SEC. 6. SPECIAL USE PERMITS NOT REQUIRED FOR ROU-
TINE MAINTENANCE AND MINOR IMPROVE-
MENTS OF ACEQUIAS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Special use permits shall not be 
required for the presence of or use of water from a quali-
fied acequia on Federal land or for routine maintenance 
and minor improvements conducted by a community user, 
governing body or employee of a qualified acequia on a 
qualified acequia on Federal land. 
(b) ROUTINE MAINTENANCE AND MINOR IMPROVE-
MENTS.—For purposes of this section, routine mainte-
nance and minor improvements on a qualified acequia on 
Federal land are— 
(1) cleaning, maintenance, repair, or replace-
ment in kind of infrastructure; 
(2) annual ditch cleaning, including removal of 
silt; and 
(3) any other traditional activity that preserves 
the state of the qualified acequia, as agreed to in 
writing by the Secretary concerned and the gov-
erning body of the qualified acequia. 
SEC. 7. NOTIFICATION TO PERMIT APPLICANTS; COMPLI-
ANCE WITH NEPA. 
(a) NOTIFICATION TO PERMIT APPLICANTS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after 
receiving a request for a permit from a governing 
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body, the Secretary concerned shall provide a written 
response to the governing body notifying the gov-
erning body that— 
(A) the permit has been approved; 
(B) the permit has been denied, including 
a description of why the permit was denied; or 
(C) such activity requires an environmental 
assessment or environmental impact statement, 
as applicable, before a permit may be issued for 
the activity. 
(b) COMPLIANCE WITH NEPA.—In any case in 
which an environmental assessment or environmental im-
pact statement is required under the National Environ-
mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for 
an activity for which a governing body has requested a 
permit from the Secretary concerned to conduct such ac-
tivity on a qualified acequia or qualified land grant-merced 
on Federal land, and for which the Secretary has not de-
nied the permit under subsection (a)(3), the Secretary 
shall— 
(1) estimate the time necessary to complete 
such environmental assessment or environmental im-
pact statement; 
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(2) not later than 30 days after receiving the 
request for a permit from a governing body, notify 
the governing body of such estimation; and 
(3) not later than 30 days after completing all 
action required under such Act for such activity— 
(A) issue such permit to the community 
user or governing body; or 
(B) notify the community user or gov-
erning body that the request for a permit has 
been denied. 
(c) FAILURE TO TIME ESTIMATE.—If the Secretary 
concerned fails to prepare an environmental assessment 
or environmental impact statement within the respective 
time period estimated under subsection (b)(1), then the 
Secretary shall— 
(1) notify the governing body in writing of the 
delay; 
(2) notify Congress in writing of the delay; 
(3) make a new estimate of the time necessary 
to complete such environmental assessment or envi-
ronmental impact statement; and 
(4) not later than 30 days after the end of the 
respective time period estimated under subsection 
(b)(1) notify the governing body of such new esti-
mation. 
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(d) COST OF NEPA COMPLIANCE.—In consideration 
of the socio-economic conditions of community users and 
the annual operating budgets of governing bodies of quali-
fied acequias and qualified land grant-mercedes, the Sec-
retary concerned may waive any cost-share requirement 
on the community user or the governing body of a quali-
fied acequia or qualified land grant-merced with respect 
to the cost of compliance with the National Environmental 
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) for an activity 
to be conducted on a qualified acequia or qualified land 
grant-merced on Federal land by a community user or 
governing body of a qualified acequia or qualified land 
grant-merced for which the Secretary has required such 
community user or governing body of a qualified acequia 
or qualified land grant-merced to obtain a permit from 
the Secretary. 
SEC. 8. ASSISTANCE TO GOVERNING BODIES. 
Not later than 60 days after a governing body re-
quests in writing assistance from the Secretary concerned 
to explain or clarify a process of the agency relating to 
the agency’s interaction with the governing body, the Sec-
retary shall provide such assistance in writing to the gov-
erning body. 
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SEC. 9. SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL SITES. 
(a) IDENTIFICATION OF SPIRITUAL AND CULTURAL 
SITES.— 
(1) IDENTIFICATION BEFORE A MANAGEMENT 
PLAN IS ADOPTED, AMENDED, OR REVISED.—Not 
less than 1 year before a management plan is adopt-
ed, or the first time a management plan is amended 
or revised after the date of the enactment of this 
Act, for any Federal land that contains any portion 
of a qualified land grant-merced, the Secretary con-
cerned shall, in consultation with governing body of 
such qualified land grant-merced, identify all spir-
itual and cultural sites located on such Federal land. 
(2) IDENTIFICATION BEFORE DISPOSAL.—Not 
less than 180 days before any Federal land that con-
tains any portion of a qualified land grant-merced is 
disposed of pursuant to section 202 of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
U.S.C. 1712), the Secretary concerned shall, in con-
sultation with governing body of such qualified land 
grant-merced, identify all spiritual and cultural sites 
located on such Federal land. 
(b) NOTIFICATION REQUIRED.—Before disposing of 
Federal land that contains any portion of a qualified land 
grant-merced upon which a spiritual and cultural site is 
located, and before acquiring any non-Federal land upon 
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which a spiritual and cultural site is located, the Secretary 
concerned shall notify the governing body of such qualified 
land grant-merced. 
(c) REVISION OF GUIDANCE.—The Secretary shall 
revise any guidance applicable to the disposal of such land 
to encourage conveyances, leases, exchanges, modified 
competitive sales, or direct sales to the governing body of 
such qualified land grant-merced, as appropriate and con-
sistent with the purposes, policies, and programs of Fed-
eral laws and regulations applicable to these lands. 
(d) DEFINITION
OF SPIRITUAL
AND CULTURAL 
SITE.—In this section, the term ‘‘spiritual and cultural 
site’’ means a cemetery, pilgrimage site, shrine, or similar 
site that has a spiritual or cultural significance for the 
community users of a land grant-merced, as determined 
by the Secretary, of the relevant land grant-merced. 
SEC. 10. PROCESS FOR RECOGNITION OF HISTORICAL-TRA-
DITIONAL USE BOUNDARIES OF QUALIFIED 
LAND GRANT-MERCEDES. 
(a) SUBMISSION OF PROPOSED BOUNDARIES.—Dur-
ing the 5-year period beginning on the date of the enact-
ment of this Act, a governing body of a qualified land 
grant-merced may submit to the Forest Supervisor or 
Field Manager, as appropriate, of the Secretary concerned 
the governing body’s interpretation of the historical-tradi-
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