Chaco Cultural Heritage Area Protection Act of 2019

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1079 To provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 9, 2019 Mr. UDALL (for himself and Mr. HEINRICH) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To provide for the withdrawal and protection of certain Federal land in the State of New Mexico. 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 ‘‘Chaco Cultural Herit- 4 age Area Protection Act of 2019’’. 5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 6 Congress finds that— 7 (1) there are archeological, sacred, and historic 8 resources located throughout the Greater Chaco re- 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 1079 IS gion, which spans the States of New Mexico, Ari- 1 zona, Utah, and Colorado; 2 (2) the Chaco Culture National Historical Park, 3 a unit of the National Park System and a United 4 Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- 5 zation World Heritage Site, is known around the 6 world— 7 (A) for multi-story buildings constructed 8 by the Chacoan people that are still standing; 9 and 10 (B) as the nerve center of a culture that 11 spread throughout and dominated the Four 12 Corners area during the 9th, 10th, and 11th 13 centuries; 14 (3) the Chacoan people built hundreds of miles 15 of roads and a network of villages, shrines, and com- 16 munications sites, many of which are still visible; 17 (4) many Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the 18 Four Corners area claim cultural affiliation with, 19 and are descended from, the Chacoan people; 20 (5) the landscape around the Chaco Culture 21 National Historical Park includes hundreds of inter- 22 nationally and nationally significant cultural re- 23 sources, including prehistoric roads, communities, 24 and shrines— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 1079 IS (A) many of which are related to the re- 1 sources found in the Chaco Culture National 2 Historical Park, including the resources recog- 3 nized by the amendment made by section 3 of 4 the Chacoan Outliers Protection Act of 1995 5 (16 U.S.C. 410ii note; Public Law 104–11) 6 providing for additional Chaco Culture Archeo- 7 logical Protection Sites; 8 (B) a significant number of which are con- 9 centrated within the immediate area sur- 10 rounding the Chaco Culture National Historical 11 Park; and 12 (C) that are commonly recognized by ar- 13 cheologists; 14 (6) long considered one of the best places for 15 stargazing in the world, Chaco Culture National 16 Historical Park— 17 (A) in 1991, established a night skies pro- 18 tection initiative and interpretive program to 19 protect the night sky in the area of the Chaco 20 Culture National Historical Park; and 21 (B) in 2013, was certified as an Inter- 22 national Dark Sky Park; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 1079 IS (7) the Greater Chaco landscape in the State of 1 New Mexico extends beyond Chaco Culture National 2 Historical Park and encompasses— 3 (A) local communities, including Pueblos 4 and Indian Tribes; and 5 (B) public land, which includes additional 6 cultural resources and sacred sites; 7 (8) for over 110 years, the Federal Government 8 has recognized the importance of the area in which 9 the Chacoan people lived and has acted to protect 10 historic and sacred sites in the area, including— 11 (A) Chaco Canyon, which was designated 12 as a National Monument in 1907 and as the 13 Chaco Culture National Historical Park in 14 1980; 15 (B) the Aztec Ruins, which was designated 16 as a National Monument in 1923 and expanded 17 in each of 1928, 1930, 1948, and 1988; and 18 (C) the 39 Chaco Culture Archeological 19 Protection Sites designated in 1995; 20 (9) recognizes that the standard for Tribal con- 21 sultation is outlined in Executive Order 13175 (25 22 U.S.C. 5301 note; relating to consultation and co- 23 ordination with Indian Tribal governments); 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 1079 IS (10) extensive natural gas development has oc- 1 curred in the Greater Chaco region that affect the 2 health, safety, economies, and quality of life of local 3 communities; 4 (11) renewed interest in oil exploration and pro- 5 duction within the Mancos/Gallup Shale play has in- 6 creased the potential for— 7 (A) significant impacts on resources and 8 visitor experiences at the Chaco Culture Na- 9 tional Historical Park; and 10 (B) additional impacts on local commu- 11 nities in the Greater Chaco region, including 12 Pueblos and Indian Tribes; 13 (12) a mineral withdrawal in the landscape 14 around the Chaco Culture National Historical Park 15 would prevent leasing and development in the imme- 16 diate area surrounding the Chaco Culture National 17 Historical Park, which would protect resources and 18 visitor experiences at the Chaco Culture National 19 Historical Park; and 20 (13) additional studies and protective measures 21 should be undertaken to address health, safety, and 22 environmental impacts on communities and interests 23 of Pueblos and Indian Tribes in the Greater Chaco 24 landscape. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 1079 IS SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COVERED LEASE.—The term ‘‘covered 3 lease’’ means any oil and gas lease for Federal 4 land— 5 (A) on which drilling operations have not 6 been commenced before the end of the primary 7 term of the applicable lease; 8 (B) that is not producing oil or gas in pay- 9 ing quantities; and 10 (C) that is not subject to a valid coopera- 11 tive or unit plan of development or operation 12 certified by the Secretary to be necessary. 13 (2) FEDERAL LAND.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 15 land’’ means— 16 (i) any Federal land or interest in 17 Federal land that is within the boundaries 18 of the Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal 19 Area, as depicted on the Map; and 20 (ii) any land or interest in land lo- 21 cated within the boundaries of the Chaco 22 Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area, as de- 23 picted on the Map, that is acquired by the 24 Federal Government after the date of en- 25 actment of this Act. 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 1079 IS (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘Federal 1 land’’ does not include trust land (as defined in 2 section 3765 of title 38, United States Code). 3 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map 4 prepared by the Bureau of Land Management enti- 5 tled ‘‘Chaco Cultural Heritage Withdrawal Area’’ 6 and dated April 2, 2019. 7 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 8 the Secretary of the Interior. 9 SEC. 4. WITHDRAWAL OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND IN THE 10 STATE OF NEW MEXICO. 11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to any valid existing 12 rights, the Federal land is withdrawn from— 13 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis- 14 posal under the public land laws; 15 (2) location, entry, and patent under mining 16 laws; and 17 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 18 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 19 (b) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The Map shall be made 20 available for inspection at each appropriate office of the 21 Bureau of Land Management. 22 (c) CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO INDIAN 23 TRIBES.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), the Secretary 24 may convey the Federal land to, or exchange the Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 1079 IS land with, an Indian Tribe in accordance with a resource 1 management plan that is approved as of the date of enact- 2 ment of this Act, as subsequently developed, amended, or 3 revised in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 4 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and 5 any other applicable law. 6 SEC. 5. OIL AND GAS LEASE MANAGEMENT. 7 (a) TERMINATION OF NON-PRODUCING LEASES.—A 8 covered lease— 9 (1) shall automatically terminate by operation 10 of law pursuant to section 17(e) of the Mineral 11 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(e)) and subpart 3108 12 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or suc- 13 cessor regulations); and 14 (2) may not be extended by the Secretary. 15 (b) WITHDRAWAL OF TERMINATED, RELINQUISHED, 16 OR ACQUIRED LEASES.—Any portion of the Federal land 17 subject to a covered lease terminated under subsection (a) 18 or otherwise or relinquished or acquired by the United 19 States on or after the date of enactment of this Act is 20 withdrawn from— 21 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, and dis- 22 posal under the public land laws; 23 (2) location, entry, and patent undermining 24 laws; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 1079 IS (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 1 materials, and geothermal leasing laws. 2 SEC. 6. EFFECT. 3 Nothing in this Act— 4 (1) affects the mineral rights of an Indian 5 Tribe or member of an Indian Tribe to trust land 6 or allotment land; or 7 (2) precludes improvements to, or rights-of-way 8 for water, power, or road development on, the Fed- 9 eral land to assist communities adjacent to or in the 10 vicinity of the Federal land. 11 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 04:54 Apr 12, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\S1079.IS S1079 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS