Sponsors (2)
The bill transfers ~72 acres into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation and clarifies federal jurisdiction with required contamination disclosures, while leaving cleanup responsibility uncertain, barring gaming-based development, and potentially reducing some federal conservation/recreation protections.
Members of the Quinault Indian Nation and residents on or near the parcel gain ~72 acres placed into trust and added to the reservation, strengthening the tribe's land base and self-governance.
The parcel's administration is moved from the Forest Service to the Department of the Interior, clarifying jurisdiction and which federal agency manages services and governance for the land.
The bill requires CERCLA 120(h) disclosure about known hazardous substances so the tribe and public are informed of contamination risks before the land is taken into trust.
The Secretary is not required to remediate contamination on the parcel, leaving the tribe and nearby residents potentially responsible for cleanup costs and ongoing exposure risks.
The legislation explicitly bars the acres from gaming eligibility, preventing the tribe from using Class II/III gaming on this land as an economic development option.
Removing the parcel from Forest Service management could reduce federal recreational access or conservation protections that the Forest Service previously provided on the land.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Transfers ~72 acres from the U.S. Forest Service into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation, adds it to the reservation, and bars gaming on the land.
Transfers about 72 acres in Washington from the U.S. Forest Service to the Department of the Interior and places the land into trust for the Quinault Indian Nation, making it part of the Quinault Indian Reservation. The land will be administered by the Secretary of the Interior under laws that apply to tribal trust land. The transfer is subject to valid existing rights, preserves treaty rights under the Treaty of Olympia, and explicitly bars the property from eligibility for gaming under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act. The Secretary must follow CERCLA disclosure requirements before the transfer but is not required to clean up hazardous substances as part of the acquisition.
Official title: Take certain land in the State of Washington into trust for the benefit of the Quinault Indian Nation, and for other purposes.
Introduced April 29, 2025 by Maria E. Cantwell · Last progress October 5, 2026