IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 714 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 24, 2009 

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

Resources 

AN ACT 

To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain 

lands in Virgin Islands National Park, 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. CANEEL BAY LEASE AUTHORIZATION. 

2 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Virgin 

4 Islands National Park. 

5 (2) RESORT.—The term ‘‘resort’’ means the 

6 Caneel Bay resort on the island of St. John in the 

7 Park. 

8 (3) RETAINED USE ESTATE.—The term ‘‘re9 tained use estate’’ means the retained use estate for 

10 the Caneel Bay property on the island of St. John 

11 entered into between the Jackson Hole Preserve and 

12 the United States on September 30, 1983. 

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

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (b) LEASE AUTHORIZATION.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 

17 that the long-term benefit to the Park would be 

18 greater by entering into a lease with the owner of 

19 the retained use estate than by authorizing a conces20 sion contract upon the termination of the retained 

21 use estate, the Secretary may enter into a lease for 

22 the operation and management of the resort. 

23 (2) ACQUISITIONS.—The Secretary may— 

24 (A) acquire associated property from the 

25 owner of the retained use estate; and 


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1 (B) on the acquisition of property under 

2 subparagraph (A), administer the property as 

3 part of the Park. 

4 (3) AUTHORITY.—Except as otherwise provided 

5 by this section, a lease shall be in accordance with 

6 subsection (k) of section 3 of Public Law 91–383 

7 (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(k)), notwithstanding paragraph (2) 

8 of that subsection. 

9 (4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A lease author10 ized under this section shall— 

11 (A) be for the minimum number of years 

12 practicable, taking into consideration the need 

13 for the lessee to secure financing for necessary 

14 capital improvements to the resort, but in no 

15 event shall the term of the lease exceed 40 

16 years; 

17 (B) prohibit any transfer, assignment, or 

18 sale of the lease or otherwise convey or pledge 

19 any interest in the lease with prior written noti20 fication to, and approval by the Secretary; 

21 (C) ensure that the general character of 

22 the resort property remains unchanged, includ23 ing a prohibition against— 

24 (i) any increase in the overall size of 

25 the resort; or 


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1 (ii) any increase in the number of 

2 guest accommodations available at the re3 sort; 

4 (D) prohibit the sale of partial ownership 

5 shares or timeshares in the resort; and 

6 (E) include any other provisions deter7 mined by the Secretary to be necessary to pro8 tect the Park and the public interest. 

9 (5) RENTAL AMOUNTS.—In determining the 

10 fair market value rental of the lease required under 

11 section 3(k)(4) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 

12 1a–2(k)(4)), the Secretary shall take into consider13 ation— 

14 (A) the value of any associated property 

15 conveyed to the United States; and 

16 (B) the value, if any, of the relinquished 

17 term of the retained use estate. 

18 (6) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Rental amounts paid 

19 to the United States under a lease shall be available 

20 to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for 

21 visitor services and resource protection within the 

22 Park. 

23 (7) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Sec24 retary shall submit a proposed lease under this sec25 tion to the Committee on Energy and Natural ReVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Feb 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.RFS H714

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1 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 

2 Resources of the House of Representatives at least 

3 60 days before the effective date of the lease. 

4 (8) RENEWAL.—A lease entered into under this 

5 section may not be extended or renewed. 

6 (9) TERMINATION.—Upon the termination of a 

7 lease entered into under this section, if the Secretary 

8 determines the continuation of commercial services 

9 at the resort to be appropriate, the services shall be 

10 provided in accordance with the National Park Serv11 ice Concessions Management Improvement Act of 

12 1998 (16 U.S.C. 5951 et seq.). 

13 (c) RETAINED USE ESTATE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the lease, 

15 the owner of the retained use estate shall terminate, 

16 extinguish, and relinquish to the Secretary all rights 

17 under the retained use estate and shall transfer, 

18 without consideration, ownership of improvements 

19 on the retained use estate to the National Park 

20 Service. 

21 (2) APPRAISAL.— 

22 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re23 quire an appraisal by an independent, qualified 

24 appraiser that is agreed to by the Secretary and 

25 the owner of the retained use estate to deterVerDate Nov 24 2008 01:41 Feb 25, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.RFS H714

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1 mine the value, if any, of the relinquished term 

2 of the retained use estate. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An appraisal under 

4 paragraph (1) shall be conducted in accordance 

5 with— 

6 (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

7 for Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

8 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes9 sional Appraisal Practice. 

Passed the House of Representatives February 23, 

2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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