[Congressional Record Volume 142, Number 137 (Saturday, September 28, 1996)]
[House]
[Pages H12165-H12167]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
NAVAJO-HOPI LAND DISPUTE SETTLEMENT ACT OF 1996
Mr. GILCHREST. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Resources be discharged from further consideration of the
Senate bill (S. 1973) to provide for the settlement of the Navajo-Hopi
land dispute, and for other purposes, and I ask for its immediate
consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the Senate bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Maryland?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the Senate bill, as follows:
S. 1973
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute
Settlement Act of 1996''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds that--
(1) it is in the public interest for the Tribe, Navajos
residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands, and the United States
to reach a peaceful resolution of the longstanding
disagreements between the parties under the Act commonly
known as the ``Navajo-Hopi Land Settlement Act of 1974''
(Public Law 93-531; 25 U.S.C. 640d et seq.);
(2) it is in the best interest of the Tribe and the United
States that there be a fair and final settlement of certain
issues remaining in connection with the Navajo-Hopi Land
Settlement Act of 1974, including the full and final
settlement of the multiple claims that the Tribe has against
the United States;
(3) this Act, together with the Settlement Agreement
executed on December 14, 1995, and the Accommodation
Agreement (as incorporated by the Settlement Agreement),
provide the authority for the Tribe to enter agreements with
eligible Navajo families in order for those families to
remain residents of the Hopi Partitioned Lands for a period
of 75 years, subject to the terms and conditions of the
Accommodation Agreement;
(4) the United States acknowledges and respects--
(A) the sincerity of the traditional beliefs of the members
of the Tribe and the Navajo families residing on the Hopi
Partitioned Lands; and
(B) the importance that the respective traditional beliefs
of the members of the Tribe and Navajo families have with
respect to the culture and way of life of those members and
families;
(5) this Act, the Settlement Agreement, and the
Accommodation Agreement provide for the mutual respect and
protection of the traditional religious beliefs and practices
of the Tribe and the Navajo families residing on the Hopi
Partitioned Lands;
(6) the Tribe is encouraged to work with the Navajo
families residing on the Hopi Partitioned Lands to address
their concerns regarding the establishment of family or
individual burial plots for deceased family members who have
resided on the Hopi Partitioned Lands; and
(7) neither the Navajo Nation nor the Navajo families
residing upon Hopi Partitioned Lands were parties to or
signers of the Settlement Agreement between the United States
and the Hopi Tribe.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
Except as otherwise provided in this Act, for purposes of
this Act, the following definitions shall apply:
(1) Accommodation.--The term ``Accommodation'' has the
meaning provided that term under the Settlement Agreement.
(2) Hopi partitioned lands.--The term ``Hopi Partitioned
Lands'' means lands located in the Hopi Partitioned Area, as
defined in section 168.1(g) of title 25, Code of Federal
Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this
Act).
(3) Navajo partitioned lands.--The term ``Navajo
Partitioned Lands'' has the meaning provided that term in the
proposed regulations issued on November 1, 1995, at 60 Fed.
Reg. 55506.
(4) New lands.--The term ``New Lands'' has the meaning
provided that term in section 700.701(b) of title 25, Code of
Federal Regulations.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(6) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement
Agreement'' means the agreement between the United States and
the Hopi Tribe executed on December 14, 1995.
(7) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Hopi Tribe.
(8) Newly acquired trust lands.--The term ``newly acquired
trust lands'' means lands taken into trust for the Tribe
within the State of Arizona pursuant to this Act or the
Settlement Agreement.
SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.
The United States approves, ratifies, and confirms the
Settlement Agreement.
SEC. 5. CONDITIONS FOR LANDS TAKEN INTO TRUST.
The Secretary shall take such action as may be necessary to
ensure that the following conditions are met prior to taking
lands into trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to the
Settlement Agreement:
[[Page H12166]]
(1) Selection of lands taken into trust.--
(A) Primary area.--In accordance with section 7(a) of the
Settlement Agreement, the primary area within which lands
acquired by the Tribe may be taken into trust by the
Secretary for the benefit of the Tribe under the Settlement
Agreement shall be located in northern Arizona.
