25 Cfr 151.10,11

Bureau of Indian Affairs, Interior

§ 151.10

land in trust or restricted status, land
may be acquired for an individual Indian in trust status:
(1) When the land is located within
the exterior boundaries of an Indian
reservation, or adjacent thereto; or
(2) When the land is already in trust
or restricted status.
§ 151.4 Acquisitions in trust of lands
owned in fee by an Indian.
Unrestricted land owned by an individual Indian or a tribe may be conveyed into trust status, including a
conveyance to trust for the owner, subject to the provisions of this part.
§ 151.5 Trust acquisitions in Oklahoma
under section 5 of the I.R.A.
In addition to acquisitions for tribes
which did not reject the provisions of
the Indian Reorganization Act and
their members, land may be acquired
in trust status for an individual Indian
or a tribe in the State of Oklahoma
under section 5 of the Act of June 18,
1934 (48 Stat. 985; 25 U.S.C. 465), if such
acquisition comes within the terms of
this part. This authority is in addition
to all other statutory authority for
such an acquisition.
§ 151.6 Exchanges.
An individual Indian or tribe may acquire land in trust status by exchange
if the acquisition comes within the
terms of this part. The disposal aspects
of an exchange are governed by part 152
of this title.
§ 151.7 Acquisition of fractional interests.
Acquisition of a fractional land interest by an individual Indian or a tribe in
trust status can be approved by the
Secretary only if:
(a) The buyer already owns a fractional interest in the same parcel of
land; or
(b) The interest being acquired by the
buyer is in fee status; or
(c) The buyer offers to purchase the
remaining undivided trust or restricted
interests in the parcel at not less than
their fair market value; or
(d) There is a specific law which
grants to the particular buyer the
right to purchase an undivided interest
or interests in trust or restricted land

without offering to purchase all of such
interests; or
(e) The owner of a majority of the remaining trust or restricted interests in
the parcel consent in writing to the acquisition by the buyer.
§ 151.8 Tribal consent for nonmember
acquisitions.
An individual Indian or tribe may acquire land in trust status on a reservation other than its own only when the
governing body of the tribe having jurisdiction over such reservation consents in writing to the acquisition; provided, that such consent shall not be
required if the individual Indian or the
tribe already owns an undivided trust
or restricted interest in the parcel of
land to be acquired.
§ 151.9 Requests for approval of acquisitions.
An individual Indian or tribe desiring
to acquire land in trust status shall file
a written request for approval of such
acquisition with the Secretary. The request need not be in any special form
but shall set out the identity of the
parties, a description of the land to be
acquired, and other information which
would show that the acquisition comes
within the terms of this part.
§ 151.10

On-reservation acquisitions.

Upon receipt of a written request to
have lands taken in trust, the Secretary will notify the state and local
governments having regulatory jurisdiction over the land to be acquired,
unless the acquisition is mandated by
legislation. The notice will inform the
state or local government that each
will be given 30 days in which to provide written comments as to the acquisition’s potential impacts on regulatory jurisdiction, real property taxes
and special assessments. If the state or
local government responds within a 30day period, a copy of the comments
will be provided to the applicant, who
will be given a reasonable time in
which to reply and/or request that the
Secretary issue a decision. The Secretary will consider the following criteria in evaluating requests for the acquisition of land in trust status when

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§ 151.11

25 CFR Ch. I (4–1–06 Edition)

the land is located within or contiguous to an Indian reservation, and the
acquisition is not mandated:
(a) The existence of statutory authority for the acquisition and any
limitations contained in such authority;
(b) The need of the individual Indian
or the tribe for additional land;
(c) The purposes for which the land
will be used;
(d) If the land is to be acquired for an
individual Indian, the amount of trust
or restricted land already owned by or
for that individual and the degree to
which he needs assistance in handling
his affairs;
(e) If the land to be acquired is in unrestricted fee status, the impact on the
State and its political subdivisions resulting from the removal of the land
from the tax rolls;
(f) Jurisdictional problems and potential conflicts of land use which may
arise; and
(g) 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.
(h) The extent to which the applicant
has provided information that allows
the Secretary to comply with 516 DM 6,
appendix 4, National Environmental
Policy Act Revised Implementing Procedures, and 602 DM 2, Land Acquisitions: Hazardous Substances Determinations. (For copies, write to the Department of the Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Branch of Environmental
Services, 1849 C Street NW., Room 4525
MIB, Washington, DC 20240.)
[45 FR 62036, Sept. 18, 1980, as amended at 60
FR 32879, June 23, 1995]

§ 151.11 Off-reservation acquisitions.
The Secretary shall consider the following requirements in evaluating tribal requests for the acquisition of lands
in trust status, when the land is located outside of and noncontiguous to
the tribe’s reservation, and the acquisition is not mandated:
(a) 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 res-

ervation, 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 regulatory jurisdiction over the land to be acquired.
The notice shall inform the state and
local government that each will be
given 30 days in which to provide written comment as to the acquisition’s potential impacts on regulatory jurisdiction, real property taxes and special assessments.
[60 FR 32879, June 23, 1995, as amended at 60
FR 48894, Sept. 21, 1995]

§ 151.12

Action on requests.

(a) The Secretary shall review all requests and shall promptly notify the
applicant in writing of his decision.
The Secretary may request any additional information or justification he
considers necessary to enable him to
reach a decision. If the Secretary determines that the request should be denied, he shall advise the applicant of
that fact and the reasons therefor in
writing and notify him of the right to
appeal pursuant to part 2 of this title.
(b) Following completion of the Title
Examination provided in § 151.13 of this
part and the exhaustion of any administrative remedies, the Secretary shall
publish in the FEDERAL REGISTER, or in
a newspaper of general circulation
serving the affected area a notice of
his/her decision to take land into trust
under this part. The notice will state
that a final agency determination to
take land in trust has been made and
that the Secretary shall acquire title
in the name of the United States no

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