§ 151.11 - How will the Secretary evaluate a request involving land outside of and noncontiguous to the boundaries of an Indian reservation?

§ 151.11 Off-reservation acquisitions.How will the Secretary evaluate a request involving land outside of and noncontiguous to the boundaries of an Indian reservation?

(a) The Secretary shall consider the

following requirements

criteria in this section when evaluating

tribal

requests for the acquisition of

lands

land in trust status

,

when the land is located outside of and noncontiguous to

the tribe's reservation, and the acquisition is not mandated

an Indian reservation:

(

a

1) The

criteria listed in § 151.10 (a) through (c) and (e) through (h);

(b) The location of the land relative to state boundaries, and its distance from the boundaries of the tribe's reservation, shall be considered as follows: as the distance between the tribe's reservation and the land to be acquired increases, the Secretary shall give greater scrutiny to the tribe's justification of anticipated benefits from the acquisition. The Secretary shall give greater weight to the concerns raised pursuant to paragraph (d) of this section.

(c) Where land is being acquired for business purposes, the tribe shall provide a plan which specifies the anticipated economic benefits associated with the proposed use.

(d) Contact with state and local governments pursuant to § 151.10 (e) and (f) shall be completed as follows: Upon receipt of a tribe's written request to have lands taken in trust, the Secretary shall notify the state and local governments having

existence of statutory authority for the acquisition and any limitations contained in such authority;

(2) If the applicant is an individual Indian and the land is already held in trust or restricted status, the need for additional land, the amount of trust or restricted land already owned by or for that individual, and the degree to which the individual needs assistance in handling their affairs;

(3) The purposes for which the land will be used; and

(4) If the land to be acquired is in fee status, whether the Bureau of Indian Affairs is equipped to discharge the additional responsibilities resulting from the acquisition of the land in trust status.

(b) The Secretary shall give great weight to acquiring land that serves any of the following purposes, in accordance with § 151.3:

(1) Furthers Tribal interests by establishing a Tribal land base or protects Tribal homelands;

(2) Protects sacred sites or cultural resources and practices;

(3) Establishes or maintains conservation or environmental mitigation areas;

(4) Consolidates land ownership;

(5) Reduces checkerboarding;

(6) Acquires land lost through allotment;

(7) Protects treaty or subsistence rights; or

(8) Facilitates Tribal self-determination, economic development, or Indian housing.

(c) Upon receipt of a written request to have land outside the boundaries of an Indian reservation acquired in trust status, the Secretary shall notify the State and local governments with regulatory jurisdiction over the land to be acquired. The notice

shall

will inform the

state and

State or local government that each will be given 30 calendar days in which to provide written

comment as to

comments on the acquisition's potential

impacts

impact on regulatory jurisdiction, real property taxes, and special assessments.

[60 FR 32879, June 23, 1995, as amended at 60 FR 48894, Sept. 21, 1995]

If the State or local government responds within 30 calendar days, a copy of the comments will be provided to the applicant, who will be given a reasonable time in which to reply, if they choose to do so in their discretion, or request that the Secretary issue a decision. In reviewing such comments, the Secretary will consider the location of the land and potential conflicts of land use. The Secretary presumes that the Tribe will benefit from the acquisition.