(B) Requirements for lands taken into trust in the primary
area.--Lands taken into trust in the primary area referred to
in subparagraph (A) shall be--
(i) land that is used substantially for ranching,
agriculture, or another similar use; and
(ii) to the extent feasible, in contiguous parcels.
(2) Acquisition of lands.--Before taking any land into
trust for the benefit of the Tribe under this section, the
Secretary shall ensure that--
(A) at least 85 percent of the eligible Navajo heads of
household (as determined under the Settlement Agreement) have
entered into an accommodation or have chosen to relocate and
are eligible for relocation assistance (as determined under
the Settlement Agreement); and
(B) the Tribe has consulted with the State of Arizona
concerning the lands proposed to be placed in trust,
including consulting with the State concerning the impact of
placing those lands into trust on the State and political
subdivisions thereof resulting from the removal of land from
the tax rolls in a manner consistent with the provisions of
part 151 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations.
(3) Prohibition.--The Secretary may not, pursuant to the
provisions of this Act and the Settlement Agreement, place
lands, any portion of which are located within or contiguous
to a 5-mile radius of an incorporated town or city (as those
terms are defined by the Secretary) in northern Arizona, into
trust for benefit of the Tribe without specific statutory
authority.
(4) Expeditious action by the secretary.--Consistent with
all other provisions of this Act, the Secretary is directed
to take lands into trust under this Act expeditiously and
without undue delay.
SEC. 6. ACQUISITION THROUGH CONDEMNATION OF CERTAIN
INTERSPERSED LANDS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Action by the secretary.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary shall take action as
specified in subparagraph (B), to the extent that the Tribe,
in accordance with section 7(b) of the Settlement Agreement--
(i) acquires private lands; and
(ii) requests the Secretary to acquire through condemnation
interspersed lands that are owned by the State of Arizona and
are located within the exterior boundaries of those private
lands in order to have both the private lands and the State
lands taken into trust by the Secretary for the benefit of
the Tribe.
(B) Acquisition through condemnation.--With respect to a
request for an acquisition of lands through condemnation made
under subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall, upon the
recommendation of the Tribe, take such action as may be
necessary to acquire the lands through condemnation and, with
funds provided by the Tribe, pay the State of Arizona fair
market value for those lands in accordance with applicable
Federal law, if the conditions described in paragraph (2) are
met.
(2) Conditions for acquisition through condemnation.--The
Secretary may acquire lands through condemnation under this
subsection if--
(A) that acquisition is consistent with the purpose of
obtaining not more than 500,000 acres of land to be taken
into trust for the Tribe;
(B) the State of Arizona concurs with the United States
that the acquisition is consistent with the interests of the
State; and
(C) the Tribe pays for the land acquired through
condemnation under this subsection.
(b) Disposition of Lands.--If the Secretary acquires lands
through condemnation under subsection (a), the Secretary
shall take those lands into trust for the Tribe in accordance
with this Act and the Settlement Agreement.
(c) Private Lands.--The Secretary may not acquire private
lands through condemnation for the purpose specified in
subsection (a)(2)(A).
SEC. 7. ACTION TO QUIET POSSESSION.
If the United States fails to discharge the obligations
specified in section 9(c) of the Settlement Agreement with
respect to voluntary relocation of Navajos residing on Hopi
Partitioned Lands, or section 9(d) of the Settlement
Agreement, relating to the implementation of sections 700.137
through 700.139 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations, on
the New Lands, including failure for reason of insufficient
funds made available by appropriations or otherwise, the
Tribe may bring an action to quiet possession that relates to
the use of the Hopi Partitioned Lands after February 1, 2000,
by a Navajo family that is eligible for an accommodation, but
fails to enter into an accommodation.
SEC. 8. PAYMENT TO STATE OF ARIZONA.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--Subject to subsection
(b), there are authorized to be appropriated to the
Department of the Interior $250,000 for fiscal year 1998, to
be used by the Secretary of the Interior for making a payment
to the State of Arizona.
(b) Payment.--The Secretary shall make a payment in the
amount specified in subsection (a) to the State of Arizona
after an initial acquisition of land from the State has been
made by the Secretary pursuant to section 6.
SEC. 9. 75-YEAR LEASING AUTHORITY.
The first section of the Act of August 9, 1955 (69 Stat.
539, chapter 615; 25 U.S.C. 415) is amended by adding at the
end the following new subsections:
``(c) Leases Involving the Hopi Tribe and the Hopi
Partitioned Lands Accommodation Agreement.--Notwithstanding
subsection (a), a lease of land by the Hopi Tribe to Navajo
Indians on the Hopi Partitioned Lands may be for a term of 75
years, and may be extended at the conclusion of the term of
the lease.
``(d) Definitions.--For purposes of this section--
``(1) the term `Hopi Partitioned Lands' means lands located
in the Hopi Partitioned Area, as defined in section 168.1(g)
of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the
date of enactment of this subsection); and
``(2) the term `Navajo Indians' means members of the Navajo
Tribe.''.
SEC. 10. REAUTHORIZATION OF THE NAVAJO-HOPI RELOCATION
HOUSING PROGRAM.
Section 25(a)(8) of Public Law 93-531 (25 U.S.C. 640d-
24(a)(8)) is amended by striking ``1996, and 1997'' and
inserting ``1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, and 2000''.
SEC. 11. EFFECT OF THIS ACT ON CASES INVOLVING THE NAVAJO
NATION AND THE HOPI TRIBE.
Nothing in this Act or the amendments made by this Act
shall be interpreted or deemed to preclude, limit, or
endorse, in any manner, actions by the Navajo Nation that
seek, in court, an offset from judgments for payments
received by the Hopi Tribe under the Settlement Agreement.
SEC. 12. WATER RIGHTS.
(a) In General.--
(1) Water rights.--Subject to the other provisions of this
section, newly acquired trust lands shall have only the
following water rights:
(A) The right to the reasonable use of groundwater pumped
from such lands.
(B) All rights to the use of surface water on such lands
existing under State law on the date of acquisition, with the
priority date of such right under State law.
(C) The right to make any further beneficial use on such
lands which is unappropriated on the date each parcel of
newly acquired trust lands is taken into trust. The priority
date for the right shall be the date the lands are taken into
trust.
(2) Rights not subject to forfeiture or abandonment.--The
Tribe's water rights for newly acquired trust lands shall not
be subject to forfeiture or abandonment arising from events
occurring after the date the lands are taken into trust.
(b) Recognition as valid uses.--
(1) Groundwater.--With respect to water rights associated
with newly acquired trust lands, the Tribe, and the United
States on the Tribe's behalf, shall recognize as valid all
uses of groundwater which may be made from wells (or their
subsequent replacements) in existence on the date each parcel
of newly acquired trust land is acquired and shall not object
to such groundwater uses on the basis of water rights
associated with the newly acquired trust lands. The Tribe,
and the United States on the Tribe's behalf, may object only
to the impact of groundwater uses on newly acquired trust
lands which are initiated after the date the lands affected
are taken into trust and only on grounds allowed by the State
law as it exits when the objection is made. The Tribe, and
the United States on the Tribe's behalf, shall not object to
the impact of groundwater uses on the Tribe's right to
surface water established pursuant to subsection (a)(3) when
those groundwater uses are initiated before the Tribe
initiates its beneficial use of surface water pursuant to
subsection (a)(3).
(2) Surface water.--With respect to water rights associated
with newly acquired trust lands, the Tribe, and the United
States on the Tribe's behalf, shall recognize as valid all
uses of surface water in existence on or prior to the date
each parcel of newly acquired trust land is acquired and
shall not object to such surface water uses on the basis of
water rights associated with the newly acquired trust lands,
but shall have the right to enforce the priority of its
rights against all junior water rights the exercise of which
interfere with the actual use of the Tribe's senior surface
water rights.
