IB 

Union Calendar No. 248 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2130 

[Report No. 114–327] 

To provide legal certainty to property owners along the Red River in Texas, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 30, 2015 

Mr. THORNBERRY (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. 

GOHMERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 

NOVEMBER 4, 2015 

Additional sponsors: Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. FARENTHOLD, Mr. RATCLIFFE, and 

Mr. SAM JOHNSON of Texas 

NOVEMBER 4, 2015 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 

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

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on April 30, 2015] 


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A BILL 

To provide legal certainty to property owners along the Red 

River in Texas, and for other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Red River Private Prop5 erty Protection Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER AND OUTDATED SURVEYS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary disclaims any right, 

8 title, and interest to the land located south of the South 

9 Bank boundary line in the affected area. 

10 (b) CLARIFICATION OF PRIOR SURVEYS.—Surveys con11 ducted by the Bureau of Land Management before the date 

12 of the enactment of this Act shall have no force or effect 

13 in determining the South Bank boundary line. 

14 SEC. 3. SURVEY OF SOUTH BANK BOUNDARY LINE. 

15 (a) SURVEY REQUIRED.—To identify the South Bank 

16 boundary line in the affected area, the Secretary shall com17 mission a survey. The survey shall— 

18 (1) adhere to the gradient boundary survey 

19 method; 

20 (2) span the entire length of the affected area; 

21 (3) be conducted by Licensed State Land Sur22 veyors chosen by the Texas General Land Office, in 

23 consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners of the 

24 Land Office; 


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1 (4) be completed not later than 2 years after the 

2 date of the enactment of this Act; and 

3 (5) not be submitted to the Bureau of Land 

4 Management for approval. 

5 (b) APPROVAL OF THE SURVEY.—After the survey is 

6 completed, the Secretary shall submit the survey to be ap7 proved by the Texas General Land Office, in consultation 

8 with the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office. 

9 (c) SURVEYS OF INDIVIDUAL PARCELS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Parcels surveyed as required 

11 by this section shall be surveyed and approved on an 

12 individual basis by the Texas General Land Office, in 

13 consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners of the 

14 Land Office. 

15 (2) SURVEYS OF INDIVIDUAL PARCELS NOT SUB16 MITTED TO THE BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT.— 

17 Surveys of individual parcels shall not be submitted 

18 to the Bureau of Land Management for approval. 

19 (d) NOTICE.— 

20 (1) NOTIFICATION TO THE SECRETARY.—Not 

21 later than 30 days after a survey for a parcel is ap22 proved by the Texas General Land Office under sub23 section (c), such office shall provide to the Secretary 

24 the following: 

25 (A) Notice of the approval of such survey. 


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1 (B) A copy of such survey and field notes 

2 relating to such parcel. 

3 (2) NOTIFICATION TO ADJACENT LANDOWNERS.— 

4 Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 

5 Secretary receives notification relating to a parcel 

6 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall provide to 

7 landowners adjacent to such parcel the following: 

8 (A) Notice of the approval of such survey. 

9 (B) A copy of such survey and field notes 

10 relating to such parcel. 

11 (C) Notice that the landowner may file an 

12 appeal under section 4. 

13 (D) Notice that the landowner may apply 

14 for a patent under section 5. 

15 (E) Any additional information considered 

16 appropriate by the Secretary. 

17 SEC. 4. APPEAL. 

18 Not later than 1 year after the date on which a land19 owner receives notification under section 3(d)(2), a land20 owner who claims to hold right, title, or interest in the af21 fected area may appeal the determination of the survey to 

22 an administrative law judge of the Department of the Inte23 rior. 


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1 SEC. 5. RED RIVER SURFACE RIGHTS. 

2 (a) NOTIFICATION OF APPLICATION PERIOD FOR PAT3 ENTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—On the date that is 18 months 

5 after the date on which the Secretary receives notifi6 cation relating to a parcel under section 3(d)(1), the 

7 Secretary shall determine whether such parcel is sub8 ject to appeal. 

9 (2) PARCEL NOT SUBJECT TO APPEAL.—Not 

10 later than 30 days after the date on which the Sec11 retary determines a parcel is not subject to appeal, 

12 the Secretary shall— 

13 (A) notify landowners adjacent to such par14 cel that the Secretary shall accept applications 

15 for patents for that parcel under subsection (b) 

16 for a period of 210 days; and 

17 (B) begin accepting applications for patents 

18 for that parcel under subsection (b) for a period 

19 of 210 days. 

