[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7581 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 7581
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
April 26, 2022
Mr. Huffman introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To recognize tribal cooperation in the environmental review of proposed
actions affecting the revised Yurok Reservation, 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 ``Yurok Lands Act of 2022''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
For the purposes of this Act:
(1) Federal agency.--The term ``Federal agency'' has the
same meaning given that term in section 1508.12 of title 40,
Code of Federal Regulations, except that such term shall not
include States, units of general local government, and Indian
Tribes.
(2) NEPA.--The term ``NEPA'' means the National
Environmental Policy Act, as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).
(3) Revised yurok reservation.--The term ``revised Yurok
Reservation'' means the land within the exterior boundary of
the Yurok Reservation as revised in section 4(a), except land
owned in fee by or held in trust by the United States for the
benefit of a federally recognized Indian Tribe other than the
Yurok Tribe.
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, or the Secretary
of Transportation, as appropriate.
(5) Tribe.--The term ``Tribe'' means the Yurok Tribe, a
federally recognized Indian Tribe.
SEC. 3. LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST FOR THE TRIBE.
(a) In General.--Subject to any valid existing rights, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall transfer to the Secretary of the
Interior administrative jurisdiction over approximately 1,229 acres in
the Yurok Experimental Forest and Six Rivers National Forest, as
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Experimental Forest'' and
dated October 4, 2016. The map shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the Forest Service.
(b) Administration.--The Secretary of the Interior shall hold the
land transferred under subsection (a) in trust for the benefit of the
Tribe.
(c) Tribal Land Use Management Plan.--The Tribe shall develop a
Tribal Land Use Management Plan in accordance with NEPA requirements
for the land held in trust pursuant to subsection (b).
(d) Government-to-Government Agreements.--Not later than one year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of
Agriculture and the Tribe--
(1) shall enter into government-to-government
consultations;
(2) shall develop protocols to ensure that research
activities of the Forest Service on lands taken into trust
pursuant to subsection (b) shall continue in perpetuity; and
(3) may enter into cooperative agreements between the
Secretary of Agriculture and the Tribe for the purpose of
implementing this section.
(e) Survey.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall complete a
survey to establish the exterior boundaries of the land taken into
trust pursuant to subsection (b).
(f) Use of Trust Land.--Land taken into trust pursuant to
subsection (b) shall--
(1) be managed by the Tribe for conservation and research
purposes;
(2) not be eligible, or considered to have been taken into
trust, for any gaming activity under the Indian Gaming
Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2701 et seq.); and
(3) not be subject to old growth logging.
SEC. 4. YUROK RESERVATION BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall revise the boundary of the
Yurok Reservation as depicted on the map entitled ``Proposed Yurok
Reservation Boundary'' and dated March 30, 2022. The map shall be on
file and available for public inspection at the Office of the Regional
Forester, Pacific Southwest Region, Vallejo, California, and other
appropriate offices of the Forest Service.
(b) Land Management.--Subject to the requirements of sections 3 and
5--
(1) all National Forest System land within the revised
Yurok Reservation shall continue to be administered by the
Forest Service in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations; and
(2) all National Park System land within the revised Yurok
Reservation shall continue to be administered by the National
Park Service in accordance with applicable laws and
regulations.
SEC. 5. TRIBAL-FEDERAL PARTNERSHIPS FOR FEDERAL LAND AND RESOURCE
MANAGEMENT.
(a) In General.--For the purposes of any process triggered by a
requirement under NEPA regarding major Federal action on Federal land
within the revised Yurok Reservation, at the Tribe's option, the Tribe
shall act as a joint lead agency in accordance with a Memorandum of
Understanding entered into between the lead Federal agency and the
Tribe not later than 30 days after the date of notice of initiation of
the process.
