The Prairie Island Indian Community Land Claim Settlement Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 4752 To accept land into trust for the benefit of the Prairie Island Indian Commu- nity as compensation to the Tribe for Tribal lands that have been rendered dangerous by the use and storage of highly toxic nuclear mate- rials, some of which also have been inundated by flood waters, to release the United States from related claims, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OCTOBER 18, 2019 Ms. CRAIG (for herself, Mr. HAGEDORN, and Ms. MCCOLLUM) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To accept land into trust for the benefit of the Prairie Island Indian Community as compensation to the Tribe for Tribal lands that have been rendered dangerous by the use and storage of highly toxic nuclear materials, some of which also have been inundated by flood waters, to release the United States from related claims, 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 ‘‘The Prairie Island In- 4 dian Community Land Claim Settlement Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 4752 IH SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds as follows: 2 (1) The members of the Prairie Island Indian 3 Community and their ancestors have occupied what 4 is now northern Iowa and Minnesota since long be- 5 fore European contact, and their ancestors were 6 present to greet the first French explorers and trad- 7 ers who entered the Upper Mississippi watershed. 8 (2) The Tribe’s Reservation is located on an is- 9 land called Prairie Island on the Mississippi River in 10 southeastern Minnesota, and was acquired in trust 11 by the Secretary for the Tribe under the Indian Re- 12 organization Act of 1934 (Act of June 18, 1934, Ch. 13 576, 48 Stat. 984), to serve as the Tribe’s perma- 14 nent homeland. 15 (3) In 1938, the Army Corps of Engineers lo- 16 cated and constructed Lock and Dam No. 3 on the 17 Upper Mississippi River less than two miles down- 18 stream from the Prairie Island Reservation. 19 (4) The operation of Lock and Dam No. 3 20 caused permanent inundation of land on the Prairie 21 Island Reservation, as well as ongoing overbank 22 flooding of Reservation land, much of which lies 23 within the Mississippi River 100-year flood plain. 24 (5) The flooding of a significant portion of the 25 Prairie Island Reservation occurred without express 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 4752 IH Congressional authorization, as required by the Con- 1 stitution and the Indian Trade and Intercourse Act, 2 (section 2116 of the Revised Statutes; 25 U.S.C. 3 177). 4 (6) In 1972, the Federal Government licensed 5 the siting of the Prairie Island Nuclear Generating 6 Plant on Prairie Island approximately 600 yards 7 from the Prairie Island Reservation, and later au- 8 thorized the storage of spent nuclear fuel on-site. On 9 December 16, 1973, Unit 1 of the Plant started op- 10 eration and Unit 2 of the Plant started operating on 11 December 21, 1974, both pursuant to 20-year oper- 12 ating licenses. 13 (7) On June 27, 2011, the Nuclear Regulatory 14 Commission renewed the Unit 1 and 2 operating li- 15 censes at the plant for an additional 20 years, au- 16 thorizing their continued operation until 2033 and 17 2034, respectively. 18 (8) The plant’s nuclear reactor core contains 19 zirconium-clad rods filled with enriched uranium pel- 20 lets. The Federal courts have confirmed that the 21 spent fuel and fuel assembly materials, while no 22 longer useful for nuclear power generation, continue 23 to pose a dangerous health threat, remaining lethally 24 radioactive long into the future. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 4752 IH (9) The plant is now home to 44 dry casks that 1 are loaded with spent nuclear fuel rods, stored in 2 close proximity to a church, Tribal homes, a daycare 3 center, government, cultural, language, and edu- 4 cation offices, the Tribe’s Community Center, and 5 Tribal businesses. The Nuclear Regulatory Commis- 6 sion has licensed the storage of an additional 54 dry 7 casks of spent nuclear fuel at the plant by 2034. 8 (10) There is only one improved and main- 9 tained road leading on and off of the island, and it 10 is shared by the Prairie Island Reservation and the 11 Prairie Island Nuclear Generating Plant. The road 12 crosses a busy rail corridor at grade and so can be 13 and is often blocked by railroad traffic. 