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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2256 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2256

   To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land and 
  mineral rights on the reservation of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of 
Montana and other culturally important land into trust for the benefit 
        of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 11, 2014

 Mr. Walsh (for himself and Mr. Tester) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To direct the Secretary of the Interior to take certain land and 
  mineral rights on the reservation of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of 
Montana and other culturally important land into trust for the benefit 
        of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Northern Cheyenne Lands Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) the Northern Cheyenne Tribe has depended on the land of 
        the Tribe and the land-based resources of the Tribe to support 
        its way of life since time immemorial;
            (2) the Tribe has made supreme and historic sacrifices to 
        repossess and maintain the homeland of the Tribe, including the 
        Reservation of the Tribe in the State of Montana;
            (3) the Tribe suffers from tremendous social and economic 
        challenges, including a lack of employment opportunities on the 
        Reservation, which can be improved by strengthening the control 
        of the Tribe over the land base, natural resources, and trust 
        funds of the Tribe;
            (4) the Tribe and the members of the Tribe are the 
        beneficial owners of more than 95 percent of the surface land 
        of the Reservation and all but approximately 5,000 subsurface 
        acres of the Reservation;
            (5) the Tribe seeks to obtain ownership of approximately 
        5,000 subsurface acres on the Reservation that the Tribe does 
        not own as a result of an error made by the United States when 
        the Reservation was expanded in 1900;
            (6) in 2002, the Tribe agreed by settlement to dismiss a 
        lawsuit against the United States which alleged that the United 
        States failed to protect the Reservation from the impacts of 
        coal development in return for assistance in securing tribal 
        ownership of the subsurface rights described in paragraph (5) 
        substantially in the form of this Act, and to secure mitigation 
        funding to address the impacts of coal development in areas 
        adjacent to the Reservation, among other conditions;
            (7) to increase tribal ownership of the surface land, the 
        Tribe has purchased approximately 932 acres of land within the 
        Reservation that were, for various reasons, taken out of trust 
        ownership status;
            (8) the Tribe has purchased approximately 635 acres of land 
        near Bear Butte, South Dakota, which the Tribe considers sacred 
        ground for the members of the Tribe, as well as for members of 
        other Indian tribes;
            (9) the Tribe seeks to have the land and subsurface within 
        the Reservation and the Bear Butte land described in this 
        section taken into trust by the United States for the benefit 
        of the Tribe;
            (10) the Tribe seeks clarification, consistent with the 
        1999 settlement with the United States, that the principal of 
        the funds arising from the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reserved 
        Water Rights Settlement Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-374; 106 
        Stat. 1186; 108 Stat. 707), the earnings from which are paid to 
        the Tribe and managed as the ``Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund'' 
        by the Office of Special Trustee, may be transferred to the 
        Northern Cheyenne Tribe Permanent Fund, which has historically 
        provided strong returns to the Tribe in direct support of 
        tribal self-determination and to offset limited Federal funding 
        of important tribal governmental services; and
            (11) if the conveyances of land and funds authorized under 
        this Act are carried out, the Tribe has agreed to waive all 
        legal claims against the United States arising out of the 
        longstanding loss of the subsurface rights and the management 
        of the Northern Cheyenne Trust Fund by the United States.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Northern Cheyenne 
        Trust Fund identified in the June 7, 1999 Agreement Settling 
        Certain Issues Relating to the Tongue River Dam Project, which 
        was entered into by the Tribe, the State, and delegates of the 
        Secretary, and managed by the Office of Special Trustee in the 
        Department of the Interior.
            (2) Great northern properties.--The term ``Great Northern 
        Properties'' means the Great Northern Properties Limited 
        Partnership, which is a Delaware limited partnership.
            (3) Permanent fund.--The term ``Permanent Fund'' means the 
        Northern Cheyenne Tribe Permanent Fund managed by the Tribe 
        pursuant to the Plan for Investment, Management and Use of the 
        Fund, as amended by vote of the tribal membership on November 
        2, 2010.
            (4) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the 
        Northern Cheyenne Reservation.
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (6) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Montana.
            (7) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Northern Cheyenne 
        Tribe.

SEC. 4. TRIBAL FEE LAND TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.

    Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall take the approximately 1,567 acres of land depicted on 
the map entitled ``Northern Cheyenne Lands Act - Fee-to-Trust Lands'' 
and dated March 26, 2014, into trust for the benefit of the Tribe.

SEC. 5. MINERAL RIGHTS TO BE TAKEN INTO TRUST.

