USC - Leases of restricted lands

View all text of Chapter 12 [§ 391 - § 416j]

§ 415. Leases of restricted lands

(a) Authorized purposes; term; approval by Secretary

(b) Leases involving Tulalip Tribes

(d) DefinitionsFor purposes of this section—

(1) the term “Hopi Partitioned Lands” means lands located in the Hopi Partitioned Area, as defined in section 168.1(g) of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on October 11, 1996);

(2) the term “Navajo Indians” means members of the Navajo Tribe;

(3) the term “individually owned Navajo Indian allotted land” means a single parcel of land that—

(A) is located within the jurisdiction of the Navajo Nation;

(B) is held in trust or restricted status by the United States for the benefit of Navajo Indians or members of another Indian tribe; and

(i) allotted to a Navajo Indian; or

(ii) taken into trust or restricted status by the United States for an individual Indian;

(4) the term “interested party” means an Indian or non-Indian individual or corporation, or tribal or non-tribal government whose interests could be adversely affected by a tribal trust land leasing decision made by an applicable Indian tribe;

(5) the term “Navajo Nation” means the Navajo Nation government that is in existence on August 9, 1955, or its successor;

(6) the term “petition” means a written request submitted to the Secretary for the review of an action (or inaction) of an Indian tribe that is claimed to be in violation of the approved tribal leasing regulations;

(7) the term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior;

(8) the term “tribal regulations” means regulations enacted in accordance with applicable tribal law and approved by the Secretary;

(9) the term “Indian tribe” has the meaning given such term in section 5130 of this title; and

(10) the term “individually owned allotted land” means a parcel of land that—

(A)

(i) is located within the jurisdiction of an Indian tribe; or

(ii) is held in trust or restricted status by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or a member of an Indian tribe; and

(B) is allotted to a member of an Indian tribe.

(e) Leases of restricted lands for the Navajo Nation

(1) Any leases by the Navajo Nation for purposes authorized under subsection (a), and any amendments thereto, including a lease for the exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources, shall not require the approval of the Secretary if the lease is executed under the tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this subsection and the term of the lease does not exceed—

(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 99 years;

(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious, educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75 years if such a term is provided for by the Navajo Nation through the promulgation of regulations; and

(C) in the case of a lease for the exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resource (including geothermal resources), 25 years, except that—

(i) any such lease may include an option to renew for 1 additional term of not to exceed 25 years; and

(ii) any such lease for the exploration, development, or extraction of an oil or gas resource shall be for a term of not to exceed 10 years, plus such additional period as the Navajo Nation determines to be appropriate in any case in which an oil or gas resource is produced in a paying quantity.

(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individually owned Navajo Indian allotted land.

(3) The Secretary shall have the authority to approve or disapprove tribal regulations referred to under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall approve such tribal regulations if such regulations are consistent with the regulations of the Secretary under subsection (a), and any amendments thereto, and provide for an environmental review process. The Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove the regulations of the Navajo Nation within 120 days of the submission of such regulations to the Secretary. Any disapproval of such regulations by the Secretary shall be accompanied by written documentation that sets forth the basis for the disapproval. Such 120-day period may be extended by the Secretary after consultation with the Navajo Nation.

(4) If the Navajo Nation has executed a lease pursuant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), the Navajo Nation shall provide the Secretary with—

(A) a copy of the lease and all amendments and renewals thereto; and

(B) in the case of regulations or a lease that permits payment to be made directly to the Navajo Nation, documentation of the lease payments sufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge the trust responsibility of the United States under paragraph (5).

(5) The United States shall not be liable for losses sustained by any party to a lease executed pursuant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), including the Navajo Nation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Secretary to take appropriate actions, including the cancellation of a lease, in furtherance of the trust obligation of the United States to the Navajo Nation.

(6)

(A) An interested party may, after exhaustion of tribal remedies, submit, in a timely manner, a petition to the Secretary to review the compliance of the Navajo Nation with any regulations approved under this subsection. If upon such review the Secretary determines that the regulations were violated, the Secretary may take such action as may be necessary to remedy the violation, including rescinding the approval of the tribal regulations and reassuming responsibility for the approval of leases for Navajo Nation tribal trust lands.

(B) If the Secretary seeks to remedy a violation described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall—

(i) make a written determination with respect to the regulations that have been violated;

(ii) provide the Navajo Nation with a written notice of the alleged violation together with such written determination; and

(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy or the rescission of the approval of the regulation involved and the reassumption of the lease approval responsibility, provide the Navajo Nation with a hearing on the record and a reasonable opportunity to cure the alleged violation.

(f) Leases involving Gila River Indian Community Reservation; arbitration of disputes

(g) Lease of tribally-owned land by Assiniboine and Sioux Tribes of the Fort Peck Reservation

(1) In general

(2) ConditionsA lease entered into under paragraph (1)—

(A) shall commence during fiscal year 2011 for an initial term of 25 years;

(B) may be renewed for an additional term of 25 years; and

(i) which rate shall be increased by 3 percent per year on a cumulative basis for each 5-year period; and

(ii) the adjustment of which in accordance with clause (i) shall be considered to satisfy any review requirement under part 162 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations (or any successor regulation).

(h) Tribal approval of leases

(1) In generalAt the discretion of any Indian tribe, any lease by the Indian tribe for the purposes authorized under subsection (a) (including any amendments to subsection (a)), except a lease for the exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources, shall not require the approval of the Secretary, if the lease is executed under the tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this subsection and the term of the lease does not exceed—

(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 25 years, except that any such lease may include an option to renew for up to 2 additional terms, each of which may not exceed 25 years; and

(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious, educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75 years, if such a term is provided for by the regulations issued by the Indian tribe.

(2) Allotted land

(3) Authority of Secretary over tribal regulations

(A) In general

(B) Considerations for approvalThe Secretary shall approve any tribal regulation issued in accordance with paragraph (1), if the tribal regulations—

(i) are consistent with any regulations issued by the Secretary under subsection (a) (including any amendments to the subsection or regulations); and

(ii) provide for an environmental review process that includes—(I) the identification and evaluation of any significant effects of the proposed action on the environment; and(II) a process for ensuring that—(aa) the public is informed of, and has a reasonable opportunity to comment on, any significant environmental impacts of the proposed action identified by the Indian tribe; and(bb) the Indian tribe provides responses to relevant and substantive public comments on any such impacts before the Indian tribe approves the lease.

(D) Indian Self-Determination Act

(4) Review process

(A) In general

(B) Written documentation

(5) Federal environmental review

(6) DocumentationIf an Indian tribe executes a lease pursuant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), the Indian tribe shall provide the Secretary with—

(A) a copy of the lease, including any amendments or renewals to the lease; and

(B) in the case of tribal regulations or a lease that allows for lease payments to be made directly to the Indian tribe, documentation of the lease payments that are sufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge the trust responsibility of the United States under paragraph (7).

(7) Trust responsibility

(A) In general

(B) Authority of Secretary

(8) Compliance

(A) In general

(B) Violations

(C) DocumentationIf the Secretary determines that a violation of the tribal regulations has occurred and a remedy is necessary, the Secretary shall—

(i) make a written determination with respect to the regulations that have been violated;

(ii) provide the applicable Indian tribe with a written notice of the alleged violation together with such written determination; and

(iii) prior to the exercise of any remedy, the rescission of the approval of the regulation involved, or the reassumption of lease approval responsibilities, provide the applicable Indian tribe with—(I) a hearing that is on the record; and(II) a reasonable opportunity to cure the alleged violation.

(9) Savings clause

(Aug. 9, 1955, ch. 615, § 1, 69 Stat. 539; Pub. L. 86–326, Sept. 21, 1959, 73 Stat. 597; Pub. L. 86–505, § 2, June 11, 1960, 74 Stat. 199; Pub. L. 87–375, Oct. 4, 1961, 75 Stat. 804; Pub. L. 87–785, Oct. 10, 1962, 76 Stat. 805; Pub. L. 88–167, Nov. 4, 1963, 77 Stat. 301; Pub. L. 89–408, Apr. 27, 1966, 80 Stat. 132; Pub. L. 90–182, Dec. 8, 1967, 81 Stat. 559; Pub. L. 90–184, Dec. 10, 1967, 81 Stat. 560; Pub. L. 90–335, § 1(f), June 10, 1968, 82 Stat. 175; Pub. L. 90–355, June 20, 1968, 82 Stat. 242; Pub. L. 90–534, § 6, Sept. 28, 1968, 82 Stat. 884; Pub. L. 90–570, Oct. 12, 1968, 82 Stat. 1003; Pub. L. 91–274, §§ 2, 3, June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 302; Pub. L. 91–275, §§ 1, 2, June 2, 1970, 84 Stat. 303; Pub. L. 91–557, § 8, Dec. 17, 1970, 84 Stat. 1468; Pub. L. 92–182, § 6, Dec. 15, 1971, 85 Stat. 626; Pub. L. 92–431, Sept. 26, 1972, 86 Stat. 723; Pub. L. 92–472, § 7, Oct. 9, 1972, 86 Stat. 788; Pub. L. 92–488, § 4, Oct. 13, 1972, 86 Stat. 806; Pub. L. 96–216, Mar. 27, 1980, 94 Stat. 125; Pub. L. 96–491, § 3, Dec. 2, 1980, 94 Stat. 2564; Pub. L. 97–459, title I, § 107, Jan. 12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2516; Pub. L. 98–70, Aug. 8, 1983, 97 Stat. 401; Pub. L. 98–203, § 1(c), Dec. 2, 1983, 97 Stat. 1384; Pub. L. 99–221, § 2, Dec. 26, 1985, 99 Stat. 1735; Pub. L. 99–389, § 3(a), Aug. 23, 1986, 100 Stat. 829; Pub. L. 99–500, § 101(h) [title I, § 122], Oct. 18, 1986, 100 Stat. 1783–242, 1783–267, and Pub. L. 99–591, § 101(h) [title I, § 122], Oct. 30, 1986, 100 Stat. 3341–242, 3341–267; Pub. L. 99–575, § 5, Oct. 28, 1986, 100 Stat. 3246; Pub. L. 101–630, title II, § 201, Nov. 28, 1990, 104 Stat. 4532; Pub. L. 102–497, § 5, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3255; Pub. L. 103–435, § 5, Nov. 2, 1994, 108 Stat. 4569; Pub. L. 104–301, § 9, Oct. 11, 1996, 110 Stat. 3652; Pub. L. 105–256, § 1, Oct. 14, 1998, 112 Stat. 1896; Pub. L. 106–216, § 1(a), June 20, 2000, 114 Stat. 343; Pub. L. 106–568, title XII, § 1203, Dec. 27, 2000, 114 Stat. 2934; Pub. L. 107–102, § 1, Dec. 27, 2001, 115 Stat. 974; Pub. L. 107–159, Apr. 4, 2002, 116 Stat. 122; Pub. L. 107–331, title X, § 1002(a), Dec. 13, 2002, 116 Stat. 2869; Pub. L. 108–199, div. H, § 149, Jan. 23, 2004, 118 Stat. 446; Pub. L. 109–147, § 1(a), Dec. 22, 2005, 119 Stat. 2679; Pub. L. 109–221, title II, § 202(a), May 12, 2006, 120 Stat. 340; Pub. L. 110–453, title II, §§ 202, 204, 205(a), Dec. 2, 2008, 122 Stat. 5029; Pub. L. 111–334, § 1, Dec. 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 3582; Pub. L. 111–336, § 1, Dec. 22, 2010, 124 Stat. 3587; Pub. L. 111–381, § 1, Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 4133; Pub. L. 112–151, § 2, July 30, 2012, 126 Stat. 1150; Pub. L. 115–227, § 2, Aug. 1, 2018, 132 Stat. 1626; Pub. L. 115–325, title II, §§ 205(a), 206, Dec. 18, 2018, 132 Stat. 4464; Pub. L. 117–346, § 1, Jan. 5, 2023, 136 Stat. 6198.)