[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17833-17834]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                PASCUA YAQUI MINERAL RIGHTS ACT OF 2006

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 631) to provide for acquisition of subsurface mineral rights 
to land owned by the Pascua Yaqui Tribe and land held in trust for the 
Tribe, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                H.R. 631

       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 ``Pascua Yaqui Mineral Rights 
     Act of 2006''.

     SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

       In this Act:
       (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (2) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Arizona.
       (3) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Pascua Yaqui 
     Tribe.

     SEC. 3. ACQUISITION OF SUBSURFACE MINERAL INTERESTS.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination with 
     the Attorney General of the United States and with the 
     consent of the State, shall acquire through eminent domain 
     the following:
       (1) All subsurface rights, title, and interests (including 
     subsurface mineral interests) held by the State in the 
     following tribally-owned parcels:
       (A) Lot 2, sec. 13, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., Gila and Salt River 
     Meridian, Pima County Arizona.
       (B) Lot 4, W\1/2\SE\1/4\, sec. 13, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., Gila 
     and Salt River Base & Meridian, Pima County, Arizona.
       (C) NW\1/4\NW\1/4\, N\1/2\NE\1/4\NW\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/
     4\NW\1/4\, sec. 24, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., Gila and Salt River 
     Base & Meridian, Pima County, Arizona.
       (D) Lot 2 and Lots 45 through 76, sec. 19, T. 15 S., R. 13 
     E., Gila and Salt River Base & Meridian, Pima County, 
     Arizona.
       (2) All subsurface rights, title, and interests (including 
     subsurface mineral interests) held by the State in the 
     following parcels held in trust for the benefit of Tribe:
       (A) Lots 1 through 8, sec. 14, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., Gila and 
     Salt River Base & Meridian, Pima County, Arizona.
       (B) NE\1/4\SE\1/4\, E\1/2\NW\1/4\SE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NW\1/
     4\SE\1/4\, N\1/2\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, SE\1/4\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\, sec. 
     14, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., Gila and Salt River Base & Meridian, 
     Pima County, Arizona.
       (b) Consideration.--Subject to subsection (c), as 
     consideration for the acquisition of subsurface mineral 
     interests under subsection (a), the Secretary shall pay to 
     the State an amount equal to the market value of the 
     subsurface mineral interests acquired, as determined by--
       (1) a mineral assessment that is--
       (A) completed by a team of mineral specialists agreed to by 
     the State and the Tribe; and
       (B) reviewed and accepted as complete and accurate by a 
     certified review mineral examiner of the Bureau of Land 
     Management;
       (2) a negotiation between the State and the Tribe to 
     mutually agree on the price of the subsurface mineral 
     interests; or
       (3) if the State and the Tribe cannot mutually agree on a 
     price under paragraph (2), an appraisal report that is--
       (A)(i) completed by the State in accordance with subsection 
     (d); and
       (ii) reviewed by the Tribe; and
       (B) on a request of the Tribe to the Bureau of Indian 
     Affairs, reviewed and accepted as complete and accurate by 
     the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians of the 
     Department of the Interior.

[[Page 17834]]

       (c) Conditions of Acquisition.--The Secretary shall acquire 
     subsurface mineral interests under subsection (a) only if--
       (1) the payment to the State required under subsection (b) 
     is accepted by the State in full consideration for the 
     subsurface mineral interests acquired;
       (2) the acquisition terminates all right, title, and 
     interest of any party other than the United States in and to 
     the acquired subsurface mineral interests; and
       (3) the Tribe agrees to fully reimburse the Secretary for 
     costs incurred by the Secretary relating to the acquisition, 
     including payment to the State for the acquisition.
       (d) Determination of Market Value.--Notwithstanding any 
     other provision of law, unless the State and the Tribe 
     otherwise agree to the market value of the subsurface mineral 
     interests acquired by the Secretary under this section, the 
     market value of those subsurface mineral interests shall be 
     determined in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal Standards 
     for Federal Land Acquisition, as published by the Appraisal 
     Institute in 2000, in cooperation with the Department of 
     Justice and the Office of Special Trustee for American 
     Indians of the Department of Interior.
       (e) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions with respect to 
     the acquisition of subsurface mineral interests under this 
     section as the Secretary considers to be appropriate to 
     protect the interests of the United States and any valid 
     existing right.

     SEC. 4. INTERESTS TAKEN INTO TRUST.

       (a) Land Transferred.--Subject to subsections (b) and (c), 
     notwithstanding any other provision of law, not later than 
     180 days after the date on which the Tribe makes the payment 
     described in subsection (c), the Secretary shall take into 
     trust for the benefit of the Tribe the subsurface rights, 
     title, and interests, formerly reserved to the United States, 
     to the following parcels:
       (1) E\1/2\NE\1/4\, SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, sec. 14, T. 15 S., R. 12 
     E., Gila and Salt River Base & Meridian, Pima County, 
     Arizona.
       (2) W\1/2\SE\1/4\, SW\1/4\, sec. 24, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., 
     Gila and Salt River Base & Meridian, Pima County, Arizona.
       (b) Exceptions.--The parcels taken into trust under 
     subsection (a) shall not include--
       (1) NE\1/4\SW\1/4\, sec. 24, except the southerly 4.19 feet 
     thereof;
       (2) NW\1/4\SE\1/4\, sec. 24, except the southerly 3.52 feet 
     thereof; or
       (3) S\1/2\SE\1/4\, sec. 23, T. 15 S., R. 12 E., Gila and 
     Salt River Base & Meridian, Pima County, Arizona.
       (c) Consideration and Costs.--The Tribe shall pay to the 
     Secretary only the transaction costs relating to the 
     assessment, review, and transfer of the subsurface rights, 
     title, and interests taken into trust under subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. 
Grijalva) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may be given 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 631 directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire through the process of eminent domain, and only with the 
consent of the State of Arizona, the subsurface mineral estate beneath 
the lands of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of Arizona. This will consolidate 
ownership of the subsurface and surface estates to complete the tribe's 
application to take land into trust currently pending at the State 
Department of Interior.
  The Department has objected to the tribe's application because the 
State of Arizona still owns the subsurface mineral estate beneath the 
tribe's newly acquired land. For the tribe to acquire the relevant 
mineral estate, the United States Government is required to acquire the 
subsurface estate because the State of Arizona cannot sell land under 
State law. The tribe will then purchase the subsurface estate from the 
United States. Once the subsurface estate is owned by the tribe, the 
Interior Department may move forward with the tribe's fee-to-trust 
application for the relevant surface lands. The acquisition in this act 
may be done only by the consent of the State of Arizona.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 631 is an important piece of legislation that will 
enable the Pascua Yaqui Tribe of my district in Arizona to consolidate 
its land holdings and have some of its lands and interests in the lands 
taken into trust by the Secretary of the Interior.
  Because of a quirk in Arizona State law, the tribe cannot acquire the 
subsurface mineral rights to certain parcels of State trust land it has 
purchased, making this legislation necessary. The bill requires the 
Secretary of the Interior, who acts as trustee to Indian nations, to 
acquire the mineral rights to land already owned by the Pascua Yaqui 
Tribe from the State of Arizona and take the land into trust on the 
tribe's behalf. It also requires the government to transfer other 
mineral rights into trust for the tribe. The tribe will pay the fair 
market value for the mineral rights involved as well as a transaction 
cost to complete the transfer.
  The Pascua Yaqui Tribe and the Governor of Arizona are supportive of 
this legislation, and I am personally thrilled that the House is taking 
up this bill today. It is an important measure that will enable the 
tribe to have full control over its own lands, providing opportunities 
for economic development and self-determination to the community.
  I wish to thank my colleagues and the leadership within the Resources 
Committee for making this bill a priority for passage this session. I 
urge my colleagues to support H.R. 631.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I have no other speakers at this time, 
and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 631, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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