I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 548 

To take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for the benefit of 

the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 26, 2023 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To take certain Federal lands in Tennessee into trust for 

the benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians. 

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 ‘‘Eastern Band of Cher5 okee Historic Lands Reacquisition Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. LAND TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR THE EASTERN BAND 

7 OF CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

8 (a) LANDS INTO TRUST.—Subject to such rights of 

9 record as may be vested in third parties to rights-of-way 

10 or other easements or rights-of-record for roads, utilities, 


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1 or other purposes, the following Federal lands managed 

2 by the Tennessee Valley Authority and located on or above 

3 the 820-foot (MSL) contour elevation in Monroe County, 

4 Tennessee, on the shores of Tellico Reservoir, are declared 

5 to be held in trust by the United States for the use and 

6 benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: 

7 (1) SEQUOYAH MUSEUM PROPERTY.—Approxi8 mately 46.0 acres of land generally depicted as 

9 ‘‘Sequoyah Museum’’, ‘‘Parcel 1’’, and ‘‘Parcel 2’’ 

10 on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee His11 toric Lands Reacquisition Map 1’’ and dated April 

12 30, 2015. 

13 (2) SUPPORT PROPERTY.—Approximately 11.9 

14 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Support Parcel’’ 

15 on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee His16 toric Lands Reacquisition Map 2’’ and dated April 

17 30, 2015. 

18 (3) CHOTA MEMORIAL PROPERTY AND TANASI

19 MEMORIAL PROPERTY.—Approximately 18.2 acres of 

20 land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota Memorial 1’’ and 

21 ‘‘Tanasi Memorial’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern 

22 Band of Cherokee Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 

23 3’’ and dated April 30, 2015, and including the 

24 Chota Memorial and all land within a circle with a 

25 radius of 86 feet measured from the center of the 


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1 Chota Memorial without regard to the elevation of 

2 the land within the circle. 

3 (b) PROPERTY ON LANDS.—In addition to the land 

4 taken into trust by subsection (a), the improvements on 

5 and appurtenances thereto, including memorials, are and 

6 shall remain the property of the Eastern Band of Cher7 okee Indians. 

8 (c) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

9 date of a land transaction made pursuant to this section, 

10 the Tennessee Valley Authority, after consultation with 

11 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Secretary 

12 of the Interior, shall submit revised maps that depict the 

13 land taken into trust under this section, including any cor14 rections made to the maps described in this section to the 

15 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep16 resentatives and the Committee on Indian Affairs of the 

17 Senate. 

18 (d) CONTOUR ELEVATION CLARIFICATION.—The 

19 contour elevations referred to in this Act are based on 

20 MSL Datum as established by the NGS Southeastern 

21 Supplementary Adjustment of 1936 (NGVD29). 

22 (e) CONDITIONS.—The lands taken into trust under 

23 this section shall be subject to the conditions described 

24 in section 5. 


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1 SEC. 3. PERMANENT EASEMENTS TAKEN INTO TRUST FOR 

2 THE EASTERN BAND OF CHEROKEE INDIANS. 

3 (a) PERMANENT EASEMENTS.—The following perma4 nent easements for land below the 820-foot (MSL) con5 tour elevation for the following Federal lands in Monroe 

6 County, Tennessee, on the shores of Tellico Reservoir, are 

7 declared to be held in trust by the United States for the 

8 benefit of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians: 

9 (1) CHOTA PENINSULA.—Approximately 8.5 

10 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota Memorial 

11 2’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee 

12 Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated 

13 April 30, 2015. 

14 (2) CHOTA-TANASI TRAIL.—Approximately 11.4 

15 acres of land generally depicted as ‘‘Chota-Tanasi 

16 Trail’’ on the map titled ‘‘Eastern Band of Cherokee 

17 Historic Lands Reacquisition Map 3’’ and dated 

18 April 30, 2015. 

19 (b) REVISED MAPS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

20 date of a land transaction made pursuant to this section, 

21 the Tennessee Valley Authority, after consultation with 

22 the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and the Secretary 

23 of the Interior, shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

24 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com25 mittee on Indian Affairs of the Senate revised maps that 

26 depict the lands subject to easements taken into trust 


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1 under this section, including any corrections necessary to 

2 the maps described in this section. 

