107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 880

AN ACT

To provide for the acquisition of property in Washington County, Utah, for implementation of a

desert tortoise habitat conservation plan.

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 880

AN ACT

To provide for the acquisition of property in Washington

County, Utah, for implementation of a desert tortoise

habitat conservation plan.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
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1 SECTION 1. ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN WASH2 INGTON COUNTY, UTAH.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi4 sion of law, effective 30 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this Act, all right, title, and interest in and to,

6 and the right to immediate possession of, the 1,516 acres

7 of real property owned by Environmental Land Tech8 nology, Ltd. (ELT), within the Red Cliffs Reserve in

9 Washington County, Utah, and the 34 acres of real prop10 erty owned by ELT which is adjacent to the land within

11 the Reserve but is landlocked as a result of the creation

12 of the Reserve, is hereby vested in the United States.

13 (b) COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY.—Subject to sec14 tion 309(f) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Man15 agement of 1996 (Public Law 104–333), the United

16 States shall pay just compensation to the owner of any

17 real property taken pursuant to this section, determined

18 as of the date of the enactment of this Act. An initial pay19 ment of $15,000,000 shall be made to the owner of such

20 real property not later than 30 days after the date of tak21 ing. The full faith and credit of the United States is here22 by pledged to the payment of any judgment entered

23 against the United States with respect to the taking of

24 such property. Payment shall be in the amount of—

25 (1) the appraised value of such real property as

26 agreed to by the land owner and the United States,
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1 plus interest from the date of the enactment of this

2 Act; or

3 (2) the valuation of such real property awarded

4 by judgment, plus interest from the date of the en5 actment of this Act, reasonable costs and expenses

6 of holding such property from February 1990 to the

7 date of final payment, including damages, if any,

8 and reasonable costs and attorneys fees, as deter9 mined by the court. Payment shall be made from the

10 permanent judgment appropriation established pur11 suant to section 1304 of title 31, United States

12 Code, or from another appropriate Federal Govern13 ment fund.

14 Interest under this subsection shall be compounded in the

15 same manner as provided for in section 1(b)(2)(B) of the

16 Act entitled ‘‘An Act to preserve within Manassas Na17 tional Battlefield Park, Virginia, the most important prop18 erties relating to the battle of Manassas, and for other

19 purposes’’, approved April 17, 1954 (16 U.S.C.

20 429b(b)(2)(B)), except that the reference in that provision

21 to ‘‘the date of the enactment of the Manassas National

22 Battlefield Park Amendments of 1988’’ shall be deemed

23 to be a reference to the date of the enactment of this Act.

24 (c) DETERMINATION BY COURT IN LIEU OF NEGO25 TIATED SETTLEMENT.—In the absence of a negotiated
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1 settlement, or an action by the owner, the Secretary of

2 the Interior shall initiate within 90 days after the date

3 of the enactment of this section a proceeding in the United

4 States Federal District Court for the District of Utah,

5 seeking a determination, subject to section 309(f) of the

6 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of

7 1996 (Public Law 104–333), of the value of the real prop8 erty, reasonable costs and expenses of holding such prop9 erty from February 1990 to the date of final payment,

10 including damages, if any, and reasonable costs and attor11 neys fees.

Passed the House of Representatives March 13,

2001.

Attest:

Clerk.