I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4165
To assist the economic development of the Ute Indian Tribe by authorizing
the transfer to the Tribe of Oil Shale Reserve Numbered 2, to protect
the Colorado River by providing for the removal of the tailings from
the Atlas uranium milling site near Moab, Utah, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
APRIL 4, 2000
Mr. CANNON (for himself, Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California, Mr. BILBRAY,
Mr. FILNER, Mr. HANSEN, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Mr. HUNTER, Ms. BERK-
LEY, Mr. DREIER, Mr. PASTOR, Mr. SHADEGG, Mr. BERMAN, Mr. SALM-
ON, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. GIBBONS, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico,
Mr. KOLBE, Mr. BACA, Mr. STUMP, Ms. PELOSI, Mr. HERGER, Mr.
SERRANO, Mr. HAYWORTH, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. MCINNIS, Mr. ORTIZ,
Mr. HORN, Ms. VELA´ZQUEZ, Mr. CUNNINGHAM, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr.
RADANOVICH, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. COOKSEY, Mr. BRADY of Pennsylvania,
Mr. CAPUANO, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. WEINER, Mr. BECERRA, Mr. GON-
ZALEZ, Mr. GUTIERREZ, Mr. HINOJOSA, Mr. REYES, Mr. ROMERO-
BARCELO´, Ms. ROYBAL-ALLARD, Mr. UNDERWOOD, Mr. LIPINSKI, Mr.
FORBES, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mrs. MEEK of Florida, and Ms. MILLENDER-
MCDONALD) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Armed Services, and in addition to the Committees on Com-
merce, and Resources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within
the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To assist the economic development of the Ute Indian Tribe
by authorizing the transfer to the Tribe of Oil Shale
Reserve Numbered 2, to protect the Colorado River by
providing for the removal of the tailings from the Atlas
uranium milling site near Moab, Utah, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Keep the Colorado
River Clean Act’’.
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF OIL SHALE RESERVE.
Section 3405 of the Strom Thurmond National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (10 U.S.C.
7420 note) is amended to read as follows:
‘‘SEC. 3405. TRANSFER OF OIL SHALE RESERVE NUM-
BERED 2.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘NOSR–2’ means Oil Shale Re-
serve Numbered 2, as identified on a map on file in
the Office of the Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(2) The term ‘Tribe’ means the Ute Indian
Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation.
‘‘(b) CONVEYANCE.—The United States hereby con-
veys to the Tribe, subject to valid existing rights in effect
on the day before the enactment of this section, all Federal
lands within the exterior boundaries of NOSR–2 in fee
simple, both surface and mineral rights, without retaining
any management authority over the conveyed lands or
tribal activities thereon, but reserving to the United States
each of the following:
‘‘(1) A 9 percent royalty interest in the value
of any oil, gas, other hydrocarbons, and all other
minerals produced, saved, and sold, from the con-
veyed lands, the payments to be made by the Tribe
or its designee to the Secretary of Energy when pro-
duced, saved, or sold during the period minerals are
being extracted.
‘‘(2) That portion of the bed of Green River
contained entirely within NOSR–2 as depicted on
the map entitled ‘Boundary Map, ...........’’, num-
bered ll, and dated ll. The map shall be on
file and available for public inspection in the offices
of the Department of the Interior.
‘‘(3) The lands, including surface and mineral
rights, to the west of the Green River within NOSR–
2, as depicted on the map referred to in paragraph
(2).
‘‘(4) A 1⁄4 mile scenic easement on the east side
of the Green River within NOSR–2. Such easement
shall not affect the right of the Tribe to obtain, use,
and maintain access to, the river through the use of
the existing road within the easement (as depicted
on the map referred to in paragraph (2)).
The lands conveyed to the Tribe under this subsection
shall not revert to the United States for management in
trust status.
‘‘(c) WITHDRAWALS.—All existing withdrawals on
NOSR–2 are hereby revoked.
‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATION OF RESERVED LANDS, INTER-
ESTS IN LANDS.—The Secretary of the Interior shall ad-
minister the lands and interests in lands reserved from
conveyance in subsection (b)(2) and (3) of this section
under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act and
shall prepare and submit to Congress a land use plan for
the management of these lands and interests in lands
within three years after the enactment of this subsection.
There is authorized to the Secretary of the Interior such
sums as may be necessary to carry out this subsection.
‘‘(e) ROYALTY.—
‘‘(1) PAYMENT OF ROYALTY.—The Tribe shall
pay the royalty interest reserved from conveyance in
subsection (b)(1) of this section free of all develop-
ment, production, marketing, and operating ex-
penses. The United States shall bear and pay gross
production taxes, pipeline taxes, and allocation taxes
assessed against the gross production.
‘‘(2) REPORTS.—The Tribe shall report annu-
ally to the Secretary of Energy and to Congress on
its resource development and other activities con-
cerning the property transferred.
‘‘(3) FINANCIAL AUDIT.—The Tribe shall sub-
mit every 5 years to a financial audit, conducted in
accordance with generally accepted accounting prac-
tices, of its resource development activities con-
cerning the property transferred, with the first audit
taking place 5 years after the date of transfer and
the results of each audit being included in the next
annual report after completion of the audit.
