WASHINGTON, D.C. – Montana’s Congressman, Denny Rehberg, learned today that the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Indian and Alaska Native Affairs has scheduled a vote on the advancement of H.R. 1158, the Montana Mineral Conveyance Act.  This legislation will authorize the conveyance of mineral rights by the Secretary of the Interior in the State of Montana.  It was the subject of a June 22 hearing.  The committee action will take place on Wednesday, July 20, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. in 1324 Longworth House Office Building.

“This bill will mean more jobs for Montana and more responsible domestic energy production,” said Rehberg, a member of the Congressional Native American Caucus.  “And if that’s not enough, it’s also just the right thing to do.  The Tribe will finally get control of their own resources and the associated revenue.  The people of Montana benefit from the development of Montana’s abundant coal reserves.  And we all get to avoid costly litigation while stimulating job growth in rural Montana.”

Rehberg’s legislation corrects a 111-year-old mistake of the federal government.  In 1900, a surveying error left subsurface coal within the reservation under the control of the Northern Pacific Railway, which has since been passed onto Great Northern Properties (GNP).  The Northern Cheyenne Tribe’s Otter Creek Settlement was reached nine years ago.  The Tribe and GNP negotiated and executed an agreement that provides for relinquishment by GNP to the Tribe of approximately 8 sections (about 5,000 acres) of on-Reservation subsurface coal owned by GNP, in return for approximately 5,000 acres of off-Reservation federal coal located in Montana’s Bull Mountains and the Bridge Creek federal coal tracts.  Rehberg’s bill would codify this agreement.

The collaborative legislation strikes a reasonable balance between all impacted parties.  The Tribe regains subsurface control, which makes their land and resources contiguous and provides needed revenue.  GNP receives subsurface access from two other areas in Montana currently owned by the federal government.

The discussion and vote is open to the public and the media.