Crow Revenue Act
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The bill would direct the Interior Department to accept relinquishment of a federal coal lease near Roundup, Montana, and complete a three-way exchange of mineral and surface interests among the Crow Tribe, a private mineral trust, and a private surface-rights company.
The exchange would let the Crow Tribe acquire roughly 4,660 acres of mineral rights within its reservation, tax-free and eligible for federal trust status, while private parties gain other mineral and surface interests and public access to some lands is restored.
What this bill would do
What it would do
The bill would require the Secretary of the Interior, within 60 days of enactment, to accept relinquishment of the Bull Mountains coal lease near Roundup, Montana, if the current lessee offers it. In the same transaction, the Hope Family Trust would convey about 4,660 acres of mineral interests within the Crow Reservation to the Crow Tribe, and Interior would convey about 4,530 acres of mineral interests in Musselshell County to the Hope Family Trust. The Tribe's newly acquired minerals could be held in federal trust for the Tribe on request and would be exempt from state and local taxation, contingent on the Tribe and the Hope Family Trust first agreeing on a revenue-sharing formula.
Separately, the bill would have Musselshell Resources LLC convey about 959 acres of surface interests to the United States in exchange for about 940 acres of federal surface interests, to improve public access. It also bars any reduction in the Tribe's other federal benefits because of these transactions and does not itself create new programs or amend broader federal statutes.
Key provisions
- 1Would require Interior to accept relinquishment of the Bull Mountains coal lease if offered by the lessee
- 2Would require simultaneous conveyance of Hope Family Trust minerals to the Crow Tribe and Bull Mountains minerals from Interior to the Hope Family Trust
- 3Would allow the Tribe's newly conveyed mineral interests to be held in federal trust for the Tribe upon request
- 4Would exempt the Tribe's conveyed mineral interests from state and local taxation
- 5Would require the Tribe and Hope Family Trust to agree on a revenue-sharing formula before the conveyances occur
- 6Would withdraw the tracts to be conveyed from public land, mining, and mineral leasing laws pending the exchange
- 7Would require Musselshell Resources LLC to convey surface interests to the United States in exchange for federal surface interests to improve public access
Who would be affected
The Crow Tribe of Montana and its members, the Joe and Barbara Hope Mineral Trust, Musselshell Resources LLC, the current operator of the Bull Mountains coal lease, and the Department of the Interior, which must process the lease relinquishment and the land and mineral conveyances specified in the bill.
Why it matters
The exchange would give the Crow Tribe control of mineral interests inside its own reservation, potentially generating tribal revenue and expanding tribal trust land, while private parties gain replacement mineral and surface rights elsewhere in Montana. The public-access swap could also open previously inaccessible federal surface land to public use.
What would change
Agencies directed to act
Effective dates
- Completion of the mineral conveyances among Interior, the Tribe, and the Hope Family Trust
- Completion of the surface interest exchange with Musselshell Resources LLC
How implementation would work
Interior must first receive the lessee's offer to relinquish the Bull Mountains coal lease, then execute all conveyances in a single transaction within 60 days of enactment, contingent on the Tribe and Hope Family Trust first submitting written notice to Interior that they have agreed on a revenue-sharing formula for future mineral development. Pending completion, the affected tracts are withdrawn from public land, mining, and leasing laws. Separately, Musselshell Resources LLC and Interior must complete a parallel surface-interest exchange within the same 60-day window. No agency rulemaking or ongoing reporting requirement is specified.
Legislative status & sources
Latest action
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 375.
Official CRS summary
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This bill addresses the exchange of mineral interests in Montana involving the federal government, the Crow Tribe of Montana, and a private party.
Specifically, the bill requires
- the Department of the Interior to accept the relinquishment of a specified federal coal lease associated with the Bull Mountains Mine near Roundup, Montana (the current operator of the mine is Signal Peak Energy);
- the Joe and Barbara Hope Mineral Trust (Hope Family Trust) to convey approximately 4,660 acres of subsurface mineral interests located within the boundaries of the Crow Indian Reservation in Big Horn County, Montana, to the tribe; and
- Interior to convey approximately 4,530 acres of subsurface mineral interests and 940 acres of surface interests located in Musselshell County, Montana, to the Hope Family Trust.
Prior to these conveyances, the tribe must notify Interior that the tribe and the Hope Family Trust have agreed on a revenue-sharing formula for the development of the mineral and surface interests in Musselshell County, Montana.
The mineral interests conveyed by the Hope Family Trust to the tribe shall be held in trust by the United States for the benefit of the tribe, upon the tribe's request. These mineral interests shall not be subject to state or local taxation.
Legislative subjects
Federal-Indian relations; Indian claims; Indian lands and resources rights; Land transfers; Montana; Native Americans; State and local taxation
Committee report
H. Rept. 119-436