II 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2788 

To direct the exchange of certain land in Grand, San Juan and Uintah 

Counties, Utah, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2006 

Mr. BENNETT (for himself and Mr. HATCH) introduced the following bill; 

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

A BILL 

To direct the exchange of certain land in Grand, San Juan 

and Uintah Counties, Utah, 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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Utah Recreational 

5 Land Exchange Act of 2006’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the area surrounding the Colorado River in 

9 Grand and San Juan Counties, Utah, and Dinosaur 

10 National Monument and the Book Cliffs in Uintah 


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1 County, Utah, contains nationally recognized scenic 

2 vistas, significant archaeological and historic re3 sources, valuable wildlife habitat, and outstanding 

4 opportunities for public recreation that are enjoyed 

5 by hundreds of thousands of people annually; 

6 (2) the State of Utah owns multiple parcels of 

7 land in the area that were granted to the State 

8 under the Act of July 16, 1894 (28 Stat. 107, chap9 ter 138), to be held in trust for the benefit of the 

10 public school system and other public institutions of 

11 the State; 

12 (3) the parcels of State trust land are largely 

13 scattered in checkerboard fashion amid the Federal 

14 land comprising the area of the Colorado River cor15 ridor, the Dinosaur National Monument, and the 

16 Book Cliffs; 

17 (4) the State trust land in the area of the Colo18 rado River corridor, Dinosaur National Monument, 

19 and the Book Cliffs includes significant natural and 

20 recreational features, including— 

21 (A) portions of Westwater Canyon of the 

22 Colorado River; 

23 (B) the nationally recognized Kokopelli 

24 and Slickrock trails; 


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1 (C) several of the largest natural rock 

2 arches in the United States; 

3 (D) multiple wilderness study areas and 

4 proposed wilderness areas; and 

5 (E) viewsheds for Arches National Park 

6 and Dinosaur National Monument; 

7 (5) the large presence of State trust land lo8 cated in the Colorado River corridor, Dinosaur Na9 tional Monument, and the Book Cliffs area makes 

10 land and resource management in the area more dif11 ficult, costly, and controversial for the United States 

12 and the State of Utah; 

13 (6) although the State trust land was granted 

14 to the State to generate financial support for public 

15 schools in the State through the sale or development 

16 of natural resources, development of those resources 

17 in the Colorado River corridor, Dinosaur National 

18 Monument, and the Book Cliffs area may be incom19 patible with managing the area for recreational, nat20 ural, and scenic resources; 

21 (7) the United States owns land and interests 

22 in land in other parts of the State of Utah that can 

23 be transferred to the State in exchange for the State 

24 trust land without jeopardizing Federal management 

25 objectives or needs; and 


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1 (8) it is in the public interest to exchange feder2 ally owned land in the State for the Utah State trust 

3 land located in the Colorado River Corridor, Dino4 saur National Monument, and the Book Cliffs area, 

5 on terms that are fair to the United States and the 

6 State of Utah. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to direct, 

8 facilitate, and expedite the exchange of certain Federal 

9 land and non-Federal land in the State to further the pub10 lic interest by— 

11 (1) exchanging Federal land that has limited 

12 recreational and conservation resources; and 

13 (2) acquiring State trust land with important 

14 recreational, scenic, and conservation resources for 

15 permanent public management and use. 

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

17 In this Act: 

18 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

19 means the land located in Grand, San Juan, and 

20 Uintah Counties, Utah, that is identified on the 

21 maps as— 

22 (A) ‘‘BLM Subsurface only Proposed for 

23 Transfer to State Trust Lands’’; 

24 (B) ‘‘BLM Surface only Proposed for 

25 Transfer to State Trust Lands’’; and 


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1 (C) ‘‘BLM Lands Proposed for Transfer to 

2 State Trust Lands’’. 

3 (2) GRAND COUNTY MAP.—The term ‘‘Grand 

4 County Map’’ means the map prepared by the Bu5 reau of Land Management entitled ‘‘Utah Rec6 reational Land Exchange Act Grand County’’ and 

7 dated øllll¿. 

8 (3) MAPS.—The term ‘‘maps’’ means the Grand 

9 County Map and the Uintah County Map. 

10 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed11 eral land’’ means the land in Grand, San Juan, and 

12 Uintah Counties, Utah, that is identified on the 

13 maps as— 

14 (A) ‘‘State Trust Land Proposed for 

15 Transfer to BLM’’; and 

16 (B) ‘‘State Trust Minerals Proposed for 

17 Transfer to BLM’’. 

18 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

19 the Secretary of the Interior. 

20 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 

21 of Utah, as trustee under the Utah State School and 

22 Institutional Trust Lands Management Act (Utah 

23 Code Ann. 53C–1–101 et seq.). 

24 (7) UINTAH COUNTY MAP.—The term ‘‘Uintah 

25 County Map’’ means the map prepared by the BuVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:24 May 13, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2788.IS S2788

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1 reau of Land Management entitled ‘‘Utah Rec2 reational Land Exchange Act Uintah County’’ and 

3 dated øllll¿. 

4 SEC. 4. EXCHANGE OF LAND. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, if, not later than 30 days after the date of 

7 enactment of this Act, the State offers to convey to the 

8 United States title to the non-Federal land, the Secretary 

9 shall— 

10 (1) accept the offer; and 

11 (2) on receipt of acceptable title to the non12 Federal land and subject to valid existing rights, 

13 convey to the State all right, title, and interest of 

14 the United States in and to the Federal land. 

15 (b) CONVEYANCE OF PARCELS IN PHASES.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding that ap17 praisals for all of the parcels of Federal land and 

18 non-Federal land may not have been completed 

19 under section 5, parcels of the Federal land and 

20 non-Federal land may be exchanged under sub21 section (a) in 3 phases beginning on the date on 

22 which the appraised values of the parcels included in 

23 the the applicable phase are approved under section 

24 5(b)(5). 


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1 (2) PHASES.—The 3 phases referred to in para2 graph (1) are— 

3 (A) phase 1, consisting of the non-Federal 

4 land identified as ‘‘phase one’’ land on the 

5 Grand County Map; 

6 (B) phase 2, consisting of the non-Federal 

7 land identified as ‘‘phase two’’ land on the 

8 Grand County Map and the Uintah County 

9 Map; and 

10 (C) phase 3, consisting of any remaining 

11 non-Federal land that is not identified as 

12 ‘‘phase one’’ land or ‘‘phase two’’ land on the 

13 Grand County Map or the Uintah County Map. 

14 (3) NO AGREEMENT ON EXCHANGE.—If agree15 ment has not been reached with respect to the ex16 change of an individual parcel of Federal land or 

17 non-Federal land, the Secretary and the State may 

18 agree to set aside the individual parcel to allow the 

19 exchange of the other parcels of Federal land and 

20 non-Federal land to proceed. 

21 (c) APPURTENANT WATER RIGHTS.—Any convey22 ance of a parcel of Federal land or non-Federal land under 

23 this Act shall include the conveyance of water rights ap24 purtenant to the parcel conveyed. 

25 (d) TIMING.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para2 graphs (2) and (3), the exchange of land authorized 

3 by subsection (a) shall be completed not later than 

4 330 days after the date on which the State makes 

5 the Secretary an offer to convey the non-Federal 

6 land under that subsection. 

7 (2) EXCEPTION.—The deadline established 

8 under paragraph (1) shall not apply to a parcel of 

9 land, the value of which is being determined under 

10 section 5(b)(6)(C). 

11 (3) EXTENSION.—The Secretary and the State 

12 may mutually agree to extend the deadline specified 

13 in paragraph (1). 

14 SEC. 5. EXCHANGE VALUATION, APPRAISALS, AND EQUALI15 ZATION. 

16 (a) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.—The value of the 

17 Federal land and non-Federal land to be exchanged under 

18 this Act— 

19 (1) shall be equal; or 

20 (2) shall be made equal in accordance with sub21 section (c). 

22 (b) APPRAISALS.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The value of the Federal 

24 land and the non-Federal land shall be determined 

25 by appraisals conducted in accordance with— 


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1 (A) section 206(d) of the Federal Land 

2 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

3 1716(d)); and 

4 (B) section 2201.3 of title 43, Code of 

5 Federal Regulations (or successor regulations). 

6 (2) SELECTION OF APPRAISER.—The appraisals 

7 of the Federal land and non-Federal land shall be 

8 conducted by 1 or more independent third-party ap9 praisers selected jointly by the Secretary and the 

10 State. 

11 (3) COSTS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the 

13 State shall share third-party appraisal costs 

14 equally. 

15 (B) ADJUSTMENT.—The Secretary and the 

16 State may agree to adjust the relative value of 

17 the Federal land and non-Federal land to be ex18 changed under this Act if the Secretary or the 

19 State has paid a disproportionate share of the 

20 third-party appraisal costs. 

21 (4) VALUATION OF UNLEASED FEDERAL LAND; 

22 REVENUE SHARING.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any parcel of Federal 

24 land that, as of the date of appraisal, is not 

25 leased under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 


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1 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), shall be appraised without 

2 regard to the presence of minerals subject to 

3 lease under that Act, if, after conveyance of the 

4 applicable parcel to the State, the State agrees 

5 to pay to the United States— 

6 (i) 50 percent of any bonus or rental 

7 payments (in the form of money or other 

8 consideration) that the State receives for 

9 the disposition of any interest in the min10 erals after the date of conveyance; and 

11 (ii) an amount equal to— 

12 (I) the fraction of gross proceeds 

13 from mineral production (in the form 

14 of money or other consideration) to 

15 which the United States would have 

16 been entitled as a production royalty 

17 if the land had been— 

18 (aa) retained by the United 

19 States; and 

20 (bb) leased under the provi21 sions of that Act in effect on the 

22 date of this Act; minus 

23 (II) the portion of production 

24 royalties that would otherwise be pay25 able to the State under section 35 of 


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1 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

2 191). 

3 (B) OBLIGATION AS COVENANT.—The obli4 gation of the State to pay bonus, rental, and 

5 royalty revenues to the United States under 

6 subparagraph (A) shall be a permanent cov7 enant running with the applicable parcel of 

8 Federal land conveyed to the State. 

9 (5) REVIEW AND APPROVAL.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 120 

11 days after the date on which the appraiser is 

12 selected under paragraph (2), the appraiser 

13 shall submit to the Secretary and the State a 

14 copy of the completed appraisals for review. 

15 (B) APPROVAL OR DISAPPROVAL.—Not 

16 later than 90 days after the date of receipt of 

17 an appraisal under subparagraph (A), the Sec18 retary and the State shall independently ap19 prove or disapprove the appraisal. 

20 (6) DETERMINATION OF VALUE.— 

21 (A) DETERMINATION BY SECRETARY AND

22 STATE.—If the Secretary and the State are un23 able to agree on the value of a parcel of land, 

24 the value of the parcel may be determined by 

25 the Secretary and the State in accordance with 


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1 paragraphs (2) and (4) of section 206(d) of the 

2 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

3 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)). 

4 (B) VALUATION OF LEASED FEDERAL

5 LAND.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—If value is attrib7 uted to any parcel of Federal land because 

8 of the presence of minerals subject to leas9 ing under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

10 U.S.C. 191 et seq.), and the parcel is sub11 ject to an existing lease under that Act, 

12 the value of the parcel shall be equal to the 

13 value of the parcel as determined under 

14 this section, as adjusted under clause (ii). 

15 (ii) ADJUSTMENT.— 

16 (I) IN GENERAL.—The value of 

17 the parcel subject to a lease under 

18 clause (i) shall be reduced by the per19 centage of the Federal revenue shar20 ing obligation under section 35(a) of 

21 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

22 191(a)). 

23 (II) NO PROPERTY RIGHT.—An 

24 adjustment under subclause (I) shall 


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1 not be considered to be a property 

2 right of the State. 

3 (C) DETERMINATION BY COURT.— 

4 (i) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding 

5 any other provision of law, if the Secretary 

6 and the State have not agreed on the value 

7 of a parcel by the date that is 1 year after 

8 the date of enactment of this Act, a Fed9 eral district court (including the United 

10 States District Court for the District of 

11 Utah, Central Division) shall have jurisdic12 tion to determine the value of the parcel. 

13 (ii) LIMITATION.—An action to deter14 mine the value of a parcel under clause (i) 

15 shall be brought not earlier than 1 year, 

16 but not more than 3 years, after the date 

17 of enactment of this Act. 

18 (D) AVAILABILITY OF APPRAISALS.— 

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—All final appraisals, 

20 appraisal reviews, and determinations of 

21 value for land to be exchanged under this 

22 Act shall be available for public review at 

23 the Utah State Office of the Bureau of 

24 Land Management at least 30 days before 

25 the conveyance of the applicable parcels. 


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1 (ii) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary 

2 shall publish in a newspaper of general cir3 culation in Salt Lake County, Utah, a no4 tice that the appraisals are available for 

5 public inspection. 

6 (c) EQUALIZATION OF VALUES.— 

7 (1) SURPLUS OF NON-FEDERAL LAND.—If after 

8 completion of the appraisal and dispute resolution 

9 process under subsection (b), the value of the non10 Federal land exceeds the value of the Federal land— 

11 (A) the Secretary may, to the extent con12 sistent with other applicable laws (including 

13 regulations), offer to convey to the State, in 

14 partial exchange for the non-Federal land, any 

15 Federal land in the State that— 

16 (i) is mutually selected by the Sec17 retary and the State; 

18 (ii) the Secretary has identified as 

19 suitable for disposal in a resource manage20 ment plan prepared under the Federal 

21 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

22 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

23 (B) the State, after consultation with the 

24 Secretary, may remove parcels of non-Federal 


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1 land from the exchange until the value of the 

2 Federal land and non-Federal land is equal. 

3 (2) SURPLUS OF FEDERAL LAND.—If after 

4 completion of the appraisal and dispute resolution 

5 process under subsection (b), the value of the Fed6 eral land exceeds the value of the non-Federal land, 

7 the value of the Federal land and non-Federal land 

8 may be equalized by— 

9 (A) the Secretary, after consultation with 

10 the State, removing parcels of Federal land 

11 from the exchange until the value is equal; or 

12 (B) the Secretary and the State adding ad13 ditional State trust land to the non-Federal 

14 land, if— 

15 (i) the additional land has been ap16 praised in accordance with an ongoing 

17 Federal acquisition process or program; 

18 and 

19 (ii) the appraised value (as deter20 mined under clause (i)) has been accepted 

21 by the Secretary. 

22 (3) NOTICE AND PUBLIC INSPECTION.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary and 

24 the State determine to add or remove land from 

25 the exchange, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (i) publish in a newspaper of general 

2 circulation in Salt Lake County, Utah, a 

3 notice that identifies when and where a re4 vised exchange map will be available for 

5 public inspection; and 

6 (ii) transmit to the Committee on En7 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

8 and the Committee on Resources of the 

9 House of Representatives a copy of the re10 vised exchange map. 

11 (B) LIMITATION.—The Secretary and the 

12 State shall not add or remove land from the ex13 change until at least 20 days after the date on 

14 which the notice is published under subpara15 graph (A)(i) and the map is transmitted under 

16 subparagraph (A)(ii). 

17 (d) RESOURCE REPORT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to each parcel 

19 of Federal land to be conveyed to the State, the Sec20 retary shall prepare a report, based on resource in21 ventories and information in existence on the date 

22 on which the report is prepared, that identifies any 

23 significant resource values, issues, or management 

24 concerns associated with the parcel. 


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1 (2) NOTICE AND INSPECTION.—A report shall 

2 be subject to the public notice and inspection in ac3 cordance with subsection (b)(6)(D). 

4 SEC. 6. STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND AFTER EX5 CHANGE. 

6 (a) ADMINISTRATION OF NON-FEDERAL LAND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2) 

8 and in accordance with section 206(c) of the Federal 

9 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

10 U.S.C. 1716(c)), the non-Federal land acquired by 

11 the United States under this Act shall become part 

12 of, and be managed as part of, the Federal adminis13 trative unit or area in which the land is located. 

14 (2) MINERAL LEASING AND OCCUPANCY.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid exist16 ing rights, the non-Federal land acquired by the 

17 United States under this Act shall be with18 drawn from the operation of the mineral leasing 

19 and mineral material disposal laws until the 

20 later of— 

21 (i) the date that is 2 years after the 

22 date of enactment of this Act; or 

23 (ii) the date on which the Record of 

24 Decision authorizing the implementation of 

25 the applicable resource management plans 


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1 under section 202 of the Federal Land 

2 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

3 U.S.C. 1712) is signed. 

4 (B) EXCEPTION.—Any land identified on 

5 the maps as ‘‘Withdrawal Parcels’’ is with6 drawn from the operation of the mineral leasing 

7 and mineral material disposal laws. 

8 (3) RECEIPTS.— 

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any receipts derived 

10 from the non-Federal land acquired under this 

11 Act shall be paid into the general fund of the 

12 Treasury. 

13 (B) APPLICABLE LAW.—Mineral receipts 

14 from the non-Federal land acquired under this 

15 Act shall not be subject to section 35 of the 

16 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191). 

17 (b) WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LAND PRIOR TO EX18 CHANGE.—Subject to valid existing rights, during the pe19 riod beginning on the date of enactment of this Act and 

20 ending on the earlier of the date that is 3 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act or the date on which the 

22 Federal land is conveyed under this Act, the Federal land 

23 is withdrawn from— 

24 (1) disposition (other than disposition under 

25 section 4) under the public land laws; 


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1 (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining 

2 laws; and 

3 (3) the operation of— 

4 (A) the mineral leasing laws; 

5 (B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

6 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.); and 

7 (C) the first section of the Act of July 31, 

8 1947 (commonly known as the ‘‘Materials Act 

9 of 1947’’) (30 U.S.C. 601). 

10 (c) GRAZING PERMITS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—If land acquired under this 

12 Act is subject to a lease, permit, or contract for the 

13 grazing of domestic livestock in effect on the date of 

14 acquisition, the person or entity acquiring the land 

15 shall allow the grazing to continue for the remainder 

16 of the term of the lease, permit, or contract, subject 

17 to the related terms and conditions of user agree18 ments, including permitted stocking rates, grazing 

19 fee levels, access rights, and ownership and use of 

20 range improvements. 

21 (2) RENEWAL.—To the extent allowed by Fed22 eral or State law, on expiration of any grazing lease, 

23 permit, or contract described in paragraph (1), the 

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1 tled to a preference right to renew the lease, permit, 

2 or contract. 

3 (3) CANCELLATION.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 

5 prevents the Secretary or the State from can6 celing or modifying a grazing permit, lease, or 

7 contract if the land subject to the permit, lease, 

8 or contract is sold, conveyed, transferred, or 

9 leased for nongrazing purposes by the party. 

10 (B) LIMITATION.—Except to the extent 

11 reasonably necessary to accommodate surface 

12 operations in support of mineral development, 

13 the Secretary or the State shall not cancel or 

14 modify a grazing permit, lease, or contract be15 cause the land subject to the permit, lease, or 

16 contract has been leased for mineral develop17 ment. 

18 (4) BASE PROPERTIES.—If land conveyed by 

19 the State under this Act is used by a grazing per20 mittee or lessee to meet the base property require21 ments for a Federal grazing permit or lease, the 

22 land shall continue to qualify as a base property for 

23 the remaining term of the lease or permit and the 

24 term of any renewal or extension of the lease or per25 mit. 


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1 (d) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and, as a con3 dition of the exchange, the State shall make avail4 able for review and inspection any record relating to 

5 hazardous materials on the land to be exchanged 

6 under this Act. 

7 (2) COSTS.—The costs of remedial actions re8 lating to hazardous materials on land acquired 

9 under this Act shall be paid by those entities respon10 sible for the costs under applicable law. 

11 (e) PROVISIONS RELATING TO FEDERAL LAND.— 

12 The exchange of land under this Act shall be considered 

13 to be in the public interest under section 206(a) of the 

14 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

15 U.S.C. 1716(a)). 

16 SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

17 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

18 as are necessary to carry out this Act. 

Æ 


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