IB 

Union Calendar No. 524 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 244 

[Report No. 116–639] 

To maximize land management efficiencies, promote land conservation, 

generate education funding, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 4, 2019 

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

Committee on Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 14, 2020 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 

printed 


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A BILL 

To maximize land management efficiencies, promote land 

conservation, generate education funding, 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 ‘‘Advancing Conserva5 tion and Education Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds that— 

8 (1) at statehood, Congress granted each of the 

9 western States land to be held in trust by the States 

10 and used for the support of public schools and other 

11 public institutions; 

12 (2) since the statehood land grants, Congress 

13 and the executive branch have created multiple Fed14 eral conservation areas on Federal land within the 

15 western States, including National Parks, National 

16 Monuments, national conservation areas, national 

17 grassland, components of the National Wilderness 

18 Preservation System, wilderness study areas, and 

19 national wildlife refuges; 

20 (3) since statehood land grant land owned by 

21 the western States are typically scattered across the 

22 public land, creation of Federal conservation areas 

23 often include State land grant parcels with substan24 tially different management mandates, making land 

25 and resource management more difficult, expensive, 


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1 and controversial for both Federal land managers 

2 and the western States; and 

3 (4) allowing the western States to relinquish 

4 State trust land within Federal conservation areas 

5 and to select replacement land from the public land 

6 within the respective western States, would— 

7 (A) enhance management of Federal con8 servation areas by allowing unified management 

9 of those areas; and 

10 (B) increase revenue from the statehood 

11 land grants for the support of public schools 

12 and other worthy public purposes. 

13 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

14 In this Act: 

15 (1) APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘application’’ 

16 means an application for State relinquishment and 

17 selection of land made under this Act in accordance 

18 with section 5. 

19 (2) ELIGIBLE AREA.—The term ‘‘eligible area’’ 

20 means land within the outer boundary of— 

21 (A) a unit of the National Park System; 

22 (B) a component of the National Wilder23 ness Preservation System; 

24 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 

25 System; 


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1 (D) a unit of the National Landscape Con2 servation System; 

3 (E) an area determined by the Bureau of 

4 Land Management, through an inventory car5 ried out in accordance with FLPMA, to have 

6 wilderness characteristics— 

7 (i) as of the date of enactment of this 

8 Act; or 

9 (ii) in a land use plan finalized under 

10 FLPMA; 

11 (F) National Forest System land and pub12 lic land administered by the Bureau of Land 

13 Management that has been designated as a na14 tional monument, national volcanic monument, 

15 national recreation area, national scenic area, 

16 inventoried roadless area, unit of the Wild and 

17 Scenic Rivers System, wilderness study area, or 

18 Land Use Designation II (as described by sec19 tion 508 of the Alaska National Interest Lands 

20 Conservation Act (Public Law 101–626; 104 

21 Stat. 4428)); or 

22 (G) a sentinel landscape designated by the 

23 Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of De24 fense, and the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 (3) FLPMA.—The term ‘‘FLPMA’’ means the 

2 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

3 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

4 (4) PRIORITY AREA.—The term ‘‘priority area’’ 

5 means land within the outer boundary of any— 

6 (A) National Monument; 

7 (B) national conservation area managed by 

8 the Bureau of Land Management; 

9 (C) component of the National Wilderness 

10 Preservation System; or 

11 (D) unit of the National Park System. 

12 (5) PUBLIC LAND.— 

13 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

14 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ 

15 in section 103 of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

16 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘public 

17 land’’ does not include Federal land that— 

18 (i) is within an eligible area; 

19 (ii) is within an area of critical envi20 ronmental concern established pursuant to 

21 section 202(c)(3) of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 

22 1712(c)(3)); 

23 (iii) is within an area withdrawn or 

24 reserved by an Act of Congress, the Presi25 dent, or public land order for a particular 


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1 public purpose or program, including for 

2 the conservation of natural resources; 

3 (iv) has been acquired using funds 

4 from the Land and Water Conservation 

5 Fund established under section 200302 of 

6 title 54, United States Code; 

7 (v) is within the boundary of an In8 dian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or 

9 (vi) is within a special recreation man10 agement area. 

11 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

12 the Secretary of the Interior. 

13 (7) STATE LAND GRANT PARCEL.—The term 

14 ‘‘State land grant parcel’’ means— 

15 (A) any land granted to a western State by 

16 Congress through a statehood or territorial land 

17 grant for the support of public education or 

18 other public institutions, or subsequently ac19 quired by the western State for that purpose; or 

20 (B) land granted to the State of Alaska 

21 under subsections (a), (b), and (k) of section 6 

22 of the Act of July 7, 1958 (commonly known as 

23 the ‘‘Alaska Statehood Act’’) (48 U.S.C. note 

24 prec. 21; Public Law 85–508). 


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1 (8) TRADITIONAL CULTURAL PROPERTY.—The 

2 term ‘‘traditional cultural property’’ has the mean3 ing given the term— 

4 (A) ‘‘historic property’’ in section 800.16 

5 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in 

6 effect on the date of enactment of this Act); or 

7 (B) ‘‘sacred site’’ in section 1(b) of Execu8 tive Order No. 13007 (42 U.S.C. 1996 note; re9 lating to Indian sacred sites). 

10 (9) WATER RIGHT.—The term ‘‘water right’’ 

11 means any right in or to groundwater, surface 

12 water, or effluent under Federal, State, or other law. 

13 (10) WESTERN STATE.—The term ‘‘western 

14 State’’ means any of the States of Alaska, Arizona, 

15 California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, 

16 North Dakota, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Wash17 ington, and Wyoming. 

18 SEC. 4. RELINQUISHMENT OF STATE LAND GRANT PAR19 CELS AND SELECTION OF REPLACEMENT 

20 LAND. 

21 (a) AUTHORITY TO SELECT.—In accordance with 

22 this Act and in order to facilitate the fulfillment of the 

23 mandates of State land grant parcels and Federal land 

24 described in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of section 

25 3(2), on approval by the Secretary of an application under 


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1 section 5, a western State may relinquish to the United 

2 States State land grant parcels wholly or primarily within 

3 eligible areas and select in exchange public land within the 

4 western State. 

5 (b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—Land conveyed under 

6 this Act shall be subject to valid existing rights. 

7 (c) MANAGEMENT AFTER RELINQUISHMENT.—Any 

8 portion of a State land grant parcel acquired by the 

9 United States under this Act that is located within an eli10 gible area shall— 

11 (1) be incorporated in, and be managed as part 

12 of, the applicable unit described in subparagraphs 

13 (A) through (G) of section 3(2) in which the land is 

14 located without further action by the Secretary with 

15 jurisdiction over the unit; and 

16 (2) if located within the National Forest Sys17 tem, be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture 

18 in accordance with— 

19 (A) the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly 

20 known as the ‘‘Weeks Law’’) (16 U.S.C. 552 et 

21 seq.); and 

22 (B) any laws (including regulations) appli23 cable to the National Forest System and the 

24 unit of the National Forest System in which the 

25 land is located. 


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1 (d) LIMITATION.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para3 graphs (2) and (3), until a western State has relin4 quished and conveyed to the United States substan5 tially all of the State land grant parcels located in 

6 priority areas in the western State, the western 

7 State may not apply to relinquish State land grant 

8 parcels in other eligible areas in the western State. 

9 (2) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary may waive the 

10 limitation in paragraph (1) on a determination that 

11 the relinquishment and conveyance to the United 

12 States of substantially all State land grant parcels 

13 located in priority areas in the western State is im14 practical or infeasible. 

15 (3) OTHER STATE LAND GRANT PARCELS.—The 

16 Secretary may accept an application from a western 

17 State to relinquish State land grant parcels within 

18 an eligible area in the western State if— 

19 (A) the application is limited to relin20 quishing one or more State land grant parcels 

21 within a single eligible area; 

22 (B) the western State submitting the ap23 plication is, as determined by the Secretary, 

24 making substantial progress in relinquishing 


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1 State land grant parcels within priority areas in 

2 the western State; and 

3 (C) the Secretary has not accepted any 

4 other applications from the western State under 

5 this paragraph during the 5-year period ending 

6 on the date of the application. 

7 SEC. 5. PROCESS. 

8 (a) PROCESS FOR APPLICATION.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 540 days 

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act and in 

11 accordance with this section, the Secretary shall pro12 mulgate regulations establishing a process by which 

13 the western States may request the relinquishment 

14 of State land grant parcels wholly or partially within 

15 eligible areas and select public land in exchange for 

16 the State land grant parcels. 

17 (2) TIMING.—Except as provided in section 

18 8(c), the process established by the Secretary under 

19 this section shall ensure that the relinquishment of 

20 State land grant parcels and the conveyance of pub21 lic land is concurrent. 

22 (b) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Prior to accepting or con23 veying any land under this Act, the Secretary shall provide 

24 public notice and an opportunity to comment on the proVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:59 Dec 14, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H244.RH H244

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1 posed conveyances between the western State and the 

2 United States. 

3 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise pro5 vided in this subsection, the Secretary shall acquire 

6 State land grant parcels and convey public land 

7 under this Act in accordance with— 

8 (A) the National Environmental Policy Act 

9 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

10 (B) other applicable laws. 

11 (2) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OR ENVI12 RONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—In preparing an 

13 environmental assessment or environmental impact 

14 statement pursuant to section 102(2) of the Na15 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

16 4332(2)) for the acquisition of State land grant par17 cels and the conveyance of public land under this 

18 Act, if the western State has indicated an unwilling19 ness to consider State land grant parcels for relin20 quishment or public land for acquisition (other than 

21 the State land grant parcels and public land de22 scribed in the proposed agency action), the Secretary 

23 is not required to study, develop, and describe more 

24 than— 

25 (A) the proposed agency action; and 


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1 (B) the alternative of no action. 

2 (d) AGREEMENTS WITH STATES.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary is authorized 

4 to enter into agreements with any of the western 

5 States to facilitate processing of applications and 

6 conveyance of selected land. 

7 (2) AGREEMENT.—On completion of a pre8 application process that includes identification of 

9 land to be conveyed, the Secretary and the western 

10 State may enter into a nonbinding agreement that 

11 includes— 

12 (A) a time schedule for completing the con13 veyances; 

14 (B) an assignment of responsibility for 

15 performance of required functions and for costs 

16 associated with processing the conveyances; and 

17 (C) a statement specifying whether as18 sumption of costs will be allowed pursuant to 

19 section 8(d). 

20 (e) APPROVAL OR REJECTION.—The Secretary— 

21 (1) shall issue a final determination on an ap22 plication not later than 3 years after the date a 

23 western State submits that application to the Sec24 retary; 


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1 (2) may approve an application in whole or in 

2 part, or as modified by the Secretary as necessary 

3 to balance the equities of the States and interest of 

4 the public; 

5 (3) shall not accept an application under this 

6 Act for selection of any parcel of public land that in 

7 the judgment of the Secretary— 

8 (A) is not reasonably compact and consoli9 dated; 

10 (B) will create significant management 

11 conflicts with respect to the management of ad12 jacent Federal land; 

13 (C) will significantly adversely affect public 

14 use of a recreation site or recreation area eligi15 ble for the collection of recreation fees under 

16 the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 

17 Act (16 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.) or other authority; 

18 (D) will significantly adversely affect pub19 lic access, hunting, fishing, recreational shoot20 ing, outdoor