II

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1626

To provide for the orderly disposal of Federal lands in southern Nevada,

and for the acquisition of certain environmentally sensitive lands in

Nevada, and for other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 19, 1996

Mr. BRYAN (for himself and Mr. REID) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

A BILL

To provide for the orderly disposal of Federal lands in southern Nevada, and for the acquisition of certain environmentally sensitive lands in Nevada, 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.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Southern Nevada Pub5 lic Land Management Act of 1996’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The Bureau of Land Management has ex2 tensive land ownership in small and large parcels

3 interspersed with or adjacent to private land in the

4 Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, making many of these

5 parcels difficult to manage and more appropriate for

6 disposal.

7 (2) The ad hoc disposal of Federal land by the

8 Bureau of Land Management has significantly con9 tributed to growth in the Las Vegas Valley, impos10 ing substantial costs on local government.

11 (3) In order to promote responsible and orderly

12 development in the Las Vagas Valley, certain of

13 those Federal lands should be sold by the Federal

14 Government based on recommendations made by

15 local government and the public.

16 (4) The value of Federal lands in the Las

17 Vegas Valley is enhanced by local infrastructure im18 provements which are paid for by local government.

19 (5) The Las Vegas metropolitan area is the

20 fastest growing urban area in the United States,

21 which is causing significant impacts upon the Lake

22 Mead National Recreation Area, the Red Rock Can23 yon National Conservation Area, and the Spring

24 Mountains National Recreation Area, which sur25 round the Las Vegas Valley.
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1 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide

2 for the orderly disposal of certain Federal lands in Clark

3 County, Nevada, and to provide for the acquisition of envi4 ronmentally sensitive lands in the State of Nevada.

5 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

6 As used in this Act:

7 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

8 of the Interior.

9 (2) The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ means the Sec10 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agri11 culture.

12 (3) The term ‘‘unit of local government’’ means

13 Clark County, the city of Las Vegas, the city of

14 North Las Vegas, or the city of Henderson; all in

15 the State of Nevada.

16 (4) The term ‘‘Agreement’’ means the agree17 ment entitled ‘‘The Interim Cooperative Manage18 ment Agreement Between The United States De19 partment of the Interior—Bureau of Land Manage20 ment and Clark County’’, dated November 4, 1992.

21 (5) The term ‘‘special account’’ means the ac22 count in the Treasury of the United States estab23 lished under section 4(e)(1)(D).
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1 SEC. 4. DISPOSAL.

2 (a) DISPOSAL.—Notwithstanding the land use plan3 ning requirements contained in sections 202 and 203 of

4 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

5 (43 U.S.C. 1711 and 1712), the Secretary, in accordance

6 with this Act, shall by sale or exchange dispose of lands

7 within the boundary of the area under the jurisdiction of

8 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management in Clark

9 County, Nevada, as generally depicted on the map entitled

10 ‘‘Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, Land Disposal Map’’, num11 bered , and dated . Such map shall be on

12 file and available for public inspection in the offices of the

13 Director and the Las Vegas District of the Bureau of

14 Land Management.

15 (b) RESERVATION FOR LOCAL PUBLIC PURPOSES.—

16 (1) ELECTION AND CONVEYANCE TO LOCAL

17 GOVERNMENTS.—Not less than 90 days before the

18 issuance of a patent to lands pursuant to subsection

19 (a), the unit of local government in whose jurisdic20 tion the lands are located may elect to obtain, with21 out consideration, up to 12 percent of the lands for

22 local public purposes. Pursuant to any such election,

23 the Secretary shall convey the elected lands to such

24 unit of the local government.

25 (2) REVERTER.—Except as provided by section

26 7(a), if lands acquired by a unit of local government
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1 under paragraph (1) are disposed of by such unit of

2 local government or otherwise cease to be used for

3 local public purposes, such lands shall revert to the

4 United States. Lands revested in the United States

5 under this paragraph shall be offered for disposal in

6 accordance with this Act.

7 (c) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,

8 all Federal lands identified in subsection (a) for disposal

9 are withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under the

10 mining laws and from operation under the mineral leasing

11 and geothermal leasing laws.

