San Juan County Settlement Implementation Act

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the Secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination, to substitute certain land selections of the Navajo Nation, to designate certain wilderness areas, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the San Juan County Settlement Implementation Act 2. Exchange of coal preference right lease applications (a) Definitions In this section: (1) Bidding right The term bidding right (A) in lieu of a monetary payment for 50 percent of a bonus bid for a coal lease sale under the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 181 (B) as a monetary credit against 50 percent of any rental or royalty payments due under any Federal coal lease. (2) Secretary The term Secretary (b) Use of bidding right (1) In general If the Secretary retires a coal preference right lease application under the Mineral Leasing Act 30 U.S.C. 181 (A) a bonus in a coal lease sale; or (B) rental or royalty under a Federal coal lease. (2) Payment calculation (A) In general The Secretary shall calculate a payment of amounts owed to a relevant State under section 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 191(a) (B) Amounts received Except as provided in this subsection, for purposes of calculating the payment of amounts owed to a relevant State under subparagraph (A) only, a bidding right shall be considered amounts received. (c) Source of Payments The Secretary shall make payments to the relevant State under subsection (b) from monetary payments received by the Secretary when bidding rights are exercised under this Act. (d) Treatment of Payments A payment to a State under this section shall be treated as a payment under section 35(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 191(a) (e) Transferability; Limitation (1) Transferability A bidding right issued for a coal preference right lease application under the Mineral Leasing Act 30 U.S.C. 181 (2) Notification of Secretary A person who transfers a bidding right shall notify the Secretary of the transfer by any method determined to be appropriate by the Secretary. (3) Effective period (A) In general A bidding right issued under the Mineral Leasing Act 30 U.S.C. 181 (B) Tolling of period The 7-year period described in subparagraph (A) shall be tolled during any period in which exercise of the bidding right is precluded by temporary injunctive relief granted under, or administrative, legislative, or judicial suspension of, the Federal coal leasing program. (f) Deadline If an existing settlement of a coal preference right lease application has not been implemented as of the date of enactment of this Act, not later than 180 days after that date of enactment, the Secretary shall complete the bidding rights valuation process in accordance with the terms of the settlement. 3. Certain land selections of the Navajo Nation (a) Cancellation of certain selections The land selections made by the Navajo Nation pursuant to Public Law 93–531 Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 25 U.S.C. 640d Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act Selected Lands (b) Authorization for new selection (1) In general Subject to paragraphs (2), (3), and (4) and subsection (c), the Navajo Nation may make new land selections in accordance with the Act referred to in subsection (a) to replace the land selections cancelled under that subsection. (2) Acreage cap The total acreage of land selected under paragraph (1) shall not exceed 15,000 acres of land. (3) Exclusions The following land shall not be eligible for selection under paragraph (1): (A) Land within a unit of the National Landscape Conservation System. (B) Land within— (i) the Glade Run Recreation Area; (ii) the Fossil Forest Research Natural Area; or (iii) a special management area or area of critical environmental concern identified in a land use plan developed under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1712 (C) Any land subject to a lease or contract under the Mineral Leasing Act 30 U.S.C. 181 Materials Act of 1947 30 U.S.C. 601 (4) Deadline Not later than 7 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Navajo Nation shall make all selections under paragraph (1). (5) Withdrawal Any land selected by the Navajo Nation under paragraph (1) shall be withdrawn from disposal, leasing, and development until the date on which the selected land is placed into trust for the Navajo Nation. (c) Equal value (1) In general Notwithstanding the acreage limitation in the second proviso of section 11(c) of Public Law 93–531 Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 25 U.S.C. 640d–10(c) (2) Appraisals (A) In general The value of the land selected under subsection (b)(1) and the land subject to selections cancelled under subsection (a) shall be determined by appraisals conducted in accordance with— (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions; and (ii) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. (B) Timing (i) Land subject to selections cancelled Not later than 18 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the appraisal under subparagraph (A) of the land subject to selections cancelled under subsection (a) shall be completed. (ii) New selections The appraisals under subparagraph (A) of the land selected under subsection (b)(1) shall be completed as the Navajo Nation finalizes those land selections. (d) Boundary For purposes of this section and the Act referred to in subsection (a), the