3 (c) CONDITIONS.—The lands subject to easements 

4 taken into trust under this section shall be subject to the 

5 use rights and conditions described in section 5. 

6 SEC. 4. TRUST ADMINISTRATION AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) APPLICABLE LAWS.—Except as described in sec8 tion 5, the lands subject to this Act shall be administered 

9 under the laws and regulations generally applicable to 

10 lands and interests in lands held in trust on behalf of In11 dian tribes. 

12 (b) USE OF LAND.—Except the lands described in 

13 section 2(a)(2), the lands subject to this Act shall be used 

14 principally for memorializing and interpreting the history 

15 and culture of Indians and recreational activities, includ16 ing management, operation, and conduct of programs of 

17 and for— 

18 (1) the Sequoyah birthplace memorial and mu19 seum; 

20 (2) the memorials to Chota and Tanasi as 

21 former capitals of the Cherokees; 

22 (3) the memorial and place of reinterment for 

23 remains of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

24 and other Cherokee tribes, including those trans25 ferred to the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians and 


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1 other Cherokee tribes and those human remains and 

2 cultural items transferred by the Tennessee Valley 

3 Authority to those Cherokee tribes under the Native 

4 American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act 

5 (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); and 

6 (4) interpreting the Trail of Tears National 

7 Historic Trail. 

8 (c) USE OF SUPPORT PROPERTY.—The land de9 scribed in section 2(a)(2) shall be used principally for the 

10 support of lands subject to this Act and the programs of11 fered by the Tribe relating to such lands and their pur12 poses including— 

13 (1) classrooms and conference rooms; 

14 (2) cultural interpretation and education pro15 grams; 

16 (3) temporary housing of guests participating 

17 in such programs or the management of the prop18 erties and programs; and 

19 (4) headquarters offices and support space for 

20 the trust properties and programs. 

21 (d) LAND USE.—The principal purposes of the use 

22 of the land described in section 3(a)— 

23 (1) paragraph (1), shall be for a recreational 

24 trail from the general vicinity of the parking lot to 

25 the area of the Chota Memorial and beyond to the 


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1 southern portion of the peninsula, including inter2 pretive signs, benches, and other compatible im3 provements; and 

4 (2) paragraph (2), shall be for a recreational 

5 trail between the Chota and Tanasi Memorials, in6 cluding interpretive signs, benches, and other com7 patible improvements. 

8 SEC. 5. USE RIGHTS, CONDITIONS. 

9 (a) FLOODING OF LAND AND ROADS.—The Ten10 nessee Valley Authority may temporarily and intermit11 tently flood the lands subject to this Act that lie below 

12 the 824-foot (MSL) contour elevation and the road access 

13 to such lands that lie below the 824-foot (MSL) contour 

14 elevation. 

15 (b) FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES.—The Eastern 

16 Band of Cherokee Indians may construct, own, operate, 

17 and maintain— 

18 (1) water use facilities and nonhabitable struc19 tures, facilities, and improvements not subject to se20 rious damage if temporarily flooded on the land ad21 joining the Tellico Reservoir side of the lands subject 

22 to this Act that lie between the 815-foot and 820- 

23 foot (MSL) contour elevations, but only after having 

24 received written consent from the Tennessee Valley 


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1 Authority and subject to the terms of such approval; 

2 and 

3 (2) water use facilities between the 815-foot 

4 (MSL) contour elevations on the Tellico Reservoir 

5 side of the lands subject to this Act and the adjacent 

6 waters of Tellico Reservoir and in and on such 

7 waters after having received written consent from 

8 the Tennessee Valley Authority and subject to the 

9 terms of such approval, but may not construct, own, 

10 operate, or maintain other nonhabitable structures, 

11 facilities, and improvements on such lands. 

12 (c) INGRESS AND EGRESS.—The Eastern Band of 

13 Cherokee Indians may use the lands subject to this Act 

14 and Tellico Reservoir for ingress and egress to and from 

15 such land and the waters of the Tellico Reservoir and to 

16 and from all structures, facilities, and improvements main17 tained in, on, or over such land or waters. 

18 (d) RIVER CONTROL AND DEVELOPMENT.—The use 

19 rights under this section may not be exercised so as to 

20 interfere in any way with the Tennessee Valley Authority’s 

21 statutory program for river control and development. 

22 (e) TVA AUTHORITIES.—Nothing in this Act shall be 

23 construed to affect the right of the Tennessee Valley Au24 thority to— 

25 (1) draw down Tellico Reservoir; 


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1 (2) fluctuate the water level thereof as may be 

2 necessary for its management of the Reservoir; or 

3 (3) permanently flood lands adjacent to lands 

4 subject to this Act that lie below the 815-foot (MSL) 

5 contour elevation. 

6 (f) RIGHT OF ENTRY.—The lands subject to this Act 

7 shall be subject to a reasonable right of entry by the per8 sonnel of the Tennessee Valley Authority and agents of 

9 the Tennessee Valley Authority operating in their official 

10 capacities as necessary for purposes of carrying out the 

11 Tennessee Valley Authority’s statutory program for river 

12 control and development. 

13 (g) ENTRY ONTO LAND.—To the extent that the 

14 Tennessee Valley Authority’s operations on the lands sub15 ject to this Act do not unreasonably interfere with the 

16 Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ maintenance of an ap17 propriate setting for the memorialization of Cherokee his18 tory or culture on the lands and its operations on the 

19 lands, the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians shall allow 

20 the Tennessee Valley Authority to enter the lands to clear, 

21 ditch, dredge, and drain said lands and apply larvicides 

22 and chemicals thereon or to conduct bank protection work 

23 and erect structures necessary in the promotion and fur24 therance of public health, flood control, and navigation. 


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1 (h) LOSS OF HYDROPOWER CAPACITY.—All future 

2 development of the lands subject to this Act shall be sub3 ject to compensation to the Tennessee Valley Authority 

4 for loss of hydropower capacity as provided in the Ten5 nessee Valley Authority Flood Control Storage Loss 

6 Guideline, unless agreed to otherwise by the Tennessee 

7 Valley Authority. 

8 (i) PROTECTION FROM LIABILITY.—The United 

9 States shall not be liable for any loss or damage resulting 

10 from— 

11 (1) the temporary and intermittent flooding of 

12 lands subject to this Act; 

13 (2) the permanent flooding of adjacent lands as 

14 provided in this section; 

15 (3) wave action in Tellico Reservoir; or 

16 (4) fluctuation of water levels for purposes of 

17 managing Tellico Reservoir. 

18 (j) CONTINUING RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Tennessee 

19 Valley Authority shall— 

20 (1) retain sole and exclusive Federal responsi21 bility and liability to fund and implement any envi22 ronmental remediation requirements that are re23 quired under applicable Federal or State law for any 

24 land or interest in land to be taken into trust under 

25 this Act, as well as the assessments under paragraph 


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1 (2) to identify the type and quantity of any potential 

2 hazardous substances on the lands; 

3 (2) prior to the acquisition in trust, carry out 

4 an assessment and notify the Secretary of the Inte5 rior and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians 

6 whether any hazardous substances were stored on 

7 the lands and, if so, whether those substances— 

8 (A) were stored for 1 year or more on the 

9 lands; 

10 (B) were known to have been released on 

11 the lands; or 

12 (C) were known to have been disposed of 

13 on the lands; and 

14 (3) if the assessment under paragraph (2) 

15 shows that hazardous substances were stored, re16 leased, or disposed of on the lands, include in its no17 tice under paragraph (2) to the Secretary of the In18 terior and the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians— 

19 (A) the type and quantity of such haz20 ardous substances; 

21 (B) the time at which such storage, re22 lease, or disposal took place on the lands; and 

23 (C) a description of any remedial actions, 

24 if any, taken on the lands. 


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1 SEC. 6. LANDS SUBJECT TO THE ACT. 

2 For the purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘lands subject 

3 to this Act’’ means lands and interests in lands (including 

4 easements) taken into trust for the benefit of the Eastern 

5 Band of Cherokee Indians pursuant to or under this Act. 

6 SEC. 7. GAMING PROHIBITION. 

7 No class II or class III gaming, as defined in the In8 dian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.), 

9 shall be conducted on lands subject to this Act. 

Æ 


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