Yurok Lands Act of 2019

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1312 To recognize tribal cooperation in the environmental review of proposed actions affecting the revised Yurok Reservation, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 19, 2019 Mr. HUFFMAN (for himself, Mrs. TORRES of California, Mr. SOTO, Mr. MULLIN, and Mr. CA´RDENAS) introduced the following bill; which was re- ferred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To recognize tribal cooperation in the environmental review of proposed actions affecting the revised Yurok Reserva- tion, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Yurok Lands Act of 4 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 For the purposes of this Act: 7 (1) FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term ‘‘Federal 8 agency’’ has the same meaning given that term in 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1312 IH section 1508.12 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula- 1 tions, except that such term shall not include States, 2 units of general local government, and Indian 3 Tribes. 4 (2) NEPA.—The term ‘‘NEPA’’ means the Na- 5 tional Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 6 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 7 (3) REVISED YUROK RESERVATION.—The term 8 ‘‘revised Yurok Reservation’’ means the land within 9 the exterior boundary of the Yurok Reservation as 10 revised in section 4(a), except land owned in fee by 11 or held in trust by the United States for the benefit 12 of a federally recognized Indian Tribe other than the 13 Yurok Tribe. 14 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agri- 16 culture, or the Secretary of Transportation, as ap- 17 propriate. 18 (5) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 19 Yurok Tribe, a federally recognized Indian Tribe. 20 SEC. 3. LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST FOR THE TRIBE. 21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any valid existing 22 rights, the Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer to the 23 Secretary of the Interior administrative jurisdiction over 24 approximately 1,229 acres in the Yurok Experimental 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1312 IH Forest and Six Rivers National Forest, as generally de- 1 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Experimental Forest’’ and 2 dated October 4, 2016. The map shall be on file and avail- 3 able for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 4 Forest Service. 5 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary of the Interior 6 shall hold the land transferred under subsection (a) in 7 trust for the benefit of the Tribe. 8 (c) TRIBAL LAND USE MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The 9 Tribe shall develop a Tribal Land Use Management Plan 10 in accordance with NEPA requirements for the land held 11 in trust pursuant to subsection (b). 12 (d) GOVERNMENT-TO-GOVERNMENT AGREE- 13 MENTS.—Not later than one year after the date of the 14 enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture and 15 the Tribe— 16 (1) shall enter into government-to-government 17 consultations; 18 (2) shall develop protocols to ensure that re- 19 search activities of the Forest Service on lands taken 20 into trust pursuant to subsection (b) shall continue 21 in perpetuity; and 22 (3) may enter into cooperative agreements be- 23 tween the Secretary of Agriculture and the Tribe for 24 the purpose of implementing this section. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1312 IH (e) SURVEY.—Not later than one year after the date 1 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 2 shall complete a survey to establish the exterior bound- 3 aries of the land taken into trust pursuant to subsection 4 (b). 5 (f) USE OF TRUST LAND.—Land taken into trust 6 pursuant to subsection (b) shall— 7 (1) be managed by the Tribe for conservation 8 and research purposes; 9 (2) not be eligible, or considered to have been 10 taken into trust, for any gaming activity under the 11 Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et 12 seq.); and 13 (3) not be subject to old growth logging. 14 SEC. 4. YUROK RESERVATION BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall revise the 16 boundary of the Yurok Reservation as depicted on the map 17 entitled ‘‘Revised Yurok Indian Reservation Boundary’’ 18 and dated September 20, 2017, and on file and available 19 for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Bu- 20 reau of Indian Affairs. 21 (b) LAND MANAGEMENT.—Subject to the require- 22 ments of sections 3 and 5— 23 (1) all National Forest System land within the 24 revised Yurok Reservation shall continue to be ad- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1312 IH ministered by the Forest Service in accordance with 1 applicable laws and regulations; and 2 (2) all National Park System land within the 3 revised Yurok Reservation shall continue to be ad- 4 ministered by the National Park Service in accord- 5 ance with applicable laws and regulations. 6 SEC. 5. TRIBAL-FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR FEDERAL 7 LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. 8 (a) IN GENERAL.—For the purposes of any process 9 triggered by a requirement under NEPA regarding major 10 Federal action on Federal land within the revised Yurok 11 Reservation, at the Tribe’s option, the Tribe shall act as 12 a joint lead agency in accordance with a Memorandum of 13 Understanding entered into between the lead Federal 14 agency and the Tribe not later than 30 days after the date 15 of notice of initiation of the process. 16 (b) REQUIREMENTS FOR MEMORANDUM OF UNDER- 17 STANDING.