20 (3) PARCEL SUBJECT TO APPEAL.—If the Sec21 retary determines a parcel is subject to appeal, the 

22 Secretary shall, not less than once every 6 months, 

23 check the status of the appeals relating to such parcel, 

24 until the Secretary determines such parcel is not sub25 ject to appeal. 


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1 (b) PATENTS FOR LANDS IN THE AFFECTED AREA.— 

2 If the Secretary receives an application for a patent for a 

3 parcel of identified Federal lands during the period for ap4 plications for such parcel under subsection (a)(2)(B) and 

5 determines that the parcel has been held in good faith and 

6 in peaceful adverse possession by an applicant, or the ances7 tors or grantors of such applicant, for more than 20 years 

8 under claim (including through a State land grant or deed 

9 or color of title), the Secretary may issue a patent for the 

10 surface rights to such parcel to the applicant, on the pay11 ment of $1.25 per acre, if the patent includes the following 

12 conditions: 

13 (1) All minerals contained in the parcel are re14 served to the United States and subject to sale or dis15 posal by the United States under applicable leasing 

16 and mineral land laws. 

17 (2) Permittees, lessees, or grantees of the United 

18 States have the right to enter the parcel for the pur19 pose of prospecting for and mining deposits. 

20 (c) PENDING REQUESTS FOR PATENTS.—The Sec21 retary shall not offer a parcel of identified Federal land 

22 for purchase under section 6 if a patent request for that 

23 parcel is pending under this section. 

24 SEC. 6. RIGHT OF REFUSAL AND COMPETITIVE SALE. 

25 (a) RIGHT OF REFUSAL.— 


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1 (1) OFFERS TO PURCHASE.—After the expiration 

2 of the period for applications under section 

3 5(a)(2)(B), the Secretary shall offer for purchase for 

4 a period of 60 days for each right of refusal— 

5 (A) the surface rights to the remaining 

6 identified Federal lands located north of the 

7 vegetation line of the South Bank to— 

8 (i) the adjacent owner of land located 

9 in Oklahoma to the north with the first 

10 right of refusal; 

11 (ii) if applicable, the adjacent owner of 

12 land located in Texas to the south with the 

13 second right of refusal; 

14 (iii) if applicable, the adjacent owner 

15 of land located to the east with the third 

16 right of refusal; and 

17 (iv) if applicable, the adjacent owner of 

18 land located to the west with the fourth 

19 right of refusal; and 

20 (B) the surface rights to the remaining 

21 identified Federal lands located south of the vege22 tation line of the South Bank to— 

23 (i) the adjacent owner of land located 

24 in Texas to the south with the first right of 

25 refusal; 


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1 (ii) if applicable, the adjacent owner of 

2 land located in Oklahoma to the north with 

3 the second right of refusal; 

4 (iii) if applicable, the adjacent owner 

5 of land located to the east with the third 

6 right of refusal; and 

7 (iv) if applicable, the adjacent owner of 

8 land located to the west with the fourth 

9 right of refusal. 

10 (2) REMAINING IDENTIFIED FEDERAL LANDS DE11 FINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘remaining 

12 identified Federal lands’’ means any parcel of identi13 fied Federal lands— 

14 (A) not subject to appeal under section 4; 

15 (B) not determined by an administrative 

16 law judge of the Department of the Interior or a 

17 Federal court to be the property of an adjacent 

18 landowner; and 

19 (C) not patented or subject to a pending re20 quest for a patent under section 5. 

21 (b) DISPOSAL BY COMPETITIVE SALE.—If a parcel of22 fered under subsection (a) is not purchased, the Secretary 

23 shall offer the parcel for disposal by competitive sale for 

24 not less than fair market value as determined by an ap25 praisal conducted in accordance with nationally recognized 


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1 appraisal standards, including the Uniform Appraisal 

2 Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and the Uniform 

3 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. 