    (a) Completion of Mineral Conveyances.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date on 
        which the Secretary receives the notification described in 
        subsection (c), in a single transaction--
                    (A) Great Northern Properties shall convey to the 
                Tribe all right, title, and interest of Great Northern 
                Properties, consisting of coal and iron ore mineral 
                interests, underlying the land on the Reservation 
                generally depicted as ``Great Northern Properties'' on 
                the map entitled ``Northern Cheyenne Land Act - Coal 
                Tracts'' and dated February 27, 2014; and
                    (B) subject to paragraph (2), the Secretary shall 
                convey to Great Northern Properties all right, title, 
                and interest of the United States in and to the coal 
                mineral interests underlying the land generally 
                depicted as ``Bull Mountains'' and ``East Fork'' on the 
                map entitled ``Northern Cheyenne Federal Tracts'' and 
                dated February 27, 2014.
            (2) Requirement.--The Secretary shall ensure that the deed 
        for the conveyance authorized by paragraph (1)(B) shall include 
        a covenant running with the land that--
                    (A) precludes the coal conveyed from being mined by 
                any method other than underground mining techniques--
                            (i) until any surface owner (as defined in 
                        section 714(e) of Public Law 95-87 (30 U.S.C. 
                        1304(e))) for a specific tract has provided to 
                        Great Northern Properties written consent to 
                        enter the specific tract and commence surface 
                        mining; and
                            (ii) except as determined to be acceptable 
                        for further consideration for leasing in the 
                        document of the Bureau of Land Management 
                        entitled ``Billings Resource Area Final EIS and 
                        Resource Management Plan'' and dated September 
                        1984; and
                    (B) shall not create any property interest in the 
                United States or any surface owner (as defined in 
                section 714(e) of Public Law 95-87 (30 U.S.C. 
                1304(e))).
    (b) Treatment of Land Transferred to Tribe.--
            (1) In general.--At the request of the Tribe, the Secretary 
        shall take into trust for the benefit of the Tribe the mineral 
        interests conveyed to the Tribe under subsection (a)(1)(A).
            (2) No state taxation.--The mineral interests conveyed to 
        the Tribe under subsection (a)(1)(A) shall not be subject to 
        taxation by the State (including any political subdivision of 
        the State).
    (c) Revenue Sharing Agreement.--The Tribe shall notify the 
Secretary, in writing, that--
            (1) consistent with a settlement agreement entered into 
        between the Tribe and the State in 2002, the Tribe and Great 
        Northern Properties have agreed on a formula for sharing 
        revenue from development of the mineral interests described in 
        subsection (a)(1)(B) if those mineral interests are developed;
            (2) the revenue sharing agreement remains in effect as of 
        the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (3) Great Northern Properties has offered to convey the 
        mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(A) to the 
        Tribe.
    (d) Waiver of Legal Claims.--As a condition of the conveyances of 
mineral interests under subsection (a)(1)--
            (1) the Tribe shall waive any and all claims relating to 
        the failure of the United States to acquire and take into trust 
        on behalf of the Tribe the mineral interests described in 
        subsection (a)(1)(A), as directed by Congress in 1900; and
            (2) Great Northern Properties shall waive any and all 
        claims against the United States relating to the value of the 
        coal mineral interests described in subsection (a)(1)(B).
    (e) Rescission of Mineral Conveyances.--If any portion of the 
mineral interests conveyed under subsection (a)(1) is invalidated by 
final judgment of a court of the United States--
            (1) not later than 1 year after the date on which the final 
        judgment is rendered, the Secretary or Great Northern 
        Properties may agree to rescind the conveyances under 
        subsection (a)(1); and
            (2) if the conveyances are rescinded under paragraph (1), 
        the waivers under subsection (d) shall no longer apply.

SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF NORTHERN CHEYENNE TRUST FUND TO TRIBE.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, all amounts in the Fund shall be deposited in the 
Permanent Fund.
    (b) Use of Amounts.--Of the amounts transferred to the Permanent 
Fund under subsection (a)--
            (1) the portion that is attributable to the principal of 
        the Fund shall be maintained in perpetuity; and
            (2) any interest earned on the amounts described in 
        paragraph (1) shall be used in the same manner as interest 
        earned on amounts in the Permanent Fund may be used.
    (c) Waiver of Legal Claims.--As a condition of the transfer under 
subsection (a), the Tribe shall waive any and all claims arising from 
the management of the Fund by the United States.

SEC. 7. ELIGIBILITY FOR OTHER FEDERAL BENEFITS.

    The transfer under section 6 shall not result in the reduction or 
denial of any Federal service, benefit, or program to the Tribe or to 
any member of the Tribe to which the Tribe or member is entitled or 
eligible because of--
            (1) the status of the Tribe as a federally recognized 
        Indian tribe; or
            (2) the status of the member as a member of the Tribe.

SEC. 8. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

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