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104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1308

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands in the State of California

utilized in the mission of the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, California.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 23, 1995

Mr. HUNTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on National Security,

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

A BILL

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands in the State

of California utilized in the mission of the Naval Air

Facility, El Centro, California.

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘El

5 Centro Naval Air Facility Ranges Withdrawal Act’’.

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Findings and definitions.
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Sec. 3. Withdrawal and reservation of lands for El Centro.

Sec. 4. Maps and legal descriptions.

Sec. 5. Management of withdrawn lands.

Sec. 6. Duration of withdrawal and reservation; process for extension.

Sec. 7. Ongoing decontamination.

Sec. 8. Early relinquishment of withdrawal.

Sec. 9. Delegation.

Sec. 10. Hunting, fishing, and trapping.

Sec. 11. Immunity of United States.

Sec. 12. Termination of prior reclamation withdrawals.

Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS.

2 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

3 (1) the Federal lands within the desert areas of

4 California have provided essential opportunities for

5 military training, research, and development for the

6 Armed Forces of the United States and allied na7 tions;

8 (2) alternative sites for military training and

9 other military activities carried out on Federal lands

10 in the California desert area are not readily avail11 able;

12 (3) while changing world conditions have less13 ened to some extent the immediacy of military

14 threats to the national security of the United States

15 and its allies, there remains a need for military

16 training, research, and development activities of the

17 types that have been carried out on Federal lands in

18 the California desert area; and

19 (4) continuation of existing military training,

20 research, and development activities, under appro-
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1 priate terms and conditions, is not incompatible with

2 the protection and proper management of the natu3 ral, environmental, cultural, and other resources and

4 values of the Federal lands in the California desert

5 area.

6 (b) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this Act:

7 (1) The term ‘‘El Centro’’ means the Naval Air

8 Facility, El Centro, California.

9 (2) The term ‘‘cooperative agreement’’ means

10 the cooperative agreement entered into between the

11 Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Reclama12 tion, and the Department of the Navy, dated June

13 29, 1987, with regard to the defense-related uses of

14 Federal lands to further the mission of El Centro.

15 (3) The term ‘‘relinquishment notice’’ means a

16 notice of intention by the Secretary of the Navy

17 under section 8(a) to relinquish, before the termi18 nation date specified in section 6(a), the withdrawal

19 and reservation of certain lands withdrawn under

20 this Act.

21 SEC. 3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS FOR

22 EL CENTRO.

23 (a) WITHDRAWALS.—Subject to valid existing rights,

24 and except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Federal

25 lands utilized in the mission of the Naval Air Facility, El
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1 Centro, California, that are described in subsection (c) are

2 hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under

3 the public land laws (including the mining laws) but not

4 the mineral or geothermal leasing laws or the mineral ma5 terials sales laws.

6 (b) RESERVATION.—The lands withdrawn under sub7 section (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the

8 Navy—

9 (1) for defense-related purposes in accordance

10 with the Memorandum of Understanding dated June

11 29, 1987, between the Bureau of Land Manage12 ment, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Depart13 ment of the Navy; and

14 (2) subject to the provisions of section 5(e), for

15 other defense-related purposes consistent with the

16 purposes specified in such memorandum.

17 (c) DESCRIPTION OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.—The

18 lands referred to in subsection (a) are—

19 (1) the Federal lands comprising approximately

20 46,600 acres in Imperial County, California, as gen21 erally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Exhibit A, Naval

22 Air Facility, El Centro, California, Land Acquisition

23 Map, Range 2510 (West Mesa)’’ and dated March

24 1993 and a map entitled ‘‘Exhibit B, Naval Air Fa25 cility, El Centro, California, Land Acquisition Map
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1 Range 2512 (East Mesa)’’ and dated March 1993;

2 and

3 (2) and all other areas within the boundaries

4 depicted on such maps that may become subject to

5 the operation of the public land laws.

6 SEC. 4. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

7 (a) PUBLICATION AND FILING REQUIREMENTS.—As

8 soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this

9 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall—

10 (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice

11 containing the legal description of the lands with12 drawn and reserved under this Act; and

13 (2) file maps and the legal description of the

14 lands withdrawn and reserved under this Act with

15 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

16 the Senate and with the Committee on Resources of

17 the House of Representatives.

18 (b) LEGAL EFFECT.—The maps and legal descrip19 tions prepared under subsection (a) shall have the same

20 force and effect as if they were included in this Act, except

21 that the Secretary of the Interior may correct clerical and

22 typographical errors in such maps and legal descriptions.

23 (c) AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Copies

24 of the maps and legal descriptions prepared under sub25 section (a) shall be available for public inspection in—
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1 (1) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of

2 Land Management, Washington, District of Colum3 bia;

4 (2) the Office of the State Director, California

5 State Office of the Bureau of Land Management,

6 Sacramento, California;

7 (3) the Office of the District Manager, Califor8 nia Desert District of the Bureau of Land Manage9 ment, Riverside, California;

10 (4) the Office of the Commanding Officer, Ma11 rine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Arizona;

12 (5) and the Office of the Commending Officer,

13 El Centro.

14 (d) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of Navy shall

15 reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for the cost of im16 plementing this section.

17 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

18 (a) MANAGEMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTE19 RIOR.—During the period of the withdrawal, the Secretary

20 of the Interior shall manage the lands withdrawn under

21 this Act pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Man22 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other

23 applicable law, including this Act. The Secretary of the

24 Interior shall manage such lands in consultation with the

25 Secretary of the Navy.
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1 (b) PERMITTED MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—To the

2 extent consistent with applicable law and Executive orders

3 and the cooperative agreement, the lands withdrawn under

4 this Act may be managed in a manner permitting—

5 (1) protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat;

6 (2) control of predatory and other animals;

7 (3) the prevention and appropriate suppression

8 of brush and range fires resulting from nonmilitary

9 activities; and

10 (4) geothermal leasing and development and re11 lated power production, mineral leasing and develop12 ment, and mineral material sales.

13 (c) CONDITIONS ON NONMILITARY USES.—

14 (1) CONDITIONS AND RESTRICTIONS.—All non15 military use of the lands withdrawn under this Act,

16 including the uses described in subsection (b), shall

17 be subject to such conditions and restrictions as may

18 be necessary to permit the military use of such lands

19 for the purposes specified in or authorized pursuant

20 to this Act.

21 (2) CONCURRENCE OF NAVY.—The Secretary of

22 the Interior may issue a lease, easement, right-of23 way, or other authorization with respect to the non24 military use of such lands only with the concurrence
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1 of the Secretary of the Navy and under the terms

2 of the cooperative agreement.

3 (d) CLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—If the Secretary of the

4 Navy determines that military operations, public safety,

5 or national security require the closure to public use of

6 any road, trail, or other portion of the lands withdrawn

7 under this Act, the Secretary may take such action as the

8 Secretary determines necessary or desirable to effect and

9 maintain such closure. Any such closure shall be limited

10 to the minimum areas and periods which the Secretary

11 of the Navy determines are required to carry out this sub12 section. Before and during any closure under this sub13 section, the Secretary of the Navy shall keep appropriate

14 warning notices posted and take appropriate steps to no15 tify the public concerning such closures.

16 (e) ADDITIONAL MILITARY USES.—Lands withdrawn

17 under this Act may be used for defense-related uses other

18 than those specified in the memorandum of understanding

19 referred to in section 3(b)(1). The Secretary of the Navy

20 shall promptly notify the Secretary of the Interior in the

21 event that the lands withdrawn under this Act will be used

22 for additional defense-related purposes. Such notification

23 shall indicate the additional use or uses involved, the pro24 posed duration of such uses, and the extent to which such

25 additional military uses of the withdrawn lands will re-
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1 quire that additional or more stringent conditions or re2 strictions be imposed on otherwise-permitted nonmilitary

3 uses of all or any portion of the withdrawn land.

4 (f) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—To the extent con5 sistent with this Act, the lands withdrawn under this Act,

6 and minerals within such lands, shall be managed in ac7 cordance with the cooperative agreement. As soon as prac8 ticable after the enactment of this Act, the parties to the

9 cooperative agreement shall revise and amend the coopera10 tive agreement as necessary to implement the provisions

11 of this Act. The term of the cooperative agreement shall

12 be amended so that its duration is at least equal to the

13 duration of the withdrawal made by section 6(a). The co14 operative agreement may be reviewed and amended by the

15 managing agencies as necessary.

16 SEC. 6. DURATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION;

17 PROCESS FOR EXTENSION.

18 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The withdrawal and res19 ervation established under this Act shall terminate 25

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

21 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY

22 NEED.—At least three years before the termination date

23 specified in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall

24 advise the Secretary of the Interior as to whether or not

25 the Secretary of the Navy will have a continuing military
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1 need for any of the lands withdrawn under this Act after

2 the termination date.

3 (c) PROCESS FOR EXTENSION OF WITHDRAWAL AND

4 RESERVATION.—

5 (1) APPLICATION FOR EXTENSION.—If the Sec6 retary of the Navy concludes under subsection (b)

7 that there will be a continuing military need for any

8 of the lands withdrawn under this Act after the ter9 mination date, the Secretary shall file an application

10 for extension of the withdrawal and reservation of

11 such needed lands in accordance with the regulations

12 and procedures of the Department of the Interior

13 applicable to the extension of withdrawals of lands

14 for military uses.

15 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—In

16 connection with the application under paragraph (1),

17 the Secretary of the Navy shall publish an environ18 mental impact statement concerning continued or re19 newed withdrawal of any portion of the lands with20 drawn under this Act for which that Secretary in21 tends to seek such continued or renewed withdrawal.

22 Such environmental impact statement shall be con23 sistent with the requirements of the National Envi24 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et

25 seq.). Prior to the termination date specified in sub-
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1 section (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall hold a

2 public hearing on any draft environmental impact

3 statement published pursuant to this subsection.

4 Such hearing shall be held in the State of California

5 in order to receive public comments on the alter6 natives and other matters included in such draft en7 vironmental impact statement.

8 (3) EXTENSIONS OR RENEWALS BY LAW.—Not9 withstanding paragraph (1), the withdrawal and res10 ervation made under this Act may not be extended

11 or renewed except by a law enacted by Congress

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

13 SEC. 7. ONGOING DECONTAMINATION.

14 (a) PROGRAM.—Throughout the duration of the with15 drawal and reservation made under this Act, the Secretary

16 of the Navy, to the extent funds are made available, shall

17 maintain a program of decontamination of the lands with18 drawn under this Act at least at the level of decontamina19 tion activities performed on such lands in fiscal year 1986.

20 (b) REPORTS.—At the same time as the President

21 transmits to the Congress the President’s proposed budget

22 for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the

23 enactment of this Act and for each subsequent fiscal year,

24 the Secretary of the Navy shall transmit to the Commit25 tees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Energy and
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1 Natural Resources of the Senate and to the Committees

2 on Appropriations, National Security, and Resources of

3 the House of Representatives a description of the decon4 tamination efforts undertaken during the previous fiscal

5 year on such lands and the decontamination activities pro6 posed for such lands during the next fiscal year, includ7 ing—

8 (1) the amounts appropriated and obligated or

9 expended for decontamination of such lands;

10 (2) the methods used to decontaminate such

11 lands;

12 (3) amount and types of contaminants removed

13 from such lands;

14 (4) estimated types and amounts of residual

15 contamination on such lands;

16 (5) an estimate of the costs for full decon17 tamination of such lands; and

18 (6) an estimate of the time required to complete

19 such decontamination.

20 SEC. 8. EARLY RELINQUISHMENT OF WITHDRAWAL.

21 (a) FILING OF RELINQUISHMENT NOTICE.—If, dur22 ing the period of withdrawal and reservation specified in

23 section 6(a), the Secretary of the Navy decides to relin24 quish all or any portion of the lands withdrawn and re25 served under this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall file
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1 a notice of intention to relinquish with the Secretary of

2 the Interior.

3 (b) DETERMINATION OF PRESENCE OF CONTAMINA4 TION.—Before transmitting a relinquishment notice, the

5 Secretary of the Navy shall prepare a written determina6 tion concerning whether and to what extent the lands that

7 are to be relinquished are contaminated with explosive,

8 toxic, or other hazardous materials. A copy of such deter9 mination shall be transmitted with the relinquishment no10 tice. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Fed11 eral Register copies of both the relinquishment notice and

12 the determination concerning the contaminated state of

13 the lands.

14 (c) DECONTAMINATION.—In the case of contami15 nated lands which are the subject of a relinquishment no16 tice, the Secretary of the Navy shall decontaminate the

17 land to the extent that funds are appropriated for such

18 purpose if the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation

19 with the Secretary of the Navy, determines that—

20 (1) decontamination of the lands is practicable

21 and economically feasible, taking into consideration

22 the potential future use and value of the land; and

23 (2) upon decontamination, the land could be

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

25 land laws, including the mining laws.
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1 (d) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this Act

2 shall affect, or be construed to affect, the obligations of

3 the Secretary of the Navy, if any, to decontaminate lands

4 withdrawn under this Act pursuant to applicable law, in5 cluding the Comprehensive Environmental Response Com6 pensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et

7 seq.) and the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901

8 et seq.).

9 (e) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO

10 REFUSE CONTAMINATED LANDS.—The Secretary of the

11 Interior shall not be required to accept lands specified in

12 a relinquishment notice if the Secretary of the Interior,

13 after consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, con14 cludes that—

15 (1) decontamination of any land which is the

16 subject of the relinquishment notice is not prac17 ticable or economically feasible;

18 (2) the land cannot be decontaminated suffi19 ciently to be opened to operation of some or all of

20 the public land laws; or

21 (3) a sufficient amount of funds are not appro22 priated for the decontamination of the land.

23 (f) STATUS OF CONTAMINATED LANDS.—If the Sec24 retary of the Interior declines under subsection (e) to ac25 cept jurisdiction of lands proposed for relinquishment or,
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1 if at the expiration of the withdrawal made under this Act,

2 the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of the

3 lands withdrawn under this Act are contaminated to an

4 extent which prevents opening such contaminated lands to

5 operation of the public land laws—

6 (1) the Secretary of the Navy shall take appro7 priate steps to warn the public of the contaminated

8 state of such lands and any risks associated with

9 entry onto such lands;

10 (2) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the

11 Secretary of the Navy shall undertake no activities

12 on such lands except in connection with decon13 tamination of such lands; and

14 (3) the Secretary of the Navy shall report to

15 the Secretary of the Interior and to the Congress

16 concerning the status of such lands and all actions

17 taken under paragraphs (1) and (2).

18 (g) REVOCATION AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any

19 other provision of law, upon deciding that it is in the pub20 lic interest to accept jurisdiction over lands specified in

21 a relinquishment notice, the Secretary of the Interior may

22 revoke the withdrawal and reservation made under this

23 Act as it applies to such lands. Should the decision be

24 made to revoke the withdrawal and reservation, the Sec-
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1 retary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register

2 an appropriate order which shall—

3 (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;

4 (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdic5 tion over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior;

6 and

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

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

9 land laws, including the mining laws.

10 SEC. 9. DELEGATION.

11 (a) DEPARTMENT OF THE NAVY.—The functions of

12 the Secretary of the Navy under this Act may be dele13 gated.

14 (b) DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR.—The functions of

15 the Secretary of the Interior under this Act may be dele16 gated, except that an order described in section 8(g) may

17 be approved and signed only by the Secretary of the Inte18 rior, the Deputy Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant

19 Secretary of the Department of the Interior.

20 SEC. 10. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

21 All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands with22 drawn under this Act shall be conducted in accordance

23 with section 2671 of title 10, United States Code.
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1 SEC. 11. IMMUNITY OF UNITED STATES.

2 The United States and all departments or agencies

3 of the United States shall be held harmless and shall not

4 be liable for any injury or damage to persons or property

5 suffered in the course of any authorized nonmilitary activ6 ity conducted on lands withdrawn under this Act.

7 SEC. 12. TERMINATION OF PRIOR RECLAMATION WITH8 DRAWALS.

9 Except to the extent that existing Bureau of Rec10 lamation withdrawals of public lands were identified for

11 continuation in Federal Register Notice Document 92–

12 4838 (57 Federal Register 7599, March 3, 1992), as

13 amended by Federal Register Correction Notices (57 Fed14 eral Register 19135, May 4, 1992; 57 Federal Register

15 19163, May 4, 1992; and 58 Federal Register 30181, May

16 26, 1993), all existing Bureau of Reclamation withdrawals

17 made by Secretarial Orders and Public Land Orders af18 fecting public lands and Indian lands located within the

19 California Desert Conservation Area established pursuant

20 to section 601 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage21 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1781) are hereby termi22 nated.

23 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

24 There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as

25 may be necessary to carry out this Act.

Æ
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