Native American Energy Act
Latest action · Oct 23, 2012 Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 506.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedFeb 7, 2012
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Native American Energy Act - (Sec. 3) Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to allow the Secretary of the Interior, an affected Indian tribe, or a certified third-party appraiser under contract with the Indian tribe to appraise Indian land or trust assets involved in a transaction requiring the Secretary's approval.
Gives the Secretary 30 days after receipt of the appraisal to review it and provide the Indian tribe with written notice of its approval or disapproval. Deems the appraisal to be approved after 60 days go by without the Secretary's approval or disapproval.
Gives tribes the option of waiving such appraisals, but they must also waive any claims for damages they might have against the federal government due to the lack of an appraisal.
(Sec. 4) Requires each agency within the Department of the Interior involved in the review of oil and gas activities on Indian lands to use a uniform system of reference numbers and tracking systems for oil and gas wells.
(Sec. 5) Amends the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 to make the environmental impact statement for major federal action on Indian lands available for review and comment only to the affected Indian tribe and individuals residing within the affected area.
(Sec. 6) Amends the Energy Policy Act of 1992 to direct the Secretary to establish at least five Indian Energy Development Offices, each within a regional or agency office of the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), to assist the Secretary in carrying out the Indian energy resource development program.
Requires the Director of each Indian Energy Development Office to: (1) provide energy-related information and resources to Indian tribes and tribal members; (2) coordinate meetings and outreach among Indian tribes, tribal members, energy companies, and relevant federal, state, and tribal agencies; (3) oversee, and ensure the timely processing of, Indian energy applications, permits, licenses, and other documents by government agencies; and (4) consult with Indian tribes to determine what services, information, facilities, or programs would best expedite the responsible development of energy resources.
(Sec. 7) Prohibits the Secretary from collecting a fee for: (1) applying for a permit to drill on Indian land, (2) oil or gas inspection activities on such lands, or (3) any oil or gas lease for nonproducing acreage on Indian land.
(Sec. 8) Requires plaintiffs who obtain a preliminary injunction or administrative stay in Indian energy related actions to post bond. Subjects them to liability for a defendant's harm should they not ultimately prevail on the merits of the energy related action. Prohibits plaintiffs in Indian energy related actions against the federal government from receiving certain federal payments for their fees or expenses.
(Sec. 9) Amends the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 to direct the Secretary to enter into agreements with Indian tribes to carry out demonstration projects that promote biomass energy production on Indian forest land and in nearby communities by providing tribes with reliable supplies of woody biomass from federal lands.
Requires the Secretary to initiate at least four new demonstration projects in each fiscal year from FY2013-FY2017.
Requires those agreements, to the extent practicable, to include management plans in effect on the Indian forest land or rangeland of the respective Indian tribe.
Limits the agreements to an initial term of no more than 20 years, but allows their renewal for up to 10 additional years.
(Sec. 10) Considers activities conducted or resources harvested or produced pursuant to a tribal resource management plan or an integrated resource management plan approved by the Secretary to be a sustainable when sustainability is federally required.
(Sec. 11) Amends the Long-Term Leasing Act to authorize the Navajo Nation to enter into commercial or agricultural leases of up to 99 years on their restricted lands without the Secretary's approval, provided they are executed under tribal regulations approved by the Secretary. (Currently, those leases may not exceed 25 years, but may include an option to renew for up to 2 additional terms, neither of which may exceed 25 years.)
Allows the Navajo Nation to enter into mineral resource leases on their restricted lands without the Secretary's approval if they are executed under approved tribal regulations and do not exceed 25 years, though they may include a renewal option for one additional term not exceeding 25 years.
(Sec. 12) Prohibits any Department of the Interior rule regarding hydraulic fracturing, used in oil and gas development or production, from having any effect on land held in trust or restricted status for Indians, except with the express consent of its Indian beneficiaries.
Cosponsors 2
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Feb 14, 2012 to May 30, 2012.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-AZ | Paul A. Gosar | Feb 14, 2012 | |
| R-ND | Rick Berg | May 30, 2012 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Natural Resources Committee | Referred Feb 7, 2012Markup May 16, 2012Reported Oct 23, 2012 |
| Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee | Referred Feb 10, 2012Hearings Feb 15, 2012 | |
| Indian and Insular Affairs Subcommittee | Referred Feb 10, 2012Discharged May 16, 2012 |
Actions 10
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2012Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 112-692.
- Oct 23, 2012Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 506.
- May 16, 2012Subcommittee Indian and Alaska Native Affairs Discharged.
- May 16, 2012Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
- May 16, 2012Ordered to be Reported (Amended) by Voice Vote.
- Feb 15, 2012Subcommittee Hearings Held.
- Feb 10, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
- Feb 10, 2012Referred to the Subcommittee Indian and Alaska Native Affairs.
- Feb 7, 2012Introduced in House
- Feb 7, 2012Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Research
What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.
Committee report
Congressional Budget Office cost estimate
- Sep 20, 2012H.R. 3973, Native American Energy ActAs ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on May 16, 2012
Constitutional authority
The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the page H571.
Printed hearings 4
Hearings whose printed record names this bill, newest first: hearings on it, and wider hearings where it came up.
| Number | Hearing | Committee | Held |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. Hrg. 112-636 | S. 1684, THE INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT AND SELF-DETERMINATION ACT AMENDMENTS OF 201164 pages | Indian Affairs Committee | Apr 19, 2012 |
| Serial No. 112-106 | IMPACTS OF THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT'S HYDRAULIC FRACTURING RULE ON INDIAN TRIBAL ENERGY DEVELOPMENT72 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Apr 19, 2012 |
| S. Hrg. 112-628 | ENERGY DEVELOPMENT IN INDIAN COUNTRY108 pages | Indian Affairs Committee | Feb 16, 2012 |
| Serial No. 112-94 | H.R. 3973, TO FACILITATE THE DEVELOPMENT OF ENERGY ON INDIAN LANDS BY REDUCING FEDERAL REGULATIONS THAT IMPEDE TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT OF INDIAN LANDS97 pages | Natural Resources Committee | Feb 15, 2012 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To facilitate the development of energy on Indian lands by reducing Federal regulations that impede tribal development of Indian lands, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Native American Energy Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Native Americans.
- Administrative law and regulatory procedures
- Administrative remedies
- Alternative and renewable resources
- Civil actions and liability
- Contracts and agency
- Department of the Interior
- Environmental assessment, monitoring, research
- Environmental regulatory procedures
- Executive agency funding and structure
- Federal-Indian relations
- Forests, forestry, trees
- Indian lands and resources rights
- Judicial review and appeals
- Land transfers
- Legal fees and court costs
- Licensing and registrations
- Native Americans
- Oil and gas
- User charges and fees
Text 2
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 23, 2012Reported in House
- Feb 7, 2012Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
