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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 880 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 880

   To withdraw certain Federal lands in the State of California for 
               military purposes, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 4, 1993

   Mr. Vento (for himself, Mr. Lehman, and Mr. Miller of California) 
   introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the 
           Committees on Armed Services and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
   To withdraw certain Federal lands in the State of California for 
               military purposes, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND FINDINGS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``California 
Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1993''.
    (b) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Federal lands within the desert regions of 
        California have provided essential opportunities for military 
        training, research, and development for the Armed Forces of the 
        United States and allied nations;
            (2) alternative sites for military training and other 
        military activities carried out on Federal lands in the 
        California desert area are not readily available;
            (3) while changing world conditions have lessened to some 
        extent the immediacy of military threats to the national 
        security of the United States and its allies, there remains a 
        need for military training, research, and development 
        activities of the types that have been carried out on Federal 
        lands in the California desert area; and
            (4) continuation of existing military training, research, 
        and development activities, under appropriate terms and 
        conditions, is not incompatible with the protection and proper 
        management of the natural, environmental, cultural, and other 
        resources and values of the Federal lands in the California 
        desert area.

SEC. 2. WITHDRAWALS.

    (a) China Lake.--(1) Subject to valid existing rights and except as 
otherwise provided in this Act, the Federal lands referred to in 
paragraph (2), and all other areas within the boundary of such lands as 
depicted on the map specified in such paragraph which may become 
subject to the operation of the public land laws, are hereby withdrawn 
from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws (including 
the mining laws and the mineral leasing laws). Such lands are reserved 
for use by the Secretary of the Navy for--
            (A) use as a research, development, test, and evaluation 
        laboratory;
            (B) use as a range for air warfare weapons and weapon 
        systems;
            (C) use as a high hazard training area for aerial gunnery, 
        rocketry, electronic warfare and countermeasures, tactical 
        maneuvering and air support; and
            (D) subject to the requirements of section 4(f), other 
        defense-related purposes consistent with the purposes specified 
        in this paragraph.
    (2) The lands referred to in paragraph (1) are the Federal lands, 
located within the boundaries of the China Lake Naval Weapons Center, 
comprising approximately 1,100,000 acres in Inyo, Kern, and San 
Bernardino Counties, California, as generally depicted on a map 
entitled ``China Lake Naval Weapons Center Withdrawal--Proposed'', 
dated January 1985, and filed in accordance with section 3.
    (b) Chocolate Mountain.--(1) Subject to valid existing rights and 
except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Federal lands referred to 
in paragraph (2), and all other areas within the boundary of such lands 
as depicted on the map specified in such paragraph which may become 
subject to the operation of the public land laws, are hereby withdrawn 
from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws (including 
the mining laws and the mineral leasing and the geothermal leasing 
laws). Such lands are reserved for use by the Secretary of the Navy 
for--
            (A) testing and training for aerial bombing, missile 
        firing, tactical maneuvering and air support; and
            (B) subject to the provisions of section 4(f), other 
        defense-related purposes consistent with the purposes specified 
        in this paragraph.
    (2) The lands referred to in paragraph (1) are the Federal lands 
comprising approximately 226,711 acres in Imperial County, California, 
as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Chocolate Mountain Aerial 
Gunnery Range Proposed--Withdrawal'' dated November 1991 and filed in 
accordance with section 3.

SEC. 3. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

    (a) Publication and Filing Requirement.--As soon as practicable 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 
shall--
            (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice containing the 
        legal description of the lands withdrawn and reserved by this 
        Act; and
            (2) file maps and the legal description of the lands 
        withdrawn and reserved by this Act with the Committee on Energy 
        and Natural Resources of the United States Senate and with the 
        Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of 
        Representatives.
    (b) Technical Corrections.--Such maps and legal descriptions shall 
have the same force and effect as if they were included in this Act 
except that the Secretary of the Interior may correct clerical and 
typographical errors in such maps and legal descriptions.
    (c) Availability for Public Inspection.--Copies of such maps and 
legal descriptions shall be available for public inspection in the 
Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, Washington, 
District of Columbia; the Office of the Director, California State 
Office of the Bureau of Land Management, Sacramento, California; the 
office of the commander of the Naval Weapons Center, China Lake, 
California; the office of the commanding officer, Marine Corps Air 
Station, Yuma, Arizona; and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 
Washington, District of Columbia.
    (d) Reimbursement.--The Secretary of Defense shall reimburse the 
Secretary of the Interior for the cost of implementing this section.

SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

    (a) Management by the Secretary of the Interior.--(1) Except as 
provided in subsection (g), during the period of the withdrawal the 
Secretary of the Interior shall manage the lands withdrawn under 
section 2 pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable law, including this 
Act.
    (2) To the extent consistent with applicable law and Executive 
orders, the lands withdrawn under section 2 may be managed in a manner 
permitting--
            (A) the continuation of grazing pursuant to applicable law 
        and Executive orders where permitted on the date of enactment 
        of this Act;
            (B) protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat;
            (C) control of predatory and other animals;
            (D) recreation (but only on lands withdrawn by section 2(a) 
        (relating to China Lake));
            (E) the prevention and appropriate suppression of brush and 
        range fires resulting from nonmilitary activities; and
            (F) geothermal leasing on the lands withdrawn under section 
        2(a) (relating to China Lake).
    (3)(A) All nonmilitary use of such lands, including the uses 
described in paragraph (2), shall be subject to such conditions and 
restrictions as may be necessary to permit the military use of such 
lands for the purposes specified in or authorized pursuant to this Act.
    (B) The Secretary of the Interior may issue any lease, easement, 
right-of-way, or other authorization with respect to the nonmilitary 
use of such lands only with the concurrence of the Secretary of the 
Navy.
    (b) Closure to Public.--(1) If the Secretary of the Navy determines 
that military operations, public safety, or national security require 
the closure to public use of any road, trail, or other portion of the 
lands withdrawn by this Act, the Secretary may take such action as the 
Secretary determines necessary or desirable to effect and maintain such 
closure.
    (2) Any such closure shall be limited to the minimum areas and 
periods which the Secretary of the Navy determines are required to 
carry out this subsection.
    (3) Before and during any closure under this subsection, the 
Secretary of the Navy shall--
            (A) keep appropriate warning notices posted; and
            (B) take appropriate steps to notify the public concerning 
        such closures.
    (c) Management Plan.--The Secretary of the Interior (after 
consultation with the Secretary of the Navy) shall develop a plan for 
the management of each area withdrawn under section 2 during the period 
of such withdrawal. Each plan shall--
            (1) be consistent with applicable law;
            (2) be subject to conditions and restrictions specified in 
        subsection (a)(3);
            (3) include such provisions as may be necessary for proper 
        management and protection of the resources and values of such 
        area; and
            (4) be developed not later than three years after the date 
        of enactment of this Act.
    (d) Brush and Range Fires.--The Secretary of the Navy shall take 
necessary precautions to prevent and suppress brush and range fires 
occurring within and outside the lands withdrawn under section 2 as a 
result of military activities and may seek assistance from the Bureau 
of Land Management in the suppression of such fires. The memorandum of 
understanding required by subsection (e) shall provide for Bureau of 
Land Management assistance in the suppression of such fires, and for a 
transfer of funds from the Department of the Navy to the Bureau of Land 
Management as compensation for such assistance.
    (e) Memorandum of Understanding.--(1) The Secretary of the Interior 
and the Secretary of the Navy shall (with respect to each land 
withdrawal under section 2) enter into a memorandum of understanding to 
implement the management plan developed under subsection (c). Any such 
memorandum of understanding shall provide that the Director of the 
Bureau of Land Management shall provide assistance in the suppression 
of fires resulting from the military use of lands withdrawn under 
section 2 if requested by the Secretary of the Navy.
    (2) The duration of any such memorandum shall be the same as the 
period of the withdrawal of the lands under section 2.
    (f) Additional Military Uses.--(1) Lands withdrawn by section 2 may 
be used for defense-related uses other than those specified in such 
section. The Secretary of Defense shall promptly notify the Secretary 
of the Interior in the event that the lands withdrawn by this Act will 
be used for defense-related purposes other than those specified in 
section 2. Such notification shall indicate the additional use or uses 
involved, the proposed duration of such uses, and the extent to which 
such additional military uses of the withdrawn lands will require that 
additional or more stringent conditions or restrictions be imposed on 
otherwise-permitted nonmilitary uses of the withdrawn land or portions 
thereof.
    (g) Management of China Lake.--(1) The Secretary of the Interior 
may assign the management responsibility for the lands withdrawn under 
section 2(a) to the Secretary of the Navy who shall manage such lands, 
and issue leases, easements, rights-of-way, and other authorizations, 
in accordance with this Act and cooperative management arrangements 
between the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy. In 
the case that the Secretary of the Interior assigns such management 
responsibility to the Secretary of the Navy before the development of 
the management plan under subsection (c), the Secretary of the Navy 
(after consultation with the Secretary of the Interior) shall develop 
such management plan.
    (2) The Secretary of the Interior shall be responsible for the 
issuance of any lease, easement, right-of-way, and other authorization 
with respect to any activity which involves both the lands withdrawn 
under section 2(a) and any other lands. Any such authorization shall be 
issued only with the consent of the Secretary of the Navy and, to the 
extent that such activity involves lands withdrawn under section 2(a), 
shall be subject to such conditions as the Secretary of the Navy may 
prescribe.
    (3) The Secretary of the Navy shall prepare and submit to the 
Secretary of the Interior an annual report on the status of the natural 
and cultural resources and values of the lands withdrawn under section 
2(a). The Secretary of the Interior shall transmit such report to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
    (4) The Secretary of the Navy shall be responsible for the 
management of wild horses and burros located on the lands withdrawn 
under section 2(a) and may utilize helicopters and motorized vehicles 
for such purposes. Such management shall be in accordance with laws 
applicable to such management on public lands and with an appropriate 
memorandum of understanding between the Secretary of the Interior and 
the Secretary of the Navy.
    (5) Neither this Act nor any other provision of law shall be 
construed to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior from issuing and 
administering any lease for the development and utilization of 
geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources on the lands 
withdrawn under section 2(a) pursuant to the Geothermal Steam Act of 
1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) and other applicable law, but no such 
lease shall be issued without the concurrence of the Secretary of the 
Navy.
    (6) This Act shall not affect the geothermal exploration and 
development authority of the Secretary of the Navy under section 2689 
of title 10, United States Code, except that the Secretary of the Navy 
shall obtain the concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior before 
taking action under that section with respect to the lands withdrawn 
under section 2(a).

SEC. 5. DURATION OF WITHDRAWALS.

    (a) Duration.--The withdrawal and reservation established by this 
Act shall terminate 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act.
    (b) Draft Environmental Impact Statement.--No later than 12 years 
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Navy 
shall publish a draft environmental impact statement concerning 
continued or renewed withdrawal of any portion of the lands withdrawn 
by this Act for which that Secretary intends to seek such continued or 
renewed withdrawal. Such draft environmental impact statement shall be 
consistent with the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) applicable to such a draft 
environmental impact statement. Prior to the termination date specified 
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall hold a public 
hearing on any draft environmental impact statement published pursuant 
to this subsection. Such hearing shall be held in the State of 
California in order to receive public comments on the alternatives and 
other matters included in such draft environmental impact statement.
    (c) Extensions or Renewals.--The withdrawals established by this 
Act may not be extended or renewed except by an Act or joint 
resolution.

SEC. 6. ONGOING DECONTAMINATION.

    (a) Program.--Throughout the duration of the withdrawals made by 
this Act, the Secretary of the Navy, to the extent funds are made 
available, shall maintain a program of decontamination of lands 
withdrawn by this Act at least at the level of decontamination 
activities performed on such lands in fiscal year 1986.
    (b) Reports.--At the same time as the President transmits to the 
Congress the President's proposed budget for the first fiscal year 
beginning after the date of enactment of this Act and for each 
subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary of the Navy shall transmit to the 
Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate and to the Committees on Appropriations, Armed 
Services, and Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a 
description of the decontamination efforts undertaken during the 
previous fiscal year on such lands and the decontamination activities 
proposed for such lands during the next fiscal year including:
            (1) amounts appropriated and obligated or expended for 
        decontamination of such lands;
            (2) the methods used to decontaminate such lands;
            (3) amount and types of contaminants removed from such 
        lands;
            (4) estimated types and amounts of residual contamination 
        on such lands; and
            (5) an estimate of the costs for full decontamination of 
        such lands and the estimate of the time to complete such 
        decontamination.

SEC. 7. REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL.

    (a) Notice and Filing.--(1) No later than three years prior to the 
termination of the withdrawal and reservation established by this Act, 
the Secretary of the Navy shall advise the Secretary of the Interior as 
to whether or not the Secretary of the Navy will have a continuing 
military need for any of the lands withdrawn under section 2 after the 
termination date of such withdrawal and reservation.
    (2) If the Secretary of the Navy concludes that there will be a 
continuing military need for any of such lands after the termination 
date, the Secretary shall file an application for extension of the 
withdrawal and reservation of such needed lands in accordance with the 
regulations and procedures of the Department of the Interior applicable 
to the extension of withdrawals of lands for military uses.
    (3) If, during the period of withdrawal and reservation, the 
Secretary of the Navy decides to relinquish all or any of the lands 
withdrawn and reserved by this Act, the Secretary shall file a notice 
of intention to relinquish with the Secretary of the Interior.
    (b) Contamination.--(1) Before transmitting a notice of intention 
to relinquish pursuant to subsection (a), the Secretary of Defense, 
acting through the Department of Navy, shall prepare a written 
determination concerning whether and to what extent the lands that are 
to be relinquished are contaminated with explosive, toxic, or other 
hazardous materials.
    (2) A copy of such determination shall be transmitted with the 
notice of intention to relinquish.
    (3) Copies of both the notice of intention to relinquish and the 
determination concerning the contaminated state of the lands shall be 
published in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the Interior.
    (c) Decontamination.--If any land which is the subject of a notice 
of intention to relinquish pursuant to subsection (a) is contaminated, 
and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary 
of the Navy, determines that decontamination is practicable and 
economically feasible (taking into consideration the potential future 
use and value of the land) and that upon decontamination, the land 
could be opened to operation of some or all of the public land laws, 
including the mining laws, the Secretary of the Navy shall 
decontaminate the land to the extent that funds are appropriated for 
such purpose.
    (d) Alternatives.--If the Secretary of the Interior, after 
consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, concludes that 
decontamination of any land which is the subject of a notice of 
intention to relinquish pursuant to subsection (a) is not practicable 
or economically feasible, or that the land cannot be decontaminated 
sufficiently to be opened to operation of some or all of the public 
land laws, or if Congress does not appropriate a sufficient amount of 
funds for the decontamination of such land, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall not be required to accept the land proposed for 
relinquishment.
    (e) Status of Contaminated Lands.--If, because of their 
contaminated state, the Secretary of the Interior declines to accept 
jurisdiction over lands withdrawn by this Act which have been proposed 
for relinquishment, or if at the expiration of the withdrawal made by 
this Act the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of the 
lands withdrawn by this Act are contaminated to an extent which 
prevents opening such contaminated lands to operation of the public 
land laws--
            (1) the Secretary of the Navy shall take appropriate steps 
        to warn the public of the contaminated state of such lands and 
        any risks associated with entry onto such lands;
            (2) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the Secretary 
        of the Navy shall undertake no activities on such lands except 
        in connection with decontamination of such lands; and
            (3) the Secretary of the Navy shall report to the Secretary 
        of the Interior and to the Congress concerning the status of 
        such lands and all actions taken in furtherance of this 
        subsection.
    (f) Revocation Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, the Secretary of the Interior, upon deciding that it is in the 
public interest to accept jurisdiction over lands proposed for 
relinquishment pursuant to subsection (a), is authorized to revoke the 
withdrawal and reservation established by this Act as it applies to 
such lands. Should the decision be made to revoke the withdrawal and 
reservation, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal 
Register an appropriate order which shall--
            (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;
            (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdiction 
        over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior; and
            (3) state the date upon which the lands will be opened to 
        the operation of some or all of the public lands laws, 
        including the mining laws.

SEC. 8. DELEGABILITY.

    (a) Defense.--The functions of the Secretary of Defense or the 
Secretary of the Navy under this Act may be delegated.
    (b) Interior.--The functions of the Secretary of the Interior under 
this Act may be delegated, except that an order described in section 
7(f) may be approved and signed only by the Secretary of the Interior, 
the Under Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary of the 
Department of the Interior.

SEC. 9. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

    All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands withdrawn by this 
Act shall be conducted in accordance with the provisions of section 
2671 of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 10. IMMUNITY OF UNITED STATES.

    The United States and all departments or agencies thereof shall be 
held harmless and shall not be liable for any injury or damage to 
persons or property suffered in the course of any geothermal leasing or 
other authorized nonmilitary activity conducted on lands described in 
section 2 of this Act.

SEC. 11. EL CENTRO RANGES.

    The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to permit the Secretary 
of the Navy to use until January 1, 1994, the approximately 44,870 
acres of public lands in Imperial County, California, known as the East 
Mesa and West Mesa ranges, in accordance with the Memorandum of 
Understanding dated June 29, 1987, between the Bureau of Land 
Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of the Navy. 
Such use shall be consistent with such Memorandum of Understanding and 
such additional terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior 
may require in order to protect the natural, scientific, environmental, 
cultural, and other resources and values of such lands and to minimize 
the extent to which use of such lands for military purposes impedes or 
restricts use of such or other public lands for other purposes. All 
military uses of such lands shall cease on January 1, 1994, unless 
authorized by subsequent Act of Congress.

SEC. 12. MILITARY OVERFLIGHTS.

    (a) Disclaimer.--Nothing in this Act or the California Desert 
Protection Act of 1993 shall preclude low-level overflights by military 
aircraft, the designation of new units of special airspace, or the use 
or establishment of military flight training routes over the new units 
of the National Park or National Wilderness Preservation Systems (or 
any additions to existing units of such Systems) designated by this Act 
or the California Desert Protection Act of 1993.
    (b) Monitoring.--The Secretary of the Interior shall monitor the 
effects of aircraft overflights on the resources and values of the 
units of the National Park System and National Wilderness Preservation 
System designated or expanded by this Act or the California Desert 
Protection Act of 1993, and on visitor enjoyment of such units. The 
Secretary of the Interior shall actively seek the assistance of the 
Secretary of Defense, consistent with national security needs, to 
resolve concerns related to such overflights and to prevent, eliminate, 
or minimize the derogation of resources and values and of visitor 
enjoyment associated with overflight activities.

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