[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 158 (2012), Part 7]
[House]
[Pages 9193-9194]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY GRANTED REGARDING DEFINING EXTERIOR BOUNDARY 
               OF THE UINTAH AND OURAY INDIAN RESERVATION

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 4027) to clarify authority granted under the 
Act entitled ``An Act to define the exterior boundary of the Uintah and 
Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of Utah, and for other 
purposes''.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 4027

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

     SECTION 1. CLARIFICATION OF AUTHORITY.

       The Act entitled ``An Act to define the exterior boundary 
     of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of 
     Utah, and for other purposes'', approved March 11, 1948 (62 
     Stat. 72), as amended by the Act entitled ``An Act to amend 
     the Act extending the exterior boundary of the Uintah and 
     Ouray Indian Reservation in the State of Utah so as to 
     authorize such State to exchange certain mineral lands for 
     other lands mineral in character'' approved August 9, 1955, 
     (69 Stat. 544), is further amended by adding at the end the 
     following:
       ``Sec. 5.  In order to further clarify authorizations under 
     this Act, the State of Utah is hereby authorized to 
     relinquish to the United States, for the benefit of the Ute 
     Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, State 
     school trust or other State-owned subsurface mineral lands 
     located beneath the surface estate delineated in Public Law 
     440 (approved March 11, 1948) and south of the border between 
     Grand County, Utah, and Uintah County, Utah, and select in 
     lieu of such relinquished lands, on an acre-for-acre basis, 
     any subsurface mineral lands of the United States located 
     beneath the surface estate delineated in Public Law 440 
     (approved March 11, 1948) and north of the border between 
     Grand County, Utah, and Uintah County, Utah, subject to the 
     following conditions:
       ``(1) Reservation by united states.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior shall reserve an overriding interest in that portion 
     of the mineral estate comprised of minerals subject to 
     leasing under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 171 et seq) 
     in any mineral lands conveyed to the State.
       ``(2) Extent of overriding interest.--The overriding 
     interest reserved by the United States under paragraph (1) 
     shall consist of--
       ``(A) 50 percent of any bonus bid or other payment received 
     by the State as consideration for securing any lease or 
     authorization to develop such mineral resources;
       ``(B) 50 percent of any rental or other payments received 
     by the State as consideration for the lease or authorization 
     to develop such mineral resources;
       ``(C) a 6.25 percent overriding royalty on the gross 
     proceeds of oil and gas production under any lease or 
     authorization to develop such oil and gas resources; and
       ``(D) an overriding royalty on the gross proceeds of 
     production of such minerals other than oil and gas, equal to 
     50 percent of the royalty rate established by the Secretary 
     of the Interior by regulation as of October 1, 2011.
       ``(3) Reservation by state of utah.--The State of Utah 
     shall reserve, for the benefit of its State school trust, an 
     overriding interest in that portion of the mineral estate 
     comprised of minerals subject to leasing under the Mineral 
     Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq) in any mineral lands 
     relinquished by the State to the United States.
       ``(4) Extent of overriding interest.--The overriding 
     interest reserved by the State under paragraph (3) shall 
     consist of--
       ``(A) 50 percent of any bonus bid or other payment received 
     by the United States as consideration for securing any lease 
     or authorization to develop such mineral resources on the 
     relinquished lands;
       ``(B) 50 percent of any rental or other payments received 
     by the United States as consideration for the lease or 
     authorization to develop such mineral resources;
       ``(C) a 6.25 percent overriding royalty on the gross 
     proceeds of oil and gas production under any lease or 
     authorization to develop such oil and gas resources; and
       ``(D) an overriding royalty on the gross proceeds of 
     production of such minerals other than oil and gas, equal to 
     50 percent of the royalty rate established by the Secretary 
     of the Interior by regulation as of October 1, 2011.
       ``(5) No obligation to lease.--Neither the United States 
     nor the State shall be obligated to lease or otherwise 
     develop oil and gas resources in which the other party 
     retains an overriding interest under this section.
       ``(6) Cooperative agreements.--The Secretary of the 
     Interior is authorized to enter into cooperative agreements 
     with the State and the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and 
     Ouray Reservation to facilitate the relinquishment and 
     selection of lands to be conveyed under this section, and the 
     administration of the overriding interests reserved 
     hereunder.
       ``(7) Termination.--The overriding interest reserved by the 
     Secretary of the Interior under paragraph (1), and the 
     overriding interest reserved by the State under paragraph 
     (3), shall automatically terminate 30 years after the date of 
     enactment of this section.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Lujan) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and insert extraneous materials on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4027 is a bipartisan bill that would clarify the 
boundaries of the Uintah and Ouray Indian Reservation as passed by the 
Hill Creek Extension of 1948. The bill would authorize Utah's School 
and Industrial Trust Land Administration to relinquish to the Ute 
Indian Tribe its subsurface mineral rights in exchange for subsurface 
rights to an equal number of acres of other land owned by the Federal 
Government. The exchange would allow the school trust fund and the 
tribe to explore additional oil and gas development that will help 
support Utah education and create jobs for the tribe while preserving 
more culturally sensitive land for the tribe.
  I urge adoption of the resolution, and I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LUJAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 4027 clarifies existing law regarding the Federal 
Government's authority to permit land exchanges within the boundaries 
of the Ute Indian Reservation in northeastern Utah and resolves the 
tribe's split estate problem caused by Federal error over 50 years ago. 
This legislation returns the subsurface mineral estate to the Ute Tribe 
in a portion of its reservation that the tribe considers culturally and 
environmentally significant and thus preserves the area's pristine 
wilderness from development. The bill also benefits the State of Utah 
by opening up Federal minerals for development in an area of the 
tribe's reservation already being developed by the tribe's energy 
company.
  Legislation that corrects a Federal error and satisfies both tribal 
and State interests, without cost to the Federal Government, does not 
come along very often. Mr. Matheson is to be commended for his 
dedication in seeing this bill pass out of the House and for crafting a 
workable solution to a difficult problem.
  I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 4027, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.

                              {time}  1610

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. LUJAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Matheson).
  Mr. MATHESON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4027, a bill to 
authorize an acre-for-acre exchange of subsurface mineral lands within 
the Hill Creek Extension between the State of Utah and the United 
States on behalf of the Ute Tribe.
  I really want to thank Chairman Hastings and his staff, and also 
subcommittee Chairman Young and his staff, Ranking Member Markey and 
his

[[Page 9194]]

staff, and Ranking Member Boren and his staff for their support in 
moving this bill through the Natural Resources Committee. And I would 
also like to thank my colleague from Utah (Mr. Bishop) who is a 
cosponsor of the bill.
  In the transaction authorized in this bill, the tribe would acquire 
certain State minerals in Grand County, Utah, and in exchange, the BLM 
would relinquish certain Federal lands in Uintah County, Utah, to the 
State.
  This bipartisan bill would give the Bureau of Land Management the 
authority to approve this transaction that was first proposed several 
years ago. In order to fully protect State and Federal interests, this 
legislation reserves identical overriding financial interests in each 
other's exchanged lands should development occur. Often in the past, 
these land exchanges had challenges with appraisals and making sure 
everyone is treated fairly. This legislation tries to address that 
issue looking forward.
  This bill is a win/win. It helps the tribe consolidate its management 
of land that is considered sacred and culturally significant, and at 
the same time, it allows for domestic energy development on land not 
considered environmentally sensitive that would provide more school 
trust fund revenue for Utah and employment for energy workers in the 
State as well.
  This legislation has broad support from local government, including 
Grand, Duchesne, and Uintah Counties, the State of Utah, and the Ute 
Tribe as well as partner agencies. The Wilderness Society also 
testified in support of this legislation.
  So I urge my colleagues to join me in passing this bill.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I'm prepared to yield back if the 
gentleman has no more requests for time.
  Mr. LUJAN. Mr. Speaker, we thank the gentleman from Utah for his hard 
work, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I urge adoption, and I yield back the 
balance of my time.
  Ms. RICHARDSON. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 4027, which 
redefines the boundary of the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray 
Reservation. I thank my colleague, Congressman Matheson, for 
introducing this legislation.
  This bill will authorize Utah to relinquish certain subsurface 
mineral lands for the benefit of the Ute Indian Tribe. Native American 
tribes deserve the opportunity to benefit from the natural resources 
available on their land.
  The bill concurrently protects the interests of Utah, by requiring 
the State to reserve an overriding interest in the portion of the 
mineral estate that is being relinquished. This portion of the mineral 
lands is to be reserved for the benefit of the school trust.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the Native American Caucus, I am proud to 
work with my colleagues in the House to continue to protect the rights 
and interests of Native Americans around the country. As such, I urge 
my colleagues to join me in supporting H.R. 4027.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 4027.
  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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