Short title

This Act may be cited as the

Northern Cheyenne Land Consolidation Act

Findings

Congress finds that— (1)in 1877, the United States forcibly relocated members of the Northern Cheyenne Tribe from the Montana Territory to Oklahoma; (2)soon thereafter, in the face of great hardship and suffering significant loss of life, the Tribe walked back to the Montana Territory to reclaim the ancestral homeland of the Tribe; (3)in 1884, President Arthur established a 371,200-acre reservation for the Tribe extending eastward from the eastern boundary of the Crow Indian Reservation to approximately 12 miles east of Rosebud Creek in Montana; (4)the Tongue River Indian Reservation, as the reservation was known as at the time of establishment, included within the boundaries of the Reservation— (A)tracts occupied legally and illegally by non-Indian settlers; and (B)tracts (including the subsurface rights) owned by the Northern Pacific Railway; (5)in addition to the Northern Cheyenne individuals living on the Tongue River Indian Reservation, Northern Cheyenne families, with encouragement and assistance from the United States military, settled on land to the east of the Reservation and on both sides of the Tongue River; (6)in 1898, at the direction of Congress, the Secretary of the Interior dispatched Indian Inspector James McLaughlin to southeastern Montana to report on opportunities for reducing hostilities between the Northern Cheyenne and non-Indian settlers; (7)in 1900, in accordance with the recommendations of McLaughlin— (A)President McKinley expanded the Tongue River Indian Reservation from the Crow Indian Reservation on the west to the middle of the Tongue River on the east; and (B)Congress appropriated funds— (i)to purchase settler land and claims and the Northern Pacific Railway land within the expanded Reservation; and (ii)to relocate to the expanded reservation 46 Northern Cheyenne families who had settled on land to the east of the Tongue River; (8)however, when McLaughlin negotiated to purchase the tracts held by the Northern Pacific Railway within the expanded Northern Cheyenne Reservation, McLaughlin neglected to purchase the subsurface rights of the Railway in 8 sections totaling approximately 5,000 acres; (9)the subsurface rights described in paragraph (8)— (A)are currently owned by Great Northern Properties; and (B)constitute the only subsurface within the Reservation not owned by the Tribe; (10)the Tribe asserts that the Tribe retains claims against the United States arising from the continuing failure of the United States to acquire the subsurface rights described in paragraph (8) as directed by Congress; (11)in 2002, the Tribe brought suit against the Secretary, asserting that the proposed conveyances of the extensive Federal coal tracts to the State under the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 (Public Law 105–83; 111 Stat. 1543) would violate— (A)the Federal trust responsibility to the Tribe; and (B)several Federal laws; (12)although the Northern Cheyenne tribal community chronically suffers harsh economic conditions and severe deficits in public services and facilities, the community does not share in any significant portion of the public revenues generated by surrounding energy development; (13)subsequently, the Tribe withdrew the 2002 suit against the United States, with prejudice, based in large part on commitments that legislation substantially in the form of this Act (and further legislation providing funding to the Tribe to address the impacts of coal development in areas adjoining the Reservation) would be introduced and pursued with support from the State, Great Northern Properties, and others; and (14)if the conveyances of mineral rights authorized by this Act are carried out, the Tribe will waive all legal claims against the United States arising from the longstanding and continuing loss to the Tribe of the Reservation mineral rights owned by Great Northern Properties.

Definitions

In this Act: (1)

Cheyenne tracts

The term Cheyenne tracts means the aggregate tract of land that— (A)is located in the eastern portion of the State within the boundaries of the Reservation; (B)comprises approximately 5,000 acres; (C)is generally depicted on the map entitled Cheyenne Coal Land Conveyance and dated April 7, 2010; and (D)is comprised of land located in— (i)T. 2 S., R. 44 E., sec. 17; (ii)T. 2 S., R. 44 E., sec. 19, E½ and E½W½, Lots 1–4; (iii)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 5, S½ and S½N½, Lots 1–4; (iv)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 7, E ½ and E½W½, Lots 1–4; (v)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 9, N½, SW¼, and W½SE¼, Lots 2–4; (vi)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 17; (vii)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 19, E½ and E½W½, Lots 1–4; and (viii)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 21, N½, SW¼, and SW¼ SE¼, Lots 1 and 2. (2)

Federal tracts

The term Federal tracts means the tracts of land that— (A)are located in the State; (B)are located outside of the boundaries of the Reservation; (C)consist of approximately 4,500 acres; (D)are generally depicted on the map entitled Federal Coal Land Conveyance and dated November 30, 2011; and (E)are comprised of land located in the following 2 areas: (i)The area commonly known as Bridge Creek, which is comprised of land located in— (I)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 26, S½; (II)T. 3 S., R. 44 E., sec. 34; (III)T. 3 S., R. 45 E., sec. 30, E½SW¼ and SE¼, Lots 3–4; and (IV)T. 4 S., R. 44 E., sec. 2, SE¼NW¼ , SW¼NE¼, Lots 2–4. (ii)The area commonly known as the Bull Mountains, which is comprised of land located in— (I)T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 4, S½N½ and S½, Lots 1–4; (II)T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 8; (III)T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 10; (IV)T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 14; and (V)T. 6 N., R. 27 E., sec. 22, S1/2NW1/4. (3)

Great Northern Properties

The term Great Northern Properties means— (A)the Great Northern Properties Limited Partnership, which is a Delaware limited partnership; and (B)any successor to the ownership interest of Great Northern Properties in any coal or iron that underlies the Cheyenne tracts. (4)

Reservation

The term Reservation means the Northern Cheyenne Reservation. (5)

Secretary

The term Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. (6)

Signal Peak Energy

The term Signal Peak Energy means Signal Peak Energy, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company. (7)

State

The term State means the State of Montana. (8)

Tribe

The term Tribe means the Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

Mineral rights conveyances

(a)

In general

Not later than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary receives all notifications described in subsection (b), the following shall be completed in a single transaction: (1)Great Northern Properties shall convey to the Tribe all mineral interests of Great Northern Properties underlying the Cheyenne tracts. (2)The Secretary shall terminate any existing Federal lease to Signal Peak Energy for the coal underlying the Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii). (3)The Secretary shall convey to Great Northern Properties all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the coal underlying the Federal tracts. (b)

Notifications

As a condition of the conveyances authorized under subsection (a)— (1)Great Northern Properties and the Tribe shall provide joint written notification to the Secretary that Great Northern Properties and the Tribe have agreed on a revenue sharing formula for all coal produced from the Federal tracts; and (2)Great Northern Properties and Signal Peak Energy shall provide joint written notification to the Secretary that Great Northern Properties and Signal Peak Energy have agreed on terms and conditions for the lease of coal in the Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii). (c)

Bonus payments

All bonus payments required in a Federal lease sale for coal underlying the Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii) shall be retained by the United States and distributed in accordance with the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), regardless of the termination of the lease under subsection (a)(2). (d)

Immunities

The mineral interests underlying the Cheyenne tracts conveyed to the Tribe under subsection (a) shall not be subject to taxation by the State (including any political subdivision of the State). (e)

Waiver of legal claims

In return for the mineral conveyances and termination of Federal leases under subsection (a)— (1)the Tribe shall waive each claim relating to the failure of the United States to acquire in trust for the Tribe as part of the Reservation the private mineral interests underlying the Cheyenne tracts; (2)Great Northern Properties shall waive any claim against the United States relating to the value or completion of the conveyances under this section; and (3)Signal Peak Energy shall waive any claim against the United States relating to the terms or termination of the lease of coal in the Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii). (f)

Rescission of mineral conveyances

If any portion of the mineral conveyances under subsection (a) is invalidated by a Federal district court, and the judgment of the Federal district court is not vacated or reversed on appeal— (1)not later than 1 year after the date on which there is a final judgment, the Secretary or Great Northern Properties may rescind completely each mineral conveyance under subsection (a); and (2)if the Secretary or Great Northern Properties carries out the rescission under paragraph (1), the waiver of the Tribe under subsection (e) shall be considered to be rescinded. (g)

Prohibition of strip mining in the bull mountains Federal tracts

On completion of the mineral conveyances authorized by subsection (a), the coal underlying the Bull Mountains Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii) shall not be strip mined.

Systematic Subsidence Evaluation Report

(a)

In general

After the completion of the mineral conveyances authorized under section 4(a), but not later than December 31, 2013, and every 2 years thereafter, Signal Peak Energy shall, as a condition of the conveyances, prepare a report on the effects of subsidence in the Federal tracts described in section 3(2)(E)(ii). (b)

Requirements

The report prepared under subsection (a) shall, with respect to the tracts described in subsection (a)— (1)summarize subsidence monitoring data required by the State pursuant to the regulatory program that implements an approved cooperative agreement, as described in section 740.4 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations); (2)describe the occurrence and severity of cracking, fissure development, rock toppling, erosion, slope failure, sloughing, and landslide risks; (3)describe the potential for subsidence-related surface hazards for humans, livestock, and wildlife; and (4)evaluate the accuracy of the predictive subsidence model applied pursuant to the State regulatory program that implements an approved cooperative agreement, as described in section 740.4 of title 30, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). (c)

Public availability

Signal Peak Energy shall submit to, and make available for public inspection at, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality the reports prepared under subsection (a).

Eligibility for other Federal benefits

No sums or other benefits provided to the Tribe under this Act shall result in the reduction or denial of any Federal services, benefits, or programs to the Tribe or to any member of the Tribe to which the Tribe or member is entitled or eligible because of— (1)the status of the Tribe as a federally recognized Indian tribe; or (2)the status of the member as a member of the Tribe.

Authorization of appropriations

There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.