197
laws of the United States, Executive Orders, or 
agreements between the United States and any In-
dian tribe. 
‘‘(C) The Secretary shall continue to have a 
trust obligation to ensure that the rights and inter-
ests of an Indian tribe are protected in the event 
that—
‘‘(i) any other party to any such lease, 
business agreement, or right-of-way violates any 
applicable provision of Federal law or the terms 
of any lease, business agreement, or right-of-
way under this section; or 
‘‘(ii) any provision in such lease, business 
agreement, or right-of-way violates any express 
provision or requirement set forth in the tribal 
energy resource agreement pursuant to which 
the lease, business agreement, or right-of-way 
was executed. 
‘‘(D) Notwithstanding subparagraph (B), the 
United States shall not be liable to any party (in-
cluding any Indian tribe) for any of the negotiated 
terms of, or any losses resulting from the negotiated 
terms of, a lease, business agreement, or right-of-
way executed pursuant to and in accordance with a 
tribal energy resource agreement approved by the
198
Secretary under paragraph (2). For the purpose of 
this subparagraph, the term ‘negotiated terms’ 
means any terms or provisions that are negotiated 
by an Indian tribe and any other party or parties to 
a lease, business agreement, or right-of-way entered 
into pursuant to an approved tribal energy resource 
agreement. 
‘‘(7)(A) In this paragraph, the term ‘interested 
party’ means any person or entity the interests of 
which have sustained or will sustain a significant ad-
verse environmental impact as a result of the failure 
of an Indian tribe to comply with a tribal energy re-
source agreement of the Indian tribe approved by 
the Secretary under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(B) After exhaustion of tribal remedies, and in 
accordance with the process and requirements set 
forth in regulations adopted by the Secretary pursu-
ant to paragraph (8), an interested party may sub-
mit to the Secretary a petition to review compliance 
of an Indian tribe with a tribal energy resource 
agreement of the Indian tribe approved by the Sec-
retary under paragraph (2). 
‘‘(C)(i) Not later than 120 days after the date 
on which the Secretary receives a petition under sub-
paragraph (B), the Secretary shall determine wheth-
199
er the Indian tribe is not in compliance with the 
tribal energy resource agreement, as alleged in the 
petition. 
‘‘(ii) The Secretary may adopt procedures 
under paragraph (8) authorizing an extension of 
time, not to exceed 120 days, for making the deter-
mination under clause (i) in any case in which the 
Secretary determines that additional time is nec-
essary to evaluate the allegations of the petition. 
‘‘(iii) Subject to subparagraph (D), if the Sec-
retary determines that the Indian tribe is not in 
compliance with the tribal energy resource agree-
ment as alleged in the petition, the Secretary shall 
take such action as is necessary to ensure compli-
ance with the provisions of the tribal energy resource 
agreement, which action may include—
‘‘(I) temporarily suspending some or all ac-
tivities under a lease, business agreement, or 
right-of-way under this section until the Indian 
tribe or such activities are in compliance with 
the provisions of the approved tribal energy re-
source agreement; or 
‘‘(II) rescinding approval of all or part of 
the tribal energy resource agreement, and if all 
of such agreement is rescinded, reassuming the
200
responsibility for approval of any future leases, 
business agreements, or rights-of-way described 
in subsections (a) and (b). 
‘‘(D) Prior to seeking to ensure compliance with 
the provisions of the tribal energy resource agree-
ment of an Indian tribe under subparagraph (C)(iii), 
the Secretary shall—
‘‘(i) make a written determination that de-
scribes the manner in which the tribal energy 
resource agreement has been violated; 
‘‘(ii) provide the Indian tribe with a writ-
ten notice of the violations together with the 
written determination; and 
‘‘(iii) before taking any action described in 
subparagraph (C)(iii) or seeking any other rem-
edy, provide the Indian tribe with a hearing and 
a reasonable opportunity to attain compliance 
with the tribal energy resource agreement. 
‘‘(E) An Indian tribe described in subparagraph 
(D) shall retain all rights to appeal as provided in 
regulations issued by the Secretary. 
‘‘(8) Not later than 1 year after the date of en-
actment of the Indian Tribal Energy Development 
and Self-Determination Act of 2005, the Secretary
201
shall issue regulations that implement the provisions 
of this subsection, including—
‘‘(A) criteria to be used in determining the 
capacity of an Indian tribe described in para-
graph (2)(B)(i), including the experience of the 
Indian tribe in managing natural resources and 
financial and administrative resources available 
for use by the Indian tribe in implementing the 
approved tribal energy resource agreement of 
the Indian tribe; 
‘‘(B) a process and requirements in accord-
ance with which an Indian tribe may—
‘‘(i) voluntarily rescind a tribal energy 
resource agreement approved by the Sec-
retary under this subsection; and 
‘‘(ii) return to the Secretary the re-
sponsibility to approve any future leases, 
business agreements, and rights-of-way de-
scribed in this subsection; 
‘‘(C) provisions setting forth the scope of, 
and procedures for, the periodic review and 
evaluation described in subparagraphs (D) and 
(E) of paragraph (2), including provisions for 
review of transactions, reports, site inspections,
202
and any other review activities the Secretary 
determines to be appropriate; and 
‘‘(D) provisions defining final agency ac-
tions after exhaustion of administrative appeals 
from determinations of the Secretary under 
paragraph (7). 
‘‘(f) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this 
section affects the application of—
‘‘(1) any Federal environment law; 
‘‘(2) the Surface Mining Control and Reclama-
tion Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 1201 et seq.); or 
‘‘(3) except as otherwise provided in this title, 
the Indian Mineral Development Act of 1982 (25 
U.S.C. 2101 et seq.) and the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 
‘‘(g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 
are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such 
sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 2006 
through 2016 to implement the provisions of this section 
and to make grants or provide other appropriate assist-
ance to Indian tribes to assist the Indian tribes in devel-
oping and implementing tribal energy resource agreements 
in accordance with the provisions of this section.