108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2304

AN ACT

To resolve boundary conflicts in the vicinity of the

Mark Twain National Forest in Barry and StoneCounties, Missouri, that resulted from privatelandowner reliance on a subsequent Federal survey, and for other purposes.

108TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2304

AN ACT

To resolve boundary conflicts in the vicinity of the Mark

Twain National Forest in Barry and Stone Counties,

Missouri, that resulted from private landowner reliance

on a subsequent Federal survey, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:

3 (1) Certain landowners in Barry and Stone

4 Counties, Missouri, innocently and in good faith re5 lied on subsequent land surveys, which they believed

6 to be correct, and occupied, improved, or claimed

7 portions of adjoining Federal lands based on such

8 survey information.

9 (2) The appropriate Federal agencies should

10 undertake actions to correctly reestablish the corners

11 of the Public Land Survey System in Barry and

12 Stone Counties, Missouri, and rectify boundary con13 flicts and landownership claims against Federal

14 lands resulting from subsequent land surveys, and

15 do so in a manner which imposes the least cost and

16 inconvenience to affected private landowners.

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

18 (1) to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and

19 Stone Counties, Missouri, arising from subsequent

20 land surveys; and

21 (2) to minimize costs and inconvenience to the

22 affected private property owners in Barry and Stone

23 Counties, Missouri.
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1 SEC. 2. RESOLUTION OF BOUNDARY CONFLICTS, VICINITY

2 OF MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST, BARRY

3 AND STONE COUNTIES, MISSOURI.

4 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:

5 (1) The term ‘‘appropriate Secretary’’ means

6 the Secretary of the Army or the Secretary of Agri7 culture.

8 (2) The term ‘‘boundary conflict’’ means the

9 situation in which the private claim of ownership to

10 certain lands, based on subsequent land surveys,

11 overlaps or conflicts with Federal ownership of the

12 same lands.

13 (3) The term ‘‘Federal land surveys’’ means

14 any land survey made by any agency or department

15 of the Federal Government using Federal employees,

16 or by Federal contract with State-licensed private

17 land surveyors or corporations and businesses li18 censed to provide professional land surveying serv19 ices in the State of Missouri.

20 (4) The term ‘‘original land surveys’’ means the

21 land surveys made by the United States General

22 Land Office as part of the Public Land Survey Sys23 tem in the State of Missouri, and upon which Gov24 ernment land patents were issued conveying the

25 land.
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1 (5) The term ‘‘Public Land Survey System’’

2 means the rectangular system of original Govern3 ment lands surveys made by the United States Gen4 eral Land Office and its successor, the Bureau of

5 Land Management, under Federal laws providing for

6 the survey of the public lands upon which the origi7 nal land patents were issued.

8 (6) The term ‘‘qualifying claimant’’ means a

9 private owner of real property in Barry or Stone

10 County, Missouri, who has a boundary conflict as a

11 result of good faith and innocent reliance on subse12 quent land surveys, and as a result of such reliance,

13 has occupied, improved, or made ownership claims to

14 Federal lands.

15 (7) The term ‘‘subsequent land surveys’’ mean

16 any land surveys made after the original land sur17 veys.

18 (b) NOTICE OF BOUNDARY CONFLICT.—

19 (1) SUBMISSION AND CONTENTS.—A qualifying

20 claimant shall notify the appropriate Secretary in

21 writing of a claim that a boundary conflict exists

22 with Federal land administered by the appropriate

23 Secretary. The notice shall be accompanied by the

24 following information, which, except as provided in
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1 subsection (d)(2)(B), shall be provided without cost

2 to the United States:

3 (A) A land survey plat and legal descrip4 tion of the affected Federal lands, which are

5 based upon a land survey completed and cer6 tified by a Missouri State-licensed professional

7 land surveyor, and done in conformity with the

8 Public Land Survey System and in compliance

9 with the applicable State and Federal land sur10 veying laws.

11 (B) Information relating to the claim of

12 ownership of the Federal lands, including sup13 porting documentation showing the landowner

14 relied on a subsequent land survey due to ac15 tions by the Federal Government in making or

16 approving surveys for the Table Rock Reservoir.

