II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1184

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to dispose of land for recreation

or other public purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MAY 27, 1999

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself and Mr. KYL) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to dispose of land

for recreation or other public purposes.

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 ‘‘National Forest Sys5 tem Community Purposes Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 Congress finds that—

8 (1) communities adjacent to and surrounded by

9 National Forest System land have limited opportuni-
2

•S 1184 IS

1 ties to acquire land for recreational and other public

2 purposes;

3 (2) in many cases, such recreational and other

4 public purposes are not within the mission of the

5 Forest Service, but would not be inconsistent with

6 land and resource management plans developed for

7 the adjacent national forest;

8 (3) such communities are often unable to ac9 quire land for recreational and other public purposes

10 due to the extremely high market value of private

11 land resulting from the predominance of Federal

12 land in the local area; and

13 (4) the national forests and adjacent commu14 nities would mutually benefit from a process similar

15 to that available to the Bureau of Land Manage16 ment under the Act of June 14, 1926 (commonly

17 known as the ‘‘Recreation and Public Purposes

18 Act’’) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.).

19 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

20 In this Act:

21 (1) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘haz22 ardous substance’’ has the meaning given the term

23 in section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental

24 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42

25 U.S.C. 9601).
3

•S 1184 IS

1 (2) PARCEL.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘parcel’’

3 means a parcel of land under the jurisdiction of

4 the Forest Service that has been withdrawn

5 from the public domain.

6 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘parcel’’ does

7 not include land set aside or held for the benefit

8 of Indians.

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

10 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the

11 Chief of the Forest Service.

12 SEC. 4. DISPOSAL OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND

13 FOR PUBLIC OR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES.

14 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may dispose of Na15 tional Forest System land to a State or a political subdivi16 sion of a State as provided in this section on the condition

17 that the parcel be used for recreational and other public

18 purposes, as determined by the Secretary.

19 (b) CONDITIONS OF DISPOSAL.—Before any parcel

20 may be disposed of or any application for a transfer of

21 title to or a change in use of a parcel is approved under

22 this section, the Secretary shall determine that—

23 (1) the parcel is to be used for an established

24 or definitely proposed project;
4

•S 1184 IS

1 (2) the parcel is not of national significance, as

2 determined by the Secretary;

3 (3) the acreage is not more than is reasonably

4 necessary for the proposed use; and

5 (4) in the case of a parcel of more than 640

6 acres, comprehensive land use plans and zoning reg7 ulations applicable to the area in which the parcel is

8 located have been adopted by the appropriate State

9 or local authority.

10 (c) PUBLIC PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary shall—

11 (1) provide an opportunity for participation by

12 affected citizens in disposals under this section, in13 cluding public hearings or meetings where appro14 priate, to provide public comments;

15 (2) hold at least 1 public meeting on any pro16 posed disposal of more than 640 acres.

17 (d) PARCELS WITHDRAWN IN AID OF FUNCTIONS OF

18 FEDERAL AND STATE AGENCIES.—If a parcel has been

19 withdrawn in aid of a function of a Federal agency other

20 than the Department of Agriculture or of an agency of

21 a State or political subdivision of a State (including a

22 water district), the Secretary may dispose of the parcel

23 under this section only with the consent of the agency.

24 (e) CONVEYANCES AND LEASES.—
5

•S 1184 IS

1 (1) CONVEYANCES.—The Secretary may convey

2 a parcel to the State or a political subdivision of the

3 State in which the parcel is located if the proposed

4 use is not inconsistent with applicable land and re5 source management plans under the Forest and

6 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of

7 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.).

8 (2) LEASES.—The Secretary may lease a parcel

9 to the State or a political subdivision of the State in

10 which the parcel is located, at a reasonable annual

11 rental, for a period up to 25 years, and, at the dis12 cretion of the Secretary, with a privilege of renewal

13 for a like period, if the proposed use is not incon14 sistent with applicable land and resource manage15 ment plans under the Forest and Rangeland Renew16 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C.

17 1600 et seq.).

18 (3) CONSIDERATION.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

20 under subparagraph (B), the conveyance or

21 lease of a parcel under this section shall be

22 made at a price to be fixed by the Secretary,

23 consistent with the pricing structure established

24 by the Secretary of the Interior under the Act

25 of June 14, 1926 (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.).
6

•S 1184 IS

1 (B) EXCEPTIONS.—A conveyance of a par2 cel for the purpose of a historic monument or

3 a conveyance or lease of a parcel for rec4 reational purposes under this section shall be

5 made without monetary consideration.

6 (f) RESERVATION OF MINERAL RIGHTS.—Each con7 veyance or lease under this section shall contain a reserva8 tion to the United States of all mineral deposits in the

9 parcel conveyed or leased and of the right to mine and

10 remove the mineral deposits under applicable laws (includ11 ing regulations).

12 (g) USE OF THE LEASED LAND FOR UNAUTHORIZED

13 PURPOSES.—Each lease under this section shall contain

14 a provision for termination of the lease on a finding by

15 the Secretary that—

16 (1) the parcel has not been used by the lessee

17 as specified in the lease for a period greater than 5

18 years; or

19 (2) the parcel or any part of the parcel is being

20 devoted to a use other than that for which the lease

21 was made.

22 (h) CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE; REVERSION FOR

23 NONCOMPLIANCE.—

24 (1) CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.—

25 (A) TRANSFER OF TITLE.—
7

•S 1184 IS

1 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

2 in clause (ii), title to a parcel conveyed by

3 the Secretary under this section may not

4 be transferred by the grantee or a suc5 cessor of the grantee.

6 (ii) EXCEPTION.—With the consent of

7 the Secretary, title to a parcel may be

8 transferred to the State or a political sub9 division of the State in which the parcel is

10 located.

