OPA

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that two contracts totaling more than $6.2 million for the construction of roads serving members of the Navajo Indian Tribe were awarded July 22.

A contract with Nielsons, Inc., of Dolores, Colo., calls for the construction of 16.24 miles of hot bituminous concrete surfacing on a previously constructed roadbed between Rough Rock, Ariz., and the Arizona State Highway 63 at Many Farms, Ariz.

The Rough Rock Community has now only a dirt road connection with the highway.

The amount of this contract is $2,234,281. Five other bids running - as high as $2.83 million were received.

The other contract, with Owl Constructors of Compton, Calif., provides for open graded emulsified asphalt pavement and turf establishment on 22.36 miles of road from Pueblo Pintado to the McKinley-Sandoval County Line Highway in the State of New Mexico.

This project will complete work on Navajo Route N9 and will provide an all-weather highway from Interstate 40 at Thoreau to Cuba, New Mexico.

The amount of this contract is $4,020,127. The Bureau of Indian Affairs received three other bids ranging up to $4.83 million.

A plan for the use of $7 million awarded to the Jicarilla Apache Indian Tribe by the Indian Claims Commission is being published in the Federal Register, Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today.

The award represents payment for claims of the Jicarilla Apache Tribe against the United States for the general accounting of tribal funds and properties which the Federal Government controlled and managed since the last century.

According to the plan, approved by Congress and made effective July 8, 1975, all of the funds, after the deduction of legal expenses, will be used for programs benefitting the tribe as a whole.

Four million dollars will be utilized to establish a Jicarilla Tribal investment program. Other uses will be $235,000 for community development and improvements; $1,031,000 for capital development and investments; $1,000,000 for land acquisitions and $34,000 for contingency costs. Accrued interest and investment income will be added to these principal amounts.

The reservation is located in Rio Arriba and Sandoval Counties in New Mexico. Tribal headquarters are at Dulce, New Mexico.

Commissioner of Indian Affairs Morris Thompson announced today that John Buffalohorn, a member of the Northern Cheyenne Indian Tribe has been appointed Superintendent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs' Fort Totten Agency in North Dakota.

The agency serves the Devils Lake Sioux Tribe.

Buffalohorn has been the Administrative Manager of the Fort Peck Agency, Poplar, and Montana.

A graduate of the Haskell Indian Institute, Buffalohorn is a Korean War Army veteran. He has worked 21 years for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. For nearly six years, prior to going to Fort Peck, he was the Property and Supply Officer at the Turtle Mountain Agency at Belcourt, North Dakota.

Kent Frizzell, Acting Secretary of the Interior, today ordered acceleration of the Central Utah Project and Department action on specific related requests submitted August 13 in a resolution by the Ute Indian Tribe

Frizzell directed:

--award by the Bureau of Reclamation of a $26.9 million contract for construction of Vat Tunnel--the largest contract awarded to date for the Bonneville Unit of the Central Utah Project;

--expeditious investigation by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Reclamation of the Leland Bench Area as an agricultural development for Indian benefit;

--completion by the Bureau of Reclamation of the planning report for the Ute Indian Unit of the Central Utah Project by December 31, 1978.

The Acting Secretary also forwarded to President Ford the certification of physical, economic and financial feasibility on the Uintah Unit, Central Utah Project, as required by the Colorado River Basin Project Act (P. L. 90-537).

Frizzell said that in addition to the Ute Indian Unit, the Leland Bench and the Uintah Unit actions, all of which are requested in the Tribal resolution, he has directed the Department's Deputy Under Secretary, William Lyons, to report to him within 10 days with recommendations as to how the Department should respond to 10 remaining points raised in the resolution.

The Vat Tunnel is an integral part of the 37-mile Strawberry Aqueduct feature of the Central Utah Project which will develop most of Utah's share of Colorado River water for municipal and industrial purposes along the heavily populated Wasatch Front area of the state, plus providing water for irrigation, recreation, hydro-electric power, and fish and wildlife habitat.

The Vat contract calls for construction of a 7.3-mile circular tunnel to be excavated by machine boring and lined with concrete. The finished borehole will be eight feet, three inches, in diameter.

