II

Calendar No. 826

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1331

[Report No. 106–417]

To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market value

certain public land in the county.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JULY 1, 1999

Mr. REID introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to

the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

SEPTEMBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment and an amendment to the

title

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at

fair market value certain public land in the county.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lincoln County Land

5 Act of 1999’’.
2

S 1331 RS

1 SEC. 2. SALE OF PUBLIC LAND.

2 (a) RIGHT TO PURCHASE.—For a period of 10 years

3 after the date of enactment of this Act, Lincoln County,

4 Nevada, shall have the exclusive right to purchase the par5 cels of public land described in subsection (b).

6 (b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The parcels of public land

7 referred to in subsection (a) are the following parcels in

8 T. 12 S., R. 71 E., Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada:

(1) Sec. 16: NW 1⁄4 SW 1⁄4, S 1⁄2 SW 1 9 ⁄4, SE

1 10 ⁄4.

(2) Sec. 17: SW 1⁄4, W 1⁄2 SE 1⁄4, SE 1 11 ⁄4 SE

1 12 ⁄4.

(3) Sec. 18: SE 1 13 ⁄4.

(4) Sec. 19: E 1 14 ⁄2.

15 (5) Sec. 20.

(6) Sec. 21: W 1 16 ⁄2.

(7) Sec. 28: W 1 17 ⁄2.

18 (8) Sec. 29.

(9) Sec. 30: E 1 19 ⁄2.

(10) Sec. 31: E 1 20 ⁄2.

21 (11) Sec. 32.

(12) Sec. 33: W 1⁄2, SE 1 22 ⁄4.

(13) Sec. 34: S 1 23 ⁄2.

24 (c) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 180 days after

25 the date of enactment of this Act, Lincoln County, Ne26 vada, shall notify the Secretary of the Interior which of
3

S 1331 RS

1 the parcels of public land described in subsection (b) the

2 county intends to purchase.

3 (d) TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE.—All sales of

4 public land under this section—

5 (1) shall be subject to valid existing rights; and

6 (2) shall be made for fair market value, as de7 termined by the Secretary.

8 (e) CONVEYANCE.—Not later than 1 year after re9 ceiving notification by Lincoln County that the county

10 wishes to proceed with a purchase under subsection (a),

11 the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to Lincoln Coun12 ty the parcels of land selected for purchase.

13 (f) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

14 until the date that is 10 years after the date of enactment

15 of this Act, the public land described in subsection (b) is

16 withdrawn from all forms of entry and appropriation

17 under the public land laws, including the mining laws, and

18 from operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leas19 ing laws.

20 SEC. 3. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.

21 (a) LAND SALES.—Of the gross proceeds of sales of

22 land under this Act in a fiscal year—

23 (1) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the State

24 of Nevada for use in the general education program

25 of the State;
4

S 1331 RS

1 (2) 10 percent shall be returned to Lincoln

2 County for use as determined through normal coun3 ty budgeting procedures, with emphasis given to

4 support of schools, of which no amount may be used

5 in support of litigation against the Federal Govern6 ment; and

7 (3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special

8 account in the Treasury of the United States (re9 ferred to in this section as the ‘‘special account’’) for

10 use as provided in subsection (b).

11 (b) AVAILABILITY OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the special ac13 count (including amounts earned as interest under

14 paragraph (3)) shall be available to the Secretary of

15 the Interior, without further Act of appropriation,

16 and shall remain available until expended, for—

17 (A) the cost of acquisition of environ18 mentally sensitive land or interests in such land

19 in the State of Nevada, with priority given to

20 land outside Clark County;

21 (B) development of a multispecies habitat

22 conservation plan in Lincoln County, Nevada;

23 and

24 (C) reimbursement of costs incurred by the

25 Bureau of Land Management in preparing sales
5

S 1331 RS

1 under this Act, or other authorized land sales

2 or exchanges within Lincoln County, Nevada,

3 including the costs of land boundary surveys,

4 compliance with the National Environmental

5 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.),

6 appraisals, environmental and cultural clear7 ances, and any public notice.

8 (2) ACQUISITION FROM WILLING SELLERS.—An

9 acquisition under paragraph (1)(A) shall be made

10 only from a willing seller and after consultation with

11 the State of Nevada and units of local government

12 under the jurisdiction of which the environmentally

13 sensitive land is located.