—A Memorandum of Understanding entered 18 into under this section shall— 19 (1) be negotiated in good faith; 20 (2) comply with the NEPA statute and regula- 21 tions; and 22 (3) include— 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1312 IH (A) the respective roles and responsibilities 1 of the Tribe and the lead Federal agency in the 2 NEPA process; 3 (B) mechanisms for dispute resolution; and 4 (C) a requirement that environmental im- 5 pact statements shall discuss any inconsistency 6 of a proposed action with any plan or environ- 7 mental requirement of the Tribe (whether or 8 not federally sanctioned), and, where such an 9 inconsistency exists, a requirement that the en- 10 vironmental impact statement shall describe— 11 (i) the extent to which the lead Fed- 12 eral agency would reconcile its proposed 13 action with the plan or environmental re- 14 quirement; and 15 (ii) what mitigation measures are 16 being imposed to lessen adverse environ- 17 mental impacts of the proposal identified 18 by the Tribe. 19 (c) COOPERATING AGENCY.—For the purpose of any 20 process triggered by a requirement under NEPA regard- 21 ing a major Federal action on Federal land that may af- 22 fect the revised Yurok Reservation, at the option of the 23 Tribe, the Tribe shall act as a cooperating agency. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1312 IH (d) NO LIMITATION ON EXISTING AUTHORITY.— 1 Nothing in this section shall limit ability of the Tribe or 2 any other federally recognized Indian Tribe to participate 3 in any process triggered by a requirement under NEPA 4 as a joint lead or a cooperating agency. 5 (e) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS WITH THE TRIBE.— 6 (1) REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK.—The Secretary 7 shall enter into a cooperative agreement with the 8 Tribe for system unit natural resource protection for 9 the purpose of protecting natural resources of Red- 10 wood National Park pursuant to section 101702 of 11 title 54, United States Code. 12 (2) FOREST SERVICE.—The Secretary of Agri- 13 culture shall enter into a cooperative agreement with 14 the Tribe that includes, at a minimum, provisions 15 that implement section 3. 16 (3) TRIBE AS AN AGENCY.—The Tribe shall be 17 considered a State or local government agency for 18 purposes of section 101703 of title 54, United 19 States Code, and the Secretary shall enter into a co- 20 operative management agreement with the Tribe 21 pursuant to that section. 22 (4) CONFIRMATION AND AUTHORIZATION OF 23 COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT RELATED TO THE KLAM- 24 ATH RIVER BASIN.—The 2006 ‘‘Cooperative Agree- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1312 IH ment between the Department of the Interior and 1 the Yurok Tribe for the Cooperative Management of 2 Tribal and Federal Lands and Resources in the 3 Klamath River Basin of California’’ is confirmed 4 and the Secretary is authorized to take such actions 5 as are necessary to effectuate the agreement. 6 (f) SELF-GOVERNANCE AGREEMENTS.—Federal 7 agencies, as appropriate, shall negotiate, in good faith, 8 self-governance agreements under this Act pursuant to the 9 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act 10 (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). Program functions, services, and 11 activities, or portions thereof, carried out by the National 12 Park Service on Federal land within the revised Yurok 13 Reservation shall be included in a contract or compact to 14 the extent allowed under title I or title IV of the Indian 15 Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act. 16 SEC. 6. YUROK SCENIC BYWAY DESIGNATION. 17 (a) DESIGNATION OF THE YUROK SCENIC BYWAY.— 18 Bald Hills Road from its junction with U.S. Highway 101 19 to its terminus on the Klamath River shall be designated 20 as the ‘‘Yurok Scenic Byway’’, an Indian Tribe scenic 21 byway, and the Tribe shall be eligible for appropriate 22 grants and technical assistance as authorized in section 23 162(b) of title 23, United States Code. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1312 IH (b) CONTINUED ACCESS AND USE RETAINED.—The 1 Tribe shall not prohibit or limit, and the Secretary of the 2 Interior shall allow, continued access and use of the Bald 3 Hills Road in accordance with section 3(b)(1) of the Act 4 entitled ‘‘An Act to establish a Redwood National Park 5 in the State of California, and for other purposes’’, ap- 6 proved October 2, 1968 (16 U.S.C. 79c). 7 SEC. 7. CONFIRMATION OF GOVERNING BODY AND DOCU- 8 MENTS. 9 The governing documents of the Tribe and the gov- 10 erning body established and elected thereunder, as recog- 11 nized by the Secretary and in effect on the date of the 12 enactment of this Act, are hereby ratified and confirmed 13 and shall only have effect within the revised Yurok Res- 14 ervation. 15 SEC. 8. NO DELEGATION OF FEDERAL AUTHORITY OVER 16 NON-TRIBAL LAND OR PEOPLE. 17 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a delegation 18 of Federal or other authority to the Tribe, the Tribal body 19 or any member of the Tribe, over or related to land or 20 interests in land that are not within the revised Yurok 21 Reservation. 22 SEC. 9. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY OR RIGHTS. 23 Nothing in this Act shall increase, diminish, or other- 24 wise affect the rights, privileges, or authorities of any fed- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1312 IH erally recognized Indian Tribe in relation to any other fed- 1 erally recognized Indian Tribe. 2 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:30 Mar 01, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1312.IH H1312 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS