[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 16, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H6877-H6878]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HOLDING IN TRUST CERTAIN BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LANDS FOR PUEBLO OF
SANTA CLARA AND PUEBLO OF SAN ILDEFONSO IN NEW MEXICO
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 246) to provide that certain Bureau of Land Management
land shall be held in trust for the Pueblo of Santa Clara and the
Pueblo of San Ildefonso in the State of New Mexico.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 246
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agreement.--The term ``Agreement'' means the agreement
entitled ``Agreement to Affirm Boundary Between Pueblo of
Santa Clara and Pueblo of San Ildefonso Aboriginal Lands
Within Garcia Canyon Tract'', entered into by the Governors
on December 20, 2000.
(2) Boundary line.--The term ``boundary line'' means the
boundary line established under section 4(a).
(3) Governors.--The term ``Governors'' means--
(A) the Governor of the Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico;
and
(B) the Governor of the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New
Mexico.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b).
(5) Pueblos.--The term ``Pueblos'' means--
(A) the Pueblo of Santa Clara, New Mexico; and
(B) the Pueblo of San Ildefonso, New Mexico.
(6) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(7) Trust land.--The term ``trust land'' means the land
held by the United States in trust under section 2(a) or
3(a).
SEC. 2. TRUST FOR THE PUEBLO OF SANTA CLARA, NEW MEXICO.
(a) In General.--All right, title, and interest of the
United States in and to the land described in subsection (b),
including improvements on, appurtenances to, and mineral
rights (including rights to oil and gas) to the land, shall
be held by the United States in trust for the Pueblo of Santa
Clara, New Mexico, as part of the Santa Clara Reservation.
(b) Description of Land.--The land referred to in
subsection (a) consists of approximately 2,484 acres of
Bureau of Land Management land located in Rio Arriba County,
New Mexico, and more particularly described as--
(1) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 22, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is located north of the boundary
line;
(2) the southern half of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 23, New
Mexico Principal Meridian;
(3) the southern half of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 24, New
Mexico Principal Meridian;
(4) T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 25, excluding the 5-acre tract
in the southeast quarter owned by the Pueblo of San
Ildefonso;
(5) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 26, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is located north and east of the
boundary line;
(6) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 27, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is located north of the boundary
line;
(7) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 8 E., Sec. 19, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is not included in the Santa Clara
Pueblo Grant or the Santa Clara Indian Reservation; and
(8) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 8 E., Sec. 30, that is not
included in the Santa Clara Pueblo Grant or the San Ildefonso
Grant.
SEC. 3. TRUST FOR THE PUEBLO OF SAN ILDEFONSO, NEW MEXICO.
(a) In General.--All right, title, and interest of the
United States in and to the land described in subsection (b),
including improvements on, appurtenances to, and mineral
rights (including rights to oil and gas) to the land, shall
be held by the United States in trust for the Pueblo of San
Ildefonso, New Mexico, as part of the San Ildefonso
Reservation.
(b) Description of Land.--The land referred to in
subsection (a) consists of approximately 2,000 acres of
Bureau of Land Management land located in Rio Arriba County
and Santa Fe County in the State of New Mexico, and more
particularly described as--
(1) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 22, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is located south of the boundary
line;
(2) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 26, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is located south and west of the
boundary line;
(3) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 27, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is located south of the boundary
line;
(4) T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 34, New Mexico Principal
Meridian; and
(5) the portion of T. 20 N., R. 7 E., Sec. 35, New Mexico
Principal Meridian, that is not included in the San Ildefonso
Pueblo Grant.
SEC. 4. SURVEY AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.
(a) Survey.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Office of Cadastral Survey of the
Bureau of Land Management shall, in accordance with the
Agreement, complete a survey of the boundary line established
under the Agreement for the purpose of establishing, in
accordance with sections 2(b) and 3(b), the boundaries of the
trust land.
[[Page H6878]]
(b) Legal Descriptions.--
(1) Publication.--On approval by the Governors of the
survey completed under subsection (a), the Secretary shall
publish in the Federal Register--
(A) a legal description of the boundary line; and
(B) legal descriptions of the trust land.
(2) Technical corrections.--Before the date on which the
legal descriptions are published under paragraph (1)(B), the
Secretary may correct any technical errors in the
descriptions of the trust land provided in sections 2(b) and
3(b) to ensure that the descriptions are consistent with the
terms of the Agreement.
(3) Effect.--Beginning on the date on which the legal
descriptions are published under paragraph (1)(B), the legal
descriptions shall be the official legal descriptions of the
trust land.
SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATION OF TRUST LAND.
(a) Applicable Law.--The trust land shall be administered
in accordance with laws generally applicable to property held
in trust by the United States for Indian tribes.
(b) Pueblo Lands Act.--The following shall be subject to
section 17 of the Act of June 7, 1924 (25 U.S.C. 331 note;
commonly known as the ``Pueblo Lands Act''):
(1) The trust land.
(2) Any land owned as of the date of enactment of this Act
or acquired after the date of enactment of this Act by the
Pueblo of Santa Clara in the Santa Clara Pueblo Grant.
(3) Any land owned as of the date of enactment of this Act
or acquired after the date of enactment of this Act by the
Pueblo of Santa Ildefonso in the San Ildefonso Pueblo Grant.
(c) Use of Trust Land.--Subject to criteria developed by
the Pueblos in concert with the Secretary, the trust land may
be used only for traditional and customary uses or
stewardship conservation for the benefit of the Pueblo for
which the trust land is held in trust. Beginning on the date
of enactment of this Act, the trust land shall not be used
for any new commercial developments.
SEC. 6. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) affects any valid right-of-way, lease, permit, mining
claim, grazing permit, water right, or other right or
interest of any person or entity (other than the United
States) in or to the trust land that is in existence before
the date of enactment of this Act;
(2) enlarges, impairs, or otherwise affects a right or
claim of the Pueblos to any land or interest in land based on
Aboriginal or Indian title that is in existence before the
date of enactment of this Act;
(3) constitutes an express or implied reservation of water
or water right for any purpose with respect to the trust
land; or
(4) affects any water right of the Pueblos in existence
before the date of enactment of this act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from New
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce).
(Mr. PEARCE asked and was given permission to revise and extend his
remarks.)
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this is a New Mexico day on the floor of the House, and
my colleague and I are here to recommend that Senate 246 be passed. It
places 4,484 acres of Federal land managed by the Bureau of Lands
Management in trust for two pueblos in the State of New Mexico.
Specifically 2,484 acres will be added to the Santa Clara Reservation
and 2,000 acres to the San Ildefonso Reservation.
The gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Udall) and the gentlewoman from
New Mexico (Mrs. Wilson) are cosponsors of H.R. 508, the House
companion to this noncontroversial measure. The lands being transferred
to the pueblos are basically surplus land that the BLM has classified
as ``disposal property.'' These lands are situated between the two
pueblos in a manner that is not conducive to public access or use, and
they are difficult for the BLM to manage. In fact, there has reportedly
been almost no use of these lands except by the pueblos for cultural
purposes.
While the lands are deemed to be disposable property in the eyes of
the Federal Government, they are valuable in the hearts of the two
pueblos which have always asserted rights to them. Congress will be
restoring land to the pueblos claimed as their ancestral homelands
before the European settlers arrived. Recognizing the cultural,
traditional, and religious importance of the land of the pueblos, the
bill forbids any new commercial development as of the date of
enactment. Otherwise, the pueblos will have control over managing the
property for its intended purposes.
The bill specifies which lands are to be transferred based on an
agreement worked out between the two pueblos. The transfer is subject
to any valid existing rights, and there is a provision to ensure that
enactment does not affect any pending land plans by the pueblos.
Similar legislation had been considered in the last Congress. It is
supported by local governments in New Mexico and by the administration.
We should ensure it is finally sent to the President after we pass it
today.
Mr. Speaker I reserve the balance of my time.
(Mr. UDALL of New Mexico asked and was given permission to revise and
extend his remarks.)
Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I
may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in strong support of S. 246,
a bill declaring that the United States hold certain Bureau of Land
Management land in trust for the pueblos of San Ildefonso and Santa
Clara in New Mexico. I originally introduced a similar bill in the
107th Congress and introduced H.R. 507, companion legislation to S.
246, at the beginning of the 108th Congress. Last Congress, Senators
Domenici and Jeff Bingaman sponsored the Senate companion and were
successful in incorporating it into S. 2711, the Indian Programs
Reauthorization and Technical Amendments Act of 2002, during the
closing days of the 107th Congress.
{time} 1045
Unfortunately, the House was unable to take up this legislation prior
to its adjournment. Accordingly, I am delighted today that the House
will finally have the opportunity to vote on this important
legislation.
S. 246 will formally restore control and tribal authority of nearly
4,500 acres of remote surplus Federal property to the two Pueblos. This
land is culturally significant to San Ildefonso and Santa Clara. The
bill will transfer roughly 2,000 acres of land located within its
aboriginal domain to the San Ildefonso Pueblo and approximately 2,484
acres to Santa Clara's Pueblo aboriginal lands will also be transferred
to that Pueblo.
This transfer is the result of years of negotiations between the two
Pueblos and between the Pueblos and the Department of the Interior and
the Bureau of Land Management.
The Pueblos intend to maintain the natural quality of the land and
restore the health of the ecosystem of their traditional ancestral
lands. In addition, the lands will be used for ceremonial and other
traditional purposes.
Finally, the acquisition and transfer of these remote, surplus
Federal lands has the support of the surrounding communities and other
groups. Specifically, this includes the Counties of Santa Fe, Rio
Arriba and Los Alamos. It also has the support of the National Congress
of American Indians, the National Audubon Society's New Mexico State
office, the Quivira Coalition and the Santa Fe Group of the Sierra
Club.
Once again, I am very pleased that we have the opportunity to pass
this important legislation. I ask all of my colleagues today to support
the return of this culturally significant land to the people of the San
Ildefonso and Santa Clara Pueblos, and I thank the gentleman from New
Mexico (Mr. Pearce) for his participation on this issue.
Mr. Speaker, having no additional speakers, we yield back the balance
of our time.
Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
As I was listening to my colleague from New Mexico, I am completely
unfamiliar with the previous attempts to pass this legislation, and
though I do not take credit for it, I am glad to be a part of breaking
this logjam and getting this legislation to the next level.
Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers, and I yield back the balance
of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion
offered by the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) that the House
suspend the rules and pass the Senate bill, S. 246.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________