IB 

Union Calendar No. 86 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1672 

[Report No. 113–121, Part I] 

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands administered by the Bureau 

of Land Management for exclusive military use as part of the Limestone 

Hills Training Area, Montana, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 23, 2013 

Mr. DAINES (for himself and Mr. BISHOP of Utah) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in 

addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 

provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

JUNE 24, 2013 

Additional sponsor: Mr. AMODEI

JUNE 24, 2013 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

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

JUNE 24, 2013 

The Committee on Armed Services discharged; committed to the Committee 

of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 23, 2013] 


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A BILL 

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands administered 

by the Bureau of Land Management for exclusive military use as part of the Limestone Hills Training Area, 

Montana, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Limestone Hills Train5 ing Area Withdrawal Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF PUBLIC LANDS 

7 FOR LIMESTONE HILLS TRAINING AREA, MON8 TANA. 

9 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights 

10 and except as provided in this Act, the public lands and 

11 interests in lands described in subsection (c), and all other 

12 areas within the boundaries of such lands as depicted on 

13 the map provided for by subsection (d) that may become 

14 subject to the operation of the public land laws, are hereby 

15 withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the pub16 lic land laws, including the mining laws and the mineral 

17 leasing and geothermal leasing laws. 

18 (b) RESERVATION; PURPOSE.—Subject to the limita19 tions and restrictions contained in section 4, the public 

20 lands withdrawn by subsection (a) are reserved for use by 

21 the Secretary of the Army for the following purposes: 

22 (1) The conduct of training for active and re23 serve components of the Armed Forces. 


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1 (2) The construction, operation, and mainte2 nance of organizational support and maintenance fa3 cilities for component units conducting training. 

4 (3) The conduct of training by the Montana De5 partment of Military Affairs, except that any such 

6 use may not interfere with purposes specified in 

7 paragraphs (1) and (2). 

8 (4) The conduct of training by State and local 

9 law enforcement agencies, civil defense organizations, 

10 and public education institutions, except that any 

11 such use may not interfere with military training ac12 tivities. 

13 (5) Other defense-related purposes consistent 

14 with the purposes specified in the preceding para15 graphs. 

16 (c) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The public lands and inter17 ests in lands withdrawn and reserved by this section com18 prise approximately 18,644 acres in Broadwater County, 

19 Montana, as generally depicted as ‘‘Proposed Land With20 drawal’’ on the map titled ‘‘Limestone Hills Training Area 

21 Land Withdrawal’’, dated April 10, 2013. 

22 (d) LEGAL DESCRIPTION AND MAP.— 

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

24 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

25 the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a 


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1 legal description of the public land withdrawn under 

2 subsection (a) and a copy of a map depicting the 

3 legal description of the withdrawn land. 

4 (2) FORCE OF LAW.—The legal description and 

5 map published under paragraph (1) shall have the 

6 same force and effect as if included in this Act, except 

7 that the Secretary of the Interior may correct errors 

8 in the legal description. 

9 (3) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—The Secretary 

10 of the Army shall reimburse the Secretary of the Inte11 rior for any costs incurred by the Secretary of the In12 terior in implementing this subsection. 

13 (e) INDIAN TRIBES.—Nothing in this Act shall be con14 strued as altering any rights reserved for an Indian tribe 

15 for tribal use of lands within the military land withdrawal 

16 by treaty or Federal law. The Secretary of the Army shall 

17 consult with any Indian tribes in the vicinity of the mili18 tary land withdrawal before taking action within the mili19 tary land withdrawal affecting tribal rights or cultural re20 sources protected by treaty or Federal law. 

21 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN AND RESERVED 

22 LANDS. 

23 During the period of the withdrawal and reservation 

24 specified in section 6, the Secretary of the Army shall man25 age the public lands withdrawn by section 2 for the purVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Jun 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1672.RH H1672

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1 poses specified in subsection (b) of such section, subject to 

2 the limitations and restrictions contained in section 4. 

3 SEC. 4. SPECIAL RULES GOVERNING MINERALS MANAGE4 MENT. 

5 (a) INDIAN CREEK MINE.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Of the lands withdrawn by 

7 section 2, locatable mineral activities in the approved 

8 Indian Creek Mine plan of operations, MTM–78300, 

9 shall be regulated pursuant to subparts 3715 and 

10 3809 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations. Of the 

11 lands withdrawn by section 2, the land area subject 

12 to the approved plan of operations shall permanently 

13 remain open to the amendment or relocation of min14 ing claims (or both) under the Act of May 10, 1872 

15 (commonly known as the General Mining Act of 1872; 

16 30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.) to the extent necessary to pre17 serve the mining operations described in the approved 

18 plan of operations. 

19 (2) RESTRICTIONS ON SECRETARY OF THE

20 ARMY.—The Secretary of the Army shall make no de21 termination that the disposition of or exploration for 

22 minerals as provided for in the approved plan of op23 erations is inconsistent with the defense-related uses of 

24 the lands covered by the military land withdrawal. 

25 The coordination of such disposition of and exploVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Jun 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1672.RH H1672

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1 ration for minerals with defense-related uses of such 

2 lands shall be determined pursuant to procedures in 

3 an agreement provided for under subsection (c). 

4 (b) REMOVAL OF UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE ON LANDS

5 TO BE MINED.— 

6 (1) REMOVAL ACTIVITIES.—Subject to the avail7 ability of funds appropriated for such purpose, the 

8 Secretary of the Army shall remove unexploded ord9 nance on lands withdrawn by section 2 that are sub10 ject to mining under subsection (a), consistent with 

11 applicable Federal and State law. The Secretary of 

12 the Army may engage in such removal of unexploded 

13 ordnance in phases to accommodate the development 

14 of the Indian Creek Mine pursuant to subsection (a). 

15 (2) REPORT ON REMOVAL ACTIVITIES.—The Sec16 retary of the Army shall annually submit to the Sec17 retary of the Interior a report regarding the 

18 unexploded ordnance removal activities for the pre19 vious fiscal year performed pursuant to this sub20 section. The report shall include— 

21 (A) the amounts of funding expended for 

22 unexploded ordnance removal on the lands with23 drawn by section 2; and 


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1 (B) the identification of the lands cleared of 

2 unexploded ordnance and approved for mining 

3 activities by the Secretary of the Interior. 

4 (c) IMPLEMENTATION AGREEMENT FOR MINING AC5 TIVITIES.—The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary 

6 of the Army shall enter into an agreement to implement 

7 this section with regard to coordination of defense-related 

8 uses and mining and the ongoing removal of unexploded 

9 ordnance. The duration of the agreement shall be the same 

10 as the period of the withdrawal under section 2, but may 

11 be amended from time to time. The agreement shall provide 

12 the following: 

13 (1) That Graymont Western US, Inc., or any 

14 successor or assign of the approved Indian Creek 

15 Mine mining plan of operations, MTM–78300, is in16 vited to be a party to the agreement. 

17 (2) Provisions regarding the day-to-day joint-use 

18 of the Limestone Hills Training Area. 

19 (3) Provisions addressing when military and 

20 other authorized uses of the withdrawn lands will 

21 occur. 

22 (4) Provisions regarding when and where mili23 tary use or training with explosive material will 

24 occur. 


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1 (5) Provisions regarding the scheduling of train2 ing activities conducted within the withdrawn area 

3 that restrict mining activities and procedures for 

4 deconfliction with mining operations, including pa5 rameters for notification and sanction of anticipated 

6 changes to the schedule. 

7 (6) Provisions regarding liability and compensa8 tion for damages or injury caused by mining or mili9 tary training activities. 

10 (7) Provisions for periodic review of the agree11 ment for its adequacy, effectiveness, and need for revi12 sion. 

13 (8) Procedures for access through mining oper14 ations covered by this section to training areas within 

15 the boundaries of the Limestone Hills Training Area. 

16 (9) Procedures for scheduling of the removal of 

17 unexploded ordnance. 

18 (d) EXISTING MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—Until 

19 such time as the agreement required under subsection (c) 

20 becomes effective, the compatible joint use of the lands with21 drawn and reserved by section 2 shall be governed, to the 

22 extent compatible, by the terms of the 2005 Memorandum 

23 of Agreement among the Montana Army National Guard, 

24 Graymont Western US Inc. and the Bureau of Land Man25 agement. 


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1 SEC. 5. GRAZING. 

2 (a) ISSUANCE AND ADMINISTRATION OF PERMITS AND

3 LEASES.—The issuance and administration of grazing per4 mits and leases, including their renewal, on the public 

5 lands withdrawn by section 2 shall be managed by the Sec6 retary of the Interior consistent with all applicable laws, 

7 regulations, and policies of the Secretary of the Interior re8 lating to such permits and leases. 

9 (b) SAFETY REQUIREMENTS.—With respect to any 

10 grazing permit or lease issued after the date of the enact11 ment of this Act for lands withdrawn by section 2, the Sec12 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Army shall 

13 jointly establish procedures that are consistent with Depart14 ment of the Army explosive and range safety standards and 

15 that provide for the safe use of any such lands. 

16 (c) ASSIGNMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior may, 

17 with the agreement of the Secretary of the Army, assign 

18 the authority to issue and to administer grazing permits 

19 and leases to the Secretary of the Army, except that such 

20 an assignment may not include the authority to discontinue 

21 grazing on the lands withdrawn by section 2. 

22 SEC. 6. DURATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION. 

23 The military land withdrawal made by section 2 shall 

24 terminate on March 31, 2039. 


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1 SEC. 7. PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES. 

2 The lands withdrawn by section 2 shall remain eligible 

3 as entitlement land under 31 U.S.C. 6901. 

4 SEC. 8. HUNTING, FISHING AND TRAPPING. 

5 All hunting, fishing and trapping on the lands with6 drawn by section 2 shall be conducted in accordance with 

7 the provisions of 10 U.S.C. 2671. 

8 SEC. 9. WATER RIGHTS. 

9 (a) WATER RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act shall be con10 strued— 

11 (1) to establish a reservation in favor of the 

12 United States with respect to any water or water 

13 right on lands withdrawn by section 2; or 

14 (2) to authorize the appropriation of water on 

15 lands withdrawn by section 2 except in accordance 

16 with applicable State law. 

17 (b) EFFECT ON PREVIOUSLY ACQUIRED OR RESERVED

18 WATER RIGHTS.—This section shall not be construed to af19 fect any water rights acquired or reserved by the United 

20 States before the date of the enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 10. BRUSH AND RANGE FIRE PREVENTION AND SUP22 PRESSION. 

23 (a) REQUIRED ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary of the 

24 Army shall, consistent with any applicable land manage25 ment plan, take necessary precautions to prevent, and ac26 tions to suppress, brush and range fires occurring as a reVerDate Mar 15 2010 22:13 Jun 24, 2013 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1672.RH H1672

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1 sult of military activities on the lands withdrawn and re2 served by section 2, including fires outside those lands that 

3 spread from the withdrawn land and which occurred as a 

4 result of such activities. 

5 (b) COOPERATION OF SECRETARY OF THE INTE6 RIOR.—At the request of the Secretary of the Army, the Sec7 retary of the Interior shall provide assistance in the sup8 pression of such fires and shall be reimbursed for such as9 sistance by the Secretary of the Army. Notwithstanding 10 

10 U.S.C. 2215, the Secretary of the Army may transfer to 

11 the Secretary of the Interior, in advance, funds to reimburse 

12 the costs of the Department of the Interior in providing such 

13 assistance. 

14 SEC. 11. ON-GOING DECONTAMINATION. 

15 During the withdrawal and reservation authorized by 

16 section 2, the Secretary of the Army shall maintain, to the 

17 extent funds are available for such purpose, a program of 

18 decontamination of contamination caused by defense-re19 lated uses on such lands consistent with applicable Federal 

20 and State law. The Secretary of Defense shall include a de21 scription of such decontamination activities in the annual 

22 report required by section 10 U.S.C. 2711. 


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1 SEC. 12. APPLICATION FOR RENEWAL OF A WITHDRAWAL 

2 AND RESERVATION. 

3 (a) NOTICE.—To the extent practicable, no later than 

4 five years before the termination of the withdrawal and res5 ervation made by section 2, the Secretary of the Army shall 

6 notify the Secretary of the Interior whether the Secretary 

7 of the Army will have a continuing defense-related need for 

8 any of the lands withdrawn and reserved by section 2 after 

9 the termination date of such withdrawal and reservation. 

10 The Secretary of the Army shall provide a copy of the notice 

11 to the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 

12 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com13 mittee on Armed Services and the Committee on Natural 

14 Resources of the House of Representatives. 

15 (b) FILING FOR EXTENSION.—If the Secretary of the 

16 Army concludes that there will be a continuing defense-re17 lated need for any of the withdrawn and reserved lands 

18 after the termination date, the Secretary of the Army shall 

19 file an application for extension of the withdrawal and res20 ervation of such needed lands in accordance with the regula21 tions and procedures of the Department of the Interior ap22 plicable to the extension of withdrawals and reservations. 

23 SEC. 13. LIMITATION ON SUBSEQUENT AVAILABILITY OF 

24 LANDS FOR APPROPRIATION. 

25 At the time of termination of a withdrawal and res26 ervation made by section 2, the previously withdrawn lands 


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1 shall not be open to any form of appropriation under the 

2 public land laws, including the mining laws and the min3 eral leasing and geothermal leasing laws, until the Sec4 retary of the Interior publishes in the Federal Register an 

5 appropriate order specifying the date upon which such 

6 lands shall be restored to the public domain and opened 

7 for such purposes. 

8 SEC. 14. RELINQUISHMENT. 

9 (a) NOTICE OF INTENTION TO RELINQUISH.—If, dur10 ing the period of withdrawal and reservation under section 

11 2, the Secretary of the Army decides to relinquish any or 

12 all of the lands withdrawn and reserved, the Secretary of 

13 the Army shall file a notice of intention to relinquish with 

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTAMINATION.—As a part 

16 of the notice under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Army 

17 shall include a written determination concerning whether 

18 and to what extent the lands that are to be relinquished 

19 are contaminated with explosive materials or toxic or haz20 ardous substances. 

21 (c) PUBLIC NOTICE.—The Secretary of the Interior 

22 shall publish in the Federal Register the notice of intention 

23 to relinquish, including the determination concerning the 

24 contaminated state of the lands. 


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1 (d) DECONTAMINATION OF LANDS TO BE RELIN2 QUISHED.— 

3 (1) If land subject of a notice of intention to re4 linquish pursuant to subsection (a) is contaminated, 

5 and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 

6 the Secretary of the Army, determines that decon7 tamination is practicable and economically feasible 

8 (taking into consideration the potential future use 

9 and value of the land) and that, upon decontamina10 tion, the land could be opened to operation of some 

11 or all of the public land laws, including the mining 

12 laws and the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing 

13 laws, the Secretary of the Army shall decontaminate 

14 the land to the extent that funds are appropriated for 

15 such purpose. 

16 (2) If the Secretary of the Interior, after con17 sultation with the Secretary of the Army, concludes 

18 that decontamination of land subject of a notice of in19 tention to relinquish pursuant to subsection (a) is not 

20 practicable or economically feasible, or that the land 

21 cannot be decontaminated sufficiently to be opened to 

22 operation of some or all of the public land laws, or 

23 if Congress does not appropriate sufficient funds for 

24 the decontamination of such land, the Secretary of the 


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1 Interior shall not be required to accept the land pro2 posed for relinquishment. 

3 (3) If the Secretary of the Interior declines to ac4 cept the lands that have been proposed for relinquish5 ment because of their contaminated state, or if at the 

6 expiration of the withdrawal and reservation made by 

7 section 2 the Secretary of the Interior determines that 

8 some of the lands withdrawn and reserved are con9 taminated to an extent which prevents opening such 

10 contaminated lands to operation of the public land 

11 laws— 

12 (A) the Secretary of the Army shall take ap13 propriate steps to warn the public of the con14 taminated state of such lands and any risks as15 sociated with entry onto such lands; 

16 (B) after the expiration of the withdrawal 

17 and reservation, the Secretary of the Army shall 

18 undertake no activities on such lands except in 

19 connection with decontamination of such lands; 

20 and 

21 (C) the Secretary of the Army shall report 

22 to the Secretary of the Interior and to the Con23 gress concerning the status of such lands and all 

24 actions taken in furtherance of this paragraph. 


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1 (e) REVOCATION AUTHORITY.—Upon deciding that it 

2 is in the public interest to accept the lands proposed for 

3 relinquishment pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of 

4 the Interior may order the revocation of the withdrawal and 

5 reservation made by section 2 as it applies to such lands. 

6 The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal 

7 Register the revocation order, which shall— 

8 (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation; 

9 (2) constitute official acceptance of the lands by 

10 the Secretary of the Interior; and 

11 (3) state the date upon which the lands will be 

12 opened to the operation of some or all of the public 

13 land laws, including the mining laws. 

14 (f) ACCEPTANCE BY SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.— 

15 Nothing in this section shall be construed to require the Sec16 retary of the Interior to accept the lands proposed for relin17 quishment if the Secretary determines that such lands are 

18 not suitable for return to the public domain. If the Sec19 retary makes such a determination, the Secretary shall pro20 vide notice of the determination to Congress. 


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Union Calendar No. 86 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1672 

[Report No. 113–121, Part I] 

A BILL 

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands adother purposes. stone Hills Training Area, Montana, and for for exclusive military use as part of the Lime- ministered by the Bureau of Land Management 

JUNE 24, 2013 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with 

J

an amendment 

UNE 24, 2013 

The Committee on Armed Services discharged; committed 

the Union and ordered to be printed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 


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