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 E., 

12 sec. 12, comprised of— 

(I) 80 acres in the E1 13 ⁄2 of the 

SW1 14 ⁄4; 

(II) 40 acres in the NW1 15 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 16 ⁄4; and 

(III) 80 acres in the S1 17 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 18 ⁄4. 

(xxvi) 40 acres in the SE1 19 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 20 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 21 E., sec. 23. 

21 (xxvii) 320 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 

22 E., sec. 24, comprised of— 

(I) 80 acres in the E1 23 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 24 ⁄4; 

(II) 160 acres in the NE1 25 ⁄4; 


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(III) 40 acres in the NE1 1 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 2 ⁄4; and 

(IV) 40 acres in the SW1 3 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 4 ⁄4. 

5 (xxviii) 120 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 

6 E., sec. 25, comprised of— 

(I) 80 acres in the S1 7 ⁄2 of the 

NE1 8 ⁄4; and 

(II) 40 acres in the SE1 9 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 10 ⁄4. 

(xxix) 40 acres in the NE1 11 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 12 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 21 E., sec. 26. 

(xxx) 160 acres in the NW1 13 ⁄4 of T. 27 

14 N., R. 21 E., sec. 27. 

(xxxi) 40 acres in the SW1 15 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 16 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 21 E., sec. 29. 

(xxxii) 40 acres in the SW1 17 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 18 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 21 E., sec 30. 

19 (xxxiii) 120 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 

20 E., sec. 33, comprised of— 

(I) 40 acres in the SE1 21 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 22 ⁄4; and 

(II) 80 acres in the N1 23 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 24 ⁄4. 


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1 (xxxiv) 440 acres in T. 27 N., R. 21 

2 E., sec. 34, comprised of— 

(I) 160 acres in the N1 3 ⁄2 of the 

S1 4 ⁄2; 

(II) 160 acres in the NE1 5 ⁄4; 

(III) 80 acres in the S1 6 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 7 ⁄4; and 

(IV) 40 acres in the SE1 8 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 9 ⁄4. 

10 (xxxv) 133.44 acres in T. 27 N., R. 

11 22 E., sec. 4, comprised of— 

12 (I) 28.09 acres in lot 5; 

13 (II) 25.35 acres in lot 6; 

14 (III) 40 acres in lot 10; and 

15 (IV) 40 acres in lot 15. 

16 (xxxvi) 160 acres in T. 27 N., R. 22 

17 E., sec. 7, comprised of— 

(I) 40 acres in the NE1 18 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 19 ⁄4; 

(II) 40 acres in the NW1 20 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 21 ⁄4; and 

(III) 80 acres in the W1 22 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 23 ⁄4. 

24 (xxxvii) 120 acres in T. 27 N., R. 22 

25 E., sec. 8, comprised of— 


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(I) 80 acres in the E1 1 ⁄2 of the 

NW1 2 ⁄4; and 

(II) 40 acres in the NE1 3 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 4 ⁄4. 

(xxxviii) 40 acres in the SW1 5 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 6 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 22 E., sec. 9. 

(xxxix) 40 acres in the NE1 7 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 8 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 22 E., sec. 17. 

(xl) 40 acres in the NW1 9 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 10 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 22 E., sec. 19. 

(xli) 40 acres in the SE1 11 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 12 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R22 E., sec. 20. 

(xlii) 80 acres in the W1⁄2 of the SE1 13 ⁄4

14 of T. 27 N., R. 22 E., sec. 31. 

(xliii) 52.36 acres in the SE1 15 ⁄4 of the 

SE1 16 ⁄4 of T. 27 N., R. 22 E., sec. 33. 

(xliv) 40 acres in the NE1 17 ⁄4 of the 

SW1 18 ⁄4 of T. 28 N., R. 22 E., sec. 29. 

(xlv) 40 acres in the NE1 19 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 20 ⁄4 of T. 26 N., R. 21 E., sec. 7. 

(xlvi) 40 acres in the SW1 21 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 22 ⁄4 of T. 26 N., R. 21 E., sec. 12. 

(xlvii) 42.38 acres in the NW1 23 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 24 ⁄4 of T. 26 N., R. 22 E., sec. 6. 


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(xlviii) 320 acres in the E1 1 ⁄2 of T. 26 

2 N., R. 22 E., sec. 17. 

(xlix) 80 acres in the E1 3 ⁄2 of the 

NE1 4 ⁄4 of T. 26 N., R. 22 E., sec. 20. 

5 (l) 240 acres in T. 26 N., R. 22 E., 

6 sec. 30, comprised of— 

(I) 80 acres in the E1 7 ⁄2 of the 

NE1 8 ⁄4; 

(II) 80 acres in the N1 9 ⁄2 of the 

SE1 10 ⁄4; 

(III) 40 acres in the SE1 11 ⁄4 of the 

NW1 12 ⁄4; and 

(IV) 40 acres in the SW1 13 ⁄4 of the 

NE1 14 ⁄4. 

15 (B) BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS.—The 

16 parcels of approximately 3,519.3 acres of trust 

17 land that have been converted to fee land, judi18 cially foreclosed on, acquired by the Depart19 ment of Agriculture, and transferred to the Bu20 reau of Indian Affairs, described in clauses (i) 

21 through (iii). 

22 (i) PARCEL 1.—The land described in 

23 this clause is 640 acres in T. 29 N., R. 26 

24 E., comprised of— 


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(I) 160 acres in the SW1 1 ⁄4 of sec. 

2 27; 

(II) 160 acres in the NE1 3 ⁄4 of 

4 sec. 33; and 

(III) 320 acres in the W1 5 ⁄2 of 

6 sec. 34. 

7 (ii) PARCEL 2.—The land described in 

this clause is 320 acres in the N1 8 ⁄2 of T. 

9 30 N., R. 23 E., sec. 28. 

10 (iii) PARCEL 3.—The land described 

11 in this clause is 2,559.3 acres, comprised 

12 of— 

13 (I) T. 28 N., R. 24 E., includ14 ing— 

15 (aa) of sec. 16— 

16 (AA) 5 acres in the 

E1⁄2, W1⁄2, E1⁄2, W1⁄2, W1 17 ⁄2, 

NE1 18 ⁄4; 

19 (BB) 10 acres in the 

E1⁄2, E1⁄2, W1⁄2, W1 20 ⁄2, 

NE1 21 ⁄4; 

22 (CC) 40 acres in the 

E1⁄2, W1⁄2, NE1 23 ⁄4; 

24 (DD) 40 acres in the 

W1⁄2, E1⁄2, NE1 25 ⁄4; 


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1 (EE) 20 acres in the 

W1⁄2, E1⁄2, E1⁄2, NE1 2 ⁄4; 

3 (FF) 5 acres in the 

W1⁄2, W1⁄2, E1⁄2, E1⁄2, E1 4 ⁄2, 

NE1 5 ⁄4; and 

6 (GG) 160 acres in the 

SE1 7 ⁄4; 

8 (bb) 640 acres in sec. 21; 

(cc) 320 acres in the S1 9 ⁄2 of 

10 sec. 22; and 

(dd) 320 acres in the W1 11 ⁄2

12 of sec. 27; 

13 (II) T. 29 N., R. 25 E., PMM, 

14 including— 

(aa) 320 acres in the S1 15 ⁄2 of 

16 sec. 1; and 

(bb) 320 acres in the N1 17 ⁄2 of 

18 sec. 12; 

19 (III) 39.9 acres in T. 29 N., R. 

20 26 E., PMM, sec. 6, lot 2; 

21 (IV) T. 30 N., R. 26 E., PMM, 

22 including— 

23 (aa) 39.4 acres in sec. 3, lot 

24 2; 


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(bb) 40 acres in the SW1 1 ⁄4

of the SW1 2 ⁄4 of sec. 4; 

(cc) 80 acres in the E1 3 ⁄2 of 

the SE1 4 ⁄4 of sec. 5; 

(dd) 80 acres in the S1 5 ⁄2 of 

the SE1 6 ⁄4 of sec. 7; and 

(ee) 40 acres in the N1 7 ⁄2, 

N1⁄2, NE1 8 ⁄4 of sec. 18; and 

9 (V) 40 acres in T. 31 N., R. 26 

E., PMM, the NW1⁄4 of the SE1 10 ⁄4 of 

11 sec. 31. 