17 (2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—To obtain re18 lief under this section, a qualifying claimant shall

19 submit the notice required by paragraph (1) within

20 15 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

21 (3) RESPONSIBILITIES OF CLAIMANTS.—The

22 qualifying claimant shall have the responsibility for

23 establishing that the qualifying claimant qualifies for

24 the remedies provided in subsection (c).
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1 (c) RESOLUTION AUTHORITIES.—The appropriate

2 Secretary may take any of the following actions, or com3 bination of actions, in order to resolve boundary conflicts

4 with qualifying claimants involving lands under the admin5 istrative jurisdiction of the appropriate Secretary:

6 (1) Convey and quitclaim all right, title, and in7 terest of the United States in land subject to a

8 boundary conflict.

9 (2) Confirm Federal title to, and retain in Fed10 eral management, any land subject to a boundary

11 conflict, if the appropriate Secretary determines

12 there are Federal interests, including improvements,

13 authorized uses, easements, hazardous materials, or

14 historical and cultural resources, on the land that

15 necessitates retention of the land.

16 (3) Compensate the qualifying claimant for the

17 value of the overlapping property for which title is

18 confirmed and retained in Federal management pur19 suant to paragraph (2).

20 (d) CONSIDERATION AND COST.—

21 (1) CONVEYANCE WITHOUT CONSIDERATION.—

22 The conveyance of land under subsection (c)(1) shall

23 be made without consideration if the appropriate

24 Secretary determines that the boundary conflict was
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1 the result of the innocent detrimental reliance by the

2 qualifying claimant on a subsequent land survey.

3 (2) COSTS.—The appropriate Secretary shall—

4 (A) pay administrative, personnel, and any

5 other costs associated with the implementation

6 of this section, including the costs of survey,

7 marking, and monumenting property lines and

8 corners; and

9 (B) reimburse the qualifying claimant for

10 reasonable out-of-pocket survey costs necessary

11 to establish a claim under this section.

12 (3) VALUATION.—Compensation paid to a

13 qualifying claimant pursuant to subsection (c)(3) for

14 land retained in Federal ownership pursuant to sub15 section (c)(2) shall be valued on the basis of the con16 tributory value of the tract of land to the larger ad17 joining private parcel and not on the basis of the

18 land being a separate tract. The appropriate Sec19 retary shall not consider the value of any Federal

20 improvements to the land.

21 (e) PREEXISTING CONDITIONS; RESERVATIONS; EX22 ISTING RIGHTS AND USES.—

23 (1) PREEXISTING CONDITIONS.—The appro24 priate Secretary shall not compensate a qualifying

25 claimant or any other person for any preexisting
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1 condition or reduction in value of any land subject

2 to a boundary conflict because of any existing or

3 outstanding permits, use authorizations, reserva4 tions, timber removal, or other land use or condition.

5 (2) EXISTING RESERVATIONS AND RIGHTS AND

6 USES.—Any conveyance pursuant to subsection

7 (c)(1) shall be subject to—

8 (A) reservations for existing public uses for

9 roads, utilities, and facilities; and

10 (B) permits, rights-of-way, contracts and

11 any other authorization to use the property.

12 (3) TREATMENT OF LAND SUBJECT TO SPECIAL

13 USE AUTHORIZATION OR PERMIT.—For any land

14 subject to a special use authorization or permit for

15 access or utilities, the appropriate Secretary may

16 convert, at the request of the holder, such authoriza17 tion to a permanent easement prior to any convey18 ance pursuant to subsection (c)(1).

19 (4) FUTURE RESERVATIONS.—The appropriate

20 Secretary may reserve rights for future public uses

21 in a conveyance made pursuant to subsection (c)(1)

22 if the qualifying claimant is compensated for the res23 ervation in cash or in land of equal value.

24 (f) RELATION TO OTHER CONVEYANCE AUTHOR25 ITY.—Nothing in this section affects the Quiet Title Act
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1 (28 U.S.C. 2409a) or other applicable law, or affects the

2 exchange and disposal authorities of the Secretary of Agri3 culture, including the Small Tracts Act (16 U.S.C. 521c),

4 or the exchange and disposal authorities of the Secretary

5 of the Army.

6 (g) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The ap7 propriate Secretary may require such additional terms and

8 conditions in connection with a conveyance under sub9 section (c)(1) as the Secretary considers appropriate to

10 protect the interests of the United States.

Passed the House of Representatives November 17,

2003.

Attest:

Clerk.