IIA

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1134

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

JUNE 22, 1993

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

AN ACT

To provide for the transfer of certain public lands located

in Clear Creek County, Colorado, to the United States

Forest Service, the State of Colorado, and certain local

governments in the State of Colorado, 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 ‘‘Clear Creek County,

5 Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993’’.
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1 SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS.

2 The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act

3 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall transfer in accord4 ance with this Act the approximately 14,000 acres of pub5 lic lands generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Clear Creek

6 County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer—Proposed’’,

7 and dated May 1993, to the Secretary of Agriculture, the

8 State of Colorado, and certain political subdivisions of the

9 State of Colorado, as indicated in sections 3, 4, and 5.

10 Conveyances made pursuant to this Act shall be made

11 without conducting new surveys.

12 SEC. 3. LAND TRANSFER TO FOREST SERVICE.

13 (a) TRANSFER.—Subject to valid existing rights, ad14 ministrative jurisdiction to the approximately 3,400 acres

15 of the public lands described as ‘‘Part I Lands’’ on the

16 map referred to in section 2 is hereby transferred to the

17 Secretary of Agriculture. Such lands are added to and

18 shall be administered as part of the Arapaho National

19 Forest in accordance with the laws and regulations per20 taining to the National Forest System and the Arapaho

21 National Forest.

22 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—(1) For the pur23 pose of section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation

24 Fund Act of 1965 (78 Stat. 903, as amended; 16 U.S.C.

25 4601–9) the boundaries of the Arapaho National Forest
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1 as modified by this section shall be treated as if they were

2 the boundaries of such forest on January 1, 1965.

3 (2) Nothing in this section shall affect valid existing

4 rights, or interests in existing land use authorizations, ex5 cept that any such right or authorization shall be adminis6 tered by the Forest Service in accordance with this section

7 and other applicable laws. Reissuance of any such author8 ization shall be in accordance with laws applicable to the

9 National Forest System and regulations of the Secretary

10 of Agriculture, except that the change in administrative

11 jurisdiction shall not constitute in itself a ground to deny

12 renewal or reissuance of any such authorization.

13 SEC. 4. LAND TRANSFERS TO STATE OF COLORADO AND TO

14 CLEAR CREEK COUNTY AND TOWNS OF SIL15 VER PLUME AND GEORGETOWN, COLORADO.

16 (a) TRANSFER.—Subject to section 6 and valid exist17 ing rights, the Secretary shall transfer, without consider18 ation, all right, title, and interest, both surface and sub19 surface, of the United States in and to the approximately

20 3,200 acres of public lands described as ‘‘Part II Lands’’

21 on the map referred to in section 2, excluding any such

22 lands within the corporate boundaries of the towns of

23 Georgetown or Silver Plume, Colorado, as of January 1,

24 1993, as follows:
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1 (1) Approximately 600 acres of such lands to

2 the town of Silver Plume, Colorado, as so indicated

3 on such map.

4 (2) Approximately 800 acres of such lands to

5 the town of Georgetown, Colorado, as so indicated

6 on such map.

7 (3) Approximately 600 acres of such lands to

8 the County of Clear Creek, Colorado, as so indicated

9 on such map.

10 (4) Approximately 1,200 acres of such lands to

11 the State of Colorado, as so indicated on such map.

12 (b) MANAGEMENT AND REVERSION.—

13 (1) The lands transferred under this section

14 shall be managed in accordance with the cooperative

15 management agreement among the Colorado Divi16 sion of Wildlife, the Colorado State Historical Soci17 ety, the town of Silver Plume, the town of George18 town, and the County of Clear Creek, which is dated

19 January 1989; the stipulations related to the preser20 vation of artifacts contained in the Bureau of Land

21 Management’s cultural resource survey pertaining to

22 such lands; and the terms of the applications filed

23 with the Secretary for the disposal of such lands

24 under the Act of June 14, 1926 (43 U.S.C. 869 et

25 seq.; hereafter in this Act referred to as the ‘‘Recre-
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1 ation and Public Purposes Act’’), except that other

2 uses of the lands may be made with the approval of

3 the Secretary.

4 (2)(A) Title to lands conveyed by the Secretary

5 under this section may not be transferred by the

6 grantee or its successor except, with the consent of

7 the Secretary, to a transferee which would be a

8 qualified grantee under section 2(a) or (c) of the

9 Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C.

10 869–1(a), (c)).

11 (B) The provisions of paragraph (3) of this

12 subsection shall apply if at any time after such con13 veyance—

14 (i) the grantee or its successor attempts to

15 transfer to any other party title to or control

16 over any portion of the lands conveyed to such

17 grantee under this section, except as provided

18 in subparagraph (A), or

19 (ii) such lands or any portion thereof are

20 devoted to a use inconsistent with this sub21 section.

22 (3) In case of occurrence of an event described

23 in paragraph (2)(B) of this subsection, the grantee

24 of the relevant lands shall be liable to pay to the

25 Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the United
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1 States, the fair market value of all lands conveyed

2 to such grantee under this section, together with any

3 improvements thereon, as of the date of such occur4 rence. All sums paid to the Secretary of the Interior

5 under this paragraph shall be retained by the Sec6 retary and subject to appropriation, used for man7 agement of the public lands pursuant to the Federal

8 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

9 SEC. 5. LAND TRANSFER TO CLEAR CREEK COUNTY,

10 COLORADO.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), section

12 6, and valid existing rights, the Secretary shall transfer,

13 without consideration, all right, title, and interest, both

14 surface and subsurface, of the United States in and to

15 the approximately 7,400 acres of public lands described

16 as ‘‘Parts III Lands’’ on the map referred to in section

17 202, along with any public lands on that map within the

18 corporate boundaries of the towns of Georgetown or Silver

19 Plume, Colorado as of January 1, 1993 to Clear Creek

20 County, Colorado (hereinafter in this section referred to

21 as the ‘‘County’’).

22 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The lands referred to

23 in subsection (a) may not be transferred to the County

24 until—
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1 (1) it is shown to the satisfaction of the Sec2 retary that the county has adopted comprehensive

3 land use plans and zoning regulations applicable to

4 the area in which the lands are located;

5 (2) the Secretary finds that such plans and reg6 ulations are consistent with proper management of

7 any adjacent lands owned by the United States; and

8 (3)(A) the Secretary and the County have

9 reached an agreement—

10 (i) concerning the steps, including but not

11 limited to the use of appraisals (and the meth12 odology thereof) and the use of competitive bids

13 or other sales methods, that the County will

14 take to ensure that so far as possible any sales

15 of the lands by the County will be for fair mar16 ket value; and

17 (ii) under which the County will provide

18 the Secretary with an annual accounting of all

19 receipts and expenditures with regard to such

20 lands after their transfer to the County, and

21 that on the date that is 10 years after the date

22 of enactment of this Act, or at such earlier date

23 as the County may elect, the County will pay to

24 the United States an amount the Secretary de25 termines to be equal to the County’s total net
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1 receipts from the sale of some or all of such

2 lands;

3 and, in addition,

4 (B) the Secretary has also agreed that in deter5 mining the amounts to be paid by the County pursu6 ant to this paragraph, the Secretary will allow the

7 County to deduct from the gross receipts from the

8 sale of the lands all ordinary and necessary costs in9 curred by the County, including—

10 (i) expenses for necessary surveying, map11 ping, and other site characterization, and ap12 praisals;

13 (ii) historical preservation and environ14 mental protection; and

15 (iii) reasonable overhead, including staffing

16 and administrative costs.

17 (c) UNSOLD LANDS.—(1) The County may transfer

18 some or all of the lands referred to in subsection (a) to

19 an entity that would be a qualified grantee under section

20 2(a) or 2(c) of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act

21 (43 U.S.C. 869–1 (a), (c)). Any lands so transferred shall

22 after such transfer be held by the recipient thereof under

23 the same terms and conditions as if transferred to such

24 recipient by the United States under such Act, except that
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1 such terms and conditions shall also apply to the mineral

2 estate in such lands.

3 (2) Any of the lands referred to in subsection (a)

4 which remain in County ownership on the date 10 years

5 after the date of enactment of this Act, or regarding which

6 the County has prior to such date notified the Secretary

7 that the County intends to retain ownership, shall be re8 tained by the County under the same terms and conditions

9 as if transferred to the County on such date or on the

10 date of such notification (whichever first occurs) by the

11 United States under the Recreation and Public Purposes

12 Act, except that such terms and conditions shall also apply

13 to the mineral estate in such lands.

14 SEC. 6. MINERALS.

15 (a) WITHDRAWAL FROM MINING ENTRY.—Subject

16 to valid existing rights, the public lands referred to in sec17 tions 4 and 5 are hereby withdrawn from all forms of

18 entry under the general mining laws and mineral leasing

19 laws of the United States and shall not be—

20 (1) open to the location of mining and mill site

21 claims under the general mining laws of the United

22 States;

23 (2) subject to any lease under the Mineral

24 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and following) or the
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1 Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and

2 following); or

3 (3) available for disposal of mineral materials

4 under the Act of July 31, 1947, commonly know as

5 the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and

6 following).

7 (b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—As used in this sec8 tion, the term ‘‘valid existing rights’’ in reference to the

9 general mining laws means that a mining claim was prop10 erly located and maintained under the general mining laws

11 prior to the date of enactment of this Act, was supported

12 by a discovery of a valuable mineral deposit within the

13 meaning of the general mining law on the date of enact14 ment of this Act, and that such claim continues to be

15 valid.

16 (c) LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.—

17 (1) No patent shall be issued by the United

18 States for any mining or mill site claim located

19 under the general mining laws within the public

20 lands referred to in sections 4 and 5 unless an appli21 cation for such patent was filed with the Secretary

22 of the Interior on or before the date of enactment

23 of this Act and such application has been prosecuted

24 with due diligence after its filing.
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1 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), noth2 ing in this Act shall be construed as precluding issu3 ance of a patent to the holder of any mining or mill

4 site claim if such holder would have been entitled for

5 such issuance but for enactment of this Act.

6 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

7 (a) INSPECTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi8 sion of law, neither the Secretary nor any other officer

9 or agent of the United States shall be required to inspect

10 any of the public lands described in this title or to inform

11 Clear Creek County or any member of the public regarding

12 the condition of such lands with regard to the presence

13 or absence of any hazardous substances or otherwise.

14 (b) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision

15 of law, the United States shall have no responsibility or

16 liability with respect to any hazardous wastes or other sub17 stances placed on any of the lands covered by this title

18 after their transfer to the ownership of another party, but

19 nothing in this title shall be construed as either diminish20 ing or increasing any responsibility or liability of the Unit21 ed States based on the condition of such lands on the date

22 of enactment of this Act.

23 (c) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Arapaho

24 National Forest are hereby modified as shown on the map

25 referred to in section 2. For the purpose of section 7 of
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1 the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16

2 U.S.C. 460l–9), the boundaries of such National Forest,

3 as so modified, shall be considered to be the boundaries

4 of such National Forest as of January 1, 1965.

5 (d) ACCOUNTING.—For purposes of the distribution

6 of receipts, any funds paid to the United States by the

7 County pursuant to an agreement described in section

8 5(b)(3) shall be deemed to be receipts from the sale of

9 public lands, but shall be specifically accounted for in doc10 uments submitted to justify proposed appropriations for

11 the Bureau of Land Management.

Passed the House of Representatives June 21, 1993.

Attest: DONNALD K. ANDERSON,

Clerk.