Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 114 Part 5.djvu/921

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PUBLIC LAW 106-568—DEC. 27, 2000 114 STAT. 2935 for the exploration, development, or extraction of any mineral resources, shall not require the approval of the Secretary if the lease is executed under the tribal regulations approved by the Secretary under this subsection and the term of the lease does not exceed— "(A) in the case of a business or agricultural lease, 25 years, except that any such lease may include an option to renew for up to two additional terms, each of which may not exceed 25 years; and "(B) in the case of a lease for public, religious, educational, recreational, or residential purposes, 75 years if such a term is provided for by the Navajo Nation through the promulgation of regulations. "(2) Paragraph (1) shall not apply to individually owned Navajo Indian allotted land. "(3) The Secretary shall have the authority to approve or disapprove tribal regulations referred to under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall approve such tribal regulations if such regulations are consistent with the regulations of the Secretary under subsection (a), and any amendments thereto, and provide for an environmental review process. The Secretary shall review and approve or disapprove the regulations of the Navajo Nation within 120 days of the submission of such regulations to the Secretary. Any disapproval of such regulations by the Secretary shall be accompanied by written documentation that sets forth the basis for the disapproval. Such 120-day period may be extended by the Secretary after consultation with the Navajo Nation. "(4) If the Navajo Nation has executed a lease pursuant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), the Navajo Nation shall provide the Secretary with— "(A) a copy of the lease and all amendments and renewals thereto; and "(B) in the case of regulations or a lease that permits payment to be made directly to the Navajo Nation, documentation of the lease payments sufficient to enable the Secretary to discharge the trust responsibility of the United States under paragraph (5). "(5) The United States shall not be liable for losses sustained by any party to a lease executed pursuant to tribal regulations under paragraph (1), including the Navajo Nation. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to diminish the authority of the Secretary to take appropriate actions, including the cancellation of a lease, in furtherance of the trust obligation of the United States to the Navajo Nation. "(6)(A) An interested party may, after exhaustion of tribal remedies, submit, in a timely manner, a petition to the Secretary to review the compliance of the Navajo Nation with any regulations approved under this subsection. If upon such review the Secretary determines that the regulations were violated, the Secretary may take such action as may be necessary to remedy the violation, including rescinding the approval of the tribal regulations and reassuming responsibility for the approval of leases for Navajo Nation tribal trust lands. "(B) If the Secretary seeks to remedy a violation described in subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall— ' "(i) make a written determination with respect to the regulations that have been violated;