12 (C) FORECLOSED DEPARTMENT OF AGRI13 CULTURE LAND.—Any Department of Agri14 culture trust land within the Reservation that 

15 has been or is converted to fee land, judicially 

16 foreclosed on, and acquired by the United 

17 States. 

18 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.— 

19 (A) EXISTING AUTHORIZATIONS.— 

20 (i) IN GENERAL.—Federal land trans21 ferred under this subsection shall be con22 veyed and taken into trust subject to valid 

23 existing rights, contracts, leases, permits, 

24 and rights-of-way, unless the holder of the 

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1 of-way requests an earlier termination in 

2 accordance with existing law. 

3 (ii) ASSUMPTION BY BIA.—The Bu4 reau of Indian Affairs shall— 

5 (I) assume all benefits and obli6 gations of the previous land manage7 ment agency under the existing rights, 

8 contracts, leases, permits, and rights9 of-way described in clause (i); and 

10 (II) disburse to the Fort Belknap 

11 Indian Community any amounts that 

12 accrue to the United States from 

13 those rights, contracts, leases, per14 mits, and rights-of-ways after the date 

15 of transfer from any sale, bonus, roy16 alty, or rental relating to that land in 

17 the same manner as amounts received 

18 from other land held by the Secretary 

19 in trust for the Fort Belknap Indian 

20 Community. 

21 (B) PERSONAL PROPERTY.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—Any improvements 

23 constituting personal property, as defined 

24 by State law, belonging to the holder of a 

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1 way on land transferred under this sub2 section shall— 

3 (I) remain the property of the 

4 holder; and 

5 (II) be removed from the land 

6 not later than 90 days after the date 

7 on which the right, contract, lease, 

8 permit, or right-of-way expires, unless 

9 the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

10 and the holder agree otherwise. 

11 (ii) REMAINING PROPERTY.—Any per12 sonal property described in clause (i) re13 maining with the holder described in that 

14 clause beyond the 90-day period described 

15 in subclause (II) of that clause shall— 

16 (I) become the property of the 

17 Fort Belknap Indian Community; and 

18 (II) be subject to removal and 

19 disposition at the discretion of the 

20 Fort Belknap Indian Community. 

21 (iii) LIABILITY OF PREVIOUS HOLD22 ER.—The holder of personal property de23 scribed in clause (i) shall be liable to the 

24 Fort Belknap Indian Community for costs 

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1 munity in removing and disposing of the 

2 property under clause (ii)(II). 

3 (C) EXISTING ROADS.—If any road within 

4 the Federal land transferred under this sub5 section is necessary for customary access to pri6 vate land, the Bureau of Indian Affairs shall 

7 offer the owner of the private land to apply for 

8 a right-of-way along the existing road, at the 

9 expense of the landowner. 

10 (D) LIMITATION ON THE TRANSFER OF

11 WATER RIGHTS.—Water rights that transfer 

12 with the land described in paragraph (2) shall 

13 not become part of the Tribal water rights. 

14 (4) WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LAND.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid exist16 ing rights, effective on the date of enactment of 

17 this Act, all Federal land within the parcels de18 scribed in paragraph (2) is withdrawn from all 

19 forms of— 

20 (i) entry, appropriation, or disposal 

21 under the public land laws; 

22 (ii) location, entry, and patent under 

23 the mining laws; and 


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1 (iii) disposition under all laws per2 taining to mineral and geothermal leasing 

3 or mineral materials. 

4 (B) EXPIRATION.—The withdrawals pursu5 ant to subparagraph (A) shall terminate on the 

6 date that the Secretary takes the land into 

7 trust for the benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian 

8 Community pursuant to paragraph (1). 

9 (C) NO NEW RESERVATION OF FEDERAL

10 WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this paragraph es11 tablishes a new reservation in favor of the 

12 United States or the Fort Belknap Indian Com13 munity with respect to any water or water right 

14 on the land withdrawn by paragraph (2). 

15 (5) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Notwith16 standing the descriptions of the parcels of Federal 

17 land in paragraph (2), the United States may, with 

18 the consent of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, 

19 make technical corrections to the legal land descrip20 tions to more specifically identify the parcels. 

21 (6) SURVEY.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—Unless the United 

23 States or the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

24 request an additional survey for the transferred 

25 land or a technical correction is made under 


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1 paragraph (5), the description of land under 

2 this subsection shall be controlling. 

3 (B) ADDITIONAL SURVEY.—If the United 

4 States or the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

5 requests an additional survey, that survey shall 

6 control the total acreage to be transferred into 

7 trust under this subsection. 

8 (C) ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary shall 

9 provide such financial or other assistance as 

10 may be necessary— 

11 (i) to conduct additional surveys 

12 under this subsection; and 

13 (ii) to satisfy administrative require14 ments necessary to accomplish the land 

15 transfers under this subsection. 

16 (7) DATE OF TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall 

17 complete all land transfers under this subsection and 

18 shall take the land into trust for the benefit of the 

19 Fort Belknap Indian Community as expeditiously as 

20 practicable after the enforceability date, but not 

21 later than 10 years after the enforceability date. 

22 (c) TRIBALLY OWNED FEE LAND.—Not later than 

23 10 years after the enforceability date, the Secretary shall 

24 take into trust for the benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian 

25 Community all fee land owned by the Fort Belknap Indian 


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1 Community on or adjacent to the Reservation to become 

2 part of the Reservation, provided that— 

3 (1) the land is free from any liens, encum4 brances, or other infirmities; and 

5 (2) no evidence exists of any hazardous sub6 stances on, or other environmental liability with re7 spect to, the land. 

8 (d) DODSON LAND.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), as 

10 soon as practicable after the enforceability date, but 

11 not later than 10 years after the enforceability date, 

12 the Dodson Land described in paragraph (3) shall 

13 be taken into trust by the United States for the ben14 efit of the Fort Belknap Indian Community as part 

15 of the Reservation. 

16 (2) RESTRICTIONS.—The land taken into trust 

17 under paragraph (1) shall be subject to a perpetual 

18 easement, reserved by the United States for use by 

19 the Bureau of Reclamation, its contractors, and its 

20 assigns for— 

21 (A) the right of ingress and egress for 

22 Milk River Project purposes; and 

23 (B) the right to— 


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1 (i) seep, flood, and overflow the trans2 ferred land for Milk River Project pur3 poses; 

4 (ii) conduct routine and non-routine 

5 operation, maintenance, and replacement 

6 activities on the Milk River Project facili7 ties, including modification to the 

8 headworks at the upstream end of the 

9 Dodson South Canal in support of Dodson 

10 South Canal enlargement, to include all as11 sociated access, construction, and material 

12 storage necessary to complete those activi13 ties; and 

14 (iii) prohibit the construction of per15 manent structures on the transferred land, 

16 except— 

17 (I) as provided in the cooperative 

18 agreement under paragraph (4); and 

19 (II) to meet the requirements of 

20 the Milk River Project. 

21 (3) DESCRIPTION OF DODSON LAND.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Dodson Land re23 ferred to in paragraphs (1) and (2) is the ap24 proximately 2,500 acres of land owned by the 

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1 ment of this Act, under the jurisdiction of the 

2 Bureau of Reclamation and located at the 

3 northeastern corner of the Reservation (which 

4 extends to the point in the middle of the main 

5 channel of the Milk River), where the Milk 

6 River Project facilities, including the Dodson 

7 Diversion Dam, headworks to the Dodson 

8 South Canal, and Dodson South Canal, are lo9 cated, and more particularly described as fol10 lows: 

11 (i) Supplemental Plat of T. 30 N., R. 

12 26 E., PMM, secs. 1 and 2. 

13 (ii) Supplemental Plat of T. 31 N., R. 

14 25 E., PMM, sec. 13. 

15 (iii) Supplemental Plat of T. 31 N., 

16 R. 26 E., PMM, secs. 18, 19, 20, and 29. 

17 (iv) Supplemental Plat of T. 31 N., R. 

18 26 E., PMM, secs. 26, 27, 35, and 36. 

