DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
Bureau of Indian Affairs
25 CFR Part 151
Acquisition of Title to Land in Trust
AGENCY: Bureau of Indian Affairs
ACTION: Notice of proposed withdrawal of final rule; request for
comments
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SUMMARY: This action seeks public comment on whether the Final Rule
entitled ``Acquisition of Title to Land in Trust'' should be withdrawn and a further rule proposed to better
address the public's continued concerns regarding the Department's
procedures for taking land into trust for federally-recognized Indian
tribes.
DATES: Comments regarding this rulemaking should be received by
September 12, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Comments regarding this action should be submitted to: Terry
Virden, Director, Office of Trust Responsibilities, MS 4513 MIB, 1849 C
Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Terry Virden, Office of Trust
Responsibilities, MX 4513 MIB, 1849 C Street, NW, Washington, DC 20240;
telephone 202/208-5831.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The rule entitled ``Acquisition of Title to
Land in Trust'' was published in the Federal Register on January 16,
2001, and its effective date was extended by a Notice published in the
Federal Register on April 16, 2001. This effective date of this rule
has been further extended to November 10, 2001, by action taken today
in this issue of the Federal Register.
During the comment period first extending the effective date of
this rule (April 16-June 15, 2001), the Department received 192
submissions from a variety of Indian tribes, state and local
governments, and other interested groups and individuals. The comments
articulated a variety of opposing views. For example, comments stated
that the final rule should be revoked, amended in part only, changed in
specific ways or made immediately effective. Even though many comments
suggested amending only certain parts of the final rule, the Department
finds that it may be impracticable and inefficient to repeal only part
of the final rule. While the Department continues to review these
comments during a further extension of the effective date, as published
in today's issue of the Federal Register, the Department is seeking
comments on whether to withdraw the final rule and propose a new rule
that would better speak to the ongoing concerns of the public regarding
the Department's procedures for taking land into trust for federally-
recognized tribes.
Comments that are being reviewed concern several areas of the final
rule. One area of concern is individual applications for lands into
trust for housing or home site purposes. The Department is considering
the advisability of expediting and prioritizing these types of
applications under a new proposed rule. Applications for housing or
home site purposes could be identified as acquisitions containing five
(5) acres of land or less for the purpose of meeting individual housing
needs. Another area of concern has been land use issues on off-
reservation acquisitions and land use issues with the designation of
Tribal Land Acquisition Areas (TLAA). In applications for off-
reservation acquisitions, the Department is considering the
advisability of requiring that tribes submit land use plans for the
parcel to be acquired. The Secretary would approve those land use plans
as part of her review of the application. In addition, when a tribe
submits an application to the Secretary for approval of a TLAA, the
Department is considering the advisability of requiring that the
application contain a land use plan for the TLAA which the Secretary
would approve as part of her review and approval of the TLAA
designation.
Several comments focused on the lack of standards contained in the
final rule. The Department is considering clarifying the standards that
will be used by the Secretary to determine whether to approve an
application and defining the burdens of proof that the applicant and
those opposing a trust application have to the application. For on-
reservation acquisitions, the Department is considering requiring a
tribe or individual to show by substantial evidence that the
acquisition facilitates tribal self-determination, economic
development, Indian housing, land consolidation, or natural resources
protection. The Department is further considering requiring opponents
of on-reservation trust acquisitions to show by clear evidence that the
acquisition will result in severe negative impact to the environment or
severe harm to the local government. For off-reservation acquisitions,
the Department is considering requiring that tribes show by substantial
evidence that the acquisition is necessary to facilitate tribal self-
determination, economic development, Indian housing, land
consolidation, or natural resources protection, and the tribe be
further required to show that no demonstrable harm to the local
community is realized. The Department is considering requiring that
opponents of off-reservation acquisitions show by clear evidence that
the acquisition will result in significant harm to the local community
or severe negative impacts to the environment.
Another area of concern has been the availability of applications
for review. The Department is considering changing the length of time
that states and local communities have to comment on the application.
Currently, for on-reservation acquisitions, the final rule provides
state and local communities 30 days to comment on an application. The
Department is considering allowing state and local communities 60 days
to comment on on-reservation acquisitions. For off-reservation
acquisitions, the final rule currently provides that state and local
communities have 60 days to comment on an application. The Department
is considering allowing the state and local communities 90 days to
comment on off-reservation applications. The additional 30 days to
review applications will provide state and local governments adequate
time to review the application at the local Bureau of Indian Affairs
(BIA) agency or regional office. The Department is also interested in
using technology to make the review of applications easier and more
efficient. Any comments on how the Internet or computer technology
might facilitate review of trust acquisition applications would be
helpful.
Considering the range of comments already received and reviewed,
the Department takes this action to seek comment on whether the final
rule should be withdrawn for the best interests of the constituencies
served by the rule.
Dated: August 8, 2001.
Neal A. McCaleb,
Assistant Secretary--Indian Affairs.