14 (3) INTEREST.—Amounts in the special account

15 shall earn interest in the amount determined by the

16 Secretary of Treasury on the basis of current aver17 age market yield on outstanding marketable obliga18 tions of the United States of comparable maturities.

19 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

20 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lincoln County Land

21 Act of 2000’’.

22 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

23 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

24 (1) Lincoln County, Nevada, encompasses an

25 area of 10,132 square miles of the State of Nevada;
6

S 1331 RS

1 (2) approximately 98 percent of the County is

2 owned by the Federal Government;

3 (3) the city of Mesquite, Nevada, needs land for

4 an organized approach for expansion to the north;

5 (4) citizens of the County would benefit through

6 enhanced county services and schools from the in7 creased private property tax base due to commercial

8 and residential development;

9 (5) the County would see improvement to the

10 budget for the county and school services through the

11 immediate distribution of sale receipts from the Sec12 retary selling land through a competitive bidding

13 process;

14 (6) a cooperative approach among the Bureau of

15 Land Management, the County, the City, and other

16 local government entities will ensure continuing com17 munication between those entities;

18 (7) the Federal Government will be fairly com19 pensated for the sale of public land; and

20 (8) the proposed Caliente Management Frame21 work Amendment and Environmental Impact State22 ment for the Management of Desert Tortoise Habitat

23 Plan identify specific public land as being suitable

24 for disposal.

25 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—
7

S 1331 RS

1 (1) to provide for the orderly disposal of certain

2 public land in the County; and

3 (2) to provide for the acquisition of environ4 mentally sensitive land in the State of Nevada.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this Act:

7 (1) CITY.—The term ‘‘City’’ means the city of

8 Mesquite, Nevada.

9 (2) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Lin10 coln County, Nevada.

11 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

12 the Secretary of the Interior.

13 (4) SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—The term ‘‘special ac14 count’’ means the account in the Treasury of the

15 United States established under section 5.

16 SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF LAND.

17 (a) DISPOSAL.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after

19 the date of enactment of this Act, notwithstanding the

20 land use planning and land sale requirements con21 tained in sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land

22 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1711,

23 1712), the Secretary, in cooperation with the County

24 and the City, in accordance with this Act, the Federal

25 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
8

S 1331 RS

1 1701 et seq.), and other applicable law, and subject

2 to valid existing rights, shall dispose of the land de3 scribed in subsection (b) in a competitive bidding

4 process, at a minimum, for fair market value.

5 (2) TIMING.—The Secretary shall dispose of—

6 (A) the land described in subsection

7 (b)(1)(A) not later than 1 year after the date of

8 enactment of this Act; and

9 (B) the land described in subsection

10 (b)(1)(B) not later than 5 years after the date of

11 enactment of this Act.

12 (b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—The land referred to in sub14 section (a) is the land depicted on the map entitled

15 ‘‘Public Lands Identified for Disposal in Lincoln

16 County, Nevada’’ and dated July 24, 2000, consisting

17 of—

18 (A) the land identified on the map for dis19 posal within 1 year, comprising approximately

20 4,817 acres; and

21 (B) the land identified on the map for dis22 posal within 5 years, comprising approximately

23 8,683 acres.
9

S 1331 RS

1 (2) MAP.—The map described in paragraph (1)

2 shall be available for public inspection in the Ely

3 Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.

4 (c) SEGREGATION.—Subject to valid existing rights,

5 the land described in subsection (b) is segregated from all

6 forms of entry and appropriation (except for competitive

7 sale) under the public land laws, including the mining

8 laws, and from operation of the mineral leasing and geo9 thermal leasing laws.

10 (d) COMPLIANCE WITH LOCAL PLANNING AND ZON11 ING.—The Secretary shall ensure that qualified bidders in12 tend to comply with—

13 (1) County and City zoning ordinances; and

14 (2) any master plan for the area developed and

15 approved by the County and City.

16 SEC. 5. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.

17 (a) LAND SALES.—Of the gross proceeds of sales of

18 land under this Act in a fiscal year—

19 (1) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the State

20 of Nevada for use in the general education program

21 of the State;

22 (2) 10 percent shall be returned to the County

23 for use as determined through normal county budg24 eting procedures, with emphasis given to support of
10

S 1331 RS

1 schools, of which no amount may be used in support

2 of litigation against the Federal Government; and

3 (3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special

4 account in the Treasury of the United States (referred

5 to in this section as the ‘‘special account’’) for use as

6 provided in subsection (b).