19 (B) CLARIFICATION.—The supplemental 

20 plats described in clauses (i) through (iv) of 

21 subparagraph (A) are official plats, as docu22 mented by retracement boundary surveys of the 

23 General Land Office, approved on March 11, 

24 1938, and on record at the Bureau of Land 

25 Management. 


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1 (C) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Notwith2 standing the descriptions of the parcels of Fed3 eral land in subparagraph (A), the United 

4 States may, with the consent of the Fort 

5 Belknap Indian Community, make technical 

6 corrections to the legal land descriptions to 

7 more specifically identify the parcels to be 

8 transferred. 

9 (4) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—Not later 

10 than 3 years after the enforceability date, the Bu11 reau of Reclamation, the Malta Irrigation District, 

12 the Bureau of Indian Affairs, and the Fort Belknap 

13 Indian Community shall negotiate and enter into a 

14 cooperative agreement that identifies the uses to 

15 which the Fort Belknap Indian Community may put 

16 the land described in paragraph (3), provided that 

17 the cooperative agreement may be amended by mu18 tual agreement of the Fort Belknap Indian Commu19 nity, Bureau of Reclamation, the Malta Irrigation 

20 District, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, including 

21 to modify the perpetual easement to narrow the 

22 boundaries of the easement or to terminate the per23 petual easement and cooperative agreement. 


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1 (e) LAND STATUS.—All land held in trust by the 

2 United States for the benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian 

3 Community under this section shall be— 

4 (1) beneficially owned by the Fort Belknap In5 dian Community; and 

6 (2) part of the Reservation and administered in 

7 accordance with the laws and regulations generally 

8 applicable to land held in trust by the United States 

9 for the benefit of an Indian Tribe. 

10 SEC. 7. STORAGE ALLOCATION FROM LAKE ELWELL. 

11 (a) STORAGE ALLOCATION OF WATER TO FORT

12 BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY.—The Secretary shall allo13 cate to the Fort Belknap Indian Community 20,000 acre14 feet per year of water stored in Lake Elwell for use by 

15 the Fort Belknap Indian Community for any beneficial 

16 purpose on or off the Reservation, under a water right 

17 held by the United States and managed by the Bureau 

18 of Reclamation for the benefit of the Fort Belknap Indian 

19 Community, as measured and diverted at the outlet works 

20 of the Tiber Dam or through direct pumping from Lake 

21 Elwell. 

22 (b) TREATMENT.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The allocation to the Fort 

24 Belknap Indian Community under subsection (a) 


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1 shall be considered to be part of the Tribal water 

2 rights. 

3 (2) PRIORITY DATE.—The priority date of the 

4 allocation to the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

5 under subsection (a) shall be the priority date of the 

6 Lake Elwell water right held by the Bureau of Rec7 lamation. 

8 (3) ADMINISTRATION.—The Fort Belknap In9 dian Community shall administer the water allocated 

10 under subsection (a) in accordance with the Com11 pact and this Act. 

12 (c) ALLOCATION AGREEMENT.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of receiving 

14 an allocation under this section, the Fort Belknap 

15 Indian Community shall enter into an agreement 

16 with the Secretary to establish the terms and condi17 tions of the allocation, in accordance with the Com18 pact and this Act. 

19 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The agreement under para20 graph (1) shall include provisions establishing that— 

21 (A) the agreement shall be without limit as 

22 to term; 

23 (B) the Fort Belknap Indian Community, 

24 and not the United States, shall be entitled to 

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1 dian Community under any lease, contract, ex2 change, or agreement entered into by the Fort 

3 Belknap Indian Community pursuant to sub4 section (d); 

5 (C) the United States shall have no obliga6 tion to monitor, administer, or account for— 

7 (i) any funds received by the Fort 

8 Belknap Indian Community as consider9 ation under any lease, contract, exchange, 

10 or agreement entered into by the Fort 

11 Belknap Indian Community pursuant to 

12 subsection (d); or 

13 (ii) the expenditure of those funds; 

14 (D) if the capacity or function of Lake 

15 Elwell facilities are significantly reduced, or are 

16 anticipated to be significantly reduced, for an 

17 extended period of time, the Fort Belknap In18 dian Community shall have the same storage 

19 rights as other storage contractors with respect 

20 to the allocation under this section; 

21 (E) the costs associated with the construc22 tion of the storage facilities at Tiber Dam allo23 cable to the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

24 shall be nonreimbursable; 


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1 (F) no water service capital charge shall be 

2 due or payable for any water allocated to the 

3 Fort Belknap Indian Community under this 

4 section or the allocation agreement, regardless 

5 of whether that water is delivered for use by the 

6 Fort Belknap Indian Community or under a 

7 lease, contract, exchange, or by agreement en8 tered into by the Fort Belknap Indian Commu9 nity pursuant to subsection (d); 

10 (G) the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

11 shall not be required to make payments to the 

12 United States for any water allocated to the 

13 Fort Belknap Indian Community under this 

14 section or the allocation agreement, except for 

15 each acre-foot of stored water leased or trans16 ferred for industrial purposes as described in 

17 subparagraph (H); and 

18 (H) for each acre-foot of stored water 

19 leased or transferred by the Fort Belknap In20 dian Community for industrial purposes— 

21 (i) the Fort Belknap Indian Commu22 nity shall pay annually to the United 

23 States an amount necessary to cover the 

24 proportional share of the annual oper25 ations, maintenance, and replacement costs 


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1 allocable to the quantity of water leased or 

2 transferred by the Fort Belknap Indian 

3 Community for industrial purposes; and 

4 (ii) the annual payments of the Fort 

5 Belknap Indian Community shall be re6 viewed and adjusted, as appropriate, to re7 flect the actual operations, maintenance, 

8 and replacement costs for Tiber Dam. 

9 (d) AGREEMENT BY FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMU10 NITY.—The Fort Belknap Indian Community may use, 

11 lease, contract, exchange, or enter into other agreements 

12 for the use of the water allocated to the Fort Belknap 

13 Indian Community under subsection (a) if— 

14 (1) the use of water that is the subject of such 

15 an agreement occurs within the Missouri River 

16 Basin; and 

17 (2) the agreement does not permanently alien18 ate any water allocated to the Fort Belknap Indian 

19 Community under that subsection. 

20 (e) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The allocation under sub21 section (a) takes effect on the enforceability date. 

22 (f) NO CARRYOVER STORAGE.—The allocation under 

23 subsection (a) shall not be increased by any year-to-year 

24 carryover storage. 


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1 (g) DEVELOPMENT AND DELIVERY COSTS.—The 

2 United States shall not be required to pay the cost of de3 veloping or delivering any water allocated under this sec4 tion. 

5 SEC. 8. MILK RIVER PROJECT MITIGATION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—In complete satisfaction of the 

7 Milk River Project mitigation requirements provided for 

8 in Article VI.B. of the Compact, the Secretary, acting 

9 through the Commissioner— 

10 (1) in cooperation with the State and the 

11 Blackfeet Tribe, shall carry out appropriate activi12 ties concerning the restoration of the St. Mary 

13 Canal and associated facilities, including activities 

14 relating to the— 

15 (A) planning and design to restore the St. 

16 Mary Canal and appurtenances to convey 850 

17 cubic-feet per second; and 

18 (B) rehabilitating, constructing, and re19 pairing of the St. Mary Canal and appur20 tenances; and 

21 (2) in cooperation with the State and the Fort 

22 Belknap Indian Community, shall carry out appro23 priate activities concerning the enlargement of 

24 Dodson South Canal and associated facilities, includ25 ing activities relating to the— 


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1 (A) planning and design to enlarge Dodson 

2 South Canal and headworks at the upstream 

3 end of Dodson South Canal to divert and con4 vey 700 cubic-feet per second; and 

5 (B) rehabilitating, constructing, and en6 larging the Dodson South Canal and headworks 

7 at the upstream end of Dodson South Canal to 

8 divert and convey 700 cubic-feet per second. 

9 (b) FUNDING.—The total amount of obligations in10 curred by the Secretary, prior to any adjustments provided 

11 for in section 14(b), shall not exceed $300,000,000 to 

12 carry out activities described in subsection (c)(1). 

