29–010

Calendar No. 444

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 108–234

BARRY AND STONE COUNTIES, MISSOURI 

MARCH 9, 2004.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 1167]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 1167) to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry 

and Stone Counties in the State of Missouri, having considered the 

same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and an 

amendment to the title and recommends that the bill, as amended, 

do pass. 

The amendments are as follows: 

1. Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 

thereof the following:

SECTION 1. RESOLUTION OF BOUNDARY CONFLICTS, VICINITY OF MARK TWAIN NATIONAL 

FOREST, BARRY AND STONE COUNTIES, MISSOURI. 

(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

(1) The term ‘‘appropriate Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Army or the 

Secretary of Agriculture. 

(2) The term ‘‘boundary conflict’’ means the situation in which the private 

claim of ownership to certain lands, based on subsequent Federal land surveys, 

overlaps or conflicts with Federal ownership of the same lands. 

(3) The term ‘‘Federal land surveys’’ means any land survey made by any 

agency or department of the Federal Government using Federal employees, or 

by Federal contract with State-licensed private land surveyors or corporations 

and businesses licensed to provide professional land surveying services in the 

State of Missouri for Table Rock Reservoir. 

(4) The term ‘‘original land surveys’’ means the land surveys made by the 

United States General Land Office as part of the Public Land Survey System 

in the State of Missouri, and upon which Government land patents were issued 

conveying the land. 

(5) The term ‘‘Public Land Survey System’’ means the rectangular system of 

original Government land surveys made by the United States General Land Office and its successor, the Bureau of Land Management, under Federal laws 

providing for the survey of the public lands upon which the original land patents were issued. 

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(6) The term ‘‘qualifying claimant’’ means a private owner of real property in 

Barry or Stone County, Missouri, who has a boundary conflict as a result of 

good faith and innocent reliance on subsequent Federal land surveys, and as a 

result of such reliance, has occupied or improved Federal lands administered by 

the appropriate Secretary. 

(7) The term ‘‘subsequent Federal land surveys’’ means any Federal land surveys made after the original land surveys that are inconsistent with the Public 

Land Survey System. 

(b) RESOLUTION OF BOUNDARY CONFLICTS.—The Secretary of the Army and the 

Secretary of Agriculture shall cooperatively undertake actions to rectify boundary 

conflicts and landownership claims against Federal lands resulting from subsequent 

Federal land surveys and correctly reestablish the corners of the Public Land Survey System in Barry and Stone Counties, Missouri, and shall attempt do so in a 

manner which imposes the least cost and inconvenience to affected private landowners. (c) NOTICE OF BOUNDARY CONFLICT.— (1) SUBMISSION AND CONTENTS.—A qualifying claimant shall notify the appropriate Secretary in writing of a claim that a boundary conflict exists with Federal land administered by the appropriate Secretary. The notice shall be accompanied by the following information, which, except as provided in subsection 

(e)(2)(B), shall be provided without cost to the United States: 

(A) A land survey plat and legal description of the affected Federal lands, 

which are based upon a land survey completed and certified by a Missouri 

State-licensed professional land surveyor and done in conformity with the 

Public Land Survey System and in compliance with the applicable State 

and Federal land surveying laws. 

(B) Information relating to the claim of ownership of the Federal lands, 

including supporting documentation showing that the landowner relied on 

a subsequent Federal land survey due to actions by the Federal Government in making or approving surveys for the Table Rock Reservoir. 

(2) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION.—To obtain relief under this section, a qualifying claimant shall submit the notice and information required by paragraph 

(1) within 15 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

(d) RESOLUTION AUTHORITIES.—In addition to using existing authorities, the appropriate Secretary is authorized to take any of the following actions in order to resolve boundary conflicts with qualifying claimants involving lands under the administrative jurisdiction of the appropriate Secretary: 

(1) Convey by quitclaim deed right, title, and interest in land of the United 

States subject to a boundary conflict consistent with the rights, title, and interest associated with the privately-owned land from which a qualifying claimant 

has based a claim. 

(2) Confirm Federal title to, and retain in Federal management, any land subject to a boundary conflict, if the appropriate Secretary determines that there 

are Federal interests, including improvements, authorized uses, easements, hazardous materials, or historical and cultural resources, on the land that necessitates retention of the land or interests in land. 

