Federal Indian Land Definitions -- December 13, 2022

Link here. 

There's a story about a lawsuit here of which you may or may not be interested; it involves Devon / WPX.

The lead-into the story was what interested me. The story: September 11, 2022.

The lead-in:

Fort Berthold Indian Reservation sits in the heart of Bakken Oil Field in western North Dakota. The lands are rich with resources such as oil and gas.

Currently, there are 2,645 wells on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, and companies are expected to drill 3,907 more wells before the field is fully developed.

The lands belong to the federally recognized tribes known as the Mandan, Hidatsa & Arikara Nation, also known as the Three Affiliated Tribes, and their members. The Tribe’s interest, the allotted interest, and the fee interest make up 980,000 acres, which are managed by the Bureau of Indian Affairs on Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

Lands held by individual members are known as Allotted Lands or Allotments which were granted to individual Indian owners by the United States government. The owners of these lands are known as Allottees, and they own undivided interests which comprise 343,000 acres on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation.

In order to drill oil and gas wells or obtain a right of way for land use on these Allotted Lands, oil & gas companies must obtain consent from a majority (51% or more) of these landowners by signature from the Allottees and/or landowners.

Pursuant to the Code of Federal Regulations (“CFR”) which governs these lands and their use, all rights of way and other encumbrances must identify the specific use and purpose for which they are granted. The specific use and purpose of the encumbrance must be spelled out in the consent forms provided to the landowners by the companies and in the encumbrance granted by the BIA.

The Bureau of Indian Affairs and their offices are charged with reviewing the consent forms and the applications to determine if they should grant these rights of way and other encumbrances with the consent of a majority of the Allottees who own the tract on which the encumbrance will be granted, however, the oil and gas companies are responsible for providing Allottees with accurate information about what they intend to use their lands for and obtain consent forms from the owners to provide to the BIA with their request for a right of way or other encumbrance.

When landowners feel those encumbrances have been violated or their lands have been trespassed upon, they ask the BIA to investigate the matter and the BIA is charged with investigation and issuing a decision regarding whether or not there has in fact been a trespass. The BIA has the power by law to make these determinations and to terminate the encumbrance/right of way if they feel a trespass has occurred or take other action as they see fit. Parties impacted by their decisions have the right to appeal such decisions through the process spelled out in the CFR.

For the lawsuit, go to the link.