Panel approves Northern Cheyenne resource swap

E&E News
By Manuel Quinones
May 30, 2014

The House Natural Resources Committee yesterday approved legislation meant to rectify a 100-year-old surveying error, which deprived the Northern Cheyenne Tribe of valuable coal resources within tribal land.

Montana Republican Rep. Steve Daines' H.R. 4350 would give the tribe control of roughly 5,000 acres of subsurface coal rights in the southeastern part of the state.

The current owner, Great Northern Properties LP, would then receive roughly 10,000 acres of federal coal reserves outside Northern Cheyenne lands as compensation.

"The Northern Cheyenne Tribe has called the Lame Deer area home for thousands of years, but lacks the freedom to control their own future," Daines said in a statement.

Tribal President Llevando Fisher added, "If the bill is passed, our control over our reservation will be solidified and our economic development opportunities will be substantially enhanced."

The legislation has come up in previous years, only to die amid the gridlock on Capitol Hill. The Obama administration and at least some of its Democratic allies have expressed concerns about the value of the swap.

Michael Black, Bureau of Indian Affairs director, said during a hearing this month, "[W]e would like to work with the sponsors to ensure that the principle of equal value is maintained, and appraisals are consistent with Uniform Appraisal Standards."

Yesterday, the Natural Resources Committee's top Democrat, Rep. Peter DeFazio of Oregon said, "There has been no assessed value done on those properties." DeFazio said he felt uncomfortable about a swap of properties of "unknown, unassessed value."

The legislation, which passed by voice vote, also has provisions to protect area residents from strip mining. But DeFazio said the Senate version, backed by Montana Sens. John Walsh (D) and Jon Tester (D), is stronger.

The Obama administration also called for more time to conduct environmental reviews prior to the swap. The panel yesterday did not address that concern.

Westmoreland Coal Co. has been lobbying on the legislation, disclosure records show. The company runs a mine within the nearby Crow Tribe reservation and another in nearby Colstrip.

While the Crow have embraced coal, many members of the Northern Cheyenne have expressed concerns. Area ranchers have also complained about the mines.