I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 256

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands and minerals within the State

of Colorado for military uses, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 4, 1995

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

within the State of Colorado for military uses, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

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

5 ‘‘Fort Carson-Pinon Canyon Military Lands Withdrawal

6 Act’’.

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

8 this Act is as follows:
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Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Withdrawal and reservation of lands at Fort Carson Military Reservation.

Sec. 3. Withdrawal and reservation of lands at Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

Sec. 4. Maps and legal descriptions.

Sec. 5. Management of withdrawn lands.

Sec. 6. Management of withdrawn and acquired mineral resources.

Sec. 7. Hunting, fishing, and trapping.

Sec. 8. Termination of withdrawal and reservation.

Sec. 9. Determination of presence of contamination and effect of contamination.

Sec. 10. Delegation.

Sec. 11. Hold harmless.

Sec. 12. Amendment to Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986.

Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT

2 FORT CARSON MILITARY RESERVATION.

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

4 and except as otherwise provided in this Act, the lands

5 at the Fort Carson Military Reservation, Colorado, that

6 are described in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from

7 all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, in8 cluding the mining laws, the mineral and geothermal leas9 ing laws, and the mineral materials disposal laws.

10 (b) RESERVATION.—The lands withdrawn under sub11 section (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the

12 Army—

13 (1) for military maneuvering, training and

14 weapons firing; and

15 (2) for other defense related purposes consist16 ent with the uses specified in paragraph (1).

17 (c) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The lands referred to in

18 subsection (a) comprise 3,133.02 acres of public land and
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1 11,415.16 acres of federally-owned minerals in El Paso,

2 Pueblo, and Fremont Counties, Colorado, as generally de3 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Fort Carson Proposed With4 drawal—Fort Carson Base’’, dated February 6, 1992, and

5 published in accordance with section 4.

6 SEC. 3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT

7 PINON CANYON MANEUVER SITE.

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

9 and except as otherwise provided in this Act, the lands

10 at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, Colorado, that are

11 described in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all

12 forms of appropriation under the public land laws, includ13 ing the mining laws, the mineral and geothermal leasing

14 laws, and the mineral materials disposal laws.

15 (b) RESERVATION.—The lands withdrawn under sub16 section (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the

17 Army—

18 (1) for military maneuvering and training; and

19 (2) for other defense related purposes consist20 ent with the uses specified in paragraph (1).

21 (c) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The lands referred to in

22 subsection (a) comprise 2,517.12 acres of public lands and

23 130,139 acres of federally-owned minerals in Las Animas

24 County, Colorado, as generally depicted on the map enti25 tled ‘‘Fort Carson Proposed Withdrawal—Fort Carson
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1 Maneuver Area—Pinon Canyon site’’, dated February 6,

2 1992, and published in accordance with section 4.

3 SEC. 4. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

4 (a) PREPARATION OF MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIP5 TION.—As soon as practicable after the date of the enact6 ment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall pre7 pare maps depicting the lands withdrawn and reserved by

8 this Act and publish in the Federal Register a notice con9 taining the legal description of such lands.

10 (b) LEGAL EFFECT.—Such maps and legal descrip11 tions shall have the same force and effect as if they were

12 included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Inte13 rior may correct clerical and typographical errors in such

14 maps and legal descriptions.

15 (c) AVAILABILITY OF MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIP16 TION.—Copies of such maps and legal descriptions shall

17 be available for public inspection in the offices of the Colo18 rado State Director and the Canon City District Manager

19 of the Bureau of Land Management and in the offices of

20 the Commander of Fort Carson, Colorado.

21 (d) COSTS.—The Secretary of the Army shall reim22 burse the Secretary of the Interior for the costs of imple23 menting this section.

24 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

25 (a) MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.—
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1 (1) MANAGEMENT BY SECRETARY OF THE

2 ARMY.—Except as provided in section 6, during the

3 period of withdrawal, the Secretary of the Army

4 shall manage for military purposes the lands covered

5 by this Act and may authorize use of the lands by

6 the other military departments and agencies of the

7 Department of Defense, and the National Guard, as

8 appropriate.

