I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5650

To declare certain Federal lands in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as

excess, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

DECEMBER 8, 2000

Mr. ROMERO-BARCELO ́ introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Armed Services

A BILL

To declare certain Federal lands in the Commonwealth of

Puerto Rico as excess, 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. AMENDMENTS TO TITLE XV OF THE FLOYD D.

4 SPENCE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZA5 TION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2001, NAVY AC6 TIVITIES ON THE ISLAND OF VIEQUES, PUER7 TO RICO.

8 (a) Section 1505(c) is amended by striking subsection

9 (c) and substituting the following:
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1 ‘‘ACTIONS REQUIRED OF SECRETARY OF THE

2 NAVY.—

3 (1) The Secretary of the Navy shall report as

4 excess all lands under the jurisdiction of the Sec5 retary on the eastern side of Vieques Island, with

6 the exception of the property identified in paragraph

7 (2), to the General Services Administration for dis8 posal under the Federal Property and Administra9 tive Services Act of 1949.

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the Navy, in consultation

11 with the Secretary of the Interior and the Adminis12 trator of General Service, shall transfer, without re13 imbursement, to the administrative jurisdiction of

14 the Secretary of the Interior all Department of De15 fense real properties on the eastern side of the is16 land that are identified as conservation zones in sec17 tion IV of the 1983 Memorandum of Understanding

18 between the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the

19 Secretary of the Navy, the Live Impact Area, and

20 any other real properties on the eastern side of the

21 island that the Secretary of the Interior identifies as

22 necessary for the management of these areas.’’.

23 (b) Section 1505(d) is amended by striking the ref24 erence to paragraphs (2) and (3) and substituting a ref25 erence to paragraphs (1) and (2).
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1 (c) Section 1505(e) is redesignated as subsection (f).

2 (d) Section 1505 is amended by substituting the fol3 lowing new subsection (e):

4 ‘‘(e) DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE RESPONSIBIL5 ITIES.—

6 (1) The Department of Defense shall conduct

7 all response actions on the lands transferred under

8 section 1505, in accordance with the Comprehensive

9 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil10 ity Act of 1980 and other environmental laws. As for

11 the properties transferred to the Department of the

12 Interior, this means response actions designed to

13 meet the standards appropriate for use of the prop14 erty as a wildlife refuge or a wilderness area as set

15 forth in subsection 1505(d). For purposes of the

16 lands reported as excess to the General Services Ad17 ministration, such response actions shall occur be18 fore the lands are further transferred or conveyed

19 under the Federal Property and Administrative

20 Services Act of 1949. Neither the Department of the

21 Interior nor the General Services Administration

22 shall be liable for environmental contamination, in23 cluding unexploded ordnance, that is present at the

24 time the property is transferred to the Department

25 of the Interior or reported excess to the General
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1 Services Administration by the Department of the

2 Navy, including contamination resulting from De3 partment of Defense activities that is discovered

4 after transfer or subsequent conveyance. All eligible

5 entities including the Government of Puerto Rico

6 may request transfer of the remediated lands re7 ported excess by paragraph (1) of subsection (c) in

8 accordance with the Federal Property and Adminis9 trative Services Act of 1949.’’

10 ‘‘(2) Federal responsibility to fund and imple11 ment any necessary response actions (including oper12 ation and maintenance) to address environmental

13 contamination resulting from the acts, omissions, or

14 presence of the Department of Defense or which is

15 present at the time of any conveyance by the Sec16 retary of the Navy to the Secretary of the Interior

17 pursuant to Section 1505 (including contamination

18 subsequently discovered), shall be the exclusive re19 sponsibility of the Secretary of Defense, and not the

20 responsibility of the Secretary of the Interior, unless

21 such contamination was caused or contributed to by

22 the Department of the Interior. Any response ac23 tions carried out by the Secretary of Defense shall

24 be conducted subject to and in compliance with envi25 ronmental laws, including but not limited to
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1 CERCLA (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et seq) and un2 dertaken in a manner consistent with the conserva3 tion and natural resources uses and mission for the

4 property transferred to the Department of the Inte5 rior.’’.

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