I

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.

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 AND FINDINGS.

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

5 ‘‘California Military Lands Withdrawal and Overflights

6 Act of 1993’’.

7 (b) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) the Federal lands within the desert regions

9 of California have provided essential opportunities

10 for military training, research, and development for
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1 the Armed Forces of the United States and allied

2 nations;

3 (2) alternative sites for military training and

4 other military activities carried out on Federal lands

5 in the California desert area are not readily avail6 able;

7 (3) while changing world conditions have less8 ened to some extent the immediacy of military

9 threats to the national security of the United States

10 and its allies, there remains a need for military

11 training, research, and development activities of the

12 types that have been carried out on Federal lands in

13 the California desert area; and

14 (4) continuation of existing military training,

15 research, and development activities, under appro16 priate terms and conditions, is not incompatible with

17 the protection and proper management of the natu18 ral, environmental, cultural, and other resources and

19 values of the Federal lands in the California desert

20 area.

21 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWALS.

22 (a) CHINA LAKE.—(1) Subject to valid existing rights

23 and except as otherwise provided in this Act, the Federal

24 lands referred to in paragraph (2), and all other areas

25 within the boundary of such lands as depicted on the map
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1 specified in such paragraph which may become subject to

2 the operation of the public land laws, are hereby with3 drawn from all forms of appropriation under the public

4 land laws (including the mining laws and the mineral leas5 ing laws). Such lands are reserved for use by the Secretary

6 of the Navy for—

7 (A) use as a research, development, test, and

8 evaluation laboratory;

9 (B) use as a range for air warfare weapons and

10 weapon systems;

11 (C) use as a high hazard training area for aer12 ial gunnery, rocketry, electronic warfare and coun13 termeasures, tactical maneuvering and air support;

14 and

15 (D) subject to the requirements of section 4(f),

16 other defense-related purposes consistent with the

17 purposes specified in this paragraph.

18 (2) The lands referred to in paragraph (1) are the

19 Federal lands, located within the boundaries of the China

20 Lake Naval Weapons Center, comprising approximately

21 1,100,000 acres in Inyo, Kern, and San Bernardino Coun22 ties, California, as generally depicted on a map entitled

23 ‘‘China Lake Naval Weapons Center Withdrawal—Pro24 posed’’, dated January 1985, and filed in accordance with

25 section 3.
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1 (b) CHOCOLATE MOUNTAIN.—(1) Subject to valid ex2 isting rights and except as otherwise provided in this Act,

3 the Federal lands referred to in paragraph (2), and all

4 other areas within the boundary of such lands as depicted

5 on the map specified in such paragraph which may become

6 subject to the operation of the public land laws, are hereby

7 withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the pub8 lic land laws (including the mining laws and the mineral

9 leasing and the geothermal leasing laws). Such lands are

10 reserved for use by the Secretary of the Navy for—

11 (A) testing and training for aerial bombing,

12 missile firing, tactical maneuvering and air support;

13 and

14 (B) subject to the provisions of section 4(f),

15 other defense-related purposes consistent with the

16 purposes specified in this paragraph.

17 (2) The lands referred to in paragraph (1) are the

18 Federal lands comprising approximately 226,711 acres in

19 Imperial County, California, as generally depicted on a

20 map entitled ‘‘Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range

21 Proposed—Withdrawal’’ dated November 1991 and filed

22 in accordance with section 3.
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1 SEC. 3. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

2 (a) PUBLICATION AND FILING REQUIREMENT.—As

3 soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act,

4 the Secretary of the Interior shall—

5 (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice

6 containing the legal description of the lands with7 drawn and reserved by this Act; and

8 (2) file maps and the legal description of the

9 lands withdrawn and reserved by this Act with the

10 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

11 United States Senate and with the Committee on

12 Natural Resources of the United States House of

13 Representatives.

14 (b) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Such maps and

15 legal descriptions shall have the same force and effect as

16 if they were included in this Act except that the Secretary

17 of the Interior may correct clerical and typographical er18 rors in such maps and legal descriptions.

19 (c) AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION.—Copies

20 of such maps and legal descriptions shall be available for

21 public inspection in the Office of the Director of the Bu22 reau of Land Management, Washington, District of Co23 lumbia; the Office of the Director, California State Office

24 of the Bureau of Land Management, Sacramento, Califor25 nia; the office of the commander of the Naval Weapons

26 Center, China Lake, California; the office of the com-
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1 manding officer, Marine Corps Air Station, Yuma, Ari2 zona; and the Office of the Secretary of Defense, Washing3 ton, District of Columbia.

4 (d) REIMBURSEMENT.—The Secretary of Defense

5 shall reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for the cost

6 of implementing this section.

7 SEC. 4. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

8 (a) MANAGEMENT BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTE9 RIOR.—(1) Except as provided in subsection (g), during

10 the period of the withdrawal the Secretary of the Interior

11 shall manage the lands withdrawn under section 2 pursu12 ant to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

13 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable law,

14 including this Act.

15 (2) To the extent consistent with applicable law and

16 Executive orders, the lands withdrawn under section 2

17 may be managed in a manner permitting—

18 (A) the continuation of grazing pursuant to ap19 plicable law and Executive orders where permitted

20 on the date of enactment of this Act;

21 (B) protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat;

22 (C) control of predatory and other animals;

23 (D) recreation (but only on lands withdrawn by

24 section 2(a) (relating to China Lake));
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1 (E) the prevention and appropriate suppression

2 of brush and range fires resulting from nonmilitary

3 activities; and

4 (F) geothermal leasing on the lands withdrawn

5 under section 2(a) (relating to China Lake).

6 (3)(A) All nonmilitary use of such lands, including

7 the uses described in paragraph (2), shall be subject to

8 such conditions and restrictions as may be necessary to

9 permit the military use of such lands for the purposes

10 specified in or authorized pursuant to this Act.

11 (B) The Secretary of the Interior may issue any

12 lease, easement, right-of-way, or other authorization with

13 respect to the nonmilitary use of such lands only with the

14 concurrence of the Secretary of the Navy.

15 (b) CLOSURE TO PUBLIC.—(1) If the Secretary of the

16 Navy determines that military operations, public safety,

17 or national security require the closure to public use of

18 any road, trail, or other portion of the lands withdrawn

19 by this Act, the Secretary may take such action as the

20 Secretary determines necessary or desirable to effect and

21 maintain such closure.

22 (2) Any such closure shall be limited to the minimum

23 areas and periods which the Secretary of the Navy deter24 mines are required to carry out this subsection.
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1 (3) Before and during any closure under this sub2 section, the Secretary of the Navy shall—

3 (A) keep appropriate warning notices posted;

4 and

5 (B) take appropriate steps to notify the public

6 concerning such closures.

7 (c) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary of the Inte8 rior (after consultation with the Secretary of the Navy)

9 shall develop a plan for the management of each area with10 drawn under section 2 during the period of such with11 drawal. Each plan shall—

12 (1) be consistent with applicable law;

13 (2) be subject to conditions and restrictions

14 specified in subsection (a)(3);

15 (3) include such provisions as may be necessary

16 for proper management and protection of the re17 sources and values of such area; and

18 (4) be developed not later than three years after

19 the date of enactment of this Act.

20 (d) BRUSH AND RANGE FIRES.—The Secretary of

21 the Navy shall take necessary precautions to prevent and

22 suppress brush and range fires occurring within and out23 side the lands withdrawn under section 2 as a result of

24 military activities and may seek assistance from the Bu25 reau of Land Management in the suppression of such
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1 fires. The memorandum of understanding required by sub2 section (e) shall provide for Bureau of Land Management

3 assistance in the suppression of such fires, and for a

4 transfer of funds from the Department of the Navy to the

5 Bureau of Land Management as compensation for such

6 assistance.

7 (e) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—(1) The

8 Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy

9 shall (with respect to each land withdrawal under section

10 2) enter into a memorandum of understanding to imple11 ment the management plan developed under subsection

12 (c). Any such memorandum of understanding shall provide

13 that the Director of the Bureau of Land Management

14 shall provide assistance in the suppression of fires result15 ing from the military use of lands withdrawn under section

16 2 if requested by the Secretary of the Navy.

17 (2) The duration of any such memorandum shall be

18 the same as the period of the withdrawal of the lands

19 under section 2.

20 (f) ADDITIONAL MILITARY USES.—(1) Lands with21 drawn by section 2 may be used for defense-related uses

22 other than those specified in such section. The Secretary

23 of Defense shall promptly notify the Secretary of the Inte24 rior in the event that the lands withdrawn by this Act will

25 be used for defense-related purposes other than those
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1 specified in section 2. Such notification shall indicate the

2 additional use or uses involved, the proposed duration of

3 such uses, and the extent to which such additional military

4 uses of the withdrawn lands will require that additional

5 or more stringent conditions or restrictions be imposed on

6 otherwise-permitted nonmilitary uses of the withdrawn

7 land or portions thereof.

8 (g) MANAGEMENT OF CHINA LAKE.—(1) The Sec9 retary of the Interior may assign the management respon10 sibility for the lands withdrawn under section 2(a) to the

11 Secretary of the Navy who shall manage such lands, and

12 issue leases, easements, rights-of-way, and other author13 izations, in accordance with this Act and cooperative man14 agement arrangements between the Secretary of the Inte15 rior and the Secretary of the Navy. In the case that the

16 Secretary of the Interior assigns such management re17 sponsibility to the Secretary of the Navy before the devel18 opment of the management plan under subsection (c), the

19 Secretary of the Navy (after consultation with the Sec20 retary of the Interior) shall develop such management

21 plan.

22 (2) The Secretary of the Interior shall be responsible

23 for the issuance of any lease, easement, right-of-way, and

24 other authorization with respect to any activity which in25 volves both the lands withdrawn under section 2(a) and
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1 any other lands. Any such authorization shall be issued

2 only with the consent of the Secretary of the Navy and,

3 to the extent that such activity involves lands withdrawn

4 under section 2(a), shall be subject to such conditions as

5 the Secretary of the Navy may prescribe.

6 (3) The Secretary of the Navy shall prepare and sub7 mit to the Secretary of the Interior an annual report on

8 the status of the natural and cultural resources and values

9 of the lands withdrawn under section 2(a). The Secretary

10 of the Interior shall transmit such report to the Committee

11 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and

12 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

13 Senate.

14 (4) The Secretary of the Navy shall be responsible

15 for the management of wild horses and burros located on

16 the lands withdrawn under section 2(a) and may utilize

17 helicopters and motorized vehicles for such purposes. Such

18 management shall be in accordance with laws applicable

19 to such management on public lands and with an appro20 priate memorandum of understanding between the Sec21 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy.

22 (5) Neither this Act nor any other provision of law

23 shall be construed to prohibit the Secretary of the Interior

24 from issuing and administering any lease for the develop25 ment and utilization of geothermal steam and associated
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1 geothermal resources on the lands withdrawn under sec2 tion 2(a) pursuant to the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970

3 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) and other applicable law, but

4 no such lease shall be issued without the concurrence of

5 the Secretary of the Navy.

6 (6) This Act shall not affect the geothermal explo7 ration and development authority of the Secretary of the

8 Navy under section 2689 of title 10, United States Code,

9 except that the Secretary of the Navy shall obtain the con10 currence of the Secretary of the Interior before taking ac11 tion under that section with respect to the lands with12 drawn under section 2(a).

13 SEC. 5. DURATION OF WITHDRAWALS.

14 (a) DURATION.—The withdrawal and reservation es15 tablished by this Act shall terminate 15 years after the

16 date of enactment of this Act.

17 (b) DRAFT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—

18 No later than 12 years after the date of enactment of this

19 Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall publish a draft envi20 ronmental impact statement concerning continued or re21 newed withdrawal of any portion of the lands withdrawn

22 by this Act for which that Secretary intends to seek such

23 continued or renewed withdrawal. Such draft environ24 mental impact statement shall be consistent with the re25 quirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of
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1 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) applicable to such a draft

2 environmental impact statement. Prior to the termination

3 date specified in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Navy

4 shall hold a public hearing on any draft environmental im5 pact statement published pursuant to this subsection.

6 Such hearing shall be held in the State of California in

7 order to receive public comments on the alternatives and

8 other matters included in such draft environmental impact

9 statement.

10 (c) EXTENSIONS OR RENEWALS.—The withdrawals

11 established by this Act may not be extended or renewed

12 except by an Act or joint resolution.

13 SEC. 6. ONGOING DECONTAMINATION.

14 (a) PROGRAM.—Throughout the duration of the with15 drawals made by this Act, the Secretary of the Navy, to

16 the extent funds are made available, shall maintain a pro17 gram of decontamination of lands withdrawn by this Act

18 at least at the level of decontamination activities per19 formed on such lands in fiscal year 1986.

20 (b) REPORTS.—At the same time as the President

21 transmits to the Congress the President’s proposed budget

22 for the first fiscal year beginning after the date of enact23 ment of this Act and for each subsequent fiscal year, the

24 Secretary of the Navy shall transmit to the Committees

25 on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Energy and Nat-
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1 ural Resources of the Senate and to the Committees on

2 Appropriations, Armed Services, and Natural Resources

3 of the House of Representatives a description of the de4 contamination efforts undertaken during the previous fis5 cal year on such lands and the decontamination activities

6 proposed for such lands during the next fiscal year

7 including:

8 (1) amounts appropriated and obligated or ex9 pended for decontamination of such lands;

10 (2) the methods used to decontaminate such

11 lands;

12 (3) amount and types of contaminants removed

13 from such lands;

14 (4) estimated types and amounts of residual

15 contamination on such lands; and

16 (5) an estimate of the costs for full decon17 tamination of such lands and the estimate of the

18 time to complete such decontamination.

19 SEC. 7. REQUIREMENTS FOR RENEWAL.

20 (a) NOTICE AND FILING.—(1) No later than three

21 years prior to the termination of the withdrawal and res22 ervation established by this Act, the Secretary of the Navy

23 shall advise the Secretary of the Interior as to whether

24 or not the Secretary of the Navy will have a continuing

25 military need for any of the lands withdrawn under section
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1 2 after the termination date of such withdrawal and res2 ervation.

3 (2) If the Secretary of the Navy concludes that there

4 will be a continuing military need for any of such lands

5 after the termination date, the Secretary shall file an ap6 plication for extension of the withdrawal and reservation

7 of such needed lands in accordance with the regulations

8 and procedures of the Department of the Interior applica9 ble to the extension of withdrawals of lands for military

10 uses.

11 (3) If, during the period of withdrawal and reserva12 tion, the Secretary of the Navy decides to relinquish all

13 or any of the lands withdrawn and reserved by this Act,

14 the Secretary shall file a notice of intention to relinquish

15 with the Secretary of the Interior.

16 (b) CONTAMINATION.—(1) Before transmitting a no17 tice of intention to relinquish pursuant to subsection (a),

18 the Secretary of Defense, acting through the Department

19 of Navy, shall prepare a written determination concerning

20 whether and to what extent the lands that are to be relin21 quished are contaminated with explosive, toxic, or other

22 hazardous materials.

23 (2) A copy of such determination shall be transmitted

24 with the notice of intention to relinquish.
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1 (3) Copies of both the notice of intention to relinquish

2 and the determination concerning the contaminated state

3 of the lands shall be published in the Federal Register by

4 the Secretary of the Interior.

5 (c) DECONTAMINATION.—If any land which is the

6 subject of a notice of intention to relinquish pursuant to

7 subsection (a) is contaminated, and the Secretary of the

8 Interior, in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy,

9 determines that decontamination is practicable and eco10 nomically feasible (taking into consideration the potential

11 future use and value of the land) and that upon decon12 tamination, the land could be opened to operation of some

13 or all of the public land laws, including the mining laws,

14 the Secretary of the Navy shall decontaminate the land

15 to the extent that funds are appropriated for such

16 purpose.

17 (d) ALTERNATIVES.—If the Secretary of the Interior,

18 after consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, con19 cludes that decontamination of any land which is the sub20 ject of a notice of intention to relinquish pursuant to sub21 section (a) is not practicable or economically feasible, or

22 that the land cannot be decontaminated sufficiently to be

23 opened to operation of some or all of the public land laws,

24 or if Congress does not appropriate a sufficient amount

25 of funds for the decontamination of such land, the Sec-
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1 retary of the Interior shall not be required to accept the

2 land proposed for relinquishment.

3 (e) STATUS OF CONTAMINATED LANDS.—If, because

4 of their contaminated state, the Secretary of the Interior

5 declines to accept jurisdiction over lands withdrawn by

6 this Act which have been proposed for relinquishment, or

7 if at the expiration of the withdrawal made by this Act

8 the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of the

9 lands withdrawn by this Act are contaminated to an extent

10 which prevents opening such contaminated lands to oper11 ation of the public land laws—

12 (1) the Secretary of the Navy shall take appro13 priate steps to warn the public of the contaminated

14 state of such lands and any risks associated with

15 entry onto such lands;

16 (2) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the

17 Secretary of the Navy shall undertake no activities

18 on such lands except in connection with decon19 tamination of such lands; and

20 (3) the Secretary of the Navy shall report to

21 the Secretary of the Interior and to the Congress

22 concerning the status of such lands and all actions

23 taken in furtherance of this subsection.

24 (f) REVOCATION AUTHORITY.—Notwithstanding any

25 other provision of law, the Secretary of the Interior, upon
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1 deciding that it is in the public interest to accept jurisdic2 tion over lands proposed for relinquishment pursuant to

3 subsection (a), is authorized to revoke the withdrawal and

4 reservation established by this Act as it applies to such

5 lands. Should the decision be made to revoke the with6 drawal and reservation, the Secretary of the Interior shall

7 publish in the Federal Register an appropriate order

8 which shall—

9 (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;

10 (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdic11 tion over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior;

12 and

13 (3) state the date upon which the lands will be

14 opened to the operation of some or all of the public

15 lands laws, including the mining laws.

16 SEC. 8. DELEGABILITY.

17 (a) DEFENSE.—The functions of the Secretary of De18 fense or the Secretary of the Navy under this Act may

19 be delegated.

20 (b) INTERIOR.—The functions of the Secretary of the

21 Interior under this Act may be delegated, except that an

22 order described in section 7(f) may be approved and

23 signed only by the Secretary of the Interior, the Under

24 Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary of the

25 Department of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 9. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

2 All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands with3 drawn by this Act shall be conducted in accordance with

4 the provisions of section 2671 of title 10, United States

5 Code.

6 SEC. 10. IMMUNITY OF UNITED STATES.

7 The United States and all departments or agencies

8 thereof shall be held harmless and shall not be liable for

9 any injury or damage to persons or property suffered in

10 the course of any geothermal leasing or other authorized

11 nonmilitary activity conducted on lands described in sec12 tion 2 of this Act.

13 SEC. 11. EL CENTRO RANGES.

14 The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to permit

15 the Secretary of the Navy to use until January 1, 1994,

16 the approximately 44,870 acres of public lands in Imperial

17 County, California, known as the East Mesa and West

18 Mesa ranges, in accordance with the Memorandum of Un19 derstanding dated June 29, 1987, between the Bureau of

20 Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the

21 Department of the Navy. Such use shall be consistent with

22 such Memorandum of Understanding and such additional

23 terms and conditions as the Secretary of the Interior may

24 require in order to protect the natural, scientific, environ25 mental, cultural, and other resources and values of such

26 lands and to minimize the extent to which use of such
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1 lands for military purposes impedes or restricts use of

2 such or other public lands for other purposes. All military

3 uses of such lands shall cease on January 1, 1994, unless

4 authorized by subsequent Act of Congress.

5 SEC. 12. MILITARY OVERFLIGHTS.

6 (a) DISCLAIMER.—Nothing in this Act or the Califor7 nia Desert Protection Act of 1993 shall preclude low-level

8 overflights by military aircraft, the designation of new

9 units of special airspace, or the use or establishment of

10 military flight training routes over the new units of the

11 National Park or National Wilderness Preservation Sys12 tems (or any additions to existing units of such Systems)

13 designated by this Act or the California Desert Protection

14 Act of 1993.

15 (b) MONITORING.—The Secretary of the Interior

16 shall monitor the effects of aircraft overflights on the re17 sources and values of the units of the National Park Sys18 tem and National Wilderness Preservation System des19 ignated or expanded by this Act or the California Desert

20 Protection Act of 1993, and on visitor enjoyment of such

21 units. The Secretary of the Interior shall actively seek the

22 assistance of the Secretary of Defense, consistent with na23 tional security needs, to resolve concerns related to such

24 overflights and to prevent, eliminate, or minimize the dero-
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1 gation of resources and values and of visitor enjoyment

2 associated with overflight activities.

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