9 (2) ACCESS RESTRICTIONS.—When military op10 erations, public safety, or national security, as deter11 mined by the Secretary of the Army, require the clo12 sure of roads and trails on the lands withdrawn by

13 this Act commonly in public use, the Secretary of

14 the Army is authorized to take such action, except

15 that such closures shall be limited to the minimum

16 areas and periods required for the purposes specified

17 in this subsection. Appropriate warning notices shall

18 be kept posted during closures.

19 (3) SUPPRESSION OF FIRES.—The Secretary of

20 the Army shall take necessary precautions to prevent

21 and suppress brush and range fires occurring within

22 and outside the lands as a result of military activi23 ties and may seek assistance from the Bureau of

24 Land Management in suppressing such fires. The

25 memorandum of understanding required by this sec-
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1 tion shall provide for Bureau of Land Management

2 assistance in the suppression of such fires, and for

3 a transfer of funds from the Department of the

4 Army to the Bureau of Land Management as com5 pensation for such assistance.

6 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

7 (1) DEVELOPMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary

8 of the Army, with the concurrence of the Secretary

9 of the Interior, shall develop a plan for the manage10 ment of acquired lands and lands withdrawn under

11 sections 2 and 3 for the period of withdrawal. The

12 plan shall—

13 (A) be consistent with applicable law;

14 (B) include such provisions as may be nec15 essary for proper resource management and

16 protection of the natural, cultural, and other re17 sources and values of such lands; and

18 (C) identify those withdrawn and acquired

19 lands, if any, which are to be open to mining

20 or mineral and geothermal leasing, including

21 mineral materials disposal.

22 (2) TIME FOR DEVELOPMENT.—The manage23 ment plan required by this subsection shall be devel24 oped not later than 5 years after the date of the en25 actment of this Act.
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1 (c) IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

2 (1) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING RE3 QUIRED.—The Secretary of the Army and the Sec4 retary of the Interior shall enter into a memoran5 dum of understanding to implement the manage6 ment plan developed under subsection (b).

7 (2) DURATION.—The duration of any such

8 memorandum of understanding shall be the same as

9 the period of withdrawal specified in section 8(a).

10 (3) AMENDMENT.—The memorandum of under11 standing may be amended by agreement of both Sec12 retaries.

13 (d) USE OF CERTAIN RESOURCES.—The Secretary of

14 the Army is authorized to utilize sand, gravel, or similar

15 mineral or mineral material resources from the lands with16 drawn by this Act when the use of such resources is re17 quired for construction needs of the Fort Carson Reserva18 tion or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

19 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN AND ACQUIRED

20 MINERAL RESOURCES.

21 Except as provided in section 5(d), the Secretary of

22 the Interior shall manage all withdrawn and acquired min23 eral resources within the boundaries of the Fort Carson

24 Military Reservation and Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site in

25 the same manner as provided in section 12 of the Military
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1 Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–606; 100

2 Stat. 3466) for mining and mineral leasing on certain

3 lands withdrawn by that Act from all forms of appropria4 tion under the public land laws.

5 SEC. 7. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

6 All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands with7 drawn and reserved by this Act shall be conducted in ac8 cordance with section 2671 of title 10, United States

9 Code.

10 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVA11 TION.

12 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The withdrawal and res13 ervation made by this Act shall terminate 15 years after

14 the date of the enactment of this Act.

15 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY

16 NEED.—

17 (1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—At least

18 three years before the termination under subsection

19 (a) of the withdrawal and reservation established by

20 this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall advise the

21 Secretary of the Interior as to whether or not the

22 Department of the Army will have a continuing mili23 tary need for any of the lands after the termination

24 date.
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1 (2) METHOD OF MAKING DETERMINATION.—If

2 the Secretary of the Army concludes under para3 graph (1) that there will be a continuing military

4 need for any of the lands after the termination date

5 established by subsection (a), the Secretary of the

6 Army, in accordance with applicable law, shall—

7 (A) evaluate the environmental effects of

8 renewal of such withdrawal and reservation;

9 (B) hold at least one public hearing in Col10 orado concerning such evaluation; and

11 (C) file, after completing the requirements

12 of subparagraphs (A) and (B), an application

13 for extension of the withdrawal and reservation

14 of such lands in accordance with the regulations

15 and procedures of the Department of the Inte16 rior applicable to the extension of withdrawals

17 for military uses.

18 (3) NOTIFICATION.—The Secretary of the Inte19 rior shall notify the Congress concerning a filing

20 under paragraph (3)(C).

21 (c) EARLY RELINQUISHMENT OF WITHDRAWAL.—If

22 the Secretary of the Army concludes under subsection (b)

23 that before the termination date established by subsection

24 (a) there will be no military need for all or any part of

25 the lands withdrawn and reserved by this Act, or if, during
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1 the period of withdrawal, the Secretary of the Army other2 wise decides to relinquish any or all of the lands with3 drawn and reserved under this Act, the Secretary of the

4 Army shall file with the Secretary of the Interior a notice

5 of intention to relinquish such lands.

6 (d) ACCEPTANCE OF LANDS PROPOSED FOR RELIN7 QUISHMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

8 law, the Secretary of the Interior, upon deciding that it

9 is in the public interest to accept jurisdiction over the

10 lands proposed for relinquishment, may revoke the with11 drawal and reservation established by this Act as it applies

12 to the lands proposed for relinquishment. Should the deci13 sion be made to revoke the withdrawal and reservation,

14 the Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal

15 Register an appropriate order which shall—

16 (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;

17 (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdic18 tion over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior;

19 and

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

21 opened to the operation of the public land laws, in22 cluding the mining laws if appropriate.
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1 SEC. 9. DETERMINATION OF PRESENCE OF CONTAMINA2 TION AND EFFECT OF CONTAMINATION.

3 (a) DETERMINATION OF PRESENCE OF CONTAMINA4 TION.—

5 (1) BEFORE RELINQUISHMENT NOTICE.—Be6 fore filing a relinquishment notice under section

7 8(c), the Secretary of the Army shall prepare a writ8 ten determination as to whether and to what extent

9 the lands to be relinquished are contaminated with

10 explosive, toxic, or other hazardous materials. A

11 copy of the determination made by the Secretary of

12 the Army shall be supplied with the relinquishment

13 notice. Copies of both the relinquishment notice and

14 the determination under this subsection shall be

15 published in the Federal Register by the Secretary

16 of the Interior.

17 (2) UPON TERMINATION OF WITHDRAWAL.—At

18 the expiration of the withdrawal period made by this

19 Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall determine

20 whether and to what extent the lands withdrawn by

21 this Act are contaminated to an extent which pre22 vents opening such contaminated lands to operation

23 of the public land laws.

24 (b) PROGRAM OF DECONTAMINATION.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—Throughout the duration of

26 the withdrawal and reservation made by this Act,
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1 the Secretary of the Army, to the extent funds are

2 made available, shall maintain a program of decon3 tamination of the lands withdrawn by this Act at

4 least at the level of effort carried out during fiscal

5 year 1992.

6 (2) DECONTAMINATION OF LANDS TO BE RE7 LINQUISHED.—In the case of lands subject to a re8 linquishment notice under section 8(c) that are con9 taminated, the Secretary of the Army shall decon10 taminate the land to the extent that funds are ap11 propriated for such purpose if the Secretary of the

12 Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of the

13 Army, determines that—

14 (A) decontamination of the lands is prac15 ticable and economically feasible, taking into

16 consideration the potential future use and value

17 of the land; and

18 (B) upon decontamination, the land could

19 be opened to the operation of some or all of the

20 public land laws, including the mining laws.

21 (c) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR TO

22 REFUSE CONTAMINATED LANDS.—The Secretary of the

23 Interior shall not be required to accept lands proposed for

24 relinquishment if the Secretary of the Army and the Sec25 retary of the Interior conclude that—
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1 (1) decontamination of any or all of the lands

2 proposed for relinquishment is not practicable or

3 economically feasible;

4 (2) the lands cannot be decontaminated suffi5 ciently to allow them to be opened to the operation

6 of the public land laws; or

7 (3) insufficient funds are appropriated for the

8 purpose of decontaminating the lands.

9 (d) EFFECT OF CONTINUED CONTAMINATION.—If

10 the Secretary of the Interior declines under subsection (c)

11 to accept jurisdiction of lands proposed for relinquishment

12 or if the Secretary of the Interior determines under sub13 section (a)(2) that some of the lands withdrawn by this

14 Act are contaminated to an extent that prevents opening

15 the contaminated lands to operation of the public land

16 laws—

17 (1) the Secretary of the Army shall take appro18 priate steps to warn the public of the contaminated

19 state of such lands and any risks associated with

20 entry onto such lands;

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

22 Secretary of the Army shall undertake no activities

23 on such lands except in connection with decon24 tamination of such lands; and
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1 (3) the Secretary of the Army shall report to

2 the Secretary of the Interior and to the Congress

3 concerning the status of such lands and all actions

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

5 (e) EFFECT OF SUBSEQUENT DECONTAMINATION.—

6 If the lands described in subsection (d) are subsequently

7 decontaminated, upon certification by the Secretary of the

8 Army that the lands are safe for all nonmilitary uses, the

9 Secretary of the Interior shall reconsider accepting juris10 diction over the lands.

11 (f) EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—Nothing in this Act

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

13 the Secretary of the Army, if any, to decontaminate lands

14 withdrawn by this Act pursuant to applicable law, includ15 ing the Comprehensive Environmental Response Com16 pensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et

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

18 et seq.).

19 SEC. 10. DELEGATION.

20 The functions of the Secretary of the Army under

21 this Act may be delegated. The functions of the Secretary

22 of the Interior under this Act may be delegated, except

23 that the order referred to in section 8(d) may be approved

24 and signed only by the Secretary of the Interior, the Dep-
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1 uty Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary

2 of the Department of the Interior.

3 SEC. 11. HOLD HARMLESS.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The United States shall be held

5 harmless and shall not be liable for any injuries or dam6 ages to persons or property suffered in the course of any

7 mining, mineral activity, or geothermal leasing activity

8 conducted on lands comprising the Fort Carson Reserva9 tion or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site, including liabilities

10 to non-Federal entities under section 107 or 113 of the

11 Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation

12 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9607, 9613), or sec13 tion 7003 of the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C.

14 6973).

15 (b) INDEMNIFICATION.—Any party conducting any

16 mining, mineral, or geothermal leasing activity on lands

17 comprising the Fort Carson Reservation or Pinon Canyon

18 Maneuver Site shall indemnify the United States against

19 any costs, fees, damages, or other liabilities (including

20 costs of litigation) incurred by the United States and aris21 ing from or relating to such mining activities, including

22 costs of mineral materials disposal, whether arising under

23 the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensa24 tion and Liability Act of 1980, the Solid Waste Disposal

25 Act, or otherwise.
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1 SEC. 12. AMENDMENT TO MILITARY LANDS WITHDRAWAL

2 ACT OF 1986.

3 (a) USE OF CERTAIN RESOURCES.—Section 3(f) of

4 the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public Law

5 99–606; 100 Stat. 3461) is amended by adding at the end

6 the following new paragraph:

7 ‘‘(2) Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary

8 of the military department concerned may utilize sand,

9 gravel, or similar mineral or material resources when the

10 use of such resources is required for construction needs

11 on the respective lands withdrawn by this Act.’’.

12 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 9(b) of the

13 Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–

14 606; 100 Stat. 3466) is amended by striking ‘‘section

15 7(f)’’ and inserting in lieu thereof ‘‘section 8(f)’’.

16 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

17 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

18 sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of

19 this Act.

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