I 
113TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 5428 
To provide for the implementation of the negotiated property division regard-
ing Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity in McKinley County, New 
Mexico, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
SEPTEMBER 9, 2014 
Mr. PEARCE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide for the implementation of the negotiated property 
division regarding Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity 
in McKinley County, New Mexico, and for other pur-
poses. 
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 ‘‘Return of Certain 
Lands At Fort Wingate to The Original Inhabitants Act’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
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(1) In January 1993, the active mission of the 
Fort Wingate Activity Depot located in McKinley 
County, New Mexico (in this Act referred to as 
‘‘Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity’’), ceased, 
and the installation was closed pursuant to title II 
of the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base 
Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law 100–526; 
10 U.S.C. 2687 note). 
(2) The lands occupied by the Former Fort 
Wingate Depot Activity were originally the ancestral 
lands of both the Zuni Tribe and Navajo Nation, as 
indicated by the ancestral history and large number 
of archaeological and cultural sites identified on the 
lands. 
(3) The Secretary of the Interior, with the sup-
port of the Zuni Tribe, the Navajo Nation, and 
other concerned parties, determined that upon com-
pletion of environmental remediation of Former Fort 
Wingate Depot Activity, lands no longer needed by 
the Department of the Army would be transferred to 
the Secretary of the Interior and held in trust by the 
United States for the benefit of the Zuni Tribe and 
the Navajo Nation. 
(4) On July 8, 2013, the Zuni Tribe and Nav-
ajo Nation, acting through the respective tribal lead-
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ership, who received authority from their tribal gov-
ernments to enter into good faith discussions, and 
through their respective legal representatives, met in 
the Capitol office of Congressman Don Young, with 
Congressman Ben Ray Luja´n and Congressman 
Steve Pearce present, for final discussions to fairly 
divide Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity. 
(5) In the resulting discussions, the tribal lead-
ers informally agreed to the property divisions re-
flected in the map titled ‘‘Fort Wingate Depot Activ-
ity Negotiated Property Divisions July 2013’’ pre-
pared by the Army Corps of Engineers (in this Act 
referred to as the ‘‘Map’’), and the land division out-
lined in section 3 was created in consultation with 
the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation. 
(6) This Act achieves the goal of fairly dividing 
Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity for the benefit 
of the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation. 
SEC. 3. DIVISION AND TREATMENT OF LANDS OF FORMER 
FORT WINGATE DEPOT ACTIVITY, NEW MEX-
ICO, TO BENEFIT THE ZUNI TRIBE AND NAV-
AJO NATION. 
(a) IMMEDIATE TRUST ON BEHALF OF ZUNI TRIBE; 
EXCEPTION.—Subject to valid existing rights and to ease-
ments reserved pursuant to section 4, all right, title, and 
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interest of the United States in and to the lands of Former 
Fort Wingate Depot Activity depicted in blue on the Map 
and transferred to the Secretary of the Interior are to be 
held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for the Zuni 
Tribe as part of the Zuni Reservation, unless the Zuni 
Tribe otherwise elects under subparagraphs (B) and (C) 
of subsection (c)(3) to have the parcel conveyed to it in 
Restricted Fee Status. 
(b) IMMEDIATE TRUST ON BEHALF OF THE NAVAJO 
NATION; EXCEPTION.—Subject to valid existing rights 
and to easements reserved pursuant to section 4, all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to the lands 
of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity depicted in blue 
on the Map and transferred to the Secretary of the Inte-
rior are to be held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior 
for the Navajo Nation as part of the Navajo Reservation, 
unless the Navajo Nation otherwise elects under sub-
section (c)(3) to have the parcel conveyed to it in Re-
stricted Fee Status. 
(c) SUBSEQUENT
TRANSFER
AND
TRUST; RE-
STRICTED FEE STATUS ALTERNATIVE.— 
(1) TRANSFER UPON COMPLETION OF REMEDI-
ATION.—Not later than 60 days after the date on 
which the New Mexico Environmental Department 
certifies that remediation of a parcel of land of 
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Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity has been com-
pleted consistent with section 5, the Secretary of the 
Army shall transfer administrative jurisdiction over 
the parcel to the Secretary of the Interior. 
(2) NOTIFICATION
OF
TRANSFER.—Not later 
than 30 days after the date on which the Secretary 
of the Interior assumes administrative jurisdiction 
over a parcel of land of Former Fort Wingate Depot 
Activity under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the 
Interior shall notify the Zuni Tribe and Navajo Na-
tion of the transfer of administrative jurisdiction 
over the parcel. 
(3) TRUST OR RESTRICTED FEE STATUS.— 
(A) TRUST.—Except as provided in sub-
paragraph (B), the Secretary of the Interior 
shall hold each parcel of land of Former Fort 
Wingate Depot Activity transferred under para-
graph (1) in trust— 
(i) for the Zuni Tribe, in the case of 
land depicted in blue on the Map; or 
(ii) for the Navajo Nation, in the case 
of land depicted in green on the Map. 
(B) RESTRICTED
FEE
STATUS
ALTER-
NATIVE.—In lieu of having a parcel of land held 
in trust under subparagraph (A), the Zuni 
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Tribe, with respect to land depicted in blue on 
the Map, and the Navajo Nation, with respect 
to land depicted in green on the Map, may elect 
to have the Secretary of the Interior convey the 
parcel or any portion of the parcel to it in re-
stricted fee status. 
(C) NOTIFICATION
OF
ELECTION.—Not 
later than 45 days after the date on which the 
Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation receives notice 
under paragraph (2) of the transfer of adminis-
trative jurisdiction over a parcel of land of 
Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity, the Zuni 
Tribe or the Navajo Nation shall notify the Sec-
retary of the Interior of an election under sub-
paragraph (B) for conveyance of the parcel or 
any portion of the parcel in restricted fee sta-
tus. 
(D) CONVEYANCE.—As soon as practicable 
after receipt of a notice from the Zuni Tribe or 
the Navajo Nation under subparagraph (C), but 
in no case later than 6 months after receipt of 
the notice, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
convey, in restricted fee status, the parcel of 
land of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity 
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covered by the notice to the Zuni Tribe or the 
Navajo Nation, as the case may be. 
(E) RESTRICTED FEE STATUS DEFINED.— 
For purposes of this Act only, the term ‘‘re-
stricted fee status’’, with respect to land con-
veyed under subparagraph (D), means that the 
land so conveyed— 
(i) shall be owned in fee by the Indian 
tribe to whom the land is conveyed; 
(ii) shall be part of the Indian tribe’s 
Reservation and expressly made subject to 
the jurisdiction of the Indian Tribe; 
(iii) shall not be sold by the Indian 
tribe without the consent of Congress; 
(iv) shall not be subject to taxation by 
any government other than the government 
of the Indian tribe; and 
(v) shall not be subject to any provi-
sion of law providing for the review or ap-
proval by the Secretary of the Interior be-
fore an Indian tribe may use the land for 
any purpose, directly or through agreement 
with another party. 
(d) SURVEY AND BOUNDARY REQUIREMENTS.— 
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(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte-
rior shall— 
(A) provide for the survey of lands of 
Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity taken into 
trust for the Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation 
or conveyed in restricted fee status for the Zuni 
Tribe or the Navajo Nation under subsection 
(a), (b), or (c); and 
(B) establish legal boundaries based on the 
Map as parcels are taken into trust or conveyed 
in restricted fee status. 
(2) CONSULTATION.—Not later than 90 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec-
retary of the Interior shall consult with the Zuni 
Tribe and the Navajo Nation to determine their pri-
orities regarding the order in which parcels should 
be surveyed, and, to the greatest extent feasible, the 
Secretary shall follow these priorities. 
(e) RELATION
TO CERTAIN REGULATIONS.—Part 
151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, shall not 
apply to taking lands of Former Fort Wingate Depot Ac-
tivity into trust under subsection (a), (b), or (c). 
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SEC. 4. RETENTION OF NECESSARY EASEMENTS AND AC-
CESS. 
(a) EASEMENTS
FOR
CLEANUP
AND
REMEDI-
ATION.—The lands of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activ-
ity held in trust or conveyed in restricted fee status pursu-
ant to section 3 shall be subject to reservation by the 
United States of such easements as the Secretary of the 
Army determines are reasonably required to permit access 
to lands of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity for ad-
ministrative, environmental cleanup, and environmental 
remediation purposes. The Secretary of the Army shall 
provide to the governments of the Zuni Tribe and the Nav-
ajo Nation written copies of all easements reserved under 
this subsection. 
(b) SHARED ACCESS.— 
(1) PARCEL 1 SHARED CULTURAL AND RELI-
GIOUS ACCESS.—In the case of the lands of Former 
Fort Wingate Depot Activity depicted as Parcel 1 on 
the Map, the lands shall be held in trust subject to 
a shared easement for cultural and religious pur-
poses only. Both the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Na-
tion shall have unhindered access to their respective 
cultural and religious sites within Parcel 1. Within 
1 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 
the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation shall ex-
change detailed information to document the exist-
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ence of cultural and religious sites within Parcel 1 
for the purpose of carrying out this paragraph. The 
information shall also be provided to the Secretary 
of the Interior. 
(2) OTHER SHARED ACCESS.—Subject to the 
written consent of both the Zuni Tribe and the Nav-
ajo Nation, the Secretary of the Interior may facili-
tate shared access to other lands held in trust or re-
stricted fee status pursuant to section 3, including, 
but not limited to, religious and cultural sites. 
(c) I–40 FRONTAGE ROAD ENTRANCE.—The access 
road for the Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity, which 
originates at the frontage road for Interstate 40 and leads 
to the parcel of the Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity 
depicted as ‘‘administration area’’ on the Map, shall be 
held in common by the Zuni Tribe and Navajo Nation to 
provide for equal access to Former Fort Wingate Depot 
Activity. 
(d) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ACCESS TO MISSILE 
DEFENSE AGENCY FACILITY.—Lands held in trust or 
conveyed in Restricted Fee Status pursuant to section 3 
shall be subject to easements reasonably required to per-
mit access to the Missile Defense Agency facility as needed 
by the Department of Defense. 
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SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION. 
(a) RESPONSIBILITY FOR CLEANUP.—Nothing in this 
Act shall be construed as alleviating, altering, or affecting 
the responsibility of the United States for cleanup and re-
mediation of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity accord-
ing to the terms previously agreed to by the Secretary of 
the Army and the New Mexico Environment Department. 
(b) LIABILITY.—Neither the Zuni Tribe nor the Nav-
ajo Nation shall be liable for any damages resulting from 
Department of the Army activities on Former Fort 
Wingate Depot Activity or the use by the Department of 
the Army of hazardous substances, toxic substances, heavy 
metals, explosives, pollutants, contaminants, waste or pe-
troleum products, or any combination thereof, regardless 
of when the contamination is discovered or where it has 
spread. 
(c) TREATMENT OF CLAIMS AGAINST TRIBES.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Zuni Tribe and the 
Navajo Nation shall be held harmless from any 
claim, suit, demand, judgment, cost, or fee arising 
from Department of the Army activities on or off 
the Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity site, or the 
prior use of hazardous substances, toxic substances, 
heavy metals, explosives, pollutants, contaminants, 
waste or petroleum products, or any combination 
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thereof, regardless of when the contamination is dis-
covered or where it has spread. 
(2) NOTIFICATION
REQUIREMENT.—After a 
parcel of land of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activ-
ity has been transferred or conveyed under section 
3, the Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation shall notify 
the Secretary of the Army of the existence or dis-
covery of any contamination or hazardous material 
on the parcel. 
(d) EFFECT OF ENVIRONMENTAL CERTIFICATION.— 
Certification by the New Mexico Environment Department 
that a parcel of land of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activ-
ity has been fully remediated shall satisfy all Federal envi-
ronmental requirements necessary for the Secretary of the 
Army and the Secretary of the Interior to carry out their 
responsibilities to transfer or convey the parcel under sec-
tion 3. 
Æ 
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