[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 123 (Monday, July 30, 2007)]
[House]
[Pages H8828-H8829]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
PECHANGA BAND OF LUISENO MISSION INDIANS LAND TRANSFER ACT OF 2007
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the
Committee on Natural Resources be discharged from further consideration
of the bill (H.R. 2963) to transfer certain land in Riverside County,
California, and San Diego County, California, from the Bureau of Land
Management to the United States to be held in trust for the Pechanga
Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, and for other purposes, and ask for
its immediate consideration in the House.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
The Clerk read the bill, as follows:
H.R. 2963
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 ``Pechanga Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians Land Transfer Act of 2007''.
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF LAND IN TRUST FOR PECHANGA BAND OF
LUISENO MISSION INDIANS.
(a) Transfer and Administration.--
(1) Transfer.--Effective on the date of the enactment of
this Act and subject to valid existing rights, all right,
title, and interest of the United States in and to the
Federal lands described in subsection (b) (including all
improvements thereon, appurtenances thereto, and rights to
all minerals thereon or therein, including oil and gas,
water, and related resources) shall be held by the United
States in trust for the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission
Indians, a federally recognized Indian tribe. Such transfer
shall not include the 12.82 acres of lands more or less,
including the facilities, improvements, and appurtenances
associated with the existing 230 kV transmission line in San
Diego County and its 300 foot corridor, more particularly
described as a portion of sec. 6, T. 9 S., R. 2 W., San
Bernardino Base and Meridian, which shall be sold by the
Bureau of Land Management for fair market value to San Diego
Gas & Electric Company not later than 30 days after the
completion of the cadastral survey described in subsection
(c) and the appraisal described in subsection (d).
(2) Administration.--The land transferred under paragraph
(1) shall be part of the Pechanga Indian Reservation and
administered in accordance with--
(A) the laws and regulations generally applicable to
property held in trust by the United States for an Indian
tribe; and
(B) a memorandum of understanding entered into between the
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians and the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service.
(b) Description of Land.--The lands referred to in
subsection (a) consist of approximately 1,178 acres in
Riverside County, California, and San Diego County,
California, as referenced on the map titled, ``H.R. 28, the
Pechanga Land Transfer Act'' and dated January 12, 2007,
which, before the transfer under such subsection, were
administered by the Bureau of Land Management and are more
particularly described as follows:
(1) Sections 24, 29, 31, and 32 of township 8 south, range
2 west, San Bernardino base and meridian.
(2) Section 6 of township 9 south, range 2 west, lots 2, 3,
5 and 6, San Bernardino Base and Meridian.
(3) Mineral Survey 3540, section 22 of township 5 south,
range 4 west, San Bernardino base and meridian.
(c) Survey.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Office of Cadastral Survey of the
Bureau of Land Management shall complete a survey of the
lands transferred and to be sold under subsection (a) for the
purpose of establishing the boundaries of the lands.
(d) Conveyance of Utility Corridor.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall convey to the San
Diego Gas & Electric Company all right, title, and interest
of the United States in and to the utility corridor upon--
(A) the completion of the survey required under subsection
(c);
(B) the receipt by the Secretary of all rents and other
fees that may be due to the United States for use of the
utility corridor, if any; and
(C) the receipt of payment by United States from the San
Diego Gas & Electric Company of consideration in an amount
equal to the fair market value of the utility corridor, as
determined by an appraisal conducted under paragraph (2).
(2) Appraisal.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 90 days after the date on
which the survey of the utility corridor is completed under
subsection (c), the Secretary shall complete an appraisal of
the utility corridor.
(B) Applicable law.--The appraisal under subparagraph (A)
shall be conducted in accordance with--
(i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions; and
(ii) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.
(3) Costs.--The San Diego Gas & Electric Company shall pay
the costs of carrying out the conveyance of the utility
corridor under paragraph (1), including any associated survey
and appraisal costs.
(4) Disposition of proceeds.--The Secretary shall deposit
any amounts received under paragraph (1)(C) of this section
in the Federal Land Disposal Account established under
section 206(a) of the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation
Act (43 U.S.C. 2305(a)).
(e) Map on File.--The map referred to in subsection (b)
shall be on file in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(f) Legal Descriptions.--
(1) Publication.--On approval of the survey completed under
subsection (c) by the duly elected tribal council of the
Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians, the Secretary of
the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register--
(A) a legal description of the boundary lines; and
(B) legal description of the lands transferred under
subsection (a).
[[Page H8829]]
(2) Effect.--Beginning on the date on which the legal
descriptions are published under paragraph (1), such legal
descriptions shall be the official legal descriptions of the
boundary lines and the lands transferred under subsection
(a).
(g) Rules of Construction.--Nothing in this Act shall--
(1) enlarge, impair, or otherwise affect any right or claim
of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno Mission Indians to any land
or interest in land that is in existence before the date of
the enactment of this Act;
(2) affect any water right of the Pechanga Band of Luiseno
Mission Indians in existence before the date of the enactment
of this Act; or
(3) terminate any right-of-way or right-of-use issued,
granted, or permitted before the date of enactment of this
Act.
(h) Restricted Use of Transferred Lands.--
(1) In general.--The lands transferred under subsection (a)
may be used only for the protection, preservation, and
maintenance of the archaeological, cultural, and wildlife
resources thereon.
(2) No roads.--There shall be no roads other than for
maintenance purposes constructed on the lands transferred
under subsection (a).
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, preserving tribal cultures is a
fundamental aspect of the United States' trust responsibility to Indian
tribes and is key to the survival of Native America. The Federal
government can begin to meet this responsibility by transferring land
that is an integral part of a tribe's culture to the tribe. This
measure does just that.
Introduced by my friend from the other side of the aisle,
Representative Darrell Issa, this measure would transfer land
administered by the Bureau of Land Management to be held in trust for
the Pechanga Band in California. The land contains sites and plants
integral to the Tribe's culture and religion.
Because of the importance of the land to the cultural survival of the
Tribe, the legislation requires that the land may only be used for the
protection, preservation, and maintenance of archaeological, cultural,
and wildlife resources. Only maintenance roads may be constructed and
the land must be administered in accordance with a memorandum of
understanding between the Tribe and the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service.
The pending measure would also transfer approximately 12 acres to the
San Diego Gas and Electric Company, which has an unauthorized electric
line on part of the land. The land will be transferred only upon
payment of fair market value for the land, plus payment for the past
unauthorized use of the land.
Last Congress, a similar measure passed the House, and I would note
that this measure is supported by the City of Temecula, and the
Riverside County Board of Supervisors.
I urge my colleagues to support this measure.
The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the
table.
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