7 (b) AVAILABILITY OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the special ac9 count (including amounts earned as interest under

10 paragraph (3)) shall be available to the Secretary of

11 the Interior, without further Act of appropriation,

12 and shall remain available until expended, for—

13 (A) inventory, evaluation, protection, and

14 management of unique archaeological resources

15 (as defined in section 3 of the Archaeological Re16 sources Protection Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C.

17 470bb)) in the County;

18 (B) development of a multispecies habitat

19 conservation plan in the County;

20 (C)(i) reimbursement of costs incurred by

21 the Nevada State Office and the Ely Field Office

22 of the Bureau of Land Management in preparing

23 sales under this Act, or other authorized land

24 sales within the County, including the costs of

25 land boundary surveys, compliance with the Na-
11

S 1331 RS

1 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42

2 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), appraisals, environmental

3 and cultural clearances, and any public notice;

4 and

5 (ii) processing public land use authoriza6 tions and rights-of-way stemming from develop7 ment of the conveyed land; and

8 (D) the cost of acquisition of environ9 mentally sensitive land or interests in such land

10 in the State of Nevada, with priority given to

11 land outside Clark County.

12 (2) ACQUISITION FROM WILLING SELLERS.—An

13 acquisition under paragraph (1)(D) shall be made

14 only from a willing seller and after consultation with

15 the State of Nevada and units of local government

16 under the jurisdiction of which the environmentally

17 sensitive land is located.

18 (c) INVESTMENT OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—All funds de19 posited as principal in the special account shall earn inter20 est in the amount determined by the Secretary of the Treas21 ury on the basis of the current average market yield on out22 standing marketable obligations of the United States of

23 comparable maturities.
12

S 1331 RS

1 SEC. 6. ACQUISITIONS.

2 (a) DEFINITION OF ENVIRONMENTALLY SENSITIVE

3 LAND.—In this section, the term ‘‘environmentally sensitive

4 land’’ means land or an interest in land, the acquisition

5 of which by the United States would, in the judgment of

6 the Secretary—

7 (1) promote the preservation of natural, sci8 entific, aesthetic, historical, cultural, watershed, wild9 life, and other values contributing to public enjoy10 ment and biological diversity;

11 (2) enhance recreational opportunities and pub12 lic access;

13 (3) provide the opportunity to achieve better

14 management of public land through consolidation of

15 Federal ownership; or

16 (4) otherwise serve the public interest.

17 (b) ACQUISITIONS.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the consultation process

19 has been completed in accordance with subsection (c),

20 the Secretary may acquire with the proceeds of the

21 special account environmentally sensitive land and

22 interests in environmentally sensitive land. Land

23 may not be acquired under this section without the

24 consent of the landowner.

25 (2) USE OF OTHER FUNDS.—Funds made avail26 able from the special account may be used with any
13

S 1331 RS

1 other funds made available under any other provision

2 of law.

3 (c) CONSULTATION.—Before initiating efforts to ac4 quire land under this subsection, the Secretary shall consult

5 with the State of Nevada and with local government within

6 whose jurisdiction the land is located, including appro7 priate planning and regulatory agencies, and with other

8 interested persons, concerning the necessity of making the

9 acquisition, the potential impacts on State and local gov10 ernment, and other appropriate aspects of the acquisition.

11 (d) ADMINISTRATION.—On acceptance of title by the

12 United States, land and interests in land acquired under

13 this section that is within the boundaries of a unit of the

14 National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, National Trails

15 System, National Wilderness Preservation System, any

16 other system established by Act of Congress, or any national

17 conservation or national recreation area established by Act

18 of Congress—

19 (1) shall become part of the unit or area without

20 further action by the Secretary; and

21 (2) shall be managed in accordance with all laws

22 and regulations and land use plans applicable to the

23 unit or area.

Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to direct the

Secretary of Interior to sell certain public land in Lincoln

County through a competitive process.’’.
Calendar No. 826

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1331

[Report No. 106–417]

A BILL

To give Lincoln County, Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market value certain public land in

the county.

SEPTEMBER 25 (legislative day, SEPTEMBER 22), 2000

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the

title