I 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5818 

To relinquish all Federal interests in certain lands in the State of Louisiana 

to correct errors resulting from possible omission of lands from previous 

surveys, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 9, 2014 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To relinquish all Federal interests in certain lands in the 

State of Louisiana to correct errors resulting from possible omission of lands from previous surveys, 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. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds as follows: 

5 (1) On December 8, 1842, the Surveyor Gen6 eral of the United States Government approved an 

7 original survey of lands in Northern Louisiana, 


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1 which included the lands surrounding Lake 

2 Bistineau (subject lands). 

3 (2) Under the Equal Footing Doctrine, the 

4 State of Louisiana was entitled to the lands under5 lying the navigable waters in place at statehood 

6 within its limits. 

7 (3) In 1901, the State of Louisiana transferred 

8 over 7,000 acres of land to the Commissioners of the 

9 Bossier Levee District through Louisiana Act Num10 ber 89 of 1892. 

11 (4) The State of Louisiana conducted a survey 

12 in 1901 that followed the same path around Lake 

13 Bistineau as the Original Survey of 1842. 

14 (5) The Bossier Levee District subsequently 

15 conveyed the subject lands to private ownership in 

16 1904. Lands within the subject lands continued to 

17 be bought and sold in good faith based on the sta18 bility of this title. 

19 (6) On September 16, 1967, the Bureau of 

20 Land Management (BLM) submitted a re-survey of 

21 the subject lands for Section 30–T16N–R10W and 

22 two adjacent islands. The re-survey presented a new 

23 line to represent what the BLM surveyors believed 

24 was the contour of Lake Bistineau 155 years earlier, 

25 when Louisiana joined the Union. The BLM apVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Dec 10, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5818.IH H5818

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1 proved the re-survey on January 15, 1969. That re2 survey was filed in the Federal Register, but the 

3 BLM has presented no records of notifying all of the 

4 affected landowners of the re-survey’s effects or that 

5 the re-survey could be contested. 

6 (7) On September 27, 2013, the BLM notified 

7 certain affected landowners that title to their prop8 erty would ‘‘appear to be still vested in the United 

9 States’’. 

10 (8) There are estimated to be over 200 acres 

11 and over 50 residential homes on the recently dis12 puted lands. 

13 SEC. 2. RELINQUISHMENT OF FEDERAL INTERESTS IN 

14 LANDS. 

15 As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment 

16 of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall execute doc17 uments required to relinquish all Federal interests in the 

18 Property. 

19 SEC. 3. EFFECTIVE DATE. 

20 The effective date of the relinquishment pursuant to 

21 section 2 shall be December 8, 1842. 

22 SEC. 4. PROPERTY DEFINED. 

23 For the purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘Property’’ 

24 means the lands shown on that certain Dependent Re-Sur25 vey, Extension Survey and Survey of Two Islands , SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:47 Dec 10, 2014 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5818.IH H5818

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1 tions 17, 29, and 30. Said survey being completed on No2 vember 24, 1967 and approved on January 15, 1969, con3 sisting of the lands lying between the ‘‘original record me4 ander courses of Lake Bistineau’’ and the re-survey’s rep5 resentation of a 148.60 ft contour line for Lake Bistineau, 

6 being shown as Lots 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13. All 

7 lands located within Township 16 North, Range 10 West, 

8 Bossier Parish, Louisiana. 

Æ 


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