109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 161

AN ACT

To provide for a land exchange in the State of Arizona

between the Secretary of Agriculture and Yavapai Ranch

Limited Partnership.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Northern Arizona Land Exchange and Verde River

6 Basin Partnership Act of 2005’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

TITLE I—NORTHERN ARIZONA LAND EXCHANGE

Sec. 101. Definitions.

Sec. 102. Land exchange.

Sec. 103. Description of non-Federal land.

Sec. 104. Description of Federal land.

Sec. 105. Status and management of land after exchange.

Sec. 106. Miscellaneous provisions.

Sec. 107. Conveyance of additional land.

TITLE II—VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP

Sec. 201. Purpose.

Sec. 202. Definitions.

Sec. 203. Verde River Basin Partnership.

Sec. 204. Verde River Basin studies.

Sec. 205. Verde River Basin Partnership final report.

Sec. 206. Memorandum of understanding.

Sec. 207. Effect.

3 TITLE I—NORTHERN ARIZONA

4 LAND EXCHANGE

5 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this title:

7 (1) CAMP.—The term ‘‘camp’’ means Camp

8 Pearlstein, Friendly Pines, Patterdale Pines, Pine

9 Summit, Sky Y, and Young Life Lost Canyon camps

10 in the State of Arizona.

11 (2) CITIES.—The term ‘‘cities’’ means the cities

12 of Flagstaff, Williams, and Camp Verde, Arizona.

13 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’

14 means the land described in section 104.

15 (4) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed16 eral land’’ means the land described in section 103.
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1 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

2 the Secretary of Agriculture.

3 (6) YAVAPAI RANCH.—The term ‘‘Yavapai

4 Ranch’’ means the Yavapai Ranch Limited Partner5 ship, an Arizona Limited Partnership, and the

6 Northern Yavapai, L.L.C., an Arizona Limited Li7 ability Company.

8 SEC. 102. LAND EXCHANGE.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Upon the conveyance by

10 Yavapai Ranch of title to the non-Federal land identified

11 in section 103, the Secretary shall simultaneously convey

12 to Yavapai Ranch title to the Federal land identified in

13 section 104.

14 (2) Title to the lands to be exchanged shall be in a

15 form acceptable to the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch.

16 (3) The Federal and non-Federal lands to be ex17 changed under this title may be modified prior to the ex18 change as provided in this title.

19 (4)(A) By mutual agreement, the Secretary and

20 Yavapai Ranch may make minor and technical corrections

21 to the maps and legal descriptions of the lands and inter22 ests therein exchanged or retained under this title, includ23 ing changes, if necessary to conform to surveys approved

24 by the Bureau of Land Management.
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1 (B) In the case of any discrepancy between a map

2 and legal description, the map shall prevail unless the Sec3 retary and Yavapai Ranch agree otherwise.

4 (b) EXCHANGE PROCESS.—(1) Except as otherwise

5 provided in this title, the land exchange under subsection

6 (a) shall be undertaken in accordance with section 206

7 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43

8 U.S.C. 1716).

9 (2) Before completing the land exchange under this

10 title, the Secretary shall perform any necessary land sur11 veys and pre-exchange inventories, clearances, reviews,

12 and approvals, including those relating to hazardous mate13 rials, threatened and endangered species, cultural and his14 toric resources, and wetlands and flood plains.

15 (c) EQUAL VALUE EXCHANGE.—(1) The value of the

16 Federal land and the non-Federal land shall be equal, or

17 equalized by the Secretary by adjusting the acreage of the

18 Federal land in accordance with paragraph (2).

19 (2) If the final appraised value of the Federal land

20 exceeds the final appraised value of the non-Federal land,

21 prior to making other adjustments, the Federal lands shall

22 be adjusted by deleting all or part of the parcels or por23 tions of the parcels in the following order:

24 (A) A portion of the Camp Verde parcel de25 scribed in section 104(a)(4), comprising approxi-
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1 mately 316 acres, located in the Prescott National

2 Forest, and more particularly described as lots 1, 5,

and 6 of section 26, the NE1⁄4NE1 3 ⁄4 portion of section 26 and the N1⁄2N1 4 ⁄2 portion of section 27,

5 Township 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt

6 River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona.

7 (B) A portion of the Camp Verde parcel de8 scribed in section 104(a)(4), comprising approxi9 mately 314 acres, located in the Prescott National

10 Forest, and more particularly described as lots 2, 7,

8, and 9 of section 26, the SE1⁄4NE1 11 ⁄4 portion of

section 26, and the S1⁄2N1 12 ⁄2 of section 27, Township

13 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt River Base

14 and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona.

15 (C) Beginning at the south boundary of section

16 31, Township 20 North, Range 5 West, Gila and

17 Salt River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Ari18 zona, and sections 33 and 35, Township 20 North,

19 Range 6 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Merid20 ian, Yavapai County, Arizona, by adding to the non21 Federal land to be conveyed to the United States in

1 22 ⁄8-section increments (E–W 64th line) while delet23 ing from the conveyance to Yavapai Ranch Federal

24 land in the same incremental portions of section 32,

25 Township 20 North, Range 5 West, Gila and Salt
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1 River Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona,

2 and sections 32, 34, and 36 in Township 20 North,

3 Range 6 West, Gila and Salt River Base and Merid4 ian, Yavapai County, Arizona, to establish a linear

5 and continuous boundary that runs east-to-west

6 across the sections.

7 (D) Any other parcels, or portions thereof,

8 agreed to by the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch.

9 (3) If any parcel of Federal land or non-Federal land

10 is not conveyed because of any reason, that parcel of land,

11 or portion thereof, shall be excluded from the exchange

12 and the remaining lands shall be adjusted as provided in

13 this subsection.

14 (4) If the value of the Federal land exceeds the value

15 of the non-Federal land by more than $50,000, the Sec16 retary and Yavapai Ranch shall, by mutual agreement, de17 lete additional Federal land from the exchange until the

18 value of the Federal land and non-Federal land is, to the

19 maximum extent practicable, equal.

20 (d) APPRAISALS.—(1) The value of the Federal land

21 and non-Federal land shall be determined by appraisals

22 prepared in accordance with the Uniform Appraisal

23 Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform

24 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
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1 (2)(A) After the Secretary has reviewed and approved

2 the final appraised values of the Federal land and non3 Federal land to be exchanged, the Secretary shall not be

4 required to reappraise or update the final appraised values

5 before the completion of the land exchange.

6 (B) This paragraph shall apply during the three-year

7 period following the approval by the Secretary of the final

8 appraised values of the Federal land and non-Federal land

9 unless the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch have entered into

10 an agreement to implement the exchange.

11 (3) During the appraisal process, the appraiser shall

12 determine the value of each parcel of Federal land and

13 non-Federal land (including the contributory value of each

14 individual section of the intermingled Federal and non15 Federal land of the property described in sections 103(a)

16 and 104(a)(1)) as an assembled transaction.

17 (4)(A) To ensure the timely and full disclosure to the

18 public of the final appraised values of the Federal land

19 and non-Federal land, the Secretary shall provide public

20 notice of any appraisals approved by the Secretary and

21 copies of such appraisals shall be available for public in22 spection in appropriate offices of the Prescott, Coconino,

23 and Kaibab National Forests.
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1 (B) The Secretary shall also provide copies of any

2 approved appraisals to the cities and the owners of the

3 camps described in section 101(1).

4 (e) CONTRACTING.—(1) If the Secretary lacks ade5 quate staff or resources to complete the exchange by the

6 date specified in section 106(c), Yavapai Ranch, subject

7 to the agreement of the Secretary, may contract with inde8 pendent third-party contractors to carry out any work nec9 essary to complete the exchange by that date.

10 (2) If, in accordance with this subsection, Yavapai

11 Ranch contracts with an independent third-party con12 tractor to carry out any work that would otherwise be per13 formed by the Secretary, the Secretary shall reimburse

14 Yavapai Ranch for the costs for the third-party contrac15 tors.

16 (f) EASEMENTS.—(1) The exchange of non-Federal

17 and Federal land under this title shall be subject to any

18 easements, rights-of-way, utility lines, and any other valid

19 encumbrances in existence on the date of enactment of

20 this Act, including acquired easements for water pipelines

21 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch

22 Land Exchange, YRLP Acquired Easements for Water

23 Lines’’ dated August 2004, and any other reservations

24 that may be agreed to by the Secretary and Yavapai

25 Ranch.
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1 (2) Upon completion of the land exchange under this

2 title, the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch shall grant each

3 other at no charge reciprocal easements for access and

4 utilities across, over, and through—

5 (A) the routes depicted on the map entitled

6 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Road and Trail

7 Easements, Yavapai Ranch Area’’ dated August

8 2004; and

9 (B) any relocated routes that are agreed to by

10 the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch.

11 (3) An easement described in paragraph (2) shall be

12 unrestricted and non-exclusive in nature and shall run

13 with and benefit the land.

14 (g) CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO CITIES AND

15 CAMPS.—(1) Prior to the completion of the land exchange

16 between Yavapai Ranch and the Secretary, the cities and

17 the owners of the camps may enter into agreements with

18 Yavapai Ranch whereby Yavapai Ranch, upon completion

19 of the land exchange, will convey to the cities or the own20 ers of the camps the applicable parcel of Federal land or

21 portion thereof.

22 (2) If Yavapai Ranch and the cities or camp owners

23 have not entered into agreements in accordance with para24 graph (1), the Secretary shall, on notification by the cities

25 or owners of the camps no later than 30 days after the
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1 date the relevant approved appraisal is made publicly

2 available, delete the applicable parcel or portion thereof

3 from the land exchange between Yavapai Ranch and the

4 United States as follows:

5 (A) Upon request of the City of Flagstaff, Ari6 zona, the parcels, or portion thereof, described in

7 section 104(a)(2).

8 (B) Upon request of the City of Williams, Ari9 zona, the parcels, or portion thereof, described in

10 section 104(a)(3).

11 (C) Upon request of the City of Camp Verde,

12 Arizona, a portion of the parcel described in section

13 104(a)(4), comprising approximately 514 acres lo14 cated southeast of the southeastern boundary of the

15 I–17 right-of-way, and more particularly described

as the SE1 16 ⁄4 portion of the southeast quarter of section 26, the E1⁄2 and the E1⁄2W1 17 ⁄2 portions of sec18 tion 35, and lots 5 through 7 of section 36, Town19 ship 14 North, Range 4 East, Gila and Salt River

20 Base and Meridian, Yavapai County, Arizona.

21 (D) Upon request of the owners of the

22 Younglife Lost Canyon camp, the parcel described in

23 section 104(a)(5).

24 (E) Upon request of the owner of Friendly

25 Pines Camp, Patterdale Pines Camp, Camp
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1 Pearlstein, Pine Summit, or Sky Y Camp, as appli2 cable, the corresponding parcel described in section

3 104(a)(6).

4 (3)(A) Upon request of the specific city or camp ref5 erenced in paragraph (2), the Secretary shall convey to

6 such city or camp all right, title, and interest of the United

7 States in and to the applicable parcel of Federal land or

8 portion thereof, upon payment of the fair market value

9 of the parcel and subject to any terms and conditions the

10 Secretary may require.

11 (B) A conveyance under this paragraph shall not re12 quire new administrative or environmental analyses or ap13 praisals beyond those prepared for the land exchange.

14 (4) A city or owner of a camp purchasing land under

15 this subsection shall reimburse Yavapai Ranch for any

16 costs incurred which are directly associated with surveys

17 and appraisals of the specific property conveyed.

18 (5) A conveyance of land under this subsection shall

19 not affect the timing of the land exchange.

20 (6) Nothing in this subsection limits the authority of

21 the Secretary or Yavapai Ranch to delete any of the par22 cels referenced in this subsection from the land exchange.

23 (7)(A) The Secretary shall deposit the proceeds of

24 any sale under paragraph (2) in a special account in the
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1 fund established under Public Law 90–171 (commonly

2 known as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a).

3 (B) Amounts deposited under subparagraph (A) shall

4 be available to the Secretary, without further appropria5 tion, to be used for the acquisition of land in the State

6 of Arizona for addition to the National Forest System, in7 cluding the land to be exchanged under this title.

8 SEC. 103. DESCRIPTION OF NON-FEDERAL LAND.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—The non-Federal land referred to

10 in this title consists of approximately 35,000 acres of pri11 vately-owned land within the boundaries of the Prescott

12 National Forest, as generally depicted on the map entitled

13 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Non-Federal Lands’’,

14 dated August 2004.

15 (b) EASEMENTS.—(1) The conveyance of non-Fed16 eral land to the United States under section 102 shall be

17 subject to the reservation of—

18 (A) water rights and perpetual easements that

19 run with and benefit the land retained by Yavapai

20 Ranch for—

21 (i) the operation, maintenance, repair, im22 provement, development, and replacement of

23 not more than 3 wells in existence on the date

24 of enactment of this Act;
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1 (ii) related storage tanks, valves, pumps,

2 and hardware; and

3 (iii) pipelines to point of use; and

4 (B) easements for reasonable access to accom5 plish the purposes of the easements described in

6 subparagraph (A).

7 (2) Each easement for an existing well referred to

8 in paragraph (1) shall be 40 acres in area, and to the

9 maximum extent practicable, centered on the existing well.

10 (3) The United States shall be entitled to one-half

11 the production of each existing or replacement well, not

12 to exceed a total of 3,100,000 gallons of water annually

13 for National Forest System purposes.

14 (4) The locations of the easements and wells shall be

15 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch

16 Land Exchange, Reserved Easements for Water Lines and

17 Wells’’, dated August 2004.

18 SEC. 104. DESCRIPTION OF FEDERAL LAND.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Federal land referred to in

20 this title consists of the following:

21 (1) Certain land comprising approximately

22 15,300 acres located in the Prescott National For23 est, as generally depicted on the map entitled

24 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Yavapai Ranch

25 Area Federal Lands’’, dated August 2004.
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1 (2) Certain land located in the Coconino Na2 tional Forest—

3 (A) comprising approximately 1,500 acres

4 as generally depicted on the map entitled

5 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Flagstaff

6 Federal Lands Airport Parcel’’, dated August

7 2004; and

8 (B) comprising approximately 28.26 acres

9 in two separate parcels, as generally depicted

10 on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Ex11 change, Flagstaff Federal Lands Wetzel School

12 and Mt. Elden Parcels’’, dated August 2004.

13 (3) Certain land located in the Kaibab National

14 Forest, and referred to as the Williams Airport, Wil15 liams golf course, Williams Sewer, Buckskinner

16 Park, Williams Railroad, and Well parcels number 2,

17 3, and 4, cumulatively comprising approximately 950

18 acres, as generally depicted on the map entitled

19 ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange, Williams Federal

20 Lands’’, dated August 2004.

21 (4) Certain land located in the Prescott Na22 tional Forest, comprising approximately 2,200 acres,

23 as generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai

24 Ranch Land Exchange, Camp Verde Federal Land

25 General Crook Parcel’’, dated August 2004.
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1 (5) Certain land located in the Kaibab National

2 Forest, comprising approximately 237.5 acres, as

3 generally depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai

4 Ranch Land Exchange, Younglife Lost Canyon’’,

5 dated August 2004.

6 (6) Certain land located in the Prescott Na7 tional Forest, including the ‘‘Friendly Pines’’,

8 ‘‘Patterdale Pines’’, ‘‘Camp Pearlstein’’, ‘‘Pine Sum9 mit’’, and ‘‘Sky Y’’ camps, cumulatively comprising

10 approximately 200 acres, as generally depicted on

11 the map entitled ‘‘Yavapai Ranch Land Exchange,

12 Prescott Federal Lands, Summer Youth Camp Par13 cels’’, dated August 2004.

14 (b) CONDITION OF CONVEYANCE OF CAMP VERDE

15 PARCEL.—(1) To conserve water in the Verde Valley, Ari16 zona, and to minimize the adverse impacts from future

17 development of the Camp Verde General Crook parcel de18 scribed in subsection (a)(4) on current and future holders

19 of water rights in existence of the date of enactment of

20 this Act and the Verde River and National Forest System

21 lands retained by the United States, the United States

22 shall limit in perpetuity the use of water on the parcel

23 by reserving conservation easements that—

24 (A) run with the land;
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1 (B) prohibit golf course development on the

2 parcel;

3 (C) require that any public park or greenbelt on

4 the parcel be watered with treated wastewater;

5 (D) limit total post-exchange water use on the

6 parcel to not more than 300 acre-feet of water per

7 year;

8 (E) provide that any water supplied by munici9 palities or private water companies shall count to10 wards the post-exchange water use limitation de11 scribed in subparagraph (D); and

12 (F) except for water supplied to the parcel by

13 municipal water service providers or private water

14 companies, require that any water used for the par15 cel not be withdrawn from wells perforated in the

16 saturated Holocene alluvium of the Verde River.

17 (2) If Yavapai Ranch conveys the Camp Verde parcel

18 described in subsection (a)(4), or any portion thereof, the

19 terms of conveyance shall include a recorded and binding

20 agreement of the quantity of water available for use on

21 the land conveyed, as determined by Yavapai Ranch, ex22 cept that total water use on the Camp Verde parcel may

23 not exceed the amount specified in paragraph (1)(D).
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1 (3) The Secretary may enter into a memorandum of

2 understanding with the State or political subdivision of the

3 State to enforce the terms of the conservation easement.

4 SEC. 105. STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF LAND AFTER EX5 CHANGE.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Land acquired by the United

7 States under this title shall become part of the Prescott

8 National Forest and shall be administered by the Sec9 retary in accordance with this title and the laws applicable

10 to the National Forest System.

11 (b) GRAZING.—Where grazing on non-Federal land

12 acquired by the Secretary under this title occurs prior to

13 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary may man14 age the land to allow for continued grazing use, in accord15 ance with the laws generally applicable to domestic live16 stock grazing on National Forest System land.

17 (c) TIMBER HARVESTING.—(1) After completion of

18 the land exchange under this title, except as provided in

19 paragraph (2), commercial timber harvesting shall be pro20 hibited on the non-Federal land acquired by the United

21 States.

22 (2) Timber harvesting may be conducted on the non23 Federal land acquired under this title if the Secretary de24 termines that such harvesting is necessary—
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1 (A) to prevent or control fires, insects, and dis2 ease through forest thinning or other forest manage3 ment techniques;

4 (B) to protect or enhance grassland habitat,

5 watershed values, native plants and wildlife species;

6 or

7 (C) to improve forest health.

8 SEC. 106. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

9 (a) REVOCATION OF ORDERS.—Any public orders

10 withdrawing any of the Federal land from appropriation

11 or disposal under the public land laws are revoked to the

12 extent necessary to permit disposal of the Federal land.

13 (b) WITHDRAWAL OF FEDERAL LAND.—Subject to

14 valid existing rights, the Federal land is withdrawn from

15 all forms of entry and appropriation under the public land

16 laws; location, entry, and patent under the mining laws;

17 and operation of the mineral leasing and geothermal leas18 ing laws, until the date on which the land exchange is com19 pleted.

20 (c) COMPLETION OF EXCHANGE.—It is the intent of

21 Congress that the land exchange authorized and directed

22 under this title be completed not later than 18 months

23 after the date of enactment of this Act.
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1 SEC. 107. CONVEYANCE OF ADDITIONAL LAND.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convey to a

3 person that represents the majority of landowners with en4 croachments on the lot by quitclaim deed the parcel of

5 land described in subsection (b).

6 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The parcel of land re7 ferred to in subsection (a) is lot 8 in section 11, T. 21

8 N., R. 7 E., Gila and Salt River Base and Meridian,

9 Coconino County, Arizona.

10 (c) AMOUNT OF CONSIDERATION.—In exchange for

11 the land described in subsection (b), the person acquiring

12 the land shall pay to the Secretary consideration in the

13 amount of—

14 (1) $2500; plus

15 (2) any costs of re-monumenting the boundary

16 of land.

17 (d) TIMING.—(1) Not later than 90 days after the

18 date on which the Secretary receives a power of attorney

19 executed by the person acquiring the land, the Secretary

20 shall convey to the person the land described in subsection

21 (b).

22 (2) If, by the date that is 270 days after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary does not receive

24 the power of attorney described in paragraph (1)—

25 (A) the authority provided under this section

26 shall terminate; and
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1 (B) any conveyance of the land shall be made

2 under Public Law 97–465 (16 U.S.C. 521c et seq.).

3 TITLE II—VERDE RIVER BASIN

4 PARTNERSHIP

5 SEC. 201. PURPOSE.

6 The purpose of this title is to authorize assistance

7 for a collaborative and science-based water resource plan8 ning and management partnership for the Verde River

9 Basin in the State of Arizona, consisting of members that

10 represent—

11 (1) Federal, State, and local agencies; and

12 (2) economic, environmental, and community

13 water interests in the Verde River Basin.

14 SEC. 202. DEFINITIONS.

15 In this title:

16 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means

17 the Director of the Arizona Department of Water

18 Resources.

19 (2) PARTNERSHIP.—The term ‘‘Partnership’’

20 means the Verde River Basin Partnership.

21 (3) PLAN.—The term ‘‘plan’’ means the plan

22 for the Verde River Basin required by section

23 204(a)(1).

24 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

25 the Secretary of Agriculture.
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1 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State

2 of Arizona.

3 (6) VERDE RIVER BASIN.—The term ‘‘Verde

4 River Basin’’ means the land area designated by the

5 Arizona Department of Water Resources as encom6 passing surface water and groundwater resources,

7 including drainage and recharge areas with a hydro8 logic connection to the Verde River.

9 (7) WATER BUDGET.—The term ‘‘water budg10 et’’ means the accounting of—

11 (A) the quantities of water leaving the

12 Verde River Basin—

13 (i) as discharge to the Verde River

14 and tributaries;

15 (ii) as subsurface outflow;

16 (iii) as evapotranspiration by riparian

17 vegetation;

18 (iv) as surface evaporation;

19 (v) for agricultural use; and

20 (vi) for human consumption; and

21 (B) the quantities of water replenishing

22 the Verde River Basin by precipitation, infiltra23 tion, and subsurface inflows.
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1 SEC. 203. VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may participate in

3 the establishment of a partnership, to be known as the

4 ‘‘Verde River Basin Partnership’’, made up of Federal,

5 State, local governments, and other entities with respon6 sibilities and expertise in water to coordinate and cooper7 ate in the identification and implementation of comprehen8 sive science-based policies, projects, and management ac9 tivities relating to the Verde River Basin.

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—On es11 tablishment of the Partnership, there are authorized to be

12 appropriated to the Secretary and the Secretary of the In13 terior such sums as are necessary to carry out the activi14 ties of the Partnership for each of fiscal years 2006

15 through 2010.

16 SEC. 204. VERDE RIVER BASIN STUDIES.

17 (a) STUDIES.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Partnership shall pre19 pare a plan for conducting water resource studies in

20 the Verde River Basin that identifies—

21 (A) the primary study objectives to fulfill

22 water resource planning and management needs

23 for the Verde River Basin; and

24 (B) the water resource studies, hydrologic

25 models, surface and groundwater monitoring

26 networks, and other analytical tools helpful in
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1 the identification of long-term water supply

2 management options within the Verde River

3 Basin.

4 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—At a minimum, the plan

5 shall—

6 (A) include a list of specific studies and

7 analyses that are needed to support Partnership

8 planning and management decisions;

9 (B) identify any ongoing or completed

10 water resource or riparian studies that are rel11 evant to water resource planning and manage12 ment for the Verde River Basin;

13 (C) describe the estimated cost and dura14 tion of the proposed studies and analyses; and

15 (D) designate as a study priority the com16 pilation of a water budget analysis for the

17 Verde Valley.

18 (b) VERDE VALLEY WATER BUDGET ANALYSIS.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to the availability of

20 appropriations, not later than 14 months after the

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Director of the

22 U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Di23 rector, shall prepare and submit to the Partnership

24 a report that provides a water budget analysis of the
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1 portion of the Verde River Basin within the Verde

2 Valley.

3 (2) COMPONENTS.—The report submitted

4 under paragraph (1) shall include—

5 (A) a summary of the information avail6 able on the hydrologic flow regime for the por7 tion of the Middle Verde River from the

8 Clarkdale streamgauging station to the city of

9 Camp Verde at United States Geological Survey

10 Stream Gauge 09506000;

11 (B) with respect to the portion of the Mid12 dle Verde River described in subparagraph (A),

13 estimates of—

14 (i) the inflow and outflow of surface

15 water and groundwater;

16 (ii) annual consumptive water use;

17 and

18 (iii) changes in groundwater storage;

19 and

20 (C) an analysis of the potential long-term

21 consequences of various water use scenarios on

22 groundwater levels and Verde River flows.

23 (c) PRELIMINARY REPORT AND RECOMMENDA24 TIONS.—.
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 16 months

2 after the date of enactment of this Act, using the in3 formation provided in the report submitted under

4 subsection (b) and any other relevant information,

5 the Partnership shall submit to the Secretary, the

6 Governor of Arizona, and representatives of the

7 Verde Valley communities, a preliminary report that

8 sets forth the findings and recommendations of the

9 Partnership regarding the long-term available water

10 supply within the Verde Valley.

11 (2) CONSIDERATION OF RECOMMENDATIONS.—

12 The Secretary may take into account the rec13 ommendations included in the report submitted

14 under paragraph (1) with respect to decisions affect15 ing land under the jurisdiction of the Secretary, in16 cluding any future sales or exchanges of Federal

17 land in the Verde River Basin after the date of en18 actment of this Act.

19 (3) EFFECT.—Any recommendations included

20 in the report submitted under paragraph (1) shall

21 not affect the land exchange process or the apprais22 als of the Federal land and non-Federal land con23 ducted under sections 103 and 104.
†

26

S 161 ES

1 SEC. 205. VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP FINAL RE2 PORT.

3 Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment

4 of this Act, the Partnership shall submit to the Secretary

5 and the Governor of Arizona a final report that—

6 (1) includes a summary of the results of any

7 water resource assessments conducted under this

8 title in the Verde River Basin;

9 (2) identifies any areas in the Verde River

10 Basin that are determined to have groundwater defi11 cits or other current or potential water supply prob12 lems;

13 (3) identifies long-term water supply manage14 ment options for communities and water resources

15 within the Verde River Basin; and

16 (4) identifies water resource analyses and moni17 toring needed to support the implementation of man18 agement options.

19 SEC. 206. MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.

20 The Secretary (acting through the Chief of the Forest

21 Service) and the Secretary of the Interior, shall enter into

22 a memorandum of understanding authorizing the United

23 States Geological Survey to access Forest Service land (in24 cluding stream gauges, weather stations, wells, or other

25 points of data collection on the Forest Service land) to

26 carry out this title.
†

27

S 161 ES

1 SEC. 207. EFFECT.

2 Nothing in this title diminishes or expands State or

3 local jurisdiction, responsibilities, or rights with respect to

4 water resource management or control.

Passed the Senate July 26, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 161

AN ACT

To provide for a land exchange in the State of AriYavapai Ranch Limited Partnership. zona between the Secretary of Agriculture and