(3) Compensate the qualifying claimant for the value of the overlapping property for which title is confirmed and retained in Federal management pursuant 

to paragraph (2). 

(e) CONSIDERATION AND COST.—

(1) CONVEYANCE WITHOUT CONSIDERATION.—The conveyance of land under 

subsection (d)(1) shall be made without consideration. 

(2) COSTS.—The appropriate Secretary shall—

(A) pay administrative, personnel, and any other costs associated with 

the implementation of this section by his or her Department, including the 

costs of survey, marking, and monumenting property lines and corners; and 

(B) reimburse the qualifying claimant for reasonable out-of-pocket survey 

costs necessary to establish a claim under this section. 

(3) VALUATION.—Compensation paid to a qualifying claimant pursuant to subsection (d)(3) for land retained in Federal ownership pursuant to subsection 

(d)(2) shall be valued on the basis of the contributory value of the tract of land 

to the larger adjoining private parcel and not on the basis of the land being a 

separate tract. The appropriate Secretary shall not consider the value of any 

Federal improvements to the land. The appropriate Secretary shall be responsible for compensation provided as a result of subsequent Federal land surveys 

conducted or commissioned by the appropriate Secretary’s Department. 

(f) PREEXISTING CONDITIONS; RESERVATIONS; EXISTING RIGHTS AND USES.—

(1) PREEXISTING CONDITIONS.—The appropriate Secretary shall not compensate a qualifying claimant or any other person for any preexisting condition 

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or reduction in value of any land subject to a boundary conflict because of any 

existing or outstanding permits, use authorizations, reservations, timber removal, or other land use or condition. 

(2) EXISTING RESERVATIONS AND RIGHTS AND USES.—Any conveyance pursuant 

to subsection (d)(1) shall be subject to—

(A) reservations for existing public uses for roads, utilities, and facilities; 

and 

(B) permits, rights-of-way, contracts and any other authorization to use 

the property. 

(3) TREATMENT OF LAND SUBJECT TO SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATION OR PERMIT.—For any land subject to a special use authorization or permit for access 

or utilities, the appropriate Secretary may convert, at the request of the holder, 

such authorization to a permanent easement prior to any conveyance pursuant 

to subsection (d)(1). 

(4) FUTURE RESERVATIONS.—The appropriate Secretary may reserve rights for 

future public uses in a conveyance made pursuant to subsection (d)(1) if the 

qualifying claimant is compensated for the reservation in cash or in land of 

equal value. 

(5) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES.—The requirements of section 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42 

U.S.C. 9620(h)) shall not apply to conveyances or transfers of jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (d), but the United States shall continue to be liable for the 

cleanup costs of any hazardous substances on the lands so conveyed or transferred if the contamination by hazardous substances is caused by actions of the 

United States or its agents. 

(g) RELATION TO OTHER CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY.—Nothing in this section affects 

the Quiet Title Act (28 U.S.C. 2409a) or other applicable law, or affects the exchange and disposal authorities of the Secretary of Agriculture, including the Small 

Tracts Act (16 U.S.C. 521c), or the exchange and disposal authorities of the Secretary of the Army. 

(h) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The appropriate Secretary may require 

such additional terms and conditions in connection with a conveyance under subsection (d)(1) as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of the 

United States. 

(i) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There are authorized to be appropriated 

such sums as are necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

2. Amend the title so as to read: ‘‘A bill to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone Counties in the State of Missouri.’’.

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1167 is to provide a process for the Forest 

Service and the U.S. Army to resolve boundary disputes with private landowners around the Mark Twain National Forest in Missouri. The bill would give property owners who have ownership disputes with the two agencies 15 years to notify the Federal Government of their claims. Upon receipt of a valid claim, the appropriate 

agency is authorized to convey the disputed property to the private 

owners or confirm federal ownership and compensate the private 

owners for the value of the disputed land. The Secretaries are authorized to convey the land without consideration for certain survey 

costs, to pay associated administrative costs incurred by their Departments, and to reimburse the landowner. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

During the 1970’s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, through 

various private land surveyors, surveyed this area around Table 

Rock Lake in Missouri. The land involving these disputed property 

lines is located in the vicinity of the Cassville District of the Mark 

Twain National Forest in Barry and Stone Counties adjacent to 

Table Rock Lake. In its surveys, the Corps found that most of the 

original ‘‘corner monuments’’ or boundary lines laid out by the U.S. 