‘‘(f) RIVER MANAGEMENT.—The Tribe shall manage,
fully under Tribal jurisdiction and pursuant to ordinances
adopted by the Tribe, its lands adjacent to, and within
1⁄4 mile of, the Green River in a protected status and in
a manner consistent with the provisions contained in a
government-to-government agreement and in the memo-
randum of understanding entitled memorandum of under-
standing dated February 11, 2000, as agreed to by the
Tribe and the Secretary of the Interior. Such ordinances
adopted by the Tribe shall not impair, limit, or otherwise
restrict the management and use of other lands adjacent
to the Green River that are not under or subject to the
Tribe’s jurisdiction or control. The ordinances adopted by
the Tribe and referenced in the government-to-government
agreement may not be repealed or amended without the
written approval of both the Tribe and the Secretary of
the Interior.
‘‘(g) PLANT SPECIES.—The Tribe shall protect, pur-
suant to ordinances adopted by the Tribe, any plant spe-
cies listed by the Federal Government as endangered or
threatened that is located on or found on the NOSR–2
lands conveyed to the Tribe in a manner consistent with
the then current levels of legal protection, and this protec-
tion shall be performed fully under tribal jurisdiction and
in accordance with a government-to-government agree-
ment between the Tribe and the Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(h) HORSES.—The Tribe shall manage the horses
not owned by the Tribe or tribal members that are located
or found on the NOSR–2 lands conveyed to the Tribe in
a manner consistent with then current Federal protections
granted such animals: Provided, That the management,
control, and protection of such horses will be performed
fully under tribal jurisdiction and in accordance with a
government-to-government agreement between the Tribe
and the Secretary of the Interior.
‘‘(i) REMEDIAL ACTION AT SITE NEAR MOAB.—(1)
Within one year after the enactment of this subsection,
the Secretary of Energy shall prepare a plan to commence,
within one year following preparation of the plan, remedial
action, including groundwater restoration, at the uranium
milling site near Moab, Utah, in accordance with section
102(a)(4) of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radiation Control
Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7912(a)), as amended by section
3 of this Act. The Secretary shall limit the amounts ex-
pended in carrying out this remedical action to amounts
specifically appropriated for the remedial action in an ap-
propriations Act and other amounts available for that pur-
pose under this subsection.
‘‘(2) The Secretary of Energy shall retain the
amounts received as royalties under subsection (e)(1) of
3405 of the Strom Thurmond National Defense Author-
ization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (10 U.S.C. 7420 note),
and such amounts shall be available, without further ap-
propriation to carry out the remedial action referred to
in paragraph (1). Upon completion of such remedial ac-
tion, all such royalty amounts shall be deposited in the
General Fund of the Treasury. There are authorized to
be appropriated to the Secretary of Energy to carry out
the remedial action referred to in paragraph (1) such addi-
tional sums as may be necessary.
‘‘(3) If the uranium milling site referred to in para-
graph (1) is sold after the Secretary of Energy’s remedial
action referred to in paragraph (1) is completed, the seller
shall transfer to the Secretary of Energy, for deposit into
the miscellaneous receipts account of the Treasury, the
portion of the sale price that the Secretary determines re-
sults from the enhancement of the value of the site attrib-
utable to the remedial action. The Secretary’s determina-
tion shall be based upon appraisals conducted at the com-
pletion of the remedial action. The property shall be ap-
praised at its fair market value as of the date of enactment
of this action, based on available information, and its fair
market value at the completion of the remedial action. The
difference between such appraisals shall be the enhance-
ment of the value of the site resulting attributable to the
remedial action.’’.
SEC. 3. URANIUM MILL TAILINGS.
Section 102(a) of the Uranium Mill Tailings Radi-
ation Control Act of 1978 (42 U.S.C. 7912(a)) is amended
by inserting the following new paragraph after paragraph
(3):
‘‘(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the
Moab uranium milling site (hereafter referred to as the
‘Moab Site’) located approximately 3 miles northwest of
Moab, Utah, and identified in the Final Environmental
Impact Statement issued by the Nuclear Regulatory Com-
mission in March 1996, in conjunction with Source Mate-
rial License No. SUA 917, is designated as a processing
site. This title applies to the Moab Site in the same man-
ner and to the same extent as to other processing sites
designated under this subsection, except that—
‘‘(A) sections 103, 107(a), 112(a), and 115(a)
of this title shall not apply;
‘‘(B) a reference in this title to the date of the
enactment of this Act shall be treated as a reference
to the date of enactment of this paragraph; and
‘‘(C) the Secretary, subject to appropriations
and without regard to section 104(b) of this title,
shall conduct remediation, including groundwater
restoration and removal of residual radioactive mate-
rial and other contaminated material from the Moab
Site and from the floodplain of the Colorado River
for permanent disposition and stabilization of resid-
ual radioactive material in a safe and environ-
mentally sound manner at a site in the State of
Utah.’’.
SEC. 4. CONFORMING AMENDMENT.
Section 3406 of the Strom Thurmond National De-
fense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 (10 U.S.C.
7420 note) is amended by inserting after subsection (e)
the following new subsection:
‘‘(f) OIL SHALE RESERVE NO. 2.—This section does
not apply to the transfer of Oil Shale Reserve Numbered
2 under section 3405.’’.
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