[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 84 (Thursday, May 26, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3343-S3345]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 4342. Mr. UDALL submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill S. 2943, to authorize appropriations for fiscal year
2017 for
[[Page S3344]]
military activities of the Department of Defense, for military
construction, and for defense activities of the Department of Energy,
to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for
other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:
At the end of subtitle C of title XXVIII, add the
following:
SEC. 2826. RETURN OF CERTAIN LANDS AT FORT WINGATE TO THE
ORIGINAL INHABITANTS ACT.
(a) Short Title.--This section may be cited as the ``Return
of Certain Lands At Fort Wingate to The Original Inhabitants
Act''.
(b) Division and Treatment of Lands of Former Fort Wingate
Depot Activity, New Mexico, to Benefit the Zuni Tribe and
Navajo Nation.--
(1) Immediate trust on behalf of zuni tribe; exception.--
Subject to valid existing rights and to easements reserved
pursuant to subsection (c), all right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to the lands of Former Fort Wingate
Depot Activity depicted in dark blue on the map titled ``The
Fort Wingate Depot Activity Negotiated Property Division
April 2016'' (in this section referred to as the ``Map'') and
transferred to the Secretary of the Interior are to be held
in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for the Zuni Tribe
as part of the Zuni Reservation, unless the Zuni Tribe
otherwise elects under clause (ii) of paragraph (3)(C) to
have the parcel conveyed to it in Restricted Fee Status.
(2) Immediate trust on behalf of the navajo nation;
exception.--Subject to valid existing rights and to easements
reserved pursuant to subsection (c), all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to the lands of Former
Fort Wingate Depot Activity depicted in dark green on the Map
and transferred to the Secretary of the Interior are to be
held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for the Navajo
Nation as part of the Navajo Reservation, unless the Navajo
Nation otherwise elects under clause (ii) of paragraph (3)(C)
to have the parcel conveyed to it in Restricted Fee Status.
(3) Subsequent transfer and trust; restricted fee status
alternative.--
(A) Transfer upon completion of remediation.--Not later
than 60 days after the date on which the Secretary of the
Army, with the concurrence of the New Mexico Environment
Department, notifies the Secretary of the Interior that
remediation of a parcel of land of Former Fort Wingate Depot
Activity has been completed consistent with subsection (d),
the Secretary of the Army shall transfer administrative
jurisdiction over the parcel to the Secretary of the
Interior.
(B) Notification of transfer.--Not later than 30 days after
the date on which the Secretary of the Army transfers
administrative jurisdiction over a parcel of land of Former
Fort Wingate Depot Activity under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary of the Interior shall notify the Zuni Tribe and
Navajo Nation of the transfer of administrative jurisdiction
over the parcel.
(C) Trust or restricted fee status.--
(i) Trust.--Except as provided in clause (ii), the
Secretary of the Interior shall hold each parcel of land of
Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity transferred under
subparagraph (A) in trust--
(I) for the Zuni Tribe, in the case of land depicted in
blue on the Map; or
(II) for the Navajo Nation, in the case of land depicted in
green on the Map.
(ii) Restricted fee status.--In lieu of having a parcel of
land held in trust under clause (i), the Zuni Tribe, with
respect to land depicted in blue on the Map, and the Navajo
Nation, with respect to land depicted in green on the Map,
may elect to have the Secretary of the Interior convey the
parcel or any portion of the parcel to it in restricted fee
status.
(iii) Notification of election.--Not later than 45 days
after the date on which the Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation
receives notice under subparagraph (B) of the transfer of
administrative jurisdiction over a parcel of land of Former
Fort Wingate Depot Activity, the Zuni Tribe or the Navajo
Nation shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of an
election under clause (ii) for conveyance of the parcel or
any portion of the parcel in restricted fee status.
(iv) Conveyance.--As soon as practicable after receipt of a
notice from the Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation under clause
(iii), but in no case later than 6 months after receipt of
the notice, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey, in
restricted fee status, the parcel of land of Former Fort
Wingate Depot Activity covered by the notice to the Zuni
Tribe or the Navajo Nation, as the case may be.
(v) Restricted fee status defined.--For purposes of this
section only, the term ``restricted fee status'', with
respect to land conveyed under clause (iv), means that the
land so conveyed--
(I) shall be owned in fee by the Indian tribe to whom the
land is conveyed;
(II) shall be part of the Indian tribe's Reservation and
expressly made subject to the jurisdiction of the Indian
Tribe;
(III) shall not be sold by the Indian tribe without the
consent of Congress;
(IV) shall not be subject to taxation by any government
other than the government of the Indian tribe; and
(V) shall not be subject to any provision of law providing
for the review or approval by the Secretary of the Interior
before an Indian tribe may use the land for any purpose,
directly or through agreement with another party.
(4) Survey and boundary requirements.--
(A) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior shall--
(i) provide for the survey of lands of Former Fort Wingate
Depot Activity taken into trust for the Zuni Tribe or the
Navajo Nation or conveyed in restricted fee status for the
Zuni Tribe or the Navajo Nation under paragraph (1), (2), or
(3); and
(ii) establish legal boundaries based on the Map as parcels
are taken into trust or conveyed in restricted fee status.
(B) Consultation.--Not later than 90 days after the date of
the enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior
shall consult with the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation to
determine their priorities regarding the order in which
parcels should be surveyed and, to the greatest extent
feasible, the Secretary shall follow these priorities.
(5) Relation to certain regulations.--Part 151 of title 25,
Code of Federal Regulations, shall not apply to taking lands
of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity into trust under
paragraph (1), (2), or (3).
(6) Fort wingate launch complex land status.--Upon
certification by the Secretary of Defense that the area
generally depicted as ``Fort Wingate Launch Complex'' on the
Map is no longer required for military purposes and can be
transferred to the Secretary of the Interior--
(A) the areas generally depicted as ``FWLC A'' and ``FWLC
B'' on the Map shall be held in trust by the Secretary of the
Interior for the Zuni Tribe in accordance with this
subsection; and
(B) the areas generally depicted as ``FWLC C'' and ``FWLC
D'' on the Map shall be held in trust by the Secretary of the
Interior for the Navajo Nation in accordance with this
subsection.
(c) Retention of Necessary Easements and Access.--
(1) Rights-of-way.--Entities operating on the land
described herein, subject to prior easements and/or rights-
of-way agreements, shall be granted a one-time 30-year
extension of that agreement retroactive to the expiration of
the prior agreement at existing compensation rates and
subject to current Department of Interior regulations
concerning easements and rights-of-ways. Compensation for
future rights-of-way agreements and/or easements shall be
negotiated between the parties based on prevailing market
rates at the time of the negotiation.
(2) Access for environmental response actions.--The lands
of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity held in trust or
conveyed in restricted fee status pursuant to subsection (b)
shall be subject to reserved access by the United States as
the Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Interior
determine are reasonably required to permit access to lands
of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity for administrative and
environmental response purposes. The Secretary of the Army
shall provide to the governments of the Zuni Tribe and the
Navajo Nation written copies of all access reservations under
this subsection.
(3) Shared access.--
(A) Parcel 1 shared cultural and religious access.--In the
case of the lands of Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity
depicted as Parcel 1 on the Map, the lands shall be held in
trust subject to a shared easement for cultural and religious
purposes only. Both the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation
shall have unhindered access to their respective cultural and
religious sites within Parcel 1. Within 1 year after the date
of the enactment of this section, the Zuni Tribe and the
Navajo Nation shall exchange detailed information to document
the existence of cultural and religious sites within Parcel 1
for the purpose of carrying out this subparagraph. The
information shall also be provided to the Secretary of the
Interior.
(B) Other shared access.--Subject to the written consent of
both the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation, the Secretary of
the Interior may facilitate shared access to other lands held
in trust or restricted fee status pursuant to subsection (b),
including, but not limited to, religious and cultural sites.
(4) I-40 frontage road entrance.--The access road for the
Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity, which originates at the
frontage road for Interstate 40 and leads to the parcel of
the Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity depicted as
``administration area'' on the Map, shall be held in common
by the Zuni Tribe and Navajo Nation to provide for equal
access to Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity.
(5) Compatibility with defense activities.--The lands of
Former Fort Wingate Depot Activity held in trust or conveyed
in restricted fee status pursuant to subsection (b) shall be
subject to reservations by the United States as the Secretary
of Defense determines are reasonably required to permit
access to lands of the Fort Wingate launch complex for
administrative, test operations, and launch operations
purposes. The Secretary of Defense shall provide the
governments of the Zuni Tribe and the Navajo Nation written
copies of all reservations under this paragraph.
(d) Environmental Remediation.--Nothing in this section
shall be construed as alleviating, altering, or affecting the
responsibility of the United States for cleanup and
remediation of Former Fort Wingate Depot
[[Page S3345]]
Activity in accordance with the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980.
______