II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 416

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the city of Sisters,

Oregon, a certain parcel of land for use in connection with a sewage

treatment facility.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 11, 1999

Mr. SMITH of Oregon (for himself and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following

bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and

Natural Resources

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the city

of Sisters, Oregon, a certain parcel of land for use in

connection with a sewage treatment facility.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

4 Congress finds that—

5 (1) the city of Sisters, Oregon, faces a public

6 health threat from a major outbreak of infectious

7 diseases due to the lack of a sewer system;
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1 (2) the lack of a sewer system also threatens

2 groundwater and surface water resources in the

3 area;

4 (3) the city is surrounded by Forest Service

5 land and has no reasonable access to non-Federal

6 parcels of land large enough, and with the proper

7 soil conditions, for the development of a sewage

8 treatment facility;

9 (4) the Forest Service currently must operate,

10 maintain, and replace 11 separate septic systems to

11 serve existing Forest Service facilities in the city of

12 Sisters; and

13 (5) the Forest Service currently administers 77

14 acres of land within the city limits that would in15 crease in value as a result of construction of a sewer

16 system.

17 SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after the

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture

20 shall convey to the city of Sisters, Oregon, at no cost to

21 the city except the cost of preparation of any documents

22 required by any environmental law in connection with the

23 conveyance, the parcel of land described in subsection (b).

24 (b) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The land described in this

25 subsection is the parcel of land located in—
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1 (1) the SE quarter of section 09, township 15

2 south, range 10 west, W.M., Deschutes, Oregon, and

3 the portion of the SW quarter of section 09, town4 ship 15 south, range 10 west, W.M., Deschutes, Or5 egon, that lies east of Three Creeks Lake Road, but

6 not including the westernmost 500 feet of that por7 tion; and

8 (2) the portion of the SW quarter of section 09,

9 township 15 south, range 10 west, W.M., Deschutes

10 County, Oregon, lying easterly of Three Creeks Lake

11 Road.

12 (c) CONDITION.—The conveyance under subsection

13 (a) shall be made on the condition that the city agree to

14 conduct a public process before the final determination is

15 made regarding land use for the disposition of treated ef16 fluent.

17 (d) SPECIAL USE PERMIT.—Not later than 120 days

18 after the date of enactment of this Act, in compliance with

19 applicable environmental laws (including regulations), the

20 Secretary shall issue a special use permit for the land con21 veyed under subsection (a) that allows the city access to

22 the land for the purpose of commencing construction of

23 the sewage treatment plant.

24 (e) USE OF LAND.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The land conveyed under

2 subsection (a) shall be used by the city for a sewage

3 treatment facility and for the disposal of treated ef4 fluent.

5 (2) OPTIONAL REVERTER.—If at any time the

6 land conveyed under subsection (a) ceases to be used

7 for a purpose described in paragraph (1), at the op8 tion of the United States, title to the land shall re9 vert to the United States.

10 SEC. 3. SALE OF ADMINISTRATIVE LAND.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 3 years after the

12 date of enactment of the Act, and notwithstanding any

13 other provision of law, the Secretary shall sell, at fair mar14 ket value, not less than a total of 6 acres of unimproved

15 land in the city that is currently designated for adminis16 trative use. There are authorized to be appropriated such

17 sums as are necessary to prepare the sale.

18 (b) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—The Secretary shall de19 posit the proceeds of a sale under subsection (a) in the

20 fund established by Public Law 90–171 (commonly known

21 as the ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a).

22 (c) USE OF PROCEEDS.—

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Funds deposited under sub24 section (b) shall be available for expenditure, without

25 further Act of appropriation, as follows:
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1 (A) Not more than 25 percent shall be

2 available for administrative improvements at

3 the Sisters Ranger District.

4 (B) The remainder shall be available for

5 purposes that are directly related to improving

6 the long-term condition of the watershed of

7 Squaw Creek, a tributary of the Deschutes

8 River, Oregon.

9 (2) METHOD OF EXPENDITURE.—The super10 visor of the Deschutes National Forest may expend

11 funds deposited under subsection (b) directly or may

12 provide the funds in the form of grants to local wa13 tershed councils, including the Working Group (as

14 defined in section 1025(a) of division I of the Omni15 bus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of

16 1996 (110 Stat. 4226)).

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