present boundary of the Navajo Reservation is depicted on the map entitled Navajo Nation Boundary 4. Designation of Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness (a) In general In accordance with the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1131 San Juan County Wilderness Designations Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness Wilderness (b) Management (1) In general Subject to valid existing rights, the Wilderness shall be administered by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management in accordance with this section and the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1131 (2) Adjacent management (A) In general Congress does not intend for the designation of the Wilderness to create a protective perimeter or buffer zone around the Wilderness. (B) Nonwilderness activities The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas within the Wilderness shall not preclude the conduct of the activities or uses outside the boundary of the Wilderness. (3) Incorporation of acquired land and interests in land Any land or interest in land that is within the boundary of the Wilderness that is acquired by the United States shall— (A) become part of the Wilderness; and (B) be managed in accordance with— (i) the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1131 (ii) this section; and (iii) any other applicable laws. (4) Grazing Grazing of livestock in the Wilderness, where established before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be allowed to continue in accordance with— (A) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4) (B) the guidelines set forth in the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress (H. Rept. 96–617). (c) Release of wilderness study areas Congress finds that, for the purposes of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 ( 43 U.S.C. 1782(c) 43 U.S.C. 1782(c) 5. Expansion of Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness (a) In general There is designated as wilderness and as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation System certain Federal land comprising approximately 2,250 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled San Juan County Wilderness Designations (b) Administration Subject to valid existing rights, the land designated as wilderness by subsection (a) shall be administered by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management (referred to in this section as the Director (1) the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1131 (2) the San Juan Basin Wilderness Protection Act of 1984 ( Public Law 98–603 (c) Adjacent management (1) In general Congress does not intend for the designation of the land as wilderness by subsection (a) to create a protective perimeter or buffer zone around that land. (2) Nonwilderness activities The fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard from areas within the land designated as wilderness by subsection (a) shall not preclude the conduct of the activities or uses outside the boundary of that land. (d) Incorporation of acquired land and interests in land Any land or interest in land that is within the boundary of the land designated as wilderness by subsection (a) that is acquired by the United States shall— (1) become part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness; and (2) be managed in accordance with— (A) the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1131 (B) the San Juan Basin Wilderness Protection Act of 1984 ( Public Law 98–603 (C) this section; and (D) any other applicable laws. (e) Grazing Grazing of livestock in the land designated as wilderness by subsection (a), where established before the date of enactment of this Act, shall be allowed to continue in accordance with— (1) section 4(d)(4) of the Wilderness Act ( 16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(4) (2) the guidelines set forth in the report of the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives accompanying H.R. 5487 of the 96th Congress (H. Rept. 96–617).

Summary: San Juan County Settlement Implementation Act This bill provides that if the Department of the Interior retires a coal preference right lease application under the Mineral Leasing Act by issuing a bidding right in exchange for the relinquishment of such application, such bidding right may subsequently be used in lieu of 50% of amount owed for any monetary payment of: (1) a bonus in a coal lease sale; or (2) rental or royalty under a federal coal lease. Interior shall calculate a payment of the amounts owed to a relevant state pursuant to such Act based on the combined value of the bidding rights and the amounts received. Interior shall make such payments to a relevant state from monetary payments received by Interior when bidding rights are exercised pursuant to this bill. A bidding right issued for a coal preference right lease application under such Act shall be fully transferable to any other person. Such bidding right shall terminate seven years after it is issued. The bill cancels specified land selections made by the Navajo Nation pursuant to the Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974 and authorizes such nation to make new selections equal in value to those canceled, subject to an acreage cap, specified land exclusions, and a seven-year deadline. The bill designates specified parcels of land in New Mexico as: (1) the Ah-shi-sle-pah Wilderness, and (2) part of the Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness.