II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 8413 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 9, 2024 

Received 

AN ACT 

To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal land at 

Swanson Reservoir and Hugh Butler Reservoir in the 

State of Nebraska, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Swanson and Hugh 

3 Butler Reservoirs Land Conveyances Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The term ‘‘fair 

7 market value’’, with respect to a specified property 

8 right, means the most probable price, as of a speci9 fied date, in cash, terms equivalent to cash, or other 

10 precisely revealed terms, for which the specified 

11 property right should sell after reasonable exposure 

12 in a competitive market under all conditions req13 uisite for a fair sale, with the buyer and seller each 

14 acting prudently, knowledgeably, and in the self-in15 terest of the buyer or seller, as applicable, and as16 suming that the buyer and seller are not under 

17 undue duress. 

18 (2) FRONTIER COUNTY.—The term ‘‘Frontier 

19 County’’ means Frontier County, Nebraska, acting 

20 through the Board of Commissioners of Frontier 

21 County. 

22 (3) HITCHCOCK COUNTY.—The term ‘‘Hitch23 cock County’’ means Hitchcock County, Nebraska, 

24 acting through the Board of Commissioners of 

25 Hitchcock County. 


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1 (4) HUGH BUTLER RESERVOIR.—The term 

2 ‘‘Hugh Butler Reservoir’’ means the Hugh Butler 

3 Lake and Red Willow Dam constructed as part of 

4 the Pick-Sloan Missouri Basin Program, French5 man-Cambridge Division, as authorized by section 9 

6 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly known 

7 as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, 

8 chapter 665). 

9 (5) LAKEVIEW LODGE MANAGEMENT AGREE10 MENT.—The term ‘‘Lakeview Lodge Management 

11 Agreement’’ means the management agreement enti12 tled ‘‘Management Agreement between the Bureau 

13 of Reclamation, et al., for the Development, Oper14 ation, and Maintenance of a Concession Operation 

15 at Swanson Reservoir, Nebraska’’, numbered 23– 

16 LM–60–4160, and dated November 1, 2023. 

17 (6) LAKEVIEW LODGE PERMITTED CONCESSION

18 LAND.—The term ‘‘Lakeview Lodge Permitted Con19 cession Land’’ means the approximately 21.5 acres 

20 of land and water for the operation of a public con21 cession at Swanson Reservoir, as generally depicted 

22 on the map prepared by the Bureau of Reclamation 

23 entitled ‘‘Lakeview Lodge Concession Boundary’’ 

24 and dated August 2023. 


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1 (7) RED WILLOW MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT.— 

2 The term ‘‘Red Willow Management Agreement’’ 

3 means the management agreement entitled ‘‘Man4 agement Agreement between the Bureau of Rec5 lamation, et al., for the Development, Management, 

6 Operation, and Maintenance of a Concession Oper7 ation at Hugh Butler Reservoir, Nebraska’’, num8 bered 24–LM–60–5155, and dated March 7, 2024. 

9 (8) RED WILLOW PERMITTED CABIN LAND.— 

10 The term ‘‘Red Willow Permitted Cabin Land’’ 

11 means the approximately 6.5 acres of land encom12 passing the 8 permitted cabin lots at the Hugh But13 ler Reservoir, as generally depicted on the map pre14 pared by the Bureau of Reclamation entitled ‘‘Red 

15 Willow Cabin Map’’ and dated March 2024. 

16 (9) RED WILLOW PERMITTED CONCESSION

17 LAND.—The term ‘‘Red Willow Permitted Conces18 sion Land’’ means the approximately 23 acres of 

19 land and water for the operation of a public service 

20 concession at the Hugh Butler Reservoir, as gen21 erally depicted on the map prepared by the Bureau 

22 of Reclamation entitled ‘‘Red Willow Concession 

23 Boundary’’ and dated August 2023. 

24 (10) REQUESTED FEDERAL LAND.—The term 

25 ‘‘requested Federal land’’ means each of the folVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:19 Dec 17, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H8413.RDS H8413

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1 lowing parcels of land, or any subset of those par2 cels, with respect to which a title transfer agreement 

3 is executed: 

4 (A) The Lakeview Lodge Permitted Con5 cession Land. 

6 (B) The Red Willow Permitted Cabin 

7 Land. 

8 (C) The Red Willow Permitted Concession 

9 Land. 

10 (D) The Swanson Permitted Cabin Land. 

11 (E) The Swanson Permitted Concession 

12 Land. 

13 (11) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

14 means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 

15 the Commissioner of Reclamation. 

16 (12) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 

17 State of Nebraska. 

18 (13) SWANSON MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT.— 

19 The term ‘‘Swanson Management Agreement’’ 

20 means the management agreement entitled ‘‘Man21 agement Agreement between the Bureau of Rec22 lamation, et al., for the Development, Management, 

23 Operation, and Maintenance of a Concession Oper24 ation at Swanson Reservoir, Nebraska’’, numbered 

25 24–LM–60–5154, and dated April 19, 2024. 


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1 (14) SWANSON PERMITTED CABIN LAND.—The 

2 term ‘‘Swanson Permitted Cabin Land’’ means the 

3 approximately 6.2 acres of land encompassing the 11 

4 permitted cabin lots at the Swanson Reservoir, as 

5 generally depicted on the map prepared by the Bu6 reau of Reclamation entitled ‘‘Swanson Cabin Map’’ 

7 and dated March 2024. 

8 (15) SWANSON PERMITTED CONCESSION

9 LAND.—The term ‘‘Swanson Permitted Concession 

10 Land’’ means the approximately 20 acres of land 

11 and water for the operation of a public service con12 cession at the Swanson Reservoir, as generally de13 picted on the map prepared by the Bureau of Rec14 lamation entitled ‘‘Swanson Concession Boundary’’ 

15 and dated August 2023. 

16 (16) SWANSON RESERVOIR.—The term ‘‘Swan17 son Reservoir’’ means the Swanson Reservoir and 

18 Trenton Dam constructed as part of the Pick-Sloan 

19 Missouri Basin Program, Frenchman-Cambridge Di20 vision, as authorized by section 9 of the Act of De21 cember 22, 1944 (commonly known as the ‘‘Flood 

22 Control Act of 1944’’) (58 Stat. 891, chapter 665). 

23 (17) TITLE TRANSFER AGREEMENT.—The term 

24 ‘‘title transfer agreement’’ means a title transfer 

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1 tween the Secretary and Frontier County or Hitch2 cock County, as applicable, that establishes the legal, 

3 institutional, and financial terms for the conveyance 

4 of the applicable requested Federal land. 

5 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCES OF FEDERAL LAND TO HITCHCOCK 

6 COUNTY AND FRONTIER COUNTY, NEBRASKA. 

7 (a) CONVEYANCES TO HITCHCOCK COUNTY AND

8 FRONTIER COUNTY.— 

9 (1) TITLE TRANSFER AGREEMENT.—Subject to 

10 paragraphs (2) and (5) and sections 4 and 5, not 

11 later than 3 years after the date of enactment of 

12 this Act, the Secretary shall make good faith efforts 

13 to enter into negotiations for, and enter into, title 

14 transfer agreements with each of Hitchcock County 

15 and Frontier County— 

16 (A) under which the Secretary shall convey 

17 to Hitchcock County or Frontier County, as ap18 plicable, all requested right, title, and interest 

19 of the United States in and to the applicable re20 quested Federal land; 

21 (B) that provides that, as a condition of 

22 the conveyance, the applicable requested Fed23 eral land— 

24 (i) shall be conveyed in whole; and 

25 (ii) shall not be subdivided; and 


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1 (C) that provides a plan for— 

2 (i) a demonstration of— 

3 (I) the technical capability of 

4 Hitchcock County or Frontier County, 

5 as applicable, to operate and maintain 

6 the applicable requested Federal land 

7 permanently; and 

8 (II) the ability of Hitchcock 

9 County or Frontier County, as appli10 cable, to satisfy financial obligations 

11 relating to the applicable requested 

12 Federal land; and 

13 (ii) the management by Hitchcock 

14 County or Frontier County, as applicable, 

15 of the applicable requested Federal land to 

16 be conveyed in accordance with the appli17 cable title transfer agreement, including 

18 addressing any issues to ensure compliance 

19 with applicable State fire, safety, and 

20 health codes and standards not later than 

21 2 years after the date of the applicable 

22 conveyance. 

23 (2) REQUIREMENT.—Notwithstanding section 

24 8002(3)(B) of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conserva25 tion, Management, and Recreation Act (43 U.S.C. 


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1 2902(3)(B)), the Secretary shall negotiate the title 

2 transfer agreement under paragraph (1) in accord3 ance with the criteria, terms, and conditions de4 scribed in subtitle A of title VIII of that Act (43 

5 U.S.C. 2901 et seq.). 

6 (3) OFFER TO CONVEY.—As soon as practicable 

7 after the date on which a title transfer agreement is 

8 entered into pursuant to paragraph (1), the Sec9 retary shall offer to convey to Hitchcock County or 

10 Frontier County, as applicable, all right, title, and 

11 interest of the United States in and to the applicable 

12 requested Federal land, in accordance with the 

13 terms and conditions described in the applicable title 

14 transfer agreement. 

15 (4) COSTS.— 

16 (A) CONSIDERATION.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—As consideration 

18 for the conveyance of the applicable re19 quested Federal land under paragraph (3), 

20 Hitchcock County or Frontier County, as 

21 applicable, shall pay to the Secretary, for 

22 use in accordance with clause (iii), an 

23 amount equal to the fair market value of 

24 the applicable requested Federal land, as 

25 determined by an appraisal conducted— 


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1 (I) in accordance with clause (ii); 

2 (II) by a third-party appraiser 

3 approved by the Secretary; and 

4 (III) subject to the management 

5 requirements under paragraph (5) 

6 and section 4. 

7 (ii) APPRAISAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 (I) IN GENERAL.—An appraisal 

9 under clause (i) shall be conducted in 

10 accordance with the Uniform Stand11 ards of Professional Appraisal Prac12 tice. 

13 (II) IMPROVEMENTS.—For pur14 poses of clause (i), any improvements 

15 to the applicable requested Federal 

16 land made by a permit holder shall 

17 not be included in the appraised value 

18 of the applicable requested Federal 

19 land. 

20 (III) RESOLUTION OF DIS21 PUTE.—Any dispute over the fair 

22 market value of the applicable re23 quested Federal land under an ap24 praisal conducted under clause (i) 

25 shall be resolved in accordance with 


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1 section 2201.4 of title 43, Code of 

2 Federal Regulations (or a successor 

3 regulation). 

4 (IV) CONSIDERATION OF REVE5 NUES.—An appraisal under clause (i) 

6 shall take into consideration any fu7 ture income stream that the United 

8 States would have derived from the 

9 applicable requested Federal land at 

10 the time of the conveyance, including 

11 revenues to the United States— 

12 (aa) from existing water 

13 service and repayment contracts; 

14 (bb) from known or reason15 ably foreseeable new contracts or 

16 renewals; 

17 (cc) as aid to irrigation; and 

18 (dd) from any other author19 ized source. 

20 (iii) USE.—Amounts paid under 

21 clause (i) shall be available to the Sec22 retary, subject to further appropriation, for 

23 activities relating to the operation of the 

24 Hugh Butler Reservoir and Swanson Res25 ervoir. 


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1 (B) CONVEYANCE COSTS.—As a condition 

2 of a conveyance under paragraph (3), Hitchcock 

3 County or Frontier County, as applicable, shall 

4 be responsible for paying, in advance of the 

5 conveyance of the applicable requested Federal 

6 land, all survey and other administrative costs, 

7 as determined to be necessary by the Secretary, 

8 for the preparation and completion of transfer 

9 of title to, the applicable requested Federal 

10 land. 

11 (5) MANAGEMENT.—Hitchcock County and 

12 Frontier County shall each manage the applicable 

13 requested Federal land conveyed to Hitchcock Coun14 ty or Frontier County, as applicable, under para15 graph (3)— 

16 (A) for substantially the same purposes for 

17 which the applicable requested Federal land is 

18 being used as of the date of enactment of this 

19 Act; or 

20 (B) for— 

21 (i) recreation and public purposes con22 sistent with the Act of June 14, 1926 

23 (commonly known as the ‘‘Recreation and 

24 Public Purposes Act’’) (44 Stat. 741, 

25 chapter 578; 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.); 


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1 (ii) public access; 

2 (iii) fish and wildlife habitat; or 

3 (iv) the preservation of the natural 

4 character of the applicable requested Fed5 eral land. 

6 (b) SUBSEQUENT CONVEYANCE OF REQUESTED

7 FEDERAL LAND.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para9 graph (2), on completion of a conveyance to Hitch10 cock County or Frontier County, as applicable, of 

11 the applicable requested Federal land under sub12 section (a), Hitchcock County or Frontier County, 

13 as applicable, may not subsequently reconvey the ap14 plicable requested Federal land. 

15 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—Notwithstanding paragraph 

16 (1), Hitchcock County or Frontier County, as appli17 cable, may subsequently convey the applicable re18 quested Federal land if— 

19 (A) the applicable requested Federal land 

20 is reconveyed, at no cost, to an entity located 

21 in the State that is recognized by the State as 

22 a publicly owned or governmental organization, 

23 including— 

24 (i) a State agency; 


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1 (ii) a county, city, village, or township 

2 in, or political subdivision of, the State; 

3 (iii) a natural resource district; and 

4 (iv) an irrigation or reclamation dis5 trict; 

6 (B) Hitchcock County or Frontier County, 

7 as applicable, has demonstrated an impending 

8 adverse impact if the applicable requested Fed9 eral land is not reconveyed; 

10 (C) the entity to which the applicable re11 quested Federal land would be reconveyed has 

12 the capacity to continue to manage the applica13 ble requested Federal land for the same pur14 poses for which the applicable requested Fed15 eral land has been managed as of the date of 

16 enactment of this Act; and 

17 (D) the applicable requested Federal land 

18 to be reconveyed would continue to be available 

19 for public access. 

20 (3) FUTURE CONVEYANCES.—A subsequent 

21 conveyance of requested Federal land shall be sub22 ject to the requirements of this subsection and sub23 section (a)(5). 


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1 SEC. 4. EFFECT ON RESERVATIONS, EASEMENTS, AND 

2 OTHER RIGHTS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—A conveyance under section 3(a) 

4 shall be subject to— 

5 (1) valid existing rights; 

6 (2) operational requirements of the Pick-Sloan 

7 Missouri River Basin Program authorized by section 

8 9 of the Act of December 22, 1944 (commonly 

9 known as the ‘‘Flood Control Act of 1944’’) (58 

10 Stat. 891, chapter 665), including Swanson Res11 ervoir and Hugh Butler Reservoir; 

12 (3) any flowage easement reserved by the 

13 United States to allow full operation of the Swanson 

14 Reservoir and Hugh Butler Reservoir, as applicable, 

15 for authorized purposes; 

16 (4) any applicable reservations described in the 

17 Lakeview Lodge Management Agreement, Red Wil18 low Management Agreement, or Swanson Manage19 ment Agreement, as applicable; 

20 (5) oil, gas, and other mineral rights reserved 

21 of record, as of the date of enactment of this Act, 

22 by, or in favor of, the United States or a third 

23 party; 

24 (6) any permit, license, lease, right-of-use, flow25 age easement, or right-of-way of record in, on, over, 

26 or across the applicable requested Federal land, 


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1 whether owned by the United States or a third 

2 party, as of the date of enactment of this Act; 

3 (7) as applicable, a deed restriction that pro4 hibits building any new permanent structure on the 

5 applicable requested Federal land below an elevation 

6 of— 

7 (A) 2,785 feet at Swanson Reservoir; or 

8 (B) 2,628 feet at Hugh Butler Reservoir; 

9 and 

10 (8) the granting of applicable easements for— 

11 (A) vehicular access to the applicable re12 quested Federal land; and 

13 (B) access to, and use of, all docks, boat14 houses, ramps, retaining walls, and other im15 provements for which access is provided in a 

16 permit for the use of the applicable requested 

17 Federal land as of the date of enactment of this 

18 Act. 

19 (b) LIABILITY; TAKING.— 

20 (1) LIABILITY.—The United States shall not be 

21 liable for flood damage to a property, Hitchcock 

22 County, or Frontier County, or for damages arising 

23 out of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to a 

24 permit holder, Hitchcock County, or Frontier Coun25 ty, other than for damages caused by an act or 


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1 omission of the United States or an employee, agent, 

2 or contractor of the United States before the date of 

3 enactment of this Act. 

4 (2) HOLD HARMLESS.—Hitchcock County, 

5 Frontier County, and any entity to which requested 

6 Federal land is subsequently conveyed pursuant to 

7 section 3(b)(2) shall agree to indemnify and hold 

8 harmless the Unites States for all claims by Hitch9 cock County, Frontier County, or others arising 

10 from— 

11 (A) the design, construction, operation, 

12 maintenance, or replacement of Red Willow 

13 Dam, Hugh Butler Reservoir, Trenton Dam, or 

14 Swanson Reservoir; 

15 (B) the survey of claims, description of 

16 claims, delineation of boundaries, conveyance 

17 documents, conveyance process, and recording 

18 of deeds associated with a conveyance under 

19 this Act; or 

20 (C) any damages associated with a struc21 ture or land that may be displaced in a flood 

22 event. 

23 (3) NO ADDITIONAL LIABILITY.—Nothing in 

24 this Act increases the liability of the United States 

25 beyond the liability provided under chapter 171 of 


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1 title 28, United States Code (commonly known as 

2 the ‘‘Federal Tort Claims Act’’). 

3 (4) TAKING.—Any temporary flooding or flood 

4 damage to a property, Hitchcock County, or Fron5 tier County, shall not be considered to be a taking 

6 by the United States. 

7 SEC. 5. INTERIM REQUIREMENTS. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—During the period beginning on 

9 the date of enactment of this Act and ending on the date 

10 that is the later of the date that is 3 years after the date 

11 of enactment of this Act or the date of conveyance of the 

12 applicable requested Federal land under section 3(a), the 

13 provisions of the Lakeview Lodge Management Agree14 ment, Red Willow Management Agreement, and Swanson 

15 Management Agreement, as applicable, and any applicable 

16 permits, shall remain in force and effect. 

17 (b) EFFECT OF FAILURE TO ENTER INTO TITLE

18 TRANSFER AGREEMENT.—If, by the date that is 3 years 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, Hitchcock County 

20 or Frontier County, as applicable, have not entered into 

21 a title transfer agreement with the Secretary under section 

22 3(a)(1), the Secretary shall manage any of the Lakeview 

23 Lodge Permitted Concession Land, the Red Willow Per24 mitted Cabin Land, the Red Willow Permitted Concession 

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1 son Permitted Concession Land, as applicable, that is not 

2 subject to a title transfer agreement in accordance with 

3 applicable law. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 5, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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