(3) Rule of construction.--Nothing in paragraph (1) or (2)
shall preclude the Tribe, or the United States on the Tribe's
behalf, from asserting objections to water rights and uses on
the basis of the Tribe's water rights on its currently
existing trust lands.
(c) Applicability of State Law on Lands Other Than Newly
Acquired Lands.--The Tribe, and the United States on the
Tribe's behalf, further recognize that State law applies to
water uses on lands, including subsurface estates, that exist
within the exterior boundaries of newly acquired trust lands
and that are owned by any party other than the Tribe.
(d) Adjudication of Water Rights on Newly Acquired Trust
Lands.--The Tribe's water rights on newly acquired trust
lands shall be adjudicated with the rights of all
[[Page H12167]]
other competing users in the court now presiding over the
Little Colorado River Adjudication, or if that court no
longer has jurisdiction, in the appropriate State or Federal
court. Any controversies between or among users arising under
Federal or State law involving the Tribe's water rights on
newly acquired trust lands shall be resolved in the court now
presiding over the Little Colorado River Adjudication, or, if
that court no longer has jurisdiction, in the appropriate
State or Federal court. Nothing in this subsection shall be
construed to affect any court's jurisdiction; provided, that
the Tribe shall administer all water rights established in
subsection (a).
(e) Prohibition.--Water rights for newly acquired trust
lands shall not be used, leased, sold, or transported for use
off of such lands or the Tribe's other trust lands, provided
that the Tribe may agree with other persons having junior
water rights to subordinate the Tribe's senior water rights.
Water rights for newly acquired trust lands can only be used
on those lands or other trust lands of the Tribe located
within the same river basin tributary to the main stream of
the Colorado River.
(f) Subsurface Interests.--On any newly acquired trust
lands where the subsurface interest is owned by any party
other than the Tribe, the trust status of the surface
ownership shall not impair any existing right of the
subsurface owner to develop the subsurface interest and to
have access to the surface for the purpose of such
development.
(g) Statutory Construction with Respect to Water Rights of
Other Federally Recognized Indian Tribes.--Nothing in this
section shall affect the water rights of any other federally
recognized Indian tribe with a priority date earlier than the
date the newly acquired trust lands are taken into trust.
(h) Statutory Construction.--Nothing in this section shall
be construed to determine the law applicable to water use on
lands owned by the United States, other than on the newly
acquired trust lands. The granting of the right to make
beneficial use of unappropriated surface water on the newly
acquired trust lands with a priority date such lands are
taken into trust shall not be construed to imply that such
right is a Federal reserved water right. Nothing in this
section or any other provision of this Act shall be construed
to establish any Federal reserved right to groundwater.
Authority for the Secretary to take land into trust for the
Tribe pursuant to the Settlement Agreement and this Act shall
be construed as having been provided solely by the provisions
of this Act.
Mr. MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1973,
the Navajo-Hopi Land Dispute Settlement Act of 1996. This bill is
another step in the right direction toward bringing the problems with
the land dispute between the two tribes to a close. It will enact the
settlement agreement reached between the Hopi Tribe and the Department
of Justice acting on behalf of the United States.
S. 1973 will provide the Hopi Tribe with the authority to enter in
lease agreements with Navajo residents living on Hopi partitioned land.
These leases will allow the Navajo residents to live peaceably on Hopi
land for 75 years with the promise that they will be treated under Hopi
law the same as members of the Hopi Tribe.
Further, this legislation will settle four law suits pending against
the United States by the Hopi Tribe. Enactment of this bill will save
millions in continued litigation costs and probable U.S. liability.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure--the Hopi Tribe has
remained willing to negotiate and discuss each issue which has arisen
over this matter. They have waited long enough for this bill to pass.
I want to thank the Navajo nation for its help in getting this
settlement to this point. I further wish to thank the Hopi Tribe, the
tribal council, and particularly chairman Ferrell Secakuku and Kim
Secakuku for their determination and long hours of hard work.
The Senate bill was ordered to be read a third time, was read the
third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the
table.
____________________