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General Land Office (GLO) in its original land surveys performed 

in the 1840’s were either lost, stolen or had eroded over the years. 

Because of this, Corps surveyors used existing de-facto land markers in the vicinity of the original GLO monuments as the basis for 

its new survey. 

More recently, the USFS performed new land surveys, and 

claims that the boundary lines in its surveys conflict with the 

boundary lines established in the previous Corps of Engineers surveys. The USFS also believes that the Corps surveys are incorrect 

and that the property lines in the area are incorrectly located. 

To date the Corps of Engineers and the Forest Service have been 

unable to agree on a resolution to this problem. In the meantime, 

the lives of many of these Missouri residents continue to be disrupted due to clouded titles. 

The legislation authorizes the Secretaries of Agriculture and the 

Army to convey to the private land owners, without consideration, 

title to land on which there is a boundary conflict with adjoining 

Federal land, if the landowner can demonstrate that they occupied 

or improved Federal lands because they relied innocently and in 

good faith on a subsequent land survey approved by the Federal 

Government. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1167 was introduced on June 2, 2003 by Senator Bond. Senator Talent is a co-sponsor. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and 

Forests held a hearing on S. 1167 on November 18, 2003. S. Hrg. 

108–321. H.R. 2304, a companion bill, passed the House of Representatives by voice vote on November 17, 2003. At the business 

meeting on February 11, 2004, the Senate Committee on Energy 

and Natural Resources ordered S. 1167, favorably reported, with an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on February 11, 2004, by a unanimous vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1167, if 

amended as described herein. 

The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 23 yeas, 0 nays, 

as follows: 

YEAS NAYS 

Mr. Domenici 

Mr. Nickles 

Mr. Craig 

Mr. Campbell* 

Mr. Thomas 

Mr. Alexander 

Ms. Murkowski 

Mr. Talent 

Mr. Burns 

Mr. Smith* 

Mr. Bunning 

Mr. Kyl*

Mr. Bingaman 

Mr. Akaka 

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Mr. Dorgan* 

Mr. Graham of Florida* 

Mr. Wyden* 

Mr. Johnson* 

Ms. Landrieu* 

Mr. Bayh* 

Mrs. Feinstein* 

Mr. Schumer* 

Ms. Cantwell

* Indicates voted by proxy.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During the consideration of S. 1167, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute adopts 

most of the language of H.R. 2304, strikes the findings and purpose 

section from the bill, and adds a sections to address hazardous substances to make a clear statement that the Secretary of the Army 

and the Secretary of Agriculture shall take actions to rectify the 

boundary conflicts. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1(a) provides definitions. 

Section 1(b) directs the Secretaries to cooperatively work to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone Counties. 

Section 1(c) sets forth the process for filing a claim. 

Section 1(d), in addition to using existing authorities, authorizes 

the Secretary: 

(1) to convey by quitclaim deed all right, title, and interest 

of the United States in land for which there is a boundary conflict; or 

(2) to confirm Federal title to and retain in Federal management any land subject to a boundary conflict, if there are Federal interests such as improvements, authorized uses, easements, hazardous materials, historical and cultural resources; 

and 

(3) to compensate the qualifying claimant for the value of the 

overlapping property for which title is confirmed and retained 

by the Federal Government. 

Section 1(e) directs the appropriate Secretary to waive consideration for the value of the Federal land conveyed pursuant to subsection(d)(1), and to pay administrative, personnel and any other 

costs incurred by his or her Department, and to reimburse qualifying claimants for reasonable out-of-pocket survey costs necessary 

to establish a claim pursuant to subsection (c). 

Paragraph 3 directs the appropriate Secretary to value the land 

retained by the Federal Government pursuant to subsection (d)(3) 

on the basis of the contributory value of the tract of land to the 

larger adjoining private parcel. It also provides for each Department to be responsible for funding any compensation necessitated 

by that Department’s erroneous surveys. 

Section 1(f) provides direction for the Federal Government’s 

treatment of preexisting conditions, reservations, and existing 

rights and uses. 

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Paragraph (1) directs the Federal Government to not pay compensation for any preexisting condition or reduction in value of any 

land which is subject to a boundary conflict. 

Paragraph (2) protects certain valid existing rights and uses on 

lands conveyed pursuant to subsection (d)(1). 

Paragraph (3) provides for treatment of land subject to a special 

use authorization or permit for access or utilities. 

Paragraph (4) provides for reserving rights for future public uses 

in a conveyance if the qualifying claimant is compensated in cash 

or land. 

Paragraph (5) further provides that section 120(h) of the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability 

Act (42 U.S.C. 9620(h)) shall not apply to conveyances or transfers 

of jurisdiction under this Act except that the United States shall 

continue to be liable for the cleanup costs of any hazardous substances if the contamination by hazardous substances is caused by 

actions of the United States or its agents. 

Section 1(g) reserves certain valid existing rights and uses and 

describes the responsibility of the claimants to establish that they 

have a valid claim. 

Section 1(h) describes that nothing in this section affects other 

applicable law or authorities for exchange or disposal of the Secretaries of Agriculture or Army. 

Section 1(i) authorizes appropriations. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, February 24, 2004. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1167, a bill to resolve 

boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone counties in the state of Missouri. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. 

Sincerely, 

ELIZABETH ROBINSON

(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director). 

Enclosure. 

S. 1167—A bill to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone 

counties in the state of Missouri 

S. 1167 would provide a process for the Forest Service and the 

U.S. Army to resolve boundary disputes with private landowners 

around the Mark Twain National Forest. The bill would give property owners who have ownership disputes with the two agencies 15 

years to notify the federal government of their claims. Upon receipt 

of a valid claim, the appropriate agency would then either convey 

the disputed property to the private owners or confirm federal ownVerDate jul 14 2003 02:16 Mar 13, 2004 Jkt 029010 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR234.XXX SR234
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ership and compensate the private owners for the value of the disputed land. In the first case, the agencies could convey the land 

without consideration and pay associated administrative costs and 

reimbursements to the landowner. 

Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CBO estimates that implementing S. 1167 would cost less than $500,000 annually, assuming the availability of appropriated funds. The claims 

process that would be established by the legislation could expedite 

the resolution of ongoing boundary disputes at the Mark Twain National Forest, but the remedies that would be authorized are the 

same as those that the agencies could provide under existing law. 

Under the bill, the agencies could incur additional costs to survey 

disputed tracts and reimburse landowners for their out-of-pocket 

expenses. 

S. 1167 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

have no significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal 

governments. 

On November 5, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

2304, similar legislation, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Agriculture on October 29, 2003. The two bills are substantively similar, and our cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. This 

estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 1167. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses, and instead establishes a voluntary program to relieve boundary conflicts. 

Private land owners seeking to establish claims under this program may need to provide information supporting their claims. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 1167, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On February 12, 2004, the Senate Committee on Energy and 

Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the Interior, the Department of Agriculture, and the Office 

of Management and Budget setting forth executive views on S. 

1167. These reports had not been received at the time the report 

on S. 1167 was filed. When the reports become available, the 

Chairman will request that they be printed in the Congressional 

Record for the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the 

U.S. Forest Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

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STATEMENT OF TOM THOMPSON, DEPUTY CHIEF, NATIONAL

FOREST SYSTEM, FOREST SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank 

you for the opportunity to appear before you today. I would 

like to present the Department’s views on S. 1167, to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone Counties, in 

the State of Missouri. The Department objects to S. 1167 

unless the bill is amended to address the concerns identified in my testimony. 

S. 1167—the Mark Twain National Forest Boundary Adjustment 

S. 1167 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture or 

the Secretary of the Army to resolve boundary conflicts 

with certain landowners in Barry and Stone Counties, Missouri, who have innocently and in good faith relied on land 

surveys which they believed to have been correct and have, 

as a result, occupied, improved or claimed portions of adjoining Federal land based on such surveys. 

S. 1167 would authorize the Secretaries to convey and 

quitclaim all right, title, and interest of the United States 

in land for which there is a boundary conflict; or to confirm Federal title to and retain in Federal management 

any land for which there is a boundary conflict where 

there are Federal interests, and to compensate the qualifying claimant for the value of the overlapping property for 

which title is confirmed and retained in Federal management, provided that a claim is filed within 15 years of the 

date of enactment of the Act. S. 1167 also authorizes the 

Secretaries to: (1) waive consideration for the value of the 

Federal land conveyed and quitclaimed upon a finding that 

the boundary conflict was the result of the innocent detrimental reliance by the qualifying claimant; (2) pay administrative, personnel, and any other costs associated with 

the implementation of this Act, including the costs of survey, marking and monumental property lines and corners; 

and (3) reimburse the qualifying claimant for reasonable 

out-of-pocket survey costs necessary to establish a claim 

under this Act. 

