[109th Congress Public Law 47]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ047.109]
[[Page 119 STAT. 451]]
Public Law 109-47
109th Congress
An Act
To correct the south boundary of the Colorado River Indian Reservation
in Arizona, and for other purposes. <<NOTE: Aug. 2, 2005 - [H.R.
794]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Colorado River Indian
Reservation Boundary Correction Act.>> assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE, FINDINGS, PURPOSES.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Colorado River
Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act''.
(b) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Act of March 3, 1865, created the Colorado River
Indian Reservation (hereinafter ``Reservation'') along the
Colorado River in Arizona and California for the ``Indians of
said river and its tributaries''.
(2) In 1873 and 1874, President Grant issued Executive
Orders to expand the Reservation southward and to secure its
southern boundary at a clearly recognizable geographic location
in order to forestall non-Indian encroachment and conflicts with
the Indians of the Reservation.
(3) In 1875, Mr. Chandler Robbins surveyed the Reservation
(hereinafter ``the Robbins Survey'') and delineated its new
southern boundary, which included approximately 16,000
additional acres (hereinafter ``the La Paz lands''), as part of
the Reservation.
(4) On May 15, 1876, President Grant issued an Executive
Order that established the Reservation's boundaries as those
delineated by the Robbins Survey.
(5) In 1907, as a result of increasingly frequent trespasses
by miners and cattle and at the request of the Bureau of Indian
Affairs, the General Land Office of the United States provided
for a resurvey of the southern and southeastern areas of the
Reservation.
(6) In 1914, the General Land Office accepted and approved a
resurvey of the Reservation conducted by Mr. Guy Harrington in
1912 (hereinafter the ``Harrington Resurvey'') which confirmed
the boundaries that were delineated by the Robbins Survey and
established by Executive Order in 1876.
(7) On November 19, 1915, the Secretary of the Interior
reversed the decision of the General Land Office to accept the
Harrington Resurvey, and upon his recommendation on November 22,
1915, President Wilson issued Executive Order No. 2273 ``. . .
to correct the error in location said southern boundary line . .
.''--and thus effectively excluded the La Paz lands from the
Reservation.
[[Page 119 STAT. 452]]
(8) Historical evidence compiled by the Department of the
Interior supports the conclusion that the reason given by the
Secretary in recommending that the President issue the 1915
Executive Order--``to correct an error in locating the southern
boundary''--was itself in error and that the La Paz lands should
not have been excluded from the Reservation.
(9) The La Paz lands continue to hold cultural and
historical significance, as well as economic development
potential, for the Colorado River Indian tribes, who have
consistently sought to have such lands restored to their
Reservation.
(c) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are:
(1) To correct the south boundary of the Reservation by
reestablishing such boundary as it was delineated by the Robbins
Survey and affirmed by the Harrington Resurvey.
(2) To restore the La Paz lands to the Reservation, subject
to valid existing rights under Federal law and to provide for
continued reasonable public access for recreational purposes.
(3) To provide for the Secretary of the Interior to review
and ensure that the corrected Reservation boundary is resurveyed
and marked in conformance with the public system of surveys
extended over such lands.
SEC. 2. BOUNDARY CORRECTION, RESTORATION, DESCRIPTION.
(a) Boundary.--The boundaries of the Colorado River Indian
Reservation are hereby declared to include those boundaries as were
delineated by the Robbins Survey, affirmed by the Harrington Survey, and
described as follows: The approximately 15,375 acres of Federal land
described as ``Lands Identified for Transfer to Colorado River Indian
Tribes'' on the map prepared by the Bureau of Land Management entitled
``Colorado River Indian Reservation Boundary Correction Act, and dated
January 4, 2005'', (hereinafter referred to as the ``Map'').
(b) Map.--The Map shall be available for review at the Bureau of
Land Management.
(c) Restoration.--Subject to valid existing rights under Federal
law, all right, title, and interest of the United States to those lands
within the boundaries declared in subsection (a) that were excluded from
the Colorado River Indian Reservation pursuant to Executive Order No.
2273 (November 22, 1915) are hereby restored to the Reservation and
shall be held in trust by the United States on behalf of the Colorado
River Indian Tribes.
(d) Exclusion.--Excluded from the lands restored to trust status on
behalf of the Colorado River Indian Tribes that are described in
subsection (a) are 2 parcels of Arizona State Lands identified on the
Map as ``State Lands'' and totaling 320 acres and 520 acres.
SEC. 3. RESURVEY AND MARKING.
The Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the boundary for the
restored lands described in section 2(a) is surveyed and clearly marked
in conformance with the public system of surveys extended over such
lands.
SEC. 4. WATER RIGHTS.
The restored lands described in section 2(a) and shown on the Map
shall have no Federal reserve water rights to surface water or ground
water from any source.
[[Page 119 STAT. 453]]
SEC. 5. PUBLIC ACCESS.
Continued access to the restored lands described in section (2)(a)
for hunting and other existing recreational purposes shall remain
available to the public under reasonable rules and regulations
promulgated by the Colorado River Indian Tribes.
SEC. 6. ECONOMIC ACTIVITY.
(a) In General.--The restored lands described in section (2)(a)
shall be subject to all rights-of-way, easements, leases, and mining
claims existing on the date of the enactment of this Act. The United
States reserves the right to continue all Reclamation projects,
including the right to access and remove mineral materials for Colorado
River maintenance on the restored lands described in section (2)(a).
(b) Additional Rights-of-Way.--Notwithstanding any other provision
of law, the Secretary, in consultation with the Tribe, shall grant
additional rights-of-way, expansions, or renewals of existing rights-of-
way for roads, utilities, and other accommodations to adjoining
landowners or existing right-of-way holders, or their successors and
assigns, if--
(1) the proposed right-of-way is necessary to the needs of
the applicant;
(2) the proposed right-of-way acquisition will not cause
significant and substantial harm to the Colorado River Indian
Tribes; and
(3) the proposed right-of-way complies with the procedures
in part 169 of title 25, Code of Federal Regulations consistent
with this subsection and other generally applicable Federal laws
unrelated to the acquisition of interests on trust lands, except
that section 169.3 of those regulations shall not be applicable
to expansions or renewals of existing rights-of-way for roads
and utilities.
(c) Fees.--The fees charged for the renewal of any valid lease,
easement, or right-of-way subject to this section shall not be greater
than the current Federal rate for such a lease, easement, or right-of-
way at the time of renewal if the holder has been in substantial
compliance with all terms of the lease, easement, or right-of-way.
SEC. 7. GAMING.
Land taken into trust under this Act shall neither be considered to
have been taken into trust for gaming nor be used for gaming
[[Page 119 STAT. 454]]
(as that term is used in the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C.
2701 et seq.)).
Approved August 2, 2005.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 794:
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 151 (2005):
April 12, considered and passed House.
July 26, considered and passed Senate.
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