Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Land Restoration Act of 2018
This bill requires the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to transfer certain property within the exterior boundaries of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation that was acquired by the United States for the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project to the Department of the Interior to be held in trust for the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota. The land is located above the top of the exclusive flood pool of the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project.
The transfer of such land shall not interfere with any of the authorized purposes of such project, any project of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin Program, or any applicable law. The Corps of Engineers shall retain: (1) the right to inundate with water or cause erosion to the transferred lands as necessary for the operation of such projects; and (2) any land, structures, easements or other property interests necessary to carry out such projects.
[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3752 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
<DOC>
115th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3752
To require the transfer of certain land to be held in trust for the
benefit of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota, and
for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
December 13, 2018
Ms. Heitkamp introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To require the transfer of certain land to be held in trust for the
benefit of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota, and
for other purposes.
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 ``Standing Rock Sioux Tribe Land
Restoration Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) 56,000 acres of the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation
were acquired for the Oahe Dam and Reservoir, a component of
the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin program;
(2) the land acquired was fertile, wooded bottomland,
comprising the most productive agricultural and pastoral land
of the Tribe, with arable soils, abundant timber and wildlife,
and important medicinal plants of the Tribe;
(3) the Joint Tribal Advisory Committee (referred to in
this section as the ``Committee'') was established by the
Secretary of the Interior on May 10, 1985, to assess the
impacts of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin program on the
Tribe; and
(4) the Committee issued a final report on May 23, 1986, in
which the Committee recommended the transfer to the Tribe of
the Oahe project land within the exterior boundaries of the
Reservation that are located above 1620 mean sea level.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Pick-sloan missouri river basin program.--The term
``Pick-Sloan Missouri River Basin program'' means the Pick-
Sloan Missouri River Basin Program (authorized by section 9 of
the Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly known as the ``Flood
Control Act of 1944'') (58 Stat. 891, chapter 665)).
(2) Reservation.--The term ``Reservation'' means the
Standing Rock Indian Reservation.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(4) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Standing Rock
Sioux Tribe of North and South Dakota.
SEC. 4. LAND TRANSFER.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (c), the Secretary of the
Army shall transfer the land described in subsection (b) to the
Secretary to be held in trust for the benefit of the Tribe.
(b) Land To Be Transferred.--The land that shall be transferred
under this section is the Federal land that--
(1) lies within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation;
(2) was acquired by the United States for the Oahe Dam and
Reservoir Project pursuant to Public Law 85-915 (72 Stat.
1762); and
(3) is located above the top of the exclusive flood pool of
the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project, as determined by the
Secretary of the Army.
(c) Conditions of Transfer.--
(1) Authorized purposes.--The transfer of land under this
section shall not interfere with any of the authorized purposes
of the Oahe Dam and Reservoir Project, any project of the Pick-
Sloan Missouri River Basin program, or any other applicable
law.
(2) Retained rights.--The Secretary of the Army shall
retain the right to inundate with water or cause erosion to the
transferred land, as necessary for the operation of the Oahe
Dam and Reservoir Project or of any project of the Pick Sloan
Missouri River Basin program.
(3) Retained property interests.--Notwithstanding
subsection (b), the Secretary of the Army shall retain any
land, structures, easements, or other property interests
necessary to carry out authorized purposes of the Oahe Dam and
Reservoir Project or of any project of the Pick-Sloan Missouri
River Basin program.
(4) Other terms and conditions.--The transfer of land under
this section shall be subject to any other term or condition
that the Secretary of the Army determines to be appropriate to
ensure the continued operation of the Oahe Dam and Reservoir
Project or of any project of the Pick-Sloan Missouri River
Basin program.
(d) Existing Rights and Interests.--Nothing in this Act deprives
any person of any easement, leasehold, or other right or interest that,
as of the date of enactment of this Act, the person may have in the
land to be transferred.
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
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