13 (c) SATISFACTION OF MITIGATION REQUIREMENT.— 

14 Notwithstanding any provision of the Compact, the miti15 gation required by Article VI.B. of the Compact shall be 

16 deemed satisfied if— 

17 (1) the Secretary has— 

18 (A) restored the St. Mary Canal and asso19 ciated facilities to convey 850 cubic-feet per sec20 ond; and 

21 (B) enlarged the Dodson South Canal and 

22 headworks at the upstream end of Dodson 

23 South Canal to divert and convey 700 cubic-feet 

24 per second; and 

25 (2) the Secretary— 


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1 (A) has expended all of the available fund2 ing provided pursuant to section 14(a)(1)(D) to 

3 rehabilitate the St Mary Canal and enlarge the 

4 Dodson South Canal; and 

5 (B) despite diligent efforts, could not com6 plete the activities described in subsection (a). 

7 (d) NONREIMBURSABILITY OF COSTS.—The costs to 

8 the Secretary of carrying out this section shall be nonreim9 bursable. 

10 SEC. 9. FORT BELKNAP INDIAN IRRIGATION PROJECT SYS11 TEM. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of ap13 propriations, the Secretary, acting through the Assistant 

14 Secretary for Indian Affairs, shall rehabilitate, modernize, 

15 and expand the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project, 

16 which shall include— 

17 (1) planning, studies, and designing of the ex18 isting and expanded Milk River unit, including the 

19 Pumping Plant, delivery pipe and canal, Fort 

20 Belknap Dam and Reservoir, and Peoples Creek 

21 Flood Protection Project; 

22 (2) the rehabilitation, modernization, and con23 struction of the existing Milk River unit; and 

24 (3) construction of the expanded Milk River 

25 Project, including the Pumping Plant, delivery pipe 


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1 and canal, Fort Belknap Dam and Reservoir, and 

2 Peoples Creek Flood Protection Project. 

3 (b) LEAD AGENCY.—The Bureau of Indian Affairs 

4 shall serve as the lead agency with respect to any activities 

5 carried out under this section. 

6 (c) CONSULTATION WITH THE FORT BELKNAP IN7 DIAN COMMUNITY.—The Secretary shall consult with the 

8 Fort Belknap Indian Community on appropriate changes 

9 to the final design and costs of any activity under this 

10 section. 

11 (d) FUNDING.—The total amount of obligations in12 curred by the Secretary in carrying out this section, prior 

13 to any adjustment provided for in section 14(b), shall not 

14 exceed $415,832,153. 

15 (e) NONREIMBURSABILITY OF COSTS.—All costs in16 curred by the Secretary in carrying out this section shall 

17 be nonreimbursable. 

18 (f) ADMINISTRATION.—The Assistant Secretary of 

19 Indian Affairs and the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

20 shall negotiate the cost of any oversight activity carried 

21 out by the Bureau of Indian Affairs under any agreement 

22 entered into under subsection (i), subject to the condition 

23 that the total cost for the oversight shall not exceed 3 per24 cent of the total project costs for each project. 


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1 (g) PROJECT EFFICIENCIES.—If the total cost of 

2 planning, studies, design, rehabilitation, modernization, 

3 and construction activities relating to the projects de4 scribed in subsection (a) results in cost savings and is less 

5 than the amounts authorized to be obligated, the Sec6 retary, at the request of the Fort Belknap Indian Commu7 nity, shall deposit those savings in the the Fort Belknap 

8 Indian Community Water Resources and Water Rights 

9 Administration, Operation, and Maintenance Account es10 tablished under section 12(b)(2). 

11 (h) TREATMENT.—Any activities carried out pursu12 ant to this section that result in improvements, additions, 

13 or modifications to the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation 

14 Project shall— 

15 (1) become a part of the Fort Belknap Indian 

16 Irrigation Project; and 

17 (2) be recorded in the inventory of the Sec18 retary relating to the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation 

19 Project. 

20 (i) APPLICABILITY OF ISDEAA.—At the request of 

21 the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and in accordance 

22 with the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist23 ance Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.), the Secretary shall 

24 enter into agreements with the Fort Belknap Indian Com25 munity to carry out all or a portion of this section. 


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1 (j) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section— 

2 (1) alters any applicable law under which the 

3 Bureau of Indian Affairs collects assessments or car4 ries out the operations and maintenance of the Fort 

5 Belknap Indian Irrigation Project; or 

6 (2) impacts the availability of amounts under 

7 section 14. 

8 (k) SATISFACTION OF FORT BELKNAP INDIAN IRRI9 GATION PROJECT SYSTEM REQUIREMENT.—The obliga10 tions of the Secretary under subsection (a) shall be 

11 deemed satisfied if— 

12 (1) the Secretary has rehabilitated, modernized, 

13 and expanded the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation 

14 Project in accordance with subsection (a); or 

15 (2) the Secretary— 

16 (A) has expended all of the available fund17 ing provided pursuant to paragraphs (1)(C) and 

18 (2)(A)(iv) of section 14(a); and 

19 (B) despite diligent efforts, could not com20 plete the activities described in subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 10. SATISFACTION OF CLAIMS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—The benefits provided under this 

23 Act shall be in complete replacement of, complete substi24 tution for, and full satisfaction of any claim of the Fort 

25 Belknap Indian Community against the United States 


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1 that is waived and released by the Fort Belknap Indian 

2 Community under section 11(a). 

3 (b) ALLOTTEES.—The benefits realized by the 

4 allottees under this Act shall be in complete replacement 

5 of, complete substitution for, and full satisfaction of— 

6 (1) all claims waived and released by the United 

7 States (acting as trustee for the allottees) under sec8 tion 11(a)(2); and 

9 (2) any claims of the allottees against the 

10 United States similar to the claims described in sec11 tion 11(a)(2) that the allottee asserted or could have 

12 asserted. 

13 SEC. 11. WAIVERS AND RELEASES OF CLAIMS. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

15 (1) WAIVER AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS BY THE

16 FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY AND UNITED

17 STATES AS TRUSTEE FOR THE FORT BELKNAP IN18 DIAN COMMUNITY.—Subject to the reservation of 

19 rights and retention of claims under subsection (d), 

20 as consideration for recognition of the Tribal water 

21 rights and other benefits described in the Compact 

22 and this Act, the Fort Belknap Indian Community, 

23 acting on behalf of the Fort Belknap Indian Com24 munity and members of the Fort Belknap Indian 

25 Community (but not any member of the Fort 


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1 Belknap Indian Community as an allottee), and the 

2 United States, acting as trustee for the Fort 

3 Belknap Indian Community and the members of the 

4 Fort Belknap Indian Community (but not any mem5 ber of the Fort Belknap Indian Community as an al6 lottee), shall execute a waiver and release of all 

7 claims for water rights within the State that the 

8 Fort Belknap Indian Community, or the United 

9 States acting as trustee for the Fort Belknap Indian 

10 Community, asserted or could have asserted in any 

11 proceeding, including a State stream adjudication, 

12 on or before the enforceability date, except to the ex13 tent that such rights are recognized in the Compact 

14 and this Act. 

15 (2) WAIVER AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS BY THE

16 UNITED STATES AS TRUSTEE FOR ALLOTTEES.— 

17 Subject to the reservation of rights and the retention 

18 of claims under subsection (d), as consideration for 

19 recognition of the Tribal water rights and other ben20 efits described in the Compact and this Act, the 

21 United States, acting as trustee for the allottees, 

22 shall execute a waiver and release of all claims for 

23 water rights within the Reservation that the United 

24 States, acting as trustee for the allottees, asserted or 

25 could have asserted in any proceeding, including a 


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1 State stream adjudication, on or before the enforce2 ability date, except to the extent that such rights are 

3 recognized in the Compact and this Act. 