Contract award will not be made until August 28. Under an agreement among the United States of America, the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation, the Central Utah Water Conservancy District, and others, no construction under the contract will commence prior to November 15, because of pending litigation.

The Vat Tunnel contract will be awarded to J. F. Shea Co., Inc., of Walnut Creek, Calif., which submitted the low bid of $26,992,662 of four offered at Duchesne, Utah, July 17. Second low bid was $28,825,000, submitted in a joint venture by S&M Constructors, Inc., and Greenfield Construction Co., Inc., of Solon, Ohio; and third was a bid of $30,493,474 by Peter Kiewit Sons' Co. of Omaha.

The Strawberry Aqueduct collection and storage system will allow, by exchange, the transfer of water to the Salt Lake City area for domestic and industrial uses. It also will provide supplemental irrigation water for farms in Utah and Juab Counties and ultimately, in other counties of the central portion of the State.

"I have asked Gilbert G. Stamm, Commissioner of Reclamation, and Morris Thompson, Commissioner of Indian Affairs, to place the highest priority on the Leland Bench area," Frizzell said. "This could be a major step forward in bringing benefits of the Central Utah Project to the Ute Indian Tribe, and for that reason, these studies will be expedited."

Notice is being published in the Federal Register that the deadline for comments on proposed regulations concerning the development of tribal water codes on reservations has been further extended to July 15, 1977, the Bureau of Indian Affairs. announced today.

The proposed regulations were published March 17, with 30 days allowed for review and comment, Subsequently, this period was extended to June 2.

The extension to July 15 is in response to requests from interested persons.

Comments on the regulations should be sent to the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Office of Rights Protection, Washington, D.C. 20245.

Alvin G. Picotte, a member of the Yankton Sioux Tribe, has been named Superintendent of the Flandreau Indian School, South Dakota, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

Picotte has been since 1973 an Assistant Principal in the Minneapolis Public Schools system.

A graduate of Northern State College, South Dakota, Picotte earned a Master's degree in Education Administration from the University of Minnesota in 1973. He began teaching at Aberdeen, South Dakota in 1964, He has experience in health education and vocational rehabilitation. He was also the guidance counselor for the Indian Upward Bound Program at the University of Minnesota.

Picotte is 36, His appointment is effective July 31.

A final environmental impact statement on a proposal to mine Crow Indian and state-owned coal from nearly 2,000 acres in south-central Montana has been prepared by the U.S. Geological Survey, Department of the Interior, and filed with the Council on Environmental Quality.

The statement discusses the environmental effects of a proposed expansion of Westmoreland Resources' existing Absaloka Coal Mine by 1,958 acres (792 hectares) in Crow Indian Ceded Lands in northern Big Horn County just north of the Crow Indian Reservation.

The 1.1 million acre (445,000 hectare) Crow Ceded Area was ceded to the U.S. Government by the Crow Tribe under a, 1904 act of Congress. Indians then living in the area were either allotted their land or reimbursed for it if they moved south to the Crow Indian Reservation. The land not allotted to Indians was opened to the general public for settlement, but the Federal Government retained coal and other mineral rights. In 1958, Congress restored to tribal ownership all of the vacant and undisposed ceded land, and mineral rights on these lands as well as on settled land were restored to the Crow Tribe.

The Crow Tribe now owns coal rights on about 150,000 acres (60,700 hectares) in the Ceded Area, and these rights are held in trust for the tribe and administered by the Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Westmoreland proposed to surface mine 190.6 million tons (172.9 million metric tons) of coal by 1997 from the proposed expansion area and 193 acres in the existing Absaloka Mine area, with a peak production of 10 million tons (9 million metric tons) per year from 1981 through 1995. Westmoreland owns surface rights and the Crow Indian Tribe the coal rights on 1,644 acres (665 hectares) of the expansion area and the State of Montana owns both the surface and coal rights on the remaining 314 acres (127 hectares).

The Absaloka Mine is about 26 miles (42 kilometers) east of Hardin, Mont., and 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of Hysham, Mont., in the drainage area of Sarpy Creek. The proposed expansion area is mostly to the east and southeast of the existing mine.

