I

107TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 880

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

for implementation of a desert tortoise habitat conservation plan.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MARCH 6, 2001

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

Committee on Resources

A BILL

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,

3 SECTION 1. ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN WASH4 INGTON COUNTY, UTAH.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi6 sion of law, effective 30 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, all right, title, and interest in and to,

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

9 of real property owned by Environmental Land Tech10 nology, Ltd. (ELT), within the Red Cliffs Reserve in
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1 Washington County, Utah, and the 34 acres of real prop2 erty owned by ELT which is adjacent to the land within

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

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

5 (b) COMPENSATION FOR PROPERTY.—Subject to sec6 tion 309(f) of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Man7 agement of 1996 (Public Law 104–333), the United

8 States shall pay just compensation to the owner of any

9 real property taken pursuant to this section, determined

10 as of the date of the enactment of this Act. An initial pay11 ment of $15,000,000 shall be made to the owner of such

12 real property not later than 30 days after the date of tak13 ing. The full faith and credit of the United States is here14 by pledged to the payment of any judgment entered

15 against the United States with respect to the taking of

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

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

18 agreed to by the land owner and the United States,

19 plus interest from the date of the enactment of this

20 Act; or

21 (2) the valuation of such real property awarded

22 by judgment, plus interest from the date of the en23 actment of this Act, reasonable costs and expenses

24 of holding such property from February 1990 to the

25 date of final payment, including damages, if any,
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1 and reasonable costs and attorneys fees, as deter2 mined by the court. Payment shall be made from the

3 permanent judgment appropriation established pur4 suant to section 1304 of title 31, United States

5 Code, or from another appropriate Federal Govern6 ment fund.

7 Interest under this subsection shall be compounded in the

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

9 Act entitled ‘‘An Act to preserve within Manassas Na10 tional Battlefield Park, Virginia, the most important prop11 erties relating to the battle of Manassas, and for other

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

13 429b(b)(2)(B)), except that the reference in that provision

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

15 Battlefield Park Amendments of 1988’’ shall be deemed

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

17 (c) DETERMINATION BY COURT IN LIEU OF NEGO18 TIATED SETTLEMENT.—In the absence of a negotiated

19 settlement, or an action by the owner, the Secretary of

20 the Interior shall initiate within 90 days after the date

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

22 States Federal District Court for the District of Utah,

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

24 Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of

25 1996 (Public Law 104–333), of the value of the real prop-
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1 erty, reasonable costs and expenses of holding such prop2 erty from February 1990 to the date of final payment,

3 including damages, if any, and reasonable costs and attor4 neys fees.

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