[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 25, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 25CFR151.14]

[Page 430]
 
                            TITLE 25--INDIANS
 
     CHAPTER I--BUREAU OF INDIAN AFFAIRS, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
 
PART 151--ACQUISITION OF TITLE TO LAND IN TRUST--Table of Contents
 
     Subpart C--Discretionary Acquisitions of Title Off-Reservation
 
Sec. 151.14  What criteria will BIA use to evaluate a request involving land outside a reservation or outside an approved Tribal Land Acquisition Area?

    Upon receipt of the information required under Sec. 151.12 and upon 
a determination that the application is complete:
    (a) We will approve the application to accept land into trust 
outside a reservation or outside an approved TLAA only if the 
application shows that the acquisition is necessary to:
    (1) Facilitate tribal self-determination, economic development, 
Indian housing, land consolidation or natural resource protection; and
    (2) We determine that the acquisition provides meaningful benefits 
to the Tribe that outweigh any demonstrable harm to the local community.
    (b) Notwithstanding a determination in paragraph (a) of this section 
that the acquisition is necessary to facilitate tribal self-
determination and that the benefits of the acquisition to the tribe 
outweigh any harm to the local community, we may disapprove an 
application to accept land into trust outside a reservation or outside 
an approved TLAA if the acquisition will result in:
    (1) Severe negative impacts to the environment, or
    (2) Significant harm to the local community. Evidence of such harm 
must be clear and demonstrable and supported in the application record; 
or
    (3) The inability of the Bureau of Indian Affairs to adequately 
handle the additional law enforcement and other responsibilities that 
would result from the acquisition of the land into trust status.
    (c) When making a determination under paragraph (a) or (b) of this 
section to approve or deny an application, we will consider the location 
of the land relative to the state boundaries, and its distance from the 
boundaries of the tribe's reservation and whether that distance is 
reasonable based on the following:
    (1) If the land is in a different state than the tribe's 
reservation, the tribe's justification of anticipated benefits from the 
acquisition will be subject to greater scrutiny
    (2) As the distance between the tribe's reservation or approved TLAA 
and the land to be acquired increases, the tribe's justification of 
anticipated benefits from the acquisition will be subject to greater 
scrutiny
    (3) As the distance between the tribe's reservation or approved TLAA 
and the land to be acquired increases, the concerns raised by the state 
and local governments will be given greater weight.