Westmoreland proposed to reclaim and revegetate the mined areas concurrently as mining activities proceed with a maximum of 110.5 acres (44.7 hectares) being disturbed each year.

Westmoreland Resources obtained coal leases from the Crow Tribe in 1972 on 30,876 acres (12,500 hectares) in the Ceded Area, and began operating the Absaloka Mine in 1974 under an approved plan for surface mining of 410 acres (166 hectares). This plan was covered in an environmental impact statement prepared by the BIA and filed with the CEQ in 1974. Subsequent Federal Court orders required the Interior Department to prepare a comprehensive environmental impact statement on the leasing of the Ceded Lands as well as separate environmental impact statements on each mining plan for tracts within those lease areas.

The BIA filed with the CEQ on Dec. 15, 1976, a final impact statement on the leases, and former Interior Secretary Thomas S. Kleppe approved the leases Jan. 19, 1977. The Absaloka Mine produced 4 million tons (3.6 million metric tons) of coal in 1976, and the coal in the approved mine area is expected to be exhausted in 1977. Westmoreland currently is committed to provide 5 million tons (4.5 million metric tons) of coal per year for electric power generation in Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois and Iowa.

Two major coal beds and two smaller beds would be surface mined by Westmoreland. The Rosebud-McKay coal bed is 30 to 35 feet (9.1 to 10.7 meters) thick and the top of the bed is from 70 to 135 feet (21.3 to 41.1 meters) below the land surface. The Robinson bed ranges from 17 to 23 feet (5.2 to 7 meters) in thickness and is from 150 to 270 feet (45.7 to 82.3 meters) below the surface. One of the small beds lies 20 to 30 feet (6.1 to 9.1 meters) above the Rosebud-McKay coal bed and the other is 5 to 10 feet (1.5 to 3 meters) below the Rosebud-McKay bed. The small beds are no more than 5 feet (1.5 meters) thick.

Crow Indians have preferential employment rights in the Westmoreland mining operations involving coal owned by the tribe. The Absaloka Mine now employs 110 persons, including 53 Crow Indians. Employment would rise to 210 workers by the time peak production would be reached in 1981.

A summary included with the final statement listed the following environmental impacts of the proposed mining plan:

The existing land surface, vegetation and all aquifers above the base of the Robinson Coal in the proposed mine area would be destroyed.

• Wildlife habitats would be disrupted until disturbed areas were revegetated and human intrusions terminated.
• Ground and surface water quantity and quality, livestock grazing, scenic views and open space qualities would be degraded and restricted until revegetation was successfully completed.
• Dust and noise would be increased locally until recontouring and revegetation were successfully completed.
• Livestock and wildlife forage would be reduced until revegetation was successful.
• Employment for the Crow Indians and other citizens of Big Horn County would be increased.
• Tax and royalty income for the Crow Tribe, the State of Montana and Big Horn County would be increased.

Copies of the final statement are available for public review at the OSGS Public Inquiries Office, 1012 Federal Building, 1961 Stout St., Denver, Colo.; USGS Library, Denver West Office Park, Building 3, 1526 Cole Blvd., Golden, Colo.; USGS Library, Room 4A100, USGS National Center, 12201 Sunrise Valley Drive, Reston, Va.; U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, Billings Area Office, 316 North 26th St., Billings, Mont.; Office of the Superintendent, Crow Agency, Mont.; Billings Public Library, 510 N. Broadway, Billings, Mont.; Library, Eastern Montana College, Billings, Mont.; and Big Horn County Library, 419 N. Custer Ave., Hardin, Mont.

A limited number of single copies of the statement are available from the USGS Public Inquiries Office, 1012 Federal Building, 1961 Stout St., Denver, Colo. 80202; and from the U.S. Geological Survey, Land Information and Analysis Office, Environmental Impact Analysis Program, Stop 602, Denver Federal Center, Box 25046, Lakewood, Colo. 80204.

The Department of the Interior announced today that it plans to distribute more than $14 million to the Absentee Delaware Tribe of Western Oklahoma and the Cherokee Delaware Tribe of Oklahoma on September 15, 1977.