11 (B) USE.—

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided

13 in clause (ii), a grantee or a successor of

14 the grantee may not change the use speci15 fied in the conveyance of a parcel under

16 this section to another or additional use.

17 (ii) EXCEPTION.—With the consent of

18 the Secretary, the use of a parcel may be

19 changed to another recreational or public

20 use.

21 (2) REVERSION FOR NONCOMPLIANCE.—If at

22 any time after a parcel is conveyed by the Secretary,

23 the grantee or a successor of the grantee, without

24 the consent of the Secretary, attempts to transfer

25 title to or control over the parcel to another person
8

•S 1184 IS

1 or entity or to devote the parcel to a use other than

2 that for which the parcel was conveyed, title to the

3 parcel shall revert to the United States.

4 (i) PRIOR CONVEYANCES.—On application by the

5 State or a political subdivision of the State in which a

6 parcel is located, the Secretary may authorize a transfer

7 of title or a change in use in accordance with subsection

8 (h) with respect to any parcel conveyed under this section

9 or any other law.

10 (j) CESSATION OF EFFECTIVENESS OF REVERTER

11 CLAUSE.—If the Secretary authorizes a transfer of title

12 or a change in use under subsection (i), all reverter provi13 sions and other limitations on transfer or use, under this

14 section or any other Act affecting the parcel, shall cease

15 to be in effect 25 years after the Secretary authorizes the

16 transfer or use for a changed or additional purpose.

17 (k) SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL SITES.—

18 (1) CONVEYANCE FOR THE PURPOSES OF SOLID

19 WASTE DISPOSAL.—If the Secretary receives an ap20 plication for conveyance of a parcel under this sec21 tion for the purpose of solid waste disposal or for

22 another purpose that the Secretary finds may in23 clude the disposal, placement, or release of any haz24 ardous substance, the Secretary may convey the par25 cel subject only to this subsection.
9

•S 1184 IS

1 (2) INVESTIGATION.—

2 (A) IN GENERAL.—Before any conveyance

3 of a parcel under this subsection, the Secretary

4 shall investigate the parcel to determine wheth5 er any hazardous substance is present on the

6 parcel.

7 (B) ELEMENTS OF AN INVESTIGATION.—

8 An investigation under subparagraph (A) shall

9 include—

10 (i) a review of any available records of

11 the use of the parcel; and

12 (ii) all appropriate analyses of the

13 soil, water, and air associated with the par14 cel.

15 (C) PRESENCE OF A HAZARDOUS SUB16 STANCE.—A parcel shall not be conveyed under

17 this subsection if the investigation indicates

18 that any hazardous substance is present on the

19 parcel.

20 (3) SUBMISSION TO OTHER STATE AND FED21 ERAL AGENCIES.—No application for conveyance

22 under this subsection shall be acted on by the Sec23 retary until the applicant has furnished evidence,

24 satisfactory to the Secretary, that a copy of the ap25 plication and information concerning the proposed
10

•S 1184 IS

1 use of the parcel covered by the application has been

2 provided to the Environmental Protection Agency

3 and to all other State and Federal agencies with re4 sponsibility for enforcement of Federal and State

5 laws applicable to land used for the disposal, place6 ment, or release of solid waste or any hazardous

7 substance.

8 (4) WARRANTY.—No application for conveyance

9 under this subsection shall be acted on by the Sec10 retary until the applicant gives a warranty that—

11 (A) use of the parcel covered by the appli12 cation will be consistent with all applicable Fed13 eral and State laws, including laws dealing with

14 the disposal, placement, or release of hazardous

15 substances; and

16 (B) the applicant will hold the United

17 States harmless from any liability that may

18 arise out of any violation of any such law.

19 (5) REQUIREMENTS.—A conveyance under this

20 subsection shall be made to the extent that the ap21 plicant demonstrates to the Secretary that the parcel

22 covered by an application meets all applicable State

23 and local requirements and is appropriate in char24 acter and reasonable in acreage in order to meet an

25 existing or reasonably anticipated need for solid
11

•S 1184 IS

1 waste disposal or for another proposed use that the

2 Secretary finds may include the disposal, placement,

3 or release of any hazardous substance.

4 (6) CONDITIONS.—

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—A conveyance of a par6 cel under this subsection shall be subject to the

7 conditions stated in this paragraph.

8 (B) REVERTER.—

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—The instrument of

10 conveyance shall provide that the parcel

11 shall revert to the United States unless

12 substantially all of the parcel has been

13 used, on or before the date that is 5 years

14 after the date of conveyance, for the pur15 pose specified in the application, or for

16 other use or uses authorized under sub17 section (b) with the consent of the Sec18 retary.

19 (ii) LIMITATION.—No portion of a

20 parcel that has been used for solid waste

21 disposal or for any other purpose that the

22 Secretary finds may result in the disposal,

23 placement, or release of a hazardous sub24 stance shall revert to the United States.
12

•S 1184 IS

1 (C) PAYMENT TO THE SECRETARY ON

2 FURTHER CONVEYANCE.—If at any time after

3 conveyance any portion of a parcel has not been

4 used for the purpose specified in the applica5 tion, and the entity to which the parcel was

6 conveyed by the Secretary transfers ownership

7 of the unused portion to any other person or

8 entity, the transferee shall be liable to pay the

9 Secretary the fair market value of the trans10 ferred portion as of the date of the transfer, in11 cluding the value of any improvements on that

12 portion.

13 (D) USE OF PAYMENTS.—Subject to the

14 availability of appropriations, all amounts re15 ceived by the Secretary under subparagraph (C)

16 shall be retained by the Secretary, shall be

17 available to the Secretary for use for the man18 agement of National Forest System land, and

19 shall remain available until expended.

Æ