12 (d) SELECTION.—

13 (1) JOINT SELECTION REQUIRED.—The Sec14 retary and the unit of local government in whose ju15 risdiction lands referred to in subsection (a) are lo16 cated shall jointly select lands to be offered for sale

17 or exchange under this section. If agreement cannot

18 be reached on joint selection with respect to a parcel

19 of land, the parcel may not be offered for sale or ex20 change under subsection (a).

21 (2) OFFERING.—After land has been selected in

22 accordance with this subsection, the Secretary shall

23 make the first offering of land as soon as practicable

24 after the date of enactment of this Act.

25 (e) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.—
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1 (1) LAND SALES.—Of the gross proceeds of

2 sales of land under this subsection in a fiscal year—

3 (A) 5 percent shall be paid directly to the

4 State of Nevada for use in the general edu5 cation program of the State.

6 (B) 25 percent shall be paid directly to the

7 Southern Nevada Water Authority for water

8 treatment and transmission facility infrastruc9 ture in Clark County, Nevada.

10 (C) 20 percent shall be paid directly to

11 Clark County, Nevada, for development of

12 parks and trails and for public recreation pur13 poses within the Las Vegas Valley after the

14 adoption of an interlocal agreement among

15 Clark County, the city of Las Vegas, the city of

16 North Las Vegas, and the city of Henderson.

17 (D) The remainder shall be deposited in a

18 special account in the Treasury of the United

19 States for use pursuant to the provisions of

20 paragraphs (2) and (3). Amounts in the special

21 account shall be available to the Secretaries

22 without further appropriation and shall remain

23 available until expended.

24 (2) LAND EXCHANGES.—In the case of a land

25 exchange under this section (other than a land ex-
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1 change described in section 7(a)), the Secretary shall

2 provide direct payments pursuant to paragraphs (1)

3 (A), (B), and (C) from any cash equalization pay4 ment made to the Secretary pursuant to the ex5 change agreement and from the special account. The

6 payments shall be based on the appraised fair mar7 ket value of the Federal lands to be conveyed in the

8 exchange.

9 (3) AVAILABILITY OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—In addition to pay11 ments under paragraph (2), amounts deposited

12 in the special account may be expended by the

13 Secretaries, acting jointly, for—

14 (i) the acquisition of environmentally

15 sensitive land in the State of Nevada in ac16 cordance with section 5, with priority given

17 to lands located within Clark County; and

18 (ii) infrastructure needs associated

19 with recreation and resource protection

20 programs at the Lake Mead National

21 Recreation Area, the Red Rock Canyon

22 National Conservation Area and other

23 areas administered by the Bureau of Land

24 Management in Clark County, and the
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1 Spring Mountains National Recreation

2 Area.

3 (B) PROCEDURES.—The Secretaries shall

4 jointly develop procedures for the use of the

5 special account that ensure accountability and

6 demonstrated results.

7 (C) LIMITATION.—Not more than 50 per8 cent of the amounts available to the Secretaries

9 from the special account in any fiscal year (de10 termined without taking into account amounts

11 deposited under subsection (g)(4)) may be used

12 for the purposes described in subparagraph

13 (A)(ii).

14 (f) INVESTMENT OF SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—All funds

15 deposited as principal in the special account shall earn in16 terest in the amount determined by the Secretary of the

17 Treasury on the basis of the current average market yield

18 on outstanding marketable obligations of the United

19 States of comparable maturities. Such interest shall be

20 added to the principal of the account and expended ac21 cording to the provisions of subsection e(3).

22 (g) AIRPORT ENVIRONS OVERLAY DISTRICT LAND

23 TRANSFER.—Upon request of Clark County, Nevada, the

24 Secretary shall transfer to Clark County, Nevada, without

25 consideration, all right, title, and interest of the United
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1 States in and to the lands identified in the Agreement,

2 subject to the following:

3 (1) Valid existing rights.

4 (2) Clark County agrees to manage such lands

5 in accordance with the Agreement and with section

6 47504 of title 49, United States Code (relating to

7 airport noise compatibility planning), and regula8 tions promulgated pursuant to that section.

9 (3) Clark County agrees that if any of such

10 lands are sold or leased by Clark County, such sale

11 or lease shall contain a limitation which requires

12 uses compatible with the Agreement and such Air13 port Noise Compatibility Planning provisions.

14 (4) Clark County agrees that if any of such

15 lands are sold or leased by Clark County and are

16 identified on the map referenced in section 2(a) of

17 the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to provide for the orderly

18 disposal of certain Federal lands in Nevada and for

19 the acquisition of certain other lands in the Lake

20 Tahoe Basin, and for other purposes’’, approved De21 cember 23, 1980 (94 Stat. 3381; commonly known

22 as the ‘‘Santini-Burton Act’’), Clark County shall

23 contribute 85 percent of all proceeds from the sale

24 or lease of such lands directly to the special account.

25 Such proceeds shall be used by the Secretary of Ag-
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1 riculture to acquire environmentally sensitive land in

2 the Lake Tahoe Basin pursuant to section 3 of the

3 Santini-Burton Act. The remaining proceeds shall be

4 available for use by the Clark County Department of

5 Aviation for the benefit of airport development, in6 frastructure, and the Noise Compatibility Program.

7 SEC. 5. ACQUISITIONS.

8 (a) ACQUISITIONS.—

9 (1) DEFINITION.—For purposes of this sub10 section, the term ‘‘environmentally sensitive land’’

11 means land or an interest in land, the acquisition of

12 which by the United States would, in the judgment

13 of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of

14 Agriculture—

15 (A) promote the preservation of natural,

16 scientific, aesthetic, historical, cultural, water17 shed, wildlife, and other values contributing to

18 public enjoyment and biological diversity;

19 (B) enhance recreational opportunities and

20 public access;

21 (C) provide the opportunity to achieve bet22 ter management of public land through consoli23 dation of Federal ownership; or

24 (D) otherwise serve the public interest.
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1 (2) IN GENERAL.—After the consultation proc2 ess has been completed in accordance with para3 graph (3), the Secretaries may acquire by donation,

4 purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or ex5 change environmentally sensitive land and interests

6 in environmentally sensitive land. Lands may not be

7 acquired under this section without the consent of

8 the owner thereof.

9 (3) CONSULTATION.—Before initiating acquisi10 tion proceedings for any parcel of land under this

11 subsection, the Secretary of the Interior or the Sec12 retary of Agriculture shall consult with the State of

13 Nevada and with local government within whose ju14 risdiction the lands are located, including appro15 priate planning and regulatory agencies, and with

16 other interested persons, concerning the necessity of

17 making the acquisition, the potential impacts on

18 State and local government, and other appropriate

19 aspects of the acquisition. Consultation under this

20 paragraph is in addition to any other consultation

21 required by law.

22 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—On acceptance of title by the

23 United States, land and interests in land acquired under

24 this section that is within the boundaries of a unit of the

25 National Forest System, National Park System, National
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1 Wildlife Refuge System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers

2 System, National Trails System, National Wilderness

3 Preservation System, any other system established by Act

4 of Congress, or any national conservation or national

5 recreation area established by Act of Congress—

6 (1) shall become part of the unit or area with7 out further action by the Secretary of the Interior

8 or Secretary of Agriculture; and

9 (2) shall be managed in accordance with all

10 laws and regulations and land use plans applicable

11 to the unit or area.

12 (c) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET VALUE.—The

13 fair market value of land or an interest in land to be ac14 quired by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary

15 of Agriculture under this section shall be determined by

16 an appraisal made under section 206 of the Federal Land

17 Policy and Management Act of 1976. Any such appraisal

18 shall be made without regard to the presence of a species

19 listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered

20 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

21 (d) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—Section 6901(1)

22 of title 31, United States Code, is amended—

23 (1) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of subparagraph

24 (F);
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1 (2) by striking the period at the end of sub2 paragraph (G) and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

3 (3) by adding at the end the following:

4 ‘‘(H) acquired by the Secretary of the Inte5 rior or the Secretary of Agriculture under sec6 tion 5 of the Southern Nevada Public Land

7 Management Act.’’.

8 SEC. 6. REPORT.

9 The Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with the

10 Secretary of Agriculture, shall submit to the Committee

11 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the

12 Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives

13 an annual report on all transactions under this Act.

14 SEC. 7. RECREATION AND PUBLIC PURPOSES ACT.

15 (a) EXCHANGES.—

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Upon request by a person

17 described in paragraph (2), the Secretary may enter

18 into an exchange of lands pursuant to section 206

19 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of

20 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716). Exchanges pursuant to the

21 provisions of such section 206 may only be made for

22 lands of equal value, except that with respect to a

23 unit of local government an amount equal to the ex24 cess (if any) of the appraised fair market value of

25 lands received by the unit of local government over
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1 the appraised fair market value of lands transferred

2 by the unit of local government shall be paid to the

3 Secretary and shall be treated under section 4(e)(1)

4 of this Act as proceeds from the sale of land. For

5 purposes of this subsection, the appraised fair mar6 ket value of lands to be transferred by a unit of local

7 government shall be determined without regard to

8 the reverter provision of the lease or patent to such

9 lands.

10 (2) PERSON DESCRIBED.—A person referred to

11 in paragraph (1) is—

12 (A) a grantee of lands within Clark Coun13 ty, Nevada, that are subject to a lease or patent

14 issued under the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to au15 thorize acquisition or use of public lands by

16 States, counties, or municipalities for rec17 reational purposes’’, approved June 14, 1926

18 (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.; commonly known as the

19 ‘‘Recreation and Public Purposes Act’’), or

20 (B) a unit of local government making an

21 election under section 4(b)(1).

22 (3) TERMS AND CONDITIONS APPLICABLE TO

23 LANDS ACQUIRED.—Land acquired under this sec24 tion by a grantee described in paragraph (2)(A)

25 shall be subject to the terms and conditions, uses,
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1 and acreage limitations of the lease or patent to

2 which the lands transferred by the grantee were sub3 ject, including the reverter provisions, under the

4 Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Land acquired

5 under this section by a unit of local government de6 scribed in paragraph (2)(B) shall be subject to the

7 reversion provisions of section 4(b)(2) of this Act.

8 (b) WATER TREATMENT FACILITIES.—Notwith9 standing any other provision of law, the Secretary shall

10 make land available under the Recreation and Public Pur11 poses Act to the Southern Nevada Water Authority, as

12 identified on the map entitled ‘‘Las Vegas Valley, Nevada,

13 Water Treatment Facilities and Delivery System’’, num14 bered , and dated .

15 (c) FLOOD CONTROL.—The Secretary, in consulta16 tion with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Clark

17 County Regional Flood Control District, shall make avail18 able land in Clark County, Nevada, in accordance with the

19 Recreation and Public Purposes Act for flood control pur20 poses. Such lands shall be made available to the Clark

21 County Regional Flood Control District.

22 (d) AFFORDABLE HOUSING.—The Secretary, in con23 sultation with the Secretary of Housing and Urban Devel24 opment, shall make available land in the State of Nevada

25 in accordance with the Recreation and Public Purposes
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1 Act for affordable housing purposes. Such lands shall be

2 made available only to State or local governmental enti3 ties, including local public housing authorities. For the

4 purposes of this subsection, housing shall be considered

5 to be affordable housing if the housing is assisted under

6 the United States Housing Act of 1937 (42 U.S.C. 1437

7 et seq.).

8 SEC. 8. BOUNDARY MODIFICATION OF RED ROCK CANYON

9 NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.

10 Section 3(a)(2) of the Red Rock Canyon National

11 Conservation Area Establishment Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C.

12 460ccc–1(a)(2)) is amended to read as follows:

13 ‘‘(2) The conservation area shall consist of ap14 proximately acres as generally depicted on the

15 map entitled ‘Red Rock Canyon National Conserva16 tion Area—Proposed Modification’, numbered

17 , and dated .’’.

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