The money was awarded to the Delawares by the Indian Claims Commission as compensation for land taken by the United States in violation of an 1854 treaty.

The two tribes have requested an immediate distribution of the funds and have initiated mandamus litigation to this end. Under Secretary of the Interior James A. Joseph said that the September 15 date was chosen because "Members of Congress have requested time for consideration of proposed legislation now pending before Congress to include a third group of Delaware Indians in the distribution of the funds."

A recent Supreme Court decision upheld the constitutionality of an Act of Congress under which the Absentee and Cherokee Delawares are to receive the funds, but it also stated that Congress could change the distribution act to include the third group, the Kansas Delawares.

Under Secretary Joseph said that the Department would modify its plan for the distribution of the funds to accord with any forthcoming court order or amendment of the act.

Proposed regulations establishing procedures and policy for determining whether an Indian group is a federally recognized Indian tribe are being published in the Federal Register, the Bureau of Indian Affairs announced today.

The proposed regulations have been developed to enable the Secretary of the Interior to review objectively the increasing number of petitions submitted by Indian groups requesting Federal recognition. The regulations do not apply to any group which has already been acknowledged by the Secretary as constituting a federally recognized Indian tribe.

The regulations provide 10 criteria which are to be considered in judging whether a petitioning group is a federally recognized Indian tribe.

Comments on the proposed regulations should be sent within 30 days of publication to the Director of Indian Services, Bureau pf Indian Affairs, Washington, D.C. 20245.

Members of eight Washington State Indian tribes will be provided an extra day each week, under long standing treaty rights, to fish for sockeye and pink salmon this season which begins June 26, the Department of the Interior reported.

Regulations defining the plan in detail are being published in the Federal Register for Tuesday, June 21. The extra day per week for Indians of the eight specified tribes was deemed necessary by several U.S Government agencies acting in concert to help satisfy the Indian's treaty rights with the United States dating back to 1854 and 1855. The regulations provide a different arrangement for fishing during the first week of the season.

The area affected is in and around the Strait of Juan de Fuca, which separates the southern end of Vancouver Island, Canada, from the north edge of the Olympic Peninsula in the United States. These are the waters where Puget Sound meets the Pacific Ocean, and where major runs of these salmon species are expected to seek their native streams in the Fraser River system for spawning this summer.

Non-Indian fishermen will be allowed a basic two days per week of sockeye and pink salmon fishing this season under regulations adopted May 25 by the International Pacific Salmon Fisheries Commission (IPSFC), a joint US-Canadian body established by a US-Canadian Treaty. The State Department approved the IPSFC regulations except as to U.S. Indians, which cleared the way for the Interior regulations giving Indians an extra day of fishing. Canadian Indian subsistence fishing is not regulated under this treaty.

The new Interior regulations are grounded in numerous court tests, culminating in a landmark decision by U.S. District Judge George H. Boldt in 1974 (affirmed the following year) which held that the 1854 and 1855 treaties give the Indian groups the opportunity to catch one-half the total U.S. catch in the Indians accustomed fishing places.

Despite their treaty entitlement, the Indian fishermen-- greatly outnumbered their non-Indian counterparts--last year took an estimated 6 percent of the days catch on the Fraser River run. The additional day per week, giving Indians three days a week to fish for these salmon, may increase the Indians' share to as much as 15 percent.

The terms of the US-Canadian Treaty require an equal split of the fish between the two countries and adequate escapement to perpetuate the runs in future years. The Departments of Commerce and the Interior will perform a continuing monitoring service to carry out needed adjustments in the fishery throughout the season depending on the size of the salmon runs and the number of fish caught each day to be sure terms of the Canadian Treaty are met. Fishermen are kept advised of these changes by hot-line telephone service.

Covered by the extra-day regulations are the Makah Tribe, two bands of the Clallam Tribe (Lower Elwha and Port Gamble),the Suquamish Tribe, Lummi Tribe, Nooksack Tribe, Swinomish Indian Tribal Community, and Tulalip Tribe Enforcement of the regulations will be carried out by personnel of various Federal agencies.