H.R. 794 — Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act

[109th Congress Public Law 47]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


[DOCID: f:publ047.109]

[[Page 119 STAT. 451]]

Public Law 109-47
109th Congress

                                 An Act


 
 To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation 
   in Arizona, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Aug. 2, 2005 -  [H.R. 
                                 794]>> 

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Colorado River Indian 
Reservation Boundary Correction Act.>> assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, PURPOSES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Colorado River 
Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act''.
    (b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Act of March 3, 1865, created the Colorado River 
        Indian Reservation (hereinafter ``Reservation'') along the 
        Colorado River in Arizona and California for the ``Indians of 
        said river and its tributaries''.
            (2) In 1873 and 1874, President Grant issued Executive 
        Orders to expand the Reservation southward and to secure its 
        southern boundary at a clearly recognizable geographic location 
        in order to forestall non-Indian encroachment and conflicts with 
        the Indians of the Reservation.
            (3) In 1875, Mr. Chandler Robbins surveyed the Reservation 
        (hereinafter ``the Robbins Survey'') and delineated its new 
        southern boundary, which included approximately 16,000 
        additional acres (hereinafter ``the La Paz lands''), as part of 
        the Reservation.
            (4) On May 15, 1876, President Grant issued an Executive 
        Order that established the Reservation's boundaries as those 
        delineated by the Robbins Survey.
            (5) In 1907, as a result of increasingly frequent trespasses 
        by miners and cattle and at the request of the Bureau of Indian 
        Affairs, the General Land Office of the United States provided 
        for a resurvey of the southern and southeastern areas of the 
        Reservation.
            (6) In 1914, the General Land Office accepted and approved a 
        resurvey of the Reservation conducted by Mr. Guy Harrington in 
        1912 (hereinafter the ``Harrington Resurvey'') which confirmed 
        the boundaries that were delineated by the Robbins Survey and 
        established by Executive Order in 1876.
            (7) On November 19, 1915, the Secretary of the Interior 
        reversed the decision of the General Land Office to accept the 
        Harrington Resurvey, and upon his recommendation on November 22, 
        1915, President Wilson issued Executive Order No. 2273 ``. . . 
        to correct the error in location said southern boundary line . . 
        .''--and thus effectively excluded the La Paz lands from the 
        Reservation.

[[Page 119 STAT. 452]]

            (8) Historical evidence compiled by the Department of the 
        Interior supports the conclusion that the reason given by the 
        Secretary in recommending that the President issue the 1915 
        Executive Order--``to correct an error in locating the southern 
        boundary''--was itself in error and that the La Paz lands should 
        not have been excluded from the Reservation.
            (9) The La Paz lands continue to hold cultural and 
        historical significance, as well as economic development 
        potential, for the Colorado River Indian tribes, who have 
        consistently sought to have such lands restored to their 
        Reservation.

    (c) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are:
            (1) To correct the south boundary of the Reservation by 
        reestablishing such boundary as it was delineated by the Robbins 
        Survey and affirmed by the Harrington Resurvey.
            (2) To restore the La Paz lands to the Reservation, subject 
        to valid existing rights under Federal law and to provide for 
        continued reasonable public access for recreational purposes.
            (3) To provide for the Secretary of the Interior to review 
        and ensure that the corrected Reservation boundary is resurveyed 
        and marked in conformance with the public system of surveys 
        extended over such lands.

SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CORRECTION, RESTORATION, DESCRIPTION.

    (a) Boundary.--The boundaries of the Colorado River Indian 
Reservation are hereby declared to include those boundaries as were 
delineated by the Robbins Survey, affirmed by the Harrington Survey, and 
described as follows: The approximately 15,375 acres of Federal land 
described as ``Lands Identified for Transfer to Colorado River Indian 
Tribes'' on the map prepared by the Bureau of Land Management entitled 
``Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act, and dated 
January 4, 2005'', (hereinafter referred to as the ``Map'').
    (b) Map.--The Map shall be available for review at the Bureau of 
Land Management.
    (c) Restoration.--Subject to valid existing rights under Federal 
law, all right, title, and interest of the United States to those lands 
within the boundaries declared in subsection (a) that were excluded from 
the Colorado River Indian Reservation pursuant to Executive Order No. 
2273 (November 22, 1915) are hereby restored to the Reservation and 
shall be held in trust by the United States on behalf of the Colorado 
River Indian Tribes.
    (d) Exclusion.--Excluded from the lands restored to trust status on 
behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes that are described in 
subsection (a) are 2 parcels of Arizona State Lands identified on the 
Map as ``State Lands'' and totaling 320 acres and 520 acres.

SEC. 3. RESURVEY AND MARKING.

    The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the boundary for the 
restored lands described in section 2(a) is surveyed and clearly marked 
in conformance with the public system of surveys extended over such 
lands.

SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS.

    The restored lands described in section 2(a) and shown on the Map 
shall have no Federal reserve water rights to surface water or ground 
water from any source.

[[Page 119 STAT. 453]]

SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS.

    Continued access to the restored lands described in section (2)(a) 
for hunting and other existing recreational purposes shall remain 
available to the public under reasonable rules and regulations 
promulgated by the Colorado River Indian Tribes.

SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.

    (a) In General.--The restored lands described in section (2)(a) 
shall be subject to all rights-of-way, easements, leases, and mining 
claims existing on the date of the enactment of this Act. The United 
States reserves the right to continue all Reclamation projects, 
including the right to access and remove mineral materials for Colorado 
River maintenance on the restored lands described in section (2)(a).
    (b) Additional Rights-of-Way.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, the Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, shall grant 
additional rights-of-way, expansions, or renewals of existing rights-of-
way for roads, utilities, and other accommodations to adjoining 
landowners or existing right-of-way holders, or their successors and 
assigns, if--
            (1) the proposed right-of-way is necessary to the needs of 
        the applicant;
            (2) the proposed right-of-way acquisition will not cause 
        significant and substantial harm to the Colorado River Indian 
        Tribes; and
            (3) the proposed right-of-way complies with the procedures 
        in part 169 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations consistent 
        with this subsection and other generally applicable Federal laws 
        unrelated to the acquisition of interests on trust lands, except 
        that section 169.3 of those regulations shall not be applicable 
        to expansions or renewals of existing rights-of-way for roads 
        and utilities.

    (c) Fees.--The fees charged for the renewal of any valid lease, 
easement, or right-of-way subject to this section shall not be greater 
than the current Federal rate for such a lease, easement, or right-of-
way at the time of renewal if the holder has been in substantial 
compliance with all terms of the lease, easement, or right-of-way.

SEC. 7. GAMING.

    Land taken into trust under this Act shall neither be considered to 
have been taken into trust for gaming nor be used for gaming

[[Page 119 STAT. 454]]

(as that term is used in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 
2701 et seq.)).

    Approved August 2, 2005.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 794:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 151 (2005):
            April 12, considered and passed House.
            July 26, considered and passed Senate.

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Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act

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