The basic facts do not appear to be in dispute. Surveyors 

under contract to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers 

(Corps) in the 1970’s, who conducted a series of cadastral 

surveys in the area around the Table Rock Reservoir in 

Missouri, failed to properly locate and monument a number of the original Public Land Survey System (PLSS) corners. Subsequent private land surveys, which relied on the 

incorrectly located corners, have confused landowners in 

Barry and Stone Counties regarding the location of private 

boundaries adjoining National Forest System lands, and 

we believe Corps lands as well. Unfortunately, this has led 

some of the affected adjoining landowners to believe they 

own certain parts of federally managed public land. 

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The administration shares Senator Bond’s concern that 

we need to find an equitable way to resolve the problems 

facing these landowners. For the Committee’s information, 

I have attached to my testimony, a January 22, 2003, letter from Missouri State Land Surveyor to the Supervisor 

of the Mark Twain National Forest describing the situation in Barry and Stone Counties and the efforts of the 

Forest Service and the Corps to correct the problems.

S. 1167, while attempting to resolve the boundary and 

landownership issues with private adjoining landowners 

and the Federal government, does not aid other private 

landowners in the area with potential title claims and 

questionable boundaries with adjoining private landowners. The unresolved private title claims and questionable boundary locations between numerous private landowners relying on federal land surveys will encumber private land and title as long as the corners are not corrected. 

We would like to work with the Subcommittee to address our concerns so that corrective land surveys are conducted and correct boundaries can be established for all 

potentially affected private land owners in Barry and 

Stone Counties, as well as for agencies of the Federal Government. However, the Department objects to the approach to this problem that S. 1167 would provide. 

Our principal concern is that S. 1167 would transfer 

Federal land, which is the property of all U.S. citizens, at 

no cost. Since the passage in 1983 of the Small Tracts Act 

(Pub. L. 97–465, Stat. 2535; 16 U.S.C. 521c–521i)(STA), 

the Forest Service has had and has exercised the authority 

to resolve innocent encroachments on National Forest System lands based on erroneous land surveys or title opinions. With certain modifications addressing the specific situation in this case, we believe that the STA should be controlling here. Therefore, we urge the Committee to amend 

S. 1167 to provide that the affected landowners should 

apply to the Forest Service or the Corps, as appropriate, 

to resolve their claims. 

In the case of boundary conflicts on National Forest Systems lands, under the STA, the Secretary has the authority to sell, exchange, or interchange by quitclaim deed parcels of forty acres or less which are interspersed with or 

adjacent to lands which are determined by the Secretary, 

because of location or size, not to be subject to efficient administration; or parcels of ten acres or less which are encroached upon by improvements occupied or used under 

claim or color of title by persons to whom no advance notice was given that the improvements encroached, or 

would encroach upon such parcels, and who in good faith 

relied upon an erroneous survey, title, search, or other 

land description indicating that there was not such encroachment. The STA allows the Forest Service to collect 

all reasonable costs (appraisals, surveys, title research, 

etc.), as determined by the Secretary, from the claimant 

for completing the STA application, including the market 

value of the federal lands to be conveyed to the claimant. 

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The Forest Service may waive the payment of all reasonable costs, except the market value of the federal lands to 

be conveyed, when there is private encroachment of federal 

lands in those cases in which the Secretary determines it 

would be in the public interest. 

Finally, while the matter of which Federal agency erred 

may not be of particular concern to the affected landowners, we believe any corrective legislation should appropriately apportion responsibility for the problem. At this 

point, we believe that the Corps should take the necessary 

actions to correctly establish Public Land Survey System 

corners and the Forest Service and the Corps should work 

together to resolve tract-by-tract boundary conflicts in 

Barry and Stone counties concurrently with the Corps’ progress in correcting the original surveys. 

This concludes my statement. I would be pleased to answer any questions that you may have.

CHANGES TO EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 1167, as ordered reported.

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