4 (3) WAIVER AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS BY THE

5 FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY AGAINST THE

6 UNITED STATES.—Subject to the reservation of 

7 rights and retention of claims under subsection (d), 

8 the Fort Belknap Indian Community, acting on be9 half of the Fort Belknap Indian Community and 

10 members of the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

11 (but not any member of the Fort Belknap Indian 

12 Community as an allottee), shall execute a waiver 

13 and release of all claims against the United States 

14 (including any agency or employee of the United 

15 States)— 

16 (A) first arising before the enforceability 

17 date relating to— 

18 (i) water rights within the State that 

19 the United States, acting as trustee for the 

20 Fort Belknap Indian Community, asserted 

21 or could have asserted in any proceeding, 

22 including a general stream adjudication in 

23 the State, except to the extent that such 

24 rights are recognized as Tribal water 

25 rights under this Act; 


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1 (ii) foregone benefits from nontribal 

2 use of water, on and off the Reservation 

3 (including water from all sources and for 

4 all uses); 

5 (iii) damage, loss, or injury to water, 

6 water rights, land, or natural resources 

7 due to loss of water or water rights, in8 cluding damages, losses, or injuries to 

9 hunting, fishing, gathering, or cultural 

10 rights due to loss of water or water rights, 

11 claims relating to interference with, diver12 sion of, or taking of water, or claims relat13 ing to a failure to protect, acquire, replace, 

14 or develop water, water rights, or water in15 frastructure within the State; 

16 (iv) a failure to establish or provide a 

17 municipal rural or industrial water delivery 

18 system on the Reservation; 

19 (v) damage, loss, or injury to water, 

20 water rights, land, or natural resources 

21 due to construction, operation, and man22 agement of the Fort Belknap Indian Irri23 gation Project and other Federal land and 

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1 juries to Tribal fisheries, fish habitat, wild2 life, and wildlife habitat); 

3 (vi) a failure to provide for operation 

4 and maintenance, or deferred maintenance, 

5 for the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation 

6 Project or any other irrigation system or 

7 irrigation project; 

8 (vii) the litigation of claims relating to 

9 any water rights of the Fort Belknap In10 dian Community in the State; 

11 (viii) the negotiation, execution, or 

12 adoption of the Compact (including appen13 dices) and this Act; 

14 (ix) the taking or acquisition of land 

15 or resources of the Fort Belknap Indian 

16 Community for the construction or oper17 ation of the Fort Belknap Indian Irriga18 tion Project or the Milk River Project; and 

19 (x) the allocation of water of the Milk 

20 River and the St. Mary River (including 

21 tributaries) between the United States and 

22 Canada pursuant to the International 

23 Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909 (36 Stat. 

24 2448); and 


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1 (B) relating to damage, loss, or injury to 

2 water, water rights, land, or natural resources 

3 due to mining activities in the Little Rockies 

4 Mountains prior to the date of trust acquisition, 

5 including damages, losses, or injuries to hunt6 ing, fishing, gathering, or cultural rights. 

7 (b) EFFECTIVENESS.—The waivers and releases 

8 under subsection (a) shall take effect on the enforceability 

9 date. 

10 (c) OBJECTIONS IN MONTANA WATER COURT.— 

11 Nothing in this Act or the Compact prohibits the Fort 

12 Belknap Indian Community, a member of the Fort 

13 Belknap Indian Community, an allottee, or the United 

14 States in any capacity from objecting to any claim to a 

15 water right filed in any general stream adjudication in the 

16 Montana Water Court. 

17 (d) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS AND RETENTION OF

18 CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding the waivers and releases under 

19 subsection (a), the Fort Belknap Indian Community, act20 ing on behalf of the Fort Belknap Indian Community and 

21 members of the Fort Belknap Indian Community, and the 

22 United States, acting as trustee for the Fort Belknap In23 dian Community and the allottees shall retain— 

24 (1) all claims relating to— 


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1 (A) the enforcement of water rights recog2 nized under the Compact, any final court decree 

3 relating to those water rights, or this Act or to 

4 water rights accruing on or after the enforce5 ability date; 

6 (B) the quality of water under— 

7 (i) CERCLA, including damages to 

8 natural resources; 

9 (ii) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

10 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); 

11 (iii) the Federal Water Pollution Con12 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); and 

13 (iv) any regulations implementing the 

14 Acts described in clauses (i) through (iii); 

15 (C) damage, loss, or injury to land or nat16 ural resources that are— 

17 (i) not due to loss of water or water 

18 rights (including hunting, fishing, gath19 ering, or cultural rights); and 

20 (ii) not described in subsection (a)(3); 

21 and 

22 (D) an action to prevent any person or 

23 party (as defined in sections 29 and 30 of Arti24 cle II of the Compact) from interfering with the 

25 enjoyment of the Tribal water rights; 


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1 (2) all claims relating to off-Reservation hunt2 ing rights, fishing rights, gathering rights, or other 

3 rights; 

4 (3) all claims relating to the right to use and 

5 protect water rights acquired after the date of enact6 ment of this Act; 

7 (4) all claims relating to the allocation of 

8 waters of the Milk River and the Milk River Project 

9 between the Fort Belknap Indian Community and 

10 the Blackfeet Tribe, pursuant to section 3705(e)(3) 

11 of the Blackfeet Water Rights Settlement Act (Pub12 lic Law 114–322; 130 Stat. 1818); 

13 (5) all claims relating to the enforcement of the 

14 Act, including the required transfer of land under 

15 section 6; and 

16 (6) all rights, remedies, privileges, immunities, 

17 and powers not specifically waived and released pur18 suant to this Act or the Compact. 

19 (e) EFFECT OF COMPACT AND ACT.—Nothing in the 

20 Compact or this Act— 

21 (1) affects the authority of the Fort Belknap 

22 Indian Community to enforce the laws of the Fort 

23 Belknap Indian Community, including with respect 

24 to environmental protections; 


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1 (2) affects the ability of the United States, act2 ing as sovereign, to carry out any activity authorized 

3 by law, including— 

4 (A) the Federal Water Pollution Control 

5 Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.); 

6 (B) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42 

7 U.S.C. 300f et seq.); 

8 (C) CERCLA; and 

9 (D) any regulations implementing the Acts 

10 described in subparagraphs (A) through (C); 

11 (3) affects the ability of the United States to 

12 act as trustee for any other Indian Tribe or an allot13 tee of any other Indian Tribe; 

14 (4) confers jurisdiction on any State court— 

15 (A) to interpret Federal law relating to 

16 health, safety, or the environment; 

17 (B) to determine the duties of the United 

18 States or any other party under Federal law re19 lating to health, safety, or the environment; or 

20 (C) to conduct judicial review of any Fed21 eral agency action; 

22 (5) waives any claim of a member of the Fort 

23 Belknap Indian Community in an individual capacity 

24 that does not derive from a right of the Fort 

25 Belknap Indian Community; 


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1 (6) revives any claim adjudicated in the decision 

2 in Gros Ventre Tribe v. United States, 469 F.3d 

3 801 (9th Cir. 2006); or 

4 (7) revives any claim released by an allottee or 

5 member of the Fort Belknap Indian Community in 

6 the settlement in Cobell v. Salazar, No. 

7 1:96CV01285–JR (D.D.C. 2012). 

8 (f) ENFORCEABILITY DATE.—The enforceability date 

9 shall be the date on which the Secretary publishes in the 

10 Federal Register a statement of findings that— 

11 (1) the eligible members of the Fort Belknap 

12 Indian Community have voted to approve this Act 

13 and the Compact by a majority of votes cast on the 

14 day of the vote; 

15 (2)(A) the Montana Water Court has approved 

16 the Compact in a manner from which no further ap17 peal may be taken; or 

18 (B) if the Montana Water Court is found to 

19 lack jurisdiction, the appropriate district court of the 

20 United States has approved the Compact as a con21 sent decree from which no further appeal may be 

22 taken; 

23 (3) all of the amounts authorized to be appro24 priated under section 14 have been appropriated and 

25 deposited in the designated accounts; 


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1 (4) the Secretary and the Fort Belknap Indian 

2 Community have executed an allocation agreement 

3 described in section 7(c)(1); 

4 (5) the State has provided the required funding 

5 into the Fort Belknap Indian Community Tribal Ir6 rigation and Other Water Resources Development 

7 Account of the Trust Fund pursuant to section 

8 14(a)(3); and 

9 (6) the waivers and releases under subsection 

10 (a) have been executed by the Fort Belknap Indian 

11 Community and the Secretary. 

12 (g) TOLLING OF CLAIMS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each applicable period of 

14 limitation and time-based equitable defense relating 

15 to a claim described in this section shall be tolled for 

16 the period beginning on the date of enactment of 

17 this Act and ending on the enforceability date. 

18 (2) EFFECT OF SUBSECTION.—Nothing in this 

19 subsection revives any claim or tolls any period of 

20 limitations or time-based equitable defense that ex21 pired before the date of enactment of this Act. 

22 (h) EXPIRATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—This Act shall expire in any 

24 case in which— 


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1 (A) the amounts authorized to be appro2 priated by this Act have not been made avail3 able to the Secretary by not later than— 

4 (i) January 21, 2034; and 

5 (ii) such alternative later date as is 

6 agreed to by the Fort Belknap Indian 

7 Community and the Secretary; or 

8 (B) the Secretary fails to publish a state9 ment of findings under subsection (f) by not 

10 later than— 

11 (i) January 21, 2035; and 

12 (ii) such alternative later date as is 

13 agreed to by the Fort Belknap Indian 

14 Community and the Secretary, after pro15 viding reasonable notice to the State. 

16 (2) CONSEQUENCES.—If this Act expires under 

17 paragraph (1)— 

18 (A) the waivers and releases under sub19 section (a) shall— 

20 (i) expire; and 

21 (ii) have no further force or effect; 

22 (B) the authorization, ratification, con23 firmation, and execution of the Compact under 

24 section 4 shall no longer be effective; 


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1 (C) any action carried out by the Sec2 retary, and any contract or agreement entered 

3 into, pursuant to this Act shall be void; 

4 (D) any unexpended Federal funds appro5 priated or made available to carry out the ac6 tivities authorized by this Act, together with 

7 any interest earned on those funds, and any 

8 water rights or contracts to use water and title 

9 to other property acquired or constructed with 

10 Federal funds appropriated or made available 

11 to carry out the activities authorized by this Act 

12 shall be returned to the Federal Government, 

13 unless otherwise agreed to by the Fort Belknap 

14 Indian Community and the United States and 

15 approved by Congress; and 

16 (E) except for Federal funds used to ac17 quire or construct property that is returned to 

18 the Federal Government under subparagraph 

19 (D), the United States shall be entitled to offset 

20 any Federal funds made available to carry out 

21 this Act that were expended or withdrawn, or 

22 any funds made available to carry out this Act 

23 from other Federal authorized sources, together 

24 with any interest accrued on those funds, 

25 against any claims against the United States— 


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1 (i) relating to— 

2 (I) water rights in the State as3 serted by— 

4 (aa) the Fort Belknap In5 dian Community; or 

6 (bb) any user of the Tribal 

7 water rights; or 

8 (II) any other matter described 

9 in subsection (a)(3); or 

10 (ii) in any future settlement of water 

11 rights of the Fort Belknap Indian Commu12 nity or an allottee. 

13 SEC. 12. AANIIIH NAKODA SETTLEMENT TRUST FUND. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 a trust fund for the Fort Belknap Indian Community, to 

16 be known as the ‘‘Aaniiih Nakoda Settlement Trust 

17 Fund’’, to be managed, invested, and distributed by the 

18 Secretary and to remain available until expended, with19 drawn, or reverted to the general fund of the Treasury, 

20 consisting of the amounts deposited in the Trust Fund 

21 under subsection (c), together with any investment earn22 ings, including interest, earned on those amounts, for the 

23 purpose of carrying out this Act. 

24 (b) ACCOUNTS.—The Secretary shall establish in the 

25 Trust Fund the following accounts: 


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1 (1) The Fort Belknap Indian Community Trib2 al Irrigation and Other Water Resources Develop3 ment Account. 

4 (2) The Fort Belknap Indian Community 

5 Water Resources and Water Rights Administration, 

6 Operation, and Maintenance Account. 

7 (3) The Fort Belknap Indian Community Clean 

8 and Safe Domestic Water and Sewer Systems, and 

9 Lake Elwell Project Account. 

10 (c) DEPOSITS.—The Secretary shall deposit— 

11 (1) in the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

12 Tribal Irrigation and Other Water Resources Devel13 opment Account established under subsection (b)(1), 

14 the amounts made available pursuant to paragraphs 

15 (1)(A) and (2)(A)(i) of section 14(a); 

16 (2) in the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

17 Water Resources and Water Rights Administration, 

18 Operation, and Maintenance Account established 

19 under subsection (b)(2), the amounts made available 

20 pursuant to section 14(a)(2)(A)(ii); and 

21 (3) in the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

22 Clean and Safe Domestic Water and Sewer Systems, 

23 and Lake Elwell Project Account established under 

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1 suant to paragraphs (1)(B) and (2)(A)(iii) of section 

2 14(a). 

3 (d) MANAGEMENT AND INTEREST.— 

4 (1) MANAGEMENT.—On receipt and deposit of 

5 the funds into the accounts in the Trust Fund pur6 suant to subsection (c), the Secretary shall manage, 

7 invest, and distribute all amounts in the Trust Fund 

8 in accordance with the investment authority of the 

9 Secretary under— 

10 (A) the first section of the Act of June 24, 

11 1938 (25 U.S.C. 162a); 

12 (B) the American Indian Trust Fund Man13 agement Reform Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. 4001 

14 et seq.); and 

15 (C) this section. 

16 (2) INVESTMENT EARNINGS.—In addition to 

17 the amounts deposited under subsection (c), any in18 vestment earnings, including interest, credited to 

19 amounts held in the Trust Fund shall be available 

20 for use in accordance with subsections (e) and (g). 

21 (e) AVAILABILITY OF AMOUNTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated to, 

23 and deposited in, the Trust Fund, including any in24 vestment earnings, including interest, earned on 

25 those amounts shall be made available— 


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1 (A) to the Fort Belknap Indian Commu2 nity by the Secretary beginning on the enforce3 ability date; and 

4 (B) subject to the uses and restrictions in 

5 this section. 

6 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

7 (1)— 

8 (A) amounts deposited in the Fort Belknap 

9 Indian Community Tribal Irrigation and Other 

10 Water Resources Development Account estab11 lished under subsection (b)(1) shall be available 

12 to the Fort Belknap Indian Community on the 

13 date on which the amounts are deposited for 

14 uses described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

15 subsection (g)(1); 

16 (B) amounts deposited in the Fort 

17 Belknap Indian Community Water Resources 

18 and Water Rights Administration, Operation, 

19 and Maintenance Account established under 

20 subsection (b)(2) shall be made available to the 

21 Fort Belknap Indian Community on the date on 

22 which the amounts are deposited and the Fort 

23 Belknap Indian Community has satisfied the re24 quirements of section 11(f)(1), for the uses de25 scribed in subsection (g)(2)(A); and 


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1 (C) amounts deposited in the Fort Belknap 

2 Indian Community Clean and Safe Domestic 

3 Water and Sewer Systems, and Lake Elwell 

4 Project Account established under subsection 

5 (b)(3) shall be available to the Fort Belknap In6 dian Community on the date on which the 

7 amounts are deposited for the uses described in 

8 subsection (g)(3)(A). 

9 (f) WITHDRAWALS.— 

10 (1) AMERICAN INDIAN TRUST FUND MANAGE11 MENT REFORM ACT OF 1994.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Fort Belknap In13 dian Community may withdraw any portion of 

14 the funds in the Trust Fund on approval by the 

15 Secretary of a Tribal management plan sub16 mitted by the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

17 in accordance with the American Indian Trust 

18 Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 

19 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.). 

20 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to the 

21 requirements under the American Indian Trust 

22 Fund Management Reform Act of 1994 (25 

23 U.S.C. 4001 et seq.), the Tribal management 

24 plan under this paragraph shall require that the 

25 Fort Belknap Indian Community spend all 


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1 amounts withdrawn from the Trust Fund, and 

2 any investment earnings accrued through the 

3 investments under the Tribal management plan, 

4 in accordance with this Act. 

5 (C) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 

6 carry out such judicial and administrative ac7 tions as the Secretary determines to be nec8 essary— 

9 (i) to enforce the Tribal management 

10 plan; and 

11 (ii) to ensure that amounts withdrawn 

12 from the Trust Fund by the Fort Belknap 

13 Indian Community under this paragraph 

14 are used in accordance with this Act. 

15 (2) WITHDRAWALS UNDER EXPENDITURE

16 PLAN.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Fort Belknap In18 dian Community may submit to the Secretary a 

19 request to withdraw funds from the Trust Fund 

20 pursuant to an approved expenditure plan. 

21 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—To be eligible to 

22 withdraw funds under an expenditure plan 

23 under this paragraph, the Fort Belknap Indian 

24 Community shall submit to the Secretary for 

25 approval an expenditure plan for any portion of 


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1 the Trust Fund that the Fort Belknap Indian 

2 Community elects to withdraw pursuant to this 

3 paragraph, subject to the condition that the 

4 funds shall be used for the purposes described 

5 in this Act. 

6 (C) INCLUSIONS.—An expenditure plan 

7 under this paragraph shall include a description 

8 of the manner and purpose for which the 

9 amounts proposed to be withdrawn from the 

10 Trust Fund will be used by the Fort Belknap 

11 Indian Community in accordance with sub12 sections (e) and (g). 

13 (D) APPROVAL.—On receipt of an expendi14 ture plan under this paragraph, the Secretary 

15 shall approve the expenditure plan if the Sec16 retary determines that the expenditure plan— 

17 (i) is reasonable; and 

18 (ii) is consistent with, and will be used 

19 for, the purposes of this Act. 

20 (E) ENFORCEMENT.—The Secretary may 

21 carry out such judicial and administrative ac22 tions as the Secretary determines to be nec23 essary to enforce an expenditure plan under 

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1 bursed under this paragraph are used in ac2 cordance with this Act. 

3 (g) USES.—Amounts from the Trust Fund shall be 

4 used by the Fort Belknap Indian Community for the fol5 lowing purposes: 

6 (1) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY TRIBAL

7 IRRIGATION AND OTHER WATER RESOURCES DEVEL8 OPMENT ACCOUNT.—Amounts in the Fort Belknap 

9 Indian Community Tribal Irrigation and Other 

10 Water Resources Development Account established 

11 under subsection (b)(1) shall be used to pay the cost 

12 of activities relating to— 

13 (A) planning, studies, and design of the 

14 Southern Tributary Irrigation Project and the 

15 Peoples Creek Irrigation Project, including the 

16 Upper Peoples Creek Dam and Reservoir, as 

17 described in the Fort Belknap Indian Commu18 nity Comprehensive Water Development Plan 

19 dated 2019; 

20 (B) environmental compliance; 

21 (C) construction of the Southern Tributary 

22 Irrigation Project and the Peoples Creek Irriga23 tion Project, including the Upper Peoples Creek 

24 Dam and Reservoir; 

25 (D) wetlands restoration and development; 


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1 (E) stock watering infrastructure; and 

2 (F) on farm development support and re3 acquisition of fee lands within the Fort Belknap 

4 Indian Irrigation Project. 

5 (2) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY WATER

6 RESOURCES AND WATER RIGHTS ADMINISTRATION, 

7 OPERATION, AND MAINTENANCE ACCOUNT.— 

8 Amounts in the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

9 Water Resources and Water Rights Administration, 

10 Operation, and Maintenance Account established 

11 under subsection (b)(2), the principal and invest12 ment earnings, including interest, may only be used 

13 by the Fort Belknap Indian Community to pay the 

14 costs of activities described in subparagraphs (A) 

15 through (C) as follows: 

16 (A) $9,000,000 shall be used for the estab17 lishment, operation, and capital expenditures in 

18 connection with the administration of the Tribal 

19 water resources and water rights development, 

20 including the development or enactment of a 

21 Tribal water code. 

22 (B) Only investment earnings, including 

23 interest, on $29,299,059 shall be used and be 

24 available to pay the costs of activities for ad25 ministration, operations, and regulation of the 


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1 Tribal water resources and water rights depart2 ment, in accordance with the Compact and this 

3 Act. 

4 (C) Only investment earnings, including in5 terest, on $28,331,693 shall be used and be 

6 available to pay the costs of activities relating 

7 to a portion of the annual assessment costs for 

8 the Fort Belknap Indian Community and Tribal 

9 members, including allottees, under the Fort 

10 Belknap Indian Irrigation Project. 

11 (3) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY CLEAN

12 AND SAFE DOMESTIC WATER AND SEWER SYSTEMS, 

13 AND LAKE ELWELL PROJECT ACCOUNT.—Amounts 

14 in the Fort Belknap Indian Community Clean and 

15 Safe Domestic Water and Sewer Systems, and Lake 

16 Elwell Project Account established under subsection 

17 (b)(3), the principal and investment earnings, in18 cluding interest, may only be used by the Fort 

19 Belknap Indian Community to pay the costs of ac20 tivities relating to— 

21 (A) planning, studies, and design of do22 mestic water supply, sewer collection and treat23 ment systems, and Lake Elwell Project, as de24 scribed in the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

25 Comprehensive Water Development Plan dated 


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1 2019, including water delivery to the southern 

2 part of the Reservation; 

3 (B) construction of domestic water supply, 

4 sewer collection, and treatment systems; 

5 (C) construction, in accordance with appli6 cable law, of infrastructure for delivery of Lake 

7 Elwell water diverted from the Missouri River 

8 to the southern part of the Reservation; and 

9 (D) planning, studies, design, and con10 struction of a Tribal wellness center for a work 

11 force health and wellbeing project. 

12 (h) LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not be liable for 

13 any expenditure or investment of amounts withdrawn from 

14 the Trust Fund by the Fort Belknap Indian Community 

15 pursuant to subsection (f). 

16 (i) PROJECT EFFICIENCIES.—If the total cost of the 

17 activities described in subsection (g) results in cost savings 

18 and is less than the amounts authorized to be obligated 

19 under any of paragraphs (1) through (3) of that sub20 section required to carry out those activities, the Sec21 retary, at the request of the Fort Belknap Indian Commu22 nity, shall deposit those savings in the Trust Fund to be 

23 used in accordance with that subsection. 

24 (j) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Fort Belknap Indian 

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1 penditure report describing accomplishments and amounts 

2 spent from use of withdrawals under a Tribal management 

3 plan or an expenditure plan described in this section. 

4 (k) NO PER CAPITA PAYMENTS.—No principal or in5 terest amount in any account established by this section 

6 shall be distributed to any member of the Fort Belknap 

7 Indian Community on a per capita basis. 

8 (l) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act entitles the Fort 

9 Belknap Indian Community to judicial review of a deter10 mination of the Secretary regarding whether to approve 

11 a Tribal management plan under paragraph (1) or an ex12 penditure plan under paragraph (2), except as provided 

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

14 5, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Adminis15 trative Procedure Act’’). 

16 SEC. 13. FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY WATER SET17 TLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION FUND. 

18 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

19 Treasury of the United States a non-trust, interest-bear20 ing account to be known as the ‘‘Fort Belknap Indian 

21 Community Water Settlement Implementation Fund’’, to 

22 be managed and distributed by the Secretary, for use by 

23 the Secretary for carrying out this Act. 

24 (b) ACCOUNTS.—The Secretary shall establish in the 

25 Implementation Fund the following accounts: 


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1 (1) The Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project 

2 System Account. 

3 (2) The Milk River Project Mitigation Account. 

4 (c) DEPOSITS.—The Secretary shall deposit— 

5 (1) in the Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation 

6 Project System Account established under subsection 

7 (b)(1), the amount made available pursuant to para8 graphs (1)(C) and (2)(A)(iv) of section 14(a); and 

9 (2) in the Milk River Project Mitigation Ac10 count established under subsection (b)(2), the 

11 amount made available pursuant to section 

12 14(a)(1)(D). 

13 (d) USES.— 

14 (1) FORT BELKNAP INDIAN IRRIGATION

15 PROJECT SYSTEM ACCOUNT.—The Fort Belknap In16 dian Irrigation Project Rehabilitation Account estab17 lished under subsection (b)(1) shall be used to carry 

18 out section 9, except as provided in subsection (g) 

19 of that section. 

20 (2) MILK RIVER PROJECT MITIGATION AC21 COUNT.—The Milk River Project Mitigation Account 

22 established under subsection (b)(2) may only be used 

23 to carry out section 8. 

24 (e) MANAGEMENT.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Implementa2 tion Fund shall not be available to the Secretary for 

3 expenditure until the enforceability date. 

4 (2) EXCEPTION.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

5 (1), amounts deposited in the Fort Belknap Indian 

6 Irrigation Project System Account established under 

7 subsection (b)(1) shall be available to the Secretary 

8 on the date on which the amounts are deposited for 

9 uses described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of section 

10 9(a). 

11 (f) INTEREST.—In addition to the deposits under 

12 subsection (c), any interest credited to amounts unex13 pended in the Implementation Fund are authorized to be 

14 appropriated to be used in accordance with the uses de15 scribed in subsection (d). 

16 SEC. 14. FUNDING. 

17 (a) FUNDING.— 

18 (1) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

19 Subject to subsection (b), there are authorized to be 

20 appropriated to the Secretary— 

21 (A) for deposit in the Fort Belknap Indian 

22 Community Tribal Irrigation and Other Water 

23 Resources Development Account of the Trust 

24 Fund established under section 12(b)(1), 

25 $89,643,100, to be retained until expended, 


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1 withdrawn, or reverted to the general fund of 

2 the Treasury; 

3 (B) for deposit in the Fort Belknap Indian 

4 Community Clean and Safe Domestic Water 

5 and Sewer Systems, and Lake Elwell Project 

6 Account of the Trust Fund established under 

7 section 12(b)(3), $157,371,593, to be retained 

8 until expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the 

9 general fund of the Treasury; 

10 (C) for deposit in the Fort Belknap Indian 

11 Irrigation Project System Account of the Imple12 mentation Fund established under section 

13 13(b)(1), such sums as are necessary, but not 

14 more than $187,124,469, for the Secretary to 

15 carry out section 9, to be retained until ex16 pended, withdrawn, or reverted to the general 

17 fund of the Treasury; and 

18 (D) for deposit in the Milk River Project 

19 Mitigation Account of the Implementation Fund 

20 established under section 13(b)(2), such sums 

21 as are necessary, but not more than 

22 $300,000,000, for the Secretary to carry out 

23 obligations of the Secretary under section 8, to 

24 be retained until expended, withdrawn, or re25 verted to the general fund of the Treasury. 


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1 (2) MANDATORY APPROPRIATIONS.— 

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Out of any funds in the 

3 Treasury not otherwise appropriated, the Sec4 retary of the Treasury shall deposit— 

5 (i) in the Fort Belknap Indian Com6 munity Tribal Irrigation and Other Water 

7 Resources Development Account of the 

8 Trust Fund established under section 

9 12(b)(1), $29,881,034, to be retained until 

10 expended, withdrawn, or reverted to the 

11 general fund of the Treasury; 

12 (ii) in the Fort Belknap Indian Com13 munity Water Resources and Water Rights 

14 Administration, Operation, and Mainte15 nance Account of the Trust Fund estab16 lished under section 12(b)(2), 

17 $66,630,752; 

18 (iii) in the Fort Belknap Indian Com19 munity Clean and Safe Domestic Water 

20 and Sewer Systems, and Lake Elwell 

21 Project Account of the Trust Fund estab22 lished under section 12(b)(3), 

23 $110,628,407; and 

24 (iv) in the Fort Belknap Indian Irri25 gation Project System Account of the ImVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:57 Nov 18, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00099 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5088.IH H5088

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1 plementation Fund established under sec2 tion 13(b)(1), $228,717,684. 

3 (B) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts deposited in 

4 the Trust Fund under subparagraph (A) shall 

5 be available without further appropriation. 

6 (3) STATE COST SHARE.—The State shall con7 tribute $5,000,000, plus any earned interest, pay8 able to the Secretary for deposit in the Fort Belknap 

9 Indian Community Tribal Irrigation and Other 

10 Water Resources Development Account of the Trust 

11 Fund established under section 12(b)(1) on approval 

12 of a final decree by the Montana Water Court for 

13 the purpose of activities relating to the Upper Peo14 ples Creek Dam and Reservoir under subparagraphs 

15 (A) through (C) of section 12(g)(1). 

16 (b) FLUCTUATION IN COSTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The amounts authorized to 

18 be appropriated under paragraphs (1) and (2) of 

19 subsection (a) and this subsection shall be— 

20 (A) increased or decreased, as appropriate, 

21 by such amounts as may be justified by reason 

22 of ordinary fluctuations in costs occurring after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act as indicated 

24 by the Bureau of Reclamation Construction 

25 Cost Index—Composite Trend; and 


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1 (B) adjusted to address construction cost 

2 changes necessary to account for unforeseen 

3 market volatility that may not otherwise be cap4 tured by engineering cost indices as determined 

5 by the Secretary, including repricing applicable 

6 to the types of construction and current indus7 try standards involved. 

8 (2) REPETITION.—The adjustment process 

9 under paragraph (1) shall be repeated for each sub10 sequent amount appropriated until the amount au11 thorized to be appropriated under subsection (a), as 

12 adjusted, has been appropriated. 

13 (3) PERIOD OF INDEXING.— 

14 (A) TRUST FUND.—With respect to the 

15 Trust Fund, the period of indexing adjustment 

16 under paragraph (1) for any increment of fund17 ing shall end on the date on which the funds 

18 are deposited into the Trust Fund. 

19 (B) IMPLEMENTATION FUND.—With re20 spect to the Implementation Fund, the period 

21 of adjustment under paragraph (1) for any in22 crement of funding shall be annually. 

23 SEC. 15. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

24 (a) WAIVER OF SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY BY THE

25 UNITED STATES.—Except as provided in subsections (a) 


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1 through (c) of section 208 of the Department of Justice 

2 Appropriation Act, 1953 (43 U.S.C. 666), nothing in this 

3 Act waives the sovereign immunity of the United States. 

4 (b) OTHER TRIBES NOT ADVERSELY AFFECTED.— 

5 Nothing in this Act quantifies or diminishes any land or 

6 water right, or any claim or entitlement to land or water, 

7 of an Indian Tribe, band, or community other than the 

8 Fort Belknap Indian Community. 

9 (c) ELIMINATION OF DEBTS OR LIENS AGAINST AL10 LOTMENTS OF THE FORT BELKNAP INDIAN COMMUNITY

11 MEMBERS WITHIN THE FORT BELKNAP INDIAN IRRIGA12 TION PROJECT.—On the date of enactment of this Act, 

13 the Secretary shall cancel and eliminate all debts or liens 

14 against the allotments of land held by the Fort Belknap 

15 Indian Community and the members of the Fort Belknap 

16 Indian Community due to construction assessments and 

17 annual operation and maintenance charges relating to the 

18 Fort Belknap Indian Irrigation Project. 

19 (d) EFFECT ON CURRENT LAW.—Nothing in this Act 

20 affects any provision of law (including regulations) in ef21 fect on the day before the date of enactment of this Act 

22 with respect to pre-enforcement review of any Federal en23 vironmental enforcement action. 

24 (e) EFFECT ON RECLAMATION LAWS.—The activities 

25 carried out by the Commissioner under this Act shall not 


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1 establish a precedent or impact the authority provided 

2 under any other provision of the reclamation laws, includ3 ing— 

4 (1) the Reclamation Rural Water Supply Act of 

5 2006 (43 U.S.C. 2401 et seq.); and 

6 (2) the Omnibus Public Land Management Act 

7 of 2009 (Public Law 111–11; 123 Stat. 991). 

8 (f) ADDITIONAL FUNDING.—Nothing in this Act pro9 hibits the Fort Belknap Indian Community from seek10 ing— 

11 (1) additional funds for Tribal programs or 

12 purposes; or 

13 (2) funding from the United States or the State 

14 based on the status of the Fort Belknap Indian 

15 Community as an Indian Tribe. 

16 (g) RIGHTS UNDER STATE LAW.—Except as pro17 vided in section 1 of Article III of the Compact (relating 

18 to the closing of certain water basins in the State to new 

19 appropriations in accordance with the laws of the State), 

20 nothing in this Act or the Compact precludes the acquisi21 tion or exercise of a right arising under State law (as de22 fined in section 6 of Article II of the Compact) to the use 

23 of water by the Fort Belknap Indian Community, or a 

24 member or allottee of the Fort Belknap Indian Commu25 nity, outside the Reservation by— 


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1 (1) purchase of the right; or 

2 (2) submitting to the State an application in 

3 accordance with State law. 

4 (h) WATER STORAGE AND IMPORTATION.—Nothing 

5 in this Act or the Compact prevents the Fort Belknap In6 dian Community from participating in any project to im7 port water to, or to add storage in, the Milk River Basin. 

8 SEC. 16. ANTIDEFICIENCY. 

9 The United States shall not be liable for any failure 

10 to carry out any obligation or activity authorized by this 

11 Act, including any obligation or activity under the Com12 pact, if— 

13 (1) adequate appropriations are not provided by 

14 Congress expressly to carry out the purposes of this 

15 Act; or 

16 (2) there are not enough funds available in the 

17 Reclamation Water Settlements Fund established by 

18 section 10501(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Man19 agement Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 407(a)) to carry 

20 out the purposes of this Act. 

Æ 


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