## Facts

- Federal law authorized rights-of-way across Indian lands through multiple statutes.
- The Act of March 11, 1904 authorized pipeline rights-of-way for oil or gas and limited the term to 20 years.
- The Act of February 5, 1948 authorized rights-of-way “for all purposes” over Indian lands, conditioned on tribal consent, and left specific terms to the Secretary of the Interior.
- A 1960 Interior regulation under the 1948 Act allowed pipeline rights-of-way for terms up to 50 years.
- Between 1961 and 1969, the Secretary granted Montana Power Company five rights-of-way for natural gas pipelines across the Blackfeet Reservation, each for a 50-year term.
- The Tribe formally consented to each 50-year right-of-way grant.
- In 1981, the Tribe objected to the 50-year terms, asserting the 1904 Act’s 20-year limitation applied.
- In 1983, the Tribe sued, alleging the Secretary lacked authority to approve terms longer than 20 years and that continued pipeline operation after 20 years constituted trespass.

## Issues

1. Whether the 1904 Act’s 20-year limitation controlled the duration of pipeline rights-of-way granted across tribal lands, despite later authority in the 1948 Act and its regulations.
2. Whether the Secretary of the Interior, acting under the 1948 Act and with tribal consent, had authority to approve 50-year pipeline rights-of-way.
3. Whether Montana Power Company’s continued use of the rights-of-way after 20 years could constitute trespass if the grants were valid under the 1948 Act.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit affirmed summary judgment for Montana Power Company, the United States, and the Secretary of the Interior.
- The court held the Secretary did not exceed his authority in approving 50-year terms under the 1948 Act and its implementing regulation.
- The court concluded the 1904 and 1948 Acts were separate, coexisting mechanisms for obtaining rights-of-way; neither displaced the other.
- Because the rights-of-way were validly granted for 50 years with tribal consent, the Tribe’s trespass theory failed.

## Legal Principles

- Courts generally avoid implied repeal where two statutes can be read to give effect to both; overlapping statutes may provide alternative sources of authority.
- The 1948 rights-of-way statute, conditioned on tribal consent and implemented by regulation, can authorize longer terms than an earlier, more specific statute when the transaction is conducted under the later statutory framework.
- When a tribe consents to rights-of-way terms authorized under applicable federal law and regulations, the Secretary’s approval within that delegated authority is valid, and the grantee’s use within the approved term is not trespass.

## Conclusion

The Ninth Circuit held that pipeline rights-of-way across tribal lands granted under the 1948 Act and its regulations may validly run for up to 50 years when the tribe consents, and the earlier 1904 Act’s 20-year limit does not cap rights-of-way approved under the independent 1948 statutory scheme.


Blackfeet Indian Tribe v. Mont. Power Co., 838 F.2d 1055 (9th Cir. 1988)