II

Calendar No. 61

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 378

[Report No. 104–38]

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to exchange certain lands of

the Columbia Basin Federal reclamation project, Washington, and for

other purposes.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 9 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Mr. GORTON (for himself and Mrs. MURRAY) introduced the following bill;

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

APRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, without amendment

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to exchange certain lands of the Columbia Basin Federal reclamation

project, Washington, 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. LAND EXCHANGE.

4 The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter referred to

5 as the ‘‘Secretary’’) is authorized to convey to the Boise
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S 378 RS

1 Cascade Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the ‘‘Cor2 poration’’), a corporation formed under the statutes of the

3 State of Delaware, with its principal place of business at

4 Boise, Idaho, title to approximately seven acres of land,

5 more or less, located in sections 14 and 23, township 36

6 north, range 37 east, Willamette Meridian, Stevens Coun7 ty, Washington, further identified in the records of the

8 Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior, as

9 Tract No. GC–19860, and to accept from the Corporation

10 in exchange therefor, title to approximately one hundred

11 and thirty-six acres of land located in section 19, township

12 37 north, range 38 east and section 33, township 38

13 north, range 37 east, Willamette Meridian, Stevens Coun14 ty, Washington, and further identified in the records of

15 the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the Interior,

16 as Tract No. GC–19858 and Tract No. GC–19859, re17 spectively.

18 SEC. 2. APPRAISAL.

19 The properties so exchanged either shall be approxi20 mately equal in fair market value or if they are not ap21 proximately equal, shall be equalized by the payment of

22 cash to the Corporation or to the Secretary as required

23 or in the event the value of the Corporation’s lands is

24 greater, the acreage may be reduced so that the fair mar25 ket value is approximately equal: Provided, That the Sec-
3

S 378 RS

1 retary shall order appraisals made of the fair market value

2 of each tract of land included in the exchange without con3 sideration for improvements thereon: Provided further,

4 That any cash payment received by the Secretary shall

5 be covered in the Reclamation Fund and credited to the

6 Columbia Basin project.

7 SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.

8 Costs of conducting the necessary land surveys, pre9 paring the legal descriptions of the lands to be conveyed,

10 performing the appraisals, and administrative costs in11 curred in completing the exchange shall be borne by the

12 Corporation.

13 SEC. 4. LIABILITY FOR HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCES.

14 (a) The Secretary shall not acquire any lands under

15 this Act if the Secretary determines that such lands, or

16 any portion thereof, have become contaminated with haz17 ardous substances (as defined in the Comprehensive Envi18 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (42

19 U.S.C. 9601)).

20 (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the

21 United States shall have no responsibility or liability with

22 respect to any hazardous wastes or other substances

23 placed on any of the lands covered by this Act after their

24 transfer to the ownership of any party, but nothing in this

25 Act shall be construed as either diminishing or increasing
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S 378 RS

1 any responsibility or liability of the United States based

2 on the condition of such lands on the date of their transfer

3 to the ownership of another party. The Corporation shall

4 indemnify the United States for liabilities arising under

5 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensa6 tion, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601), and the Re7 source Conservation Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et

8 seq.).

9 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

10 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

11 as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Calendar No. 61

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 378

[Report No. 104–38]

A BILL

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to exother purposes. eral reclamation project, Washington, and for change certain lands of the Columbia Basin FedAPRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Reported without amendment