(b) Requirements for Memorandum of Understanding.--A Memorandum of
Understanding entered into under this section shall--
(1) be negotiated in good faith;
(2) comply with the NEPA statute and regulations; and
(3) include--
(A) the respective roles and responsibilities of
the Tribe and the lead Federal agency in the NEPA
process;
(B) mechanisms for dispute resolution; and
(C) a requirement that environmental impact
statements shall discuss any inconsistency of a
proposed action with any plan or environmental
requirement of the Tribe (whether or not federally
sanctioned), and, where such an inconsistency exists, a
requirement that the environmental impact statement
shall describe--
(i) the extent to which the lead Federal
agency would reconcile its proposed action with
the plan or environmental requirement; and
(ii) what mitigation measures are being
imposed to lessen adverse environmental impacts
of the proposal identified by the Tribe.
(c) Cooperating Agency.--For the purpose of any process triggered
by a requirement under NEPA regarding a major Federal action on Federal
land that may affect the revised Yurok Reservation, at the option of
the Tribe, the Tribe shall act as a cooperating agency.
(d) No Limitation on Existing Authority.--Nothing in this section
shall limit ability of the Tribe or any other federally recognized
Indian Tribe to participate in any process triggered by a requirement
under NEPA as a joint lead or a cooperating agency.
(e) Cooperative Agreements With the Tribe.--
(1) Redwood national park.--The Secretary shall enter into
a cooperative agreement with the Tribe for system unit natural
resource protection for the purpose of protecting natural
resources of Redwood National Park pursuant to section 101702
of title 54, United States Code.
(2) Forest service.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall
enter into a cooperative agreement with the Tribe that
includes, at a minimum, provisions that implement section 3.
(3) Tribe as an agency.--The Tribe shall be considered a
State or local government agency for purposes of section 101703
of title 54, United States Code, and the Secretary shall enter
into a cooperative management agreement with the Tribe pursuant
to that section.
(4) Confirmation and authorization of cooperative agreement
related to the klamath river basin.--The 2006 ``Cooperative
Agreement between the Department of the Interior and the Yurok
Tribe for the Cooperative Management of Tribal and Federal
Lands and Resources in the Klamath River Basin of California''
is confirmed and the Secretary is authorized to take such
actions as are necessary to effectuate the agreement.
(f) Self-Governance Agreements.--Federal agencies, as appropriate,
shall negotiate, in good faith, self-governance agreements under this
Act pursuant to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act (25 U.S.C. 5301 et seq.). Program functions, services, and
activities, or portions thereof, carried out by the National Park
Service on Federal land within the revised Yurok Reservation shall be
included in a contract or compact to the extent allowed under title I
or title IV of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance
Act.
SEC. 6. YUROK SCENIC BYWAY DESIGNATION.
(a) Designation of the Yurok Scenic Byway.--Bald Hills Road from
its junction with U.S. Highway 101 to its terminus on the Klamath River
shall be designated as the ``Yurok Scenic Byway'', an Indian Tribe
scenic byway, and the Tribe shall be eligible for appropriate grants
and technical assistance as authorized in section 162(b) of title 23,
United States Code.
(b) Continued Access and Use Retained.--The Tribe shall not
prohibit or limit, and the Secretary of the Interior shall allow,
continued access and use of the Bald Hills Road in accordance with
section 3(b)(1) of the Act entitled ``An Act to establish a Redwood
National Park in the State of California, and for other purposes'',
approved October 2, 1968 (16 U.S.C. 79c).
SEC. 7. CONFIRMATION OF GOVERNING BODY AND DOCUMENTS.
The governing documents of the Tribe and the governing body
established and elected thereunder, as recognized by the Secretary and
in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, are hereby ratified
and confirmed and shall only have effect within the revised Yurok
Reservation.
SEC. 8. NO DELEGATION OF FEDERAL AUTHORITY OVER NON-TRIBAL LAND OR
PEOPLE.
Nothing in this Act shall be construed as a delegation of Federal
or other authority to the Tribe, the Tribal body or any member of the
Tribe, over or related to land or interests in land that are not within
the revised Yurok Reservation.
SEC. 9. NO ADDITIONAL AUTHORITY OR RIGHTS.
Nothing in this Act shall increase, diminish, or otherwise affect
the rights, privileges, or authorities of any federally recognized
Indian Tribe in relation to any other federally recognized Indian
Tribe.
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