[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 794 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
H.R.794
One Hundred Ninth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the fourth day of January, two thousand and five
An Act
To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation
in Arizona, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, PURPOSES.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Colorado River
Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Act of March 3, 1865, created the Colorado River Indian
Reservation (hereinafter ``Reservation'') along the Colorado River
in Arizona and California for the ``Indians of said river and its
tributaries''.
(2) In 1873 and 1874, President Grant issued Executive Orders
to expand the Reservation southward and to secure its southern
boundary at a clearly recognizable geographic location in order to
forestall non-Indian encroachment and conflicts with the Indians of
the Reservation.
(3) In 1875, Mr. Chandler Robbins surveyed the Reservation
(hereinafter ``the Robbins Survey'') and delineated its new
southern boundary, which included approximately 16,000 additional
acres (hereinafter ``the La Paz lands''), as part of the
Reservation.
(4) On May 15, 1876, President Grant issued an Executive Order
that established the Reservation's boundaries as those delineated
by the Robbins Survey.
(5) In 1907, as a result of increasingly frequent trespasses by
miners and cattle and at the request of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, the General Land Office of the United States provided for
a resurvey of the southern and southeastern areas of the
Reservation.
(6) In 1914, the General Land Office accepted and approved a
resurvey of the Reservation conducted by Mr. Guy Harrington in 1912
(hereinafter the ``Harrington Resurvey'') which confirmed the
boundaries that were delineated by the Robbins Survey and
established by Executive Order in 1876.
(7) On November 19, 1915, the Secretary of the Interior
reversed the decision of the General Land Office to accept the
Harrington Resurvey, and upon his recommendation on November 22,
1915, President Wilson issued Executive Order No. 2273 ``. . . to
correct the error in location said southern boundary line . . .''--
and thus effectively excluded the La Paz lands from the
Reservation.
(8) Historical evidence compiled by the Department of the
Interior supports the conclusion that the reason given by the
Secretary in recommending that the President issue the 1915
Executive Order--``to correct an error in locating the southern
boundary''--was itself in error and that the La Paz lands should
not have been excluded from the Reservation.
(9) The La Paz lands continue to hold cultural and historical
significance, as well as economic development potential, for the
Colorado River Indian tribes, who have consistently sought to have
such lands restored to their Reservation.
(c) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are:
(1) To correct the south boundary of the Reservation by
reestablishing such boundary as it was delineated by the Robbins
Survey and affirmed by the Harrington Resurvey.
(2) To restore the La Paz lands to the Reservation, subject to
valid existing rights under Federal law and to provide for
continued reasonable public access for recreational purposes.
(3) To provide for the Secretary of the Interior to review and
ensure that the corrected Reservation boundary is resurveyed and
marked in conformance with the public system of surveys extended
over such lands.
SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CORRECTION, RESTORATION, DESCRIPTION.
(a) Boundary.--The boundaries of the Colorado River Indian
Reservation are hereby declared to include those boundaries as were
delineated by the Robbins Survey, affirmed by the Harrington Survey,
and described as follows: The approximately 15,375 acres of Federal
land described as ``Lands Identified for Transfer to Colorado River
Indian Tribes'' on the map prepared by the Bureau of Land Management
entitled ``Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act,
and dated January 4, 2005'', (hereinafter referred to as the ``Map'').
(b) Map.--The Map shall be available for review at the Bureau of
Land Management.
(c) Restoration.--Subject to valid existing rights under Federal
law, all right, title, and interest of the United States to those lands
within the boundaries declared in subsection (a) that were excluded
from the Colorado River Indian Reservation pursuant to Executive Order
No. 2273 (November 22, 1915) are hereby restored to the Reservation and
shall be held in trust by the United States on behalf of the Colorado
River Indian Tribes.
(d) Exclusion.--Excluded from the lands restored to trust status on
behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes that are described in
subsection (a) are 2 parcels of Arizona State Lands identified on the
Map as ``State Lands'' and totaling 320 acres and 520 acres.
SEC. 3. RESURVEY AND MARKING.
The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the boundary for
the restored lands described in section 2(a) is surveyed and clearly
marked in conformance with the public system of surveys extended over
such lands.
SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS.
The restored lands described in section 2(a) and shown on the Map
shall have no Federal reserve water rights to surface water or ground
water from any source.
SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS.
Continued access to the restored lands described in section (2)(a)
for hunting and other existing recreational purposes shall remain
available to the public under reasonable rules and regulations
promulgated by the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.
(a) In General.--The restored lands described in section (2)(a)
shall be subject to all rights-of-way, easements, leases, and mining
claims existing on the date of the enactment of this Act. The United
States reserves the right to continue all Reclamation projects,
including the right to access and remove mineral materials for Colorado
River maintenance on the restored lands described in section (2)(a).
(b) Additional Rights-of-Way.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, shall grant
additional rights-of-way, expansions, or renewals of existing rights-
of-way for roads, utilities, and other accommodations to adjoining
landowners or existing right-of-way holders, or their successors and
assigns, if--
(1) the proposed right-of-way is necessary to the needs of the
applicant;
(2) the proposed right-of-way acquisition will not cause
significant and substantial harm to the Colorado River Indian
Tribes; and
(3) the proposed right-of-way complies with the procedures in
part 169 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations consistent with
this subsection and other generally applicable Federal laws
unrelated to the acquisition of interests on trust lands, except
that section 169.3 of those regulations shall not be applicable to
expansions or renewals of existing rights-of-way for roads and
utilities.
(c) Fees.--The fees charged for the renewal of any valid lease,
easement, or right-of-way subject to this section shall not be greater
than the current Federal rate for such a lease, easement, or right-of-
way at the time of renewal if the holder has been in substantial
compliance with all terms of the lease, easement, or right-of-way.
SEC. 7. GAMING.
Land taken into trust under this Act shall neither be considered to
have been taken into trust for gaming nor be used for gaming (as that
term is used in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et
seq.)).
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.