4 (c) CONDITIONS OF SALE.—The sale of a parcel under 

5 this section shall be subject to— 

6 (1) the condition that all minerals contained in 

7 the parcel are reserved to the United States and sub8 ject to sale or disposal by the United States under ap9 plicable leasing and mineral land laws; 

10 (2) the condition that permittees, lessees, or 

11 grantees of the United States have the right to enter 

12 the parcel for the purpose of prospecting for and min13 ing deposits; and 

14 (3) valid existing State, tribal, and local rights. 

15 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

16 on which the survey is approved, the Secretary shall submit 

17 to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep18 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re19 sources of the Senate a list of the parcels of identified Fed20 eral lands that have not been sold under subsection (b) and 

21 a description of the reasons such parcels were not sold. 

22 SEC. 7. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN. 

23 The Secretary may not treat a parcel of identified Fed24 eral lands as Federal land for the purposes of a resource 


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1 management plan if the treatment of such parcel does not 

2 comply with the provisions of this Act. 

3 SEC. 8. CONSTRUCTION. 

4 (a) LANDS LOCATED NORTH OF THE SOUTH BANK

5 BOUNDARY LINE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed 

6 to modify the interest of Texas or Oklahoma or sovereignty 

7 rights of any federally recognized Indian tribe over lands 

8 located to the north of the South Bank boundary line as 

9 established by the survey. 

10 (b) PATENTS UNDER THE COLOR OF TITLE ACT.— 

11 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to modify land pat12 ented under the Act of December 22, 1928 (Public Law 70– 

13 645; 45 Stat. 1069; 43 U.S.C. 1068; commonly known as 

14 the Color of Title Act), before the date of the enactment of 

15 this Act. 

16 (c) RED RIVER BOUNDARY COMPACT.—Nothing in 

17 this Act shall be construed to modify the Red River Bound18 ary Compact as enacted by the States of Texas and Okla19 homa and consented to by the United States Congress by 

20 Public Law 106-288 (114 Stat. 919). 

21 SEC. 9. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this Act: 

23 (1) AFFECTED AREA.—The term ‘‘affected area’’ 

24 means lands along the approximately 116-mile stretch 

25 of the Red River from its confluence with the North 


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1 Fork of the Red River on the west to the 98th merid2 ian on the east between the States of Texas and Okla3 homa. 

4 (2) GRADIENT BOUNDARY SURVEY METHOD.— 

5 The term ‘‘gradient boundary survey method’’ means 

6 the measurement technique used to locate the South 

7 Bank boundary line under the methodology estab8 lished in Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340 (1923) 

9 (recognizing that the boundary line between the States 

10 of Texas and Oklahoma along the Red River is subject 

11 to change due to erosion and accretion). 

12 (3) IDENTIFIED FEDERAL LANDS.—The term 

13 ‘‘identified Federal lands’’ means the lands in the af14 fected area from the South Bank boundary line north 

15 to the medial line of the Red River as identified pur16 suant to this Act. 

17 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di19 rector of the Bureau of Land Management. 

20 (5) SOUTH BANK.—The term ‘‘South Bank’’ 

21 means the water-washed and relatively permanent ele22 vation or acclivity, commonly called a cut bank, 

23 along the southerly or right side of the Red River 

24 which separates its bed from the adjacent upland, 

25 whether valley or hill, and usually serves to confine 


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1 the waters within the bed and to preserve the course 

2 of the river (as specified in the fifth paragraph of 

3 Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340 (1923)). 

4 (6) SOUTH BANK BOUNDARY LINE.—The term 

5 ‘‘South Bank boundary line’’ means the boundary be6 tween Texas and Oklahoma identified through the 

7 gradient boundary survey method (as specified in the 

8 sixth and seventh paragraphs of Oklahoma v. Texas, 

9 261 U.S. 340 (1923)). 

10 (7) SURVEY.—The term ‘‘survey’’ means the sur11 vey required by section 3(a). 

12 (8) VEGETATION LINE.—The term ‘‘vegetation 

13 line’’ means the visually identifiable continuous line 

14 of vegetation that is adjacent to the portion of the riv15 erbed kept practically bare of vegetation by the nat16 ural flow of the river and is continuous with the vege17 tation beyond the riverbed. 


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Union Calendar No. 248 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2130 

[Report No. 114–327] 

A BILL 

To provide legal certainty to property owners along 

the Red River in Texas, and for other purposes. 

NOVEMBER 4, 2015 

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Comand ordered to be printed mittee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, 


srobinson on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS