Union Calendar No. 77

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1134

[Report No. 103–141]

A BILL

To provide for the transfer of certain public lands

of Colorado, and for other purposes.rado, and certain local governments in the StateUnited States Forest Service, the State of Cololocated in Clear Creek County, Colorado, to the

JUNE 21, 1993

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee

dered to be printedof the Whole House on the State of the Union, and or-
1B

Union Calendar No. 77

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1134

[Report No. 103–141]

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.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

FEBRUARY 24, 1993

Mr. SKAGGS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Natural Resources

JUNE 21, 1993

Reported with amendments, committed to the Committee of the Whole House

on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

[Omit the part struck through and insert the part printed in italic]

A BILL

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,
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Clear Creek County,

3 Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993’’.

4 SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LANDS.

5 The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act

6 referred to as the ‘‘Secretary’’) shall transfer in accord7 ance with this Act the approximately 14,000 acres of pub8 lic lands generally depicted on a map entitled ‘‘Clear Creek

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

10 and dated September 1991 May 1993, to the Secretary

11 of Agriculture, the State of Colorado, and certain political

12 subdivisions of the State of Colorado, as indicated in sec13 tions 3, 4, and 5. Conveyances made pursuant to this Act

14 shall be made without conducting new surveys.

15 SEC. 3. LAND TRANSFER TO FOREST SERVICE.

16 (a) TRANSFER.—Subject to valid existing rights, ad17 ministrative jurisdiction to the approximately 3,500 3,400

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

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

20 the Secretary of Agriculture. Such lands are added to and

21 shall be administered as part of the Arapaho National

22 Forest in accordance with the laws and regulations per23 taining to the National Forest System and the Arapaho

24 National Forest.

25 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—(1) For the pur26 pose of section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation
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1 Fund Act of 1965 (78 Stat. 903, as amended; 16 U.S.C.

2 4601–9) the boundaries of the Arapaho National Forest

3 as modified by this section shall be treated as if they were

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

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

6 rights, or interests in existing land use authorizations, ex7 cept that any such right or authorization shall be adminis8 tered by the Forest Service in accordance with this section

9 and other applicable laws. Reissuance of any such author10 ization shall be in accordance with laws applicable to the

11 National Forest System and regulations of the Secretary

12 of Agriculture, except that the change in administrative

13 jurisdiction shall not constitute in itself a ground to deny

14 renewal or reissuance of any such authorization.

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

16 CLEAR CREEK COUNTY AND TOWNS OF SIL17 VER PLUME AND GEORGETOWN, COLORADO.

18 (a) TRANSFER.—Subject to section 6 and valid exist19 ing rights, the Secretary shall transfer, without consider20 ation, all right, title, and interest, both surface and sub21 surface, of the United States in and to the approximately

22 3,200 acres of public lands described as ‘‘Part II Lands’’

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

24 lands within the corporate boundaries of the towns of
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1 Georgetown or Silver Plume, Colorado, as of January 1,

2 1993, as follows:

3 (1) Approximately 500 600 acres of such lands

4 to the town of Silver Plume, Colorado, as so indi5 cated on such map.

6 (2) Approximately 800 acres of such lands to

7 the town of Georgetown, Colorado, as so indicated

8 on such map.

9 (3) Approximately 600 acres of such lands to

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

11 on such map.

12 (4) Approximately 1,300 1,200 acres of such

13 lands to the State of Colorado, as so indicated on

14 such map.

15 (b) MANAGEMENT AND REVERSION.—

16 (1) The lands transferred under this section

17 shall be managed in accordance with the cooperative

18 management agreement among the Colorado Divi19 sion of Wildlife, the Colorado State Historical Soci20 ety, the town of Silver Plume, the town of George21 town, and the County of Clear Creek, which is dated

22 January 1989; the stipulations related to the preser23 vation of artifacts contained in the Bureau of Land

24 Management’s cultural resource survey pertaining to

25 such lands; and the terms of the applications filed
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1 with the Secretary for the disposal of such lands

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

3 seq.; hereafter in this title Act referred to as the

4 ‘‘Recreation and Public Purposes Act’’), except that

5 other uses of the lands may be made with the ap6 proval of the Secretary.

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

8 under this section may not be transferred by the

9 grantee or its successor except, with the consent of

10 the Secretary, to a transferee which would be a

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

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

13 869–1(a), (c)).

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

15 subsection shall apply if at any time after such con16 veyance—

17 (i) the grantee or its successor attempts to

18 transfer to any other party title to or control

19 over any portion of the lands conveyed to such

20 grantee under this section, except as provided

21 in subparagraph (A), or

22 (ii) such lands or any portion thereof are

23 devoted to a use inconsistent with this sub24 section.
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1 (3) In case of occurrence of an event described

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

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

4 Secretary of the Interior, on behalf of the United

5 States, the fair market value of all lands conveyed

6 to such grantee under this section, together with any

7 improvements thereon, as of the date of such occur8 rence. All sums paid to the Secretary of the Interior

9 under this paragraph shall be retained by the Sec10 retary and subject to appropriation, used for man11 agement of the public lands pursuant to the Federal

12 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.

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

14 COLORADO.

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

16 6, and valid existing rights, the Secretary shall transfer,

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

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

19 the approximately 7,300 7,400 acres of public lands de20 scribed as ‘‘Parts III Lands’’ on the map referred to in

21 section 202, along with any public lands on that map with22 in the corporate boundaries of the towns of Georgetown

23 or Silver Plume, Colorado as of January 1, 1993 to Clear

24 Creek County, Colorado (hereinafter in this section re25 ferred to as the ‘‘County’’).
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1 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The lands referred to

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

3 until—

4 (1) it is shown to the satisfaction of the Sec5 retary that the county has adopted comprehensive

6 land use plans and zoning regulations applicable to

7 the area in which the lands are located;

8 (2) the Secretary finds that such plans and reg9 ulations are consistent with proper management of

10 any adjacent lands owned by the United States; and

11 (3) the Secretary and the County have reached

12 an agreement as to what activities must be under13 taken by the County in order to facilitate sale of any

14 portion of such lands and in which the County com15 mits to pay to the United States one-half of the net

16 monetary compensation received by the County

17 (after allowing for the reasonable costs to the Coun18 ty of such activities) from the sale of any such lands

19 and to use one-half of such net compensation solely

20 for—

21 (A) acquisition or maintenance of parks;

22 (B) acquisition or maintenance of open

23 space;

24 (C) historical preservation;

25 (D) historical interpretation; or
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1 (E) environmental education.

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

3 reached an agreement—

4 (i) concerning the steps, including but not

5 limited to the use of appraisals (and the meth6 odology thereof) and the use of competitive bids

7 or other sales methods, that the County will take

8 to ensure that so far as possible any sales of the

9 lands by the County will be for fair market

10 value; and

11 (ii) under which the County will provide

12 the Secretary with an annual accounting of all

13 receipts and expenditures with regard to such

14 lands after their transfer to the County, and that

15 on the date that is 10 years after the date of en16 actment of this Act, or at such earlier date as the

17 County may elect, the County will pay to the

18 United States an amount the Secretary deter19 mines to be equal to the County’s total net re20 ceipts from the sale of some or all of such lands;

21 and, in addition,

22 (B) the Secretary has also agreed that in deter23 mining the amounts to be paid by the County pursu24 ant to this paragraph, the Secretary will allow the

25 County to deduct from the gross receipts from the sale
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1 of the lands all ordinary and necessary costs incurred

2 by the County, including—

3 (i) expenses for necessary surveying, map4 ping, and other site characterization, and ap5 praisals;

6 (ii) historical preservation and environ7 mental protection; and

8 (iii) reasonable overhead, including staffing

9 and administrative costs.

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

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

12 entity that would be a qualified grantee under section 2(a)

13 or 2(c) of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43

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

15 such transfer be held by the recipient thereof under the same

16 terms and conditions as if transferred to such recipient by

17 the United States under such Act, except that such terms

18 and conditions shall also apply to the mineral estate in such

19 lands.

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

21 remain in County ownership on the date 10 years after the

22 date of enactment of this Act, or regarding which the Coun23 ty has prior to such date notified the Secretary that the

24 County intends to retain ownership, shall be retained by

25 the County under the same terms and conditions as if trans-
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1 ferred to the County on such date or on the date of such

2 notification (whichever first occurs) by the United States

3 under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, except that

4 such terms and conditions shall also apply to the mineral

5 estate in such lands.

6 SEC. 6. MINERALS.

7 (a) WITHDRAWAL FROM MINING ENTRY.—Subject

8 to valid existing rights, the public lands referred to in sec9 tions 4 and 5 are hereby withdrawn from all forms of

10 entry under the general mining laws and mineral leasing

11 laws of the United States and shall not be—

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

13 claims under the general mining laws of the United

14 States;

15 (2) subject to any lease under the Mineral

16 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 and following) or the

17 Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and

18 following); or

19 (3) available for disposal of mineral materials

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

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

22 following).

23 (b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—As used in this sec24 tion, the term ‘‘valid existing rights’’ in reference to the

25 general mining laws means that a mining claim was prop-
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1 erly located and maintained under the general mining laws

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

3 by a discovery of a valuable mineral deposit within the

4 meaning of the general mining law on the date of enact5 ment of this Act, and that such claim continues to be

6 valid.

7 (c) LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.—

8 (1)(A) After the date of enactment of this Act,

9 no patent shall be issued by the United States for

10 any mining claim located under the general mining

11 laws within the public lands referred to in sections

12 4 and 5 unless the Secretary determines that, for

13 the claim concerned—

14 (i) a patent application was filed with the

15 Secretary on or before such date; and

16 (ii) all requirements established under sec17 tions 2325 and 2326 of the Revised Statutes

18 (30 U.S.C. 29 and 30) for vein or lode claims

19 and sections 2329, 2330, 2331, and 2333 of

20 the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 35, 36, 37) for

21 placer claims were fully complied with by that

22 date.

23 (B) If the Secretary makes the determinations

24 referred to in subparagraph (A) for any mining

25 claim, the holder of the claim shall be entitled to the
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1 issuance of a patent in the same manner and degree

2 to which such claim holder would have been entitled

3 to prior to the enactment of this Act, unless and

4 until such determinations are withdrawn or invali5 dated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

6 States.

7 (2)(A) After the date of enactment of this Act,

8 no patent shall be issued by the United States for

9 any mill site claim located under the general mining

10 laws within the public lands referred to in sections

11 4 and 5 unless the Secretary determines that, for

12 the claim concerned—

13 (i) a patent application was filed with the

14 Secretary on or before such date; and

15 (ii) all requirements applicable to such pat16 ent application were fully complied with by that

17 date.

18 (B) If the Secretary makes the determinations

19 referred to in subparagraph (A) for any mill site

20 claim, the holder of the claim shall be entitled to the

21 issuance of a patent in the same manner and degree

22 to which such claim holder would have been entitled

23 to prior to the enactment of this Act, unless and

24 until such determinations are withdrawn or invali-
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1 dated by the Secretary or by a court of the United

2 States.

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

4 States for any mining or mill site claim located

5 under the general mining laws within the public

6 lands referred to in sections 4 and 5 unless an appli7 cation for such patent was filed with the Secretary of

8 the Interior on or before the date of enactment of this

9 Act and such application has been prosecuted with

10 due diligence after its filing.

11 (2) Except as provided in paragraph (1), noth12 ing in this Act shall be construed as precluding issu13 ance of a patent to the holder of any mining or mill

14 site claim if such holder would have been entitled for

15 such issuance but for enactment of this Act.

16 SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

17 (a) INSPECTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provi18 sion of law, neither the Secretary nor any other officer

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

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

21 Clear Creek County or any member of the public regarding

22 the condition of such lands with regard to the presence

23 or absence of any hazardous substances or otherwise.

24 (b) LIABILITY.—Notwithstanding any other provision

25 of law, the United States shall have no responsibility or
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1 liability with respect to any hazardous wastes or other sub2 stances placed on any of the lands covered by this title

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

4 nothing in this title shall be construed as either diminish5 ing or increasing any responsibility or liability of the Unit6 ed States based on the condition of such lands on the date

7 of enactment of this Act.

8 (c) BOUNDARIES.—The boundaries of the Arapaho Na9 tional Forest are hereby modified as shown on the map re10 ferred to in section 2. For the purpose of section 7 of the

11 Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C.

12 460l–9), the boundaries of such National Forest, as so modi13 fied, shall be considered to be the boundaries of such Na14 tional Forest as of January 1, 1965.

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

16 receipts, any funds paid to the United States by the County

17 pursuant to an agreement described in section 5(b)(3) shall

18 be deemed to be receipts from the sale of public lands, but

19 shall be specifically accounted for in documents submitted

20 to justify proposed appropriations for the Bureau of Land

21 Management.