14 (11) As a result, the Tribe’s entire Reservation 15 is under constant threat of nuclear contamination 16 and the means of escape is limited. 17 (12) The operation of Lock and Dam No. 3, in 18 combination with the close proximity of the Prairie 19 Island Nuclear Generating Plant and spent nuclear 20 fuel to the Prairie Island Reservation, threatens the 21 safety and well-being of the Tribe and its members. 22 (13) This Act will protect the Tribe and its 23 members, will support the Tribe’s long-term health 24 and self-sufficiency by acquiring reservation trust 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:17 Oct 26, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 4752 IH land for the Tribe located at a safe distance from 1 Lock and Dam No. 3 and the Prairie Island Nuclear 2 Generating Plant, and will relieve the United States 3 from liability related to the flooding of the Tribe’s 4 Reservation. 5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 6 For the purposes of this Act, the following definitions 7 apply: 8 (1) INUNDATED LAND.—The term ‘‘Inundated 9 Land’’ means land owned by or for the benefit of the 10 Tribe that lies within the Mississippi River 9-Foot 11 Channel Project boundary as depicted as portions of 12 Parcels A, B, and C on the map entitled ‘‘United 13 States Army Corps of Engineers survey map of the 14 Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Project, Lock & 15 Dam No. 3 (Red Wing), Land & Flowage Rights’’ 16 and dated December 1936. 17 (2) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en- 18 titled ‘‘Elk Run Properties, Olmstead Co., MN, 19 Prairie Island Indian Community’’ and dated Octo- 20 ber 17, 2019. 21 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 22 the Secretary of the Interior. 23 (4) SETTLEMENT LAND.—The term ‘‘Settle- 24 ment Land’’ means the approximately 1,244.75 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 4752 IH acres of land owned by the Tribe and depicted on 1 the Map. 2 (5) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the Prai- 3 rie Island Indian Community, a federally recognized 4 Indian Tribe. 5 SEC. 4. ACCEPTANCE INTO TRUST OF SETTLEMENT LANDS; 6 RELEASE OF CLAIMS; CONVEYANCE OF EASE- 7 MENTS. 8 (a) SETTLEMENT LAND.—If the Tribe provides the 9 waiver, release of claims, and conveyance described in sub- 10 section (b), then, at the request of the Tribe, the Secretary 11 shall immediately place the Settlement Land into trust for 12 the benefit of the Tribe, subject to— 13 (1) any valid existing rights of any third parties 14 of record; and 15 (2) approval of the form and content of any and 16 all instruments of conveyance. 17 (b) WAIVER AND RELEASE OF CLAIMS AND CONVEY- 18 ANCE OF INTERESTS IN LANDS.—The Secretary shall be 19 required to carry out the obligations of subsection (a) not 20 later than 6 months after the Secretary’s receipt from the 21 Tribe of— 22 (1) a waiver and release of any and all of its 23 claims in law or equity against the United States for 24 the unauthorized taking of the Inundated Land; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 4752 IH (2) confirmation that the Tribe has conveyed to 1 the Secretary of Defense such easements to the In- 2 undated Land as are necessary to confirm in the 3 United States a perpetual right to overflow, flood, 4 and temporarily or permanently inundate the Inun- 5 dated Land in connection with the operation and 6 maintenance of the Mississippi River Navigation 7 Project. 8 (c) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS AND RETENTION OF 9 CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding the waivers and releases au- 10 thorized in this Act, the Tribe shall retain any and all 11 claims accruing after the date upon which the Secretary 12 receives the waiver, release of claims, and conveyance de- 13 scribed in subsection (b). 14 (d) STATUS OF LANDS AND INTERESTS IN LANDS.— 15 Upon the Secretary’s placement of the Settlement Land 16 into trust for the benefit of the Tribe pursuant to sub- 17 section (a), the Settlement Land shall be deemed to be 18 part of the Tribe’s Reservation and to have been reserved 19 for the Tribe as of the first date that the Inundated Land 20 was accepted in trust for the Tribe. 21 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:54 Oct 24, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H4752.IH H4752 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS