Union Calendar No. 236

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2824

[Report No. 104–493]

A BILL

To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of

Utah at Snowbasin Ski Area.

MARCH 25, 1996

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the

State of the Union and ordered to be printed
IB

Union Calendar No. 236

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 2824

[Report No. 104–493]

To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of Utah at Snowbasin

Ski Area.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 21, 1995

Mr. HANSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

MARCH 25, 1996

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union

and ordered to be printed

A BILL

To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of Utah

at Snowbasin Ski Area.

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 ‘‘Snowbasin Land Ex5 change Act of 1995’’.
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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.

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

3 (1) in June 1995, Salt Lake City, Utah, was

4 selected to host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games,

5 and the Snowbasin Ski Resort, which is owned by

6 the Sun Valley Company, was identified as the site

7 of six Olympic events: the men’s and women’s

8 downhills, men’s and women’s Super-Gs, and men’s

9 and women’s combined downhills;

10 (2) in order to adequately accommodate these

11 events, which are traditionally among the most pop12 ular and heavily attended at the Winter Olympic

13 Games, major new skiing, visitor, and support facili14 ties will have to be constructed at the Snowbasin Ski

15 Resort on land currently administered by the United

16 States Forest Service;

17 (3) while certain of these new facilities can be

18 accommodated on National Forest land under tradi19 tional Forest Service permitting authorities, the base

20 area facilities necessary to host visitors to the ski

21 area and the Winter Olympics are of such a nature

22 that they should logically be located on private land;

23 (4) land exchanges have been routinely utilized

24 by the Forest Service to transfer base area lands to

25 many other ski areas, and the Forest Service and

26 the Sun Valley Company have concluded that a land
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1 exchange to transfer base area lands at the

2 Snowbasin Ski Resort to the Sun Valley Company is

3 both logical and advisable;

4 (5) an environmental impact statement and nu5 merous resource studies have been completed by the

6 Forest Service and the Sun Valley Company for the

7 lands proposed to be transferred to the Sun Valley

8 Company by this Act;

9 (6) the Sun Valley Company has assembled

10 lands with outstanding environmental, recreational,

11 and other values to convey to the Forest Service in

12 return for the lands it will receive in the exchange,

13 and the Forest Service has identified such lands as

14 desirable for acquisition by the United States; and

15 (7) completion of a land exchange and approval

16 of a development plan for Olympic related facilities

17 at the Snowbasin Ski Resort is essential to ensure

18 that all necessary facilities can be constructed, test19 ed for safety and other purposes, and become fully

20 operational in advance of the 2002 Winter Olympics

21 and earlier pre-Olympic events.

22 (b) DETERMINATION.—The Congress has reviewed

23 the previous analyses and studies of the lands to be ex24 changed and developed pursuant to this Act, and has

25 made its own review of these lands and issues involved,
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1 and on the basis of those reviews hereby finds and deter2 mines that a legislated land exchange and development

3 plan approval is necessary to meet Olympic goals and

4 timetables.

5 SEC. 3. PURPOSE AND INTENT.

6 The purpose of this Act is to authorize and direct

7 the Secretary to exchange 1,320 acres of federally-owned

8 land within the Cache National Forest in the State of

9 Utah for lands of approximately equal value owned by the

10 Sun Valley Company. It is the intent of Congress that this

11 exchange be effected without delay within the period speci12 fied by section 5.

13 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

14 As used in this Act—

15 (1) the term ‘‘Sun Valley Company’’ means the

16 Sun Valley Company, a division of Sinclair Oil Cor17 poration, a Wyoming Corporation, or its successors

18 or assigns; and

19 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

20 of Agriculture.

21 SEC. 5. EXCHANGE.

22 (a) FEDERAL SELECTED LANDS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after

24 the final determination of value of the Federal se25 lected lands, the Secretary shall, subject to this Act,
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1 transfer all right, title, and interest of the United

2 States in and to the lands referred to in paragraph

3 (2) to the Sun Valley Company.

4 (2) LANDS DESCRIBED.—The lands referred to

5 in paragraph (1) are certain lands within the Cache

6 National Forest in the State of Utah comprising

7 1,320 acres, more or less, as generally depicted on

8 the map entitled ‘‘Snowbasin Land Exchange—Pro9 posed’’ and dated October 1995.

10 (b) NON-FEDERAL OFFERED LANDS.—Upon trans11 fer of the Federal selected lands under subsection (a), and

12 in exchange for those lands, the Sun Valley Company shall

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

14 Sun Valley Company in and to so much of the following

15 offered lands which have been previously identified by the

16 United States Forest Service as desirable by the United

17 States, or which are identified pursuant to paragraph (5),

18 as are of approximate equal value to the Federal selected

19 lands:

20 (1) Certain lands located within the exterior

21 boundaries of the Cache National Forest in Weber

22 County, Utah, which comprise approximately 640

23 acres and are generally depicted on a map entitled

24 ‘‘Lightning Ridge Offered Lands’’, dated October

25 1995.
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1 (2) Certain lands located within the Cache Na2 tional Forest in Weber County, Utah, which com3 prise approximately 635 acres and are generally de4 picted on a map entitled ‘‘Wheeler Creek Watershed

5 Offered Lands-Section 21’’, dated October 1995.

6 (3) Certain lands located within the exterior

7 boundaries of the Cache National Forest in Weber

8 County, Utah, and lying immediately adjacent to the

9 outskirts of the City of Ogden, Utah, which comprise

10 approximately 800 acres and are generally depicted

11 on a map entitled ‘‘Taylor Canyon Offered Lands’’,

12 dated October 1995.

13 (4) Certain lands located within the exterior

14 boundaries of the Cache National Forest in Weber

15 County, Utah, which comprise approximately 2,040

16 acres and are generally depicted on a map entitled

17 ‘‘North Fork Ogden River-Devil’s Gate Valley’’,

18 dated October 1995.

19 (5) Such additional offered lands as may be

20 necessary to make the values of the lands exchanged

21 pursuant to this Act approximately equal, and which

22 are acceptable to the Secretary.

23 (c) SUBSTITUTION OF OFFERED LANDS.—If one or

24 more of the precise offered land parcels identified in para25 graphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b) is unable to be
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1 conveyed to the United States due to appraisal or other

2 reasons, or if the Secretary and the Sun Valley Company

3 mutually agree and the Secretary determines that an al4 ternative offered land package would better serve long

5 term public needs and objectives, the Sun Valley Company

6 may convey to the United States alternative offered lands

7 acceptable to the Secretary in lieu of any or all of the

8 lands identified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of sub9 section (b).

10 (d) VALUATION AND APPRAISALS.—

11 (1) Values of the lands to be exchanged pursu12 ant to this Act shall be equal as determined by the

13 Secretary utilizing nationally recognized appraisal

14 standards. If due to size, location, or use of lands

15 exchanged under this Act, the values are not exactly

16 equal, they shall be equalized by the payment of

17 cash equalization money to the Secretary or the Sun

18 Valley Company as appropriate in accordance with

19 section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Man20 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716). In order to

21 expedite the consummation of the exchange directed

22 by this Act, the Sun Valley Company shall arrange

23 and pay for appraisals of the offered and selected

24 lands by a qualified appraiser mutually acceptable to

25 the Sun Valley Company and the Secretary. The ap-
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1 praisal of the Federal selected lands shall be com2 pleted and submitted to the Secretary for approval

3 no later than 90 days after the date of enactment

4 of this Act and the Secretary shall make a deter5 mination of value not later than 30 days after re6 ceipt of the appraisal. In the event the Secretary

7 and the Sun Valley Company are unable to agree to

8 the appraised value of a certain tract or tracts of

9 land, the appraisal, appraisals, or appraisal issues in

10 dispute and a final determination of value shall be

11 resolved through a process of bargaining or submit12 ted to arbitration in accordance with section 206(d)

13 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

14 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)).

15 (2) In order to expedite the appraisal of the

16 Federal selected lands, such appraisal shall—

17 (A) value the land as a single entity for its

18 highest and best use as if in private ownership

19 and as of the date of enactment of this Act;

20 (B) consider the effect on value of im21 provements constructed on the land by the For22 est Service or third parties but not consider im23 provements owned or constructed by the

24 Snowbasin Ski Resort or previous permittee;
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1 (C) recognize that Snowbasin is a proven

2 ski area and assume that special use permits

3 which are required for operation of a ski resort

4 would be granted a buyer of the Federal se5 lected lands;

6 (D) consider the effect on value, if any, of

7 the remaining permit periods of existing special

8 use permits on the lands held by parties other

9 than the Snowbasin Ski Resort;

10 (E) not reflect any enhancement in value

11 to the Federal selected lands based on the exist12 ence of private lands owned by the Sun Valley

13 Company in the vicinity of the Snowbasin Ski

14 Resort, and shall assume that private lands

15 owned by the Sun Valley Company are not

16 available for use in conjunction with the Fed17 eral selected lands; and

18 (F) reflect a diminution in value resulting

19 from deed restrictions or other conditions on

20 the transfer of the Federal selected lands.

21 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE EX22 CHANGE.

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—The exchange authorized by this

24 Act shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
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1 (1) RESERVED RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—In the deed to

2 be issued pursuant to section 5(a), the Secretary

3 shall reserve in the United States a right of reason4 able access across the property conveyed for public

5 access and for administrative purposes of the United

6 States necessary to manage adjacent federally-owned

7 lands. The terms of such access shall be prescribed

8 by the Secretary within 30 days after the date of the

9 enactment of this Act.

10 (2) RIGHT OF RESCISSION.—This Act shall not

11 be binding on either the United States or the Sun

12 Valley Company if, within 30 days after the final de13 termination of value of the Federal selected lands,

14 the Sun Valley Company submits to the Secretary a

15 duly authorized and executed resolution of the Com16 pany stating its intention not to enter into the ex17 change authorized by this Act.

18 (b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

19 effective on the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal

20 selected lands described in section 5(a) and all National

21 Forest System lands currently under special use permit

22 to the Sun Valley Company at the Snowbasin Ski Resort

23 are hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation

24 under the public land laws (including the mining laws) and
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1 from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and

2 geothermal leasing.

3 (c) DEED.—The conveyance of the offered lands to

4 the United States under this Act shall be by general war5 ranty or other deed acceptable to the Secretary and in con6 formity with applicable title standards of the Attorney

7 General of the United States.

8 (d) STATUS OF LANDS.—Upon acceptance of title by

9 the Secretary, the land conveyed to the United States pur10 suant to this Act shall become part of the Wasatch or

11 Cache National Forests as appropriate, and the bound12 aries of such National Forests shall be adjusted to encom13 pass such lands. Once conveyed, such lands shall be man14 aged in accordance with the Act of March 1, 1911, as

15 amended (commonly known as the ‘‘Weeks Act’’), and in

16 accordance with the other laws, rules and regulations ap17 plicable to National Forest System lands. This subsection

18 does not limit the Secretary’s authority to adjust the

19 boundaries pursuant to section 11 of the Act of March

20 1, 1911 (‘‘Weeks Act’’). For the purposes of section 7 of

21 the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

22 U.S.C. 460l–9), the boundaries of the Wasatch and Cache

23 National Forests, as adjusted by this Act, shall be consid24 ered to be boundaries of the forests as of January 1, 1965.
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1 SEC. 7. PHASE I FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND OPER2 ATION.

3 (a) PHASE I FACILITY REVIEW AND FINDING.—The

4 Congress has reviewed the Snowbasin Ski Area Master

5 Development Plan dated October 1995 (hereinafter in this

6 Act referred to as the ‘‘Master Plan’’), insofar as such

7 plan pertains to ‘‘Phase I’’ facilities which are to be con8 structed and operated wholly or partially on National For9 est System lands retained by the Secretary after con10 summation of the land exchange directed by this Act. On

11 the basis of such review, Congress hereby finds that the

12 Phase I facilities identified and described in the Master

13 Plan to be located on National Forest System lands, or

14 any modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Sec15 retary and the Sun Valley Company, are reasonable and

16 necessary to accommodate the 2002 Olympics and directs

17 the Secretary to issue all necessary permits and authoriza18 tions for construction and operation of such facilities in

19 accordance with the procedures and provisions of this sec20 tion.

21 (b) PHASE I FACILITY APPROVAL, CONDITIONS AND

22 TIMETABLE.—Within 120 days of receipt of an applica23 tion by the Sun Valley Company to authorize construction

24 and operation of any particular Phase I facility, facilities,

25 or group of facilities, the Secretary, in consultation with

26 the Sun Valley Company, shall authorize construction and
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1 operation of such facility, facilities, or group of facilities,

2 subject to the general policies of the Forest Service per3 taining to the construction and operation of ski area facili4 ties on National Forest System lands. In providing author5 ization to construct and operate a facility, facilities, or

6 group of facilities, the Secretary may not impose any con7 dition that would significantly change the location, size,

8 or scope of the applied for Phase I facility unless (1) the

9 modification is mutually agreed to by the Secretary and

10 the Sun Valley Company; or (2) the change is necessary

11 to protect public health and safety. In providing any such

12 authorization, the Secretary shall provide for resource pro13 tection without regard to section 102(2)(C) of the Na14 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or the participa15 tion requirements of section 6(d) of the Forest and Range16 land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16

17 U.S.C. 1604(d)). Nothing in this section shall be con18 strued to affect the Secretary’s responsibility to monitor

19 and assure compliance with the conditions set forth in the

20 construction and operation authorization.

21 (c) CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTIONS.—Notwithstanding

22 any other provision of law, Congress finds consummation

23 of the land exchange directed by this Act and all deter24 minations, authorizations, and actions taken by the Sec25 retary pursuant to this Act pertaining to Phase I facilities
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1 (or modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Sec2 retary and the Sun Valley Company) to be non-discre3 tionary actions authorized and directed by Congress and

4 hence to comply with all procedural and other require5 ments of the laws of the United States.

6 (d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall re7 port to the Committee on Resources of the United States

8 House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy

9 and Natural Resources of the United States Senate as to

10 whether construction and operation of Phase I facilities

11 have provided for sufficient environmental protection on

12 National Forest System lands affected by such facilities.