[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 5]
[House]
[Pages 7165-7166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                JICARILLA APACHE RESERVATION CONVEYANCE

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3522) to ratify a conveyance of a portion of the Jicarilla 
Apache Reservation to Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, pursuant 
to the settlement of litigation between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and 
Rio Arriba County, State of New Mexico, to authorize issuance of a 
patent for said lands, and to change the exterior boundary of the 
Jicarilla Apache Reservation accordingly, and for other purposes.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 3522

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS.

       For the purposes of this act, the following definitions 
     apply:
       (1) Jicarilla apache nation.--The term ``Jicarilla Apache 
     Nation'' means the Jicarilla Apache Nation, a tribe of 
     American Indians recognized by the United States and 
     organized under section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (25 
     U.S.C. 476; popularly known as the Indian Reorganization 
     Act).
       (2) 1988 reservation addition.--The term ``1988 Reservation 
     Addition'' means those lands, known locally as the Theis 
     Ranch, that are described in the Federal Register published 
     on September 26, 1988 at 53 F.R. 37355-56 and were added to 
     the Jicarilla Apache Reservation in New Mexico in 1988.
       (3) Settlement agreement.--The term ``Settlement 
     Agreement'' means the agreement executed by the President of 
     the Jicarilla Apache Nation on May 6, 2003 and executed by 
     the Chairman of the Rio Arriba Board of County Commissioners 
     on May 15, 2003 and approved by the Department of the 
     Interior on June 18, 2003 to settle the Lawsuit.
       (4) Lawsuit.--The term ``Lawsuit'' means the case 
     identified as Jicarilla Apache Tribe v. Board of County 
     Commissioners, County of Rio Arriba, No. RA 87-2225(C), State 
     of New Mexico District Court, First Judicial District, filed 
     in October 1987.
       (5) Rio arriba county.--The term ``Rio Arriba County'' 
     means the political subdivision of the state of New Mexico 
     described in Section 4-21-1 and Section 4-21-2, New Mexico 
     Statutes Annotated 1978 (Original Pamphlet).
       (6) Settlement lands.--The term ``Settlement Lands'' means 
     Tract A and Tract B as described in the plat of the 
     ``Dependent Resurvey and Survey of Tract within Theis Ranch'' 
     within the Tierra Amarilla Grant, New Mexico prepared by Leo 
     P. Kelley, Cadastral Surveyor, United States Department of 
     the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, dated January 7, 
     2004, and recorded in the office of the Rio Arriba County 
     Clerk on March 8, 2004, in Cabinet C-1, Page 199, Document 
     No. 242411, consisting of 70.75 acres more or less. Title to 
     the Settlement Lands is held by the United States in trust 
     for the Jicarilla Apache Nation.
       (7) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior.
       (8) Disputed county road.--The term ``Disputed County 
     Road'' means the county road passing through the 1988 
     Reservation Addition along the course identified in the 
     judgment entered by the New Mexico District Court in the 
     Lawsuit on December 10, 2001 and the decision entered on 
     December 11, 2001, which judgment and decision have been 
     appealed to the New Mexico Court of Appeals.

     SEC. 2. CONGRESSIONAL FINDINGS.

       Congress finds the following:
       (1) The Lawsuit is now pending before the Court of Appeals 
     of the State of New Mexico and involves a claim that a county 
     road passing through the 1988 Reservation Addition had been 
     established by prescription prior to acquisition of the land 
     by the Jicarilla Apache Nation in 1985.
       (2) The parties to that lawsuit, the Jicarilla Apache 
     Nation and the County of Rio Arriba, have executed a 
     Settlement Agreement, approved by the Secretary of the 
     Interior, to resolve all claims relating to the disputed 
     county road, which agreement requires ratifying legislation 
     by the Congress of the United States.
       (3) The parties to the Settlement Agreement desire to 
     settle the claims relating to the disputed county road on the 
     terms agreed to by the parties, and it is in the best 
     interests of the parties to resolve the claims through the 
     Settlement Agreement and this implementing legislation.

     SEC. 3. CONDITION ON EFFECT OF SECTION.

       (a) In General.--Section 4 of this Act shall not take 
     effect until the Secretary finds the following events have 
     occurred:
       (1) The Board of Commissioners of Rio Arriba County has 
     enacted a resolution permanently abandoning the disputed 
     county road and has submitted a copy of that resolution to 
     the Secretary.
       (2) The Jicarilla Apache Nation has executed a quitclaim 
     deed to Rio Arriba County for the Settlement Lands subject to 
     the exceptions identified in the Settlement Agreement and has 
     submitted a copy of the quitclaim deed to the Secretary.
       (b) Publication of Findings.--If the Secretary finds that 
     the conditions set forth in subsection (a) have occurred, the 
     Secretary shall publish such findings in the Federal 
     Register.

     SEC. 4. RATIFICATION OF CONVEYANCE; ISSUANCE OF PATENT.

       (a) Conditional Ratification and Approval.--This Act 
     ratifies and approves the Jicarilla Apache Nation's quitclaim 
     deed for the Settlement Lands to Rio Arriba County, but such 
     ratification and approval shall be effective only upon 
     satisfaction of all conditions in section 3, and only as of 
     the date that the Secretary's findings are published in the 
     Federal Register pursuant to section 3.
       (b) Patent.--Following publication of the notice described 
     in section 3, the Secretary shall issue to Rio Arriba County 
     a patent for the Settlement Lands, subject to the exceptions 
     and restrictive covenants described subsection (c).
       (c) Conditions of Patent.--The patent to be issued by the 
     Secretary under subsection (b) shall be subject to all valid 
     existing rights of third parties, including but not limited 
     to easements of record, and shall include the following 
     perpetual restrictive covenant running with the Settlement 
     Lands for the benefit of the lands comprising the Jicarilla 
     Apache Reservation adjacent to the Settlement Lands: ``Tract 
     A shall be used only for governmental purposes and shall not 
     be used for a prison, jail or other facility for 
     incarcerating persons accused or convicted of a crime. For 
     purposes of this restrictive covenant,'' governmental 
     purposes ``shall include the provision of governmental 
     services to the public by Rio Arriba County and the 
     development and operation of private businesses to the extent 
     permitted by applicable State law.''.

     SEC. 5. BOUNDARY CHANGE.

       Upon issuance of the patent authorized by section 4, the 
     lands conveyed to Rio Arriba County in the patent shall cease 
     to be a part of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation and the 
     exterior boundary of the Jicarilla Apache Reservation shall 
     be deemed relocated accordingly.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Bishop) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from West Virginia.


                             General Leave

  Mr. RAHALL. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from West Virginia?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. RAHALL. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Passage of the pending measure will resolve a longstanding dispute 
between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the county of Rio Arriba in New 
Mexico over a disputed road. The tribe and the county have agreed to a 
settlement which requires the approval of Congress in order to become 
effective.
  Under this settlement agreement, the tribe will transfer 70.5 acres 
of land located within its expanded 1988 reservation to the county. In 
exchange, the county will abandon any and all claims to the disputed 
road.
  I would like to commend our colleague from New Mexico for his super 
leadership and determination, Mr. Tom Udall, for bringing this bill 
before us today.
  Some of the more difficult and contentious issues that we deal with 
are those of property lines and jurisdictions of towns, private 
landowners and Indian tribes. Mr. Udall has never shied away from such 
matters when they affect the Indian tribes of New Mexico, and I commend 
him. I urge my colleagues to support its passage.

                              {time}  1415

  I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BISHOP of Utah. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  H.R. 3522 implements a settlement agreement worked out by the tribe 
and Rio Arriba County. As a result, the parties resolve a long-lasting 
litigation by conveying tribal lands to the county for transportation 
purposes.
  I support the settlement along with the administration. I urge my 
colleagues to do the same thing.
  We have no additional speakers, and I yield back the balance of my 
time.

[[Page 7166]]

  Mr. UDALL of New Mexico. Mr. Speaker, today the House will take one 
of the final steps in securing a long overdue resolution to a dispute 
between the Jicarilla Apache Nation and Rio Arriba County in the State 
of New Mexico. After 20 years of negotiation and effort, I am pleased 
that the House is moving this bill forward.
  In September of 1988, a parcel of land formerly referred to as the 
Theis Ranch became part of the Jicarilla Nation Reservation. Since that 
land transfer, there has been continued dispute between the Jicarilla 
Nation and the County of Rio Arriba over the ownership of a particular 
road on this land.
  A lawsuit was filed in October of 1987 to determine the ownership 
status of the disputed road. In the original lawsuit, Rio Arriba County 
sought to establish that the County acquired the disputed road by 
prescription and, therefore, that the County was the road's rightful 
owner. However, the Jicarilla Nation contended that the Nation owned 
the road because the road was, and continues to be, within the 
boundaries of the expanded 1988 Jicarilla reservation. On December 10, 
2001, the District Court found in favor of the Jicarilla Nation, 
determining that the disputed road traversed the Jicarilla reservation 
in several locations. Rio Arriba County appealed the District Court 
decision, and the appeal is currently pending before the Court of 
Appeals of the State of New Mexico.
  In an effort to settle the road dispute amicably, the Jicarilla 
Nation and Rio Arriba County entered into mediation, and the parties 
successfully reached a settlement. Representatives of the Secretary of 
the Interior approved the settlement on June 18, 2003. The settlement 
agreement, which would be implemented by this legislation, provides 
that the Jicarilla Nation will transfer approximately 70.5 acres of 
land located with the expanded 1988 Jicarilla reservation to Rio Arriba 
County. In exchange for the Jicarilla Nation's land conveyance, Rio 
Arriba County agreed to permanently abandon any and all claims to the 
disputed road. The settlement also provides that the terms of the 
agreement do not take effect until all parties complete their 
respective promises in the agreement and the United States, pursuant to 
federal law, approves of the conveyance of this particular Jicarilla 
trust land to Rio Arriba County.
  I commend both parties and the Secretary of the Interior for having 
already executed the terms agreed to within the settlement agreement. 
All that stands between the parties to this dispute and long overdue 
resolution is Congressional approval.
  The legislation we are voting on today upholds Congress' trust 
responsibility to the Jicarilla Nation by placing restrictive covenants 
on the trust land transferred to the County. As a result of the 
transferred land's proximity to the reservation, certain uses of the 
transferred land would have a detrimental effect on the remaining 
reservation. Therefore, this legislation allows the County to use the 
land only for ``governmental purposes'' and specifically prohibits the 
County from using the land for prisons, jails, or other incarcerated 
persons, and other purposes.
  In the 109th Congress, this bill received broad support and passed 
the House by voice vote. Unfortunately, the bill was then held up in 
the Senate, but the provisions that raised minor objections have been 
resolved and I expect bicameral support and passage of this long 
overdue legislation.
  The Jicarilla Nation and Rio Arriba County have done their part; they 
have found a fair solution. Today, the House will do its part. I urge 
my colleagues to support passage of this important legislation. Both 
the Nation and the County have waited years for this agreement to be 
implemented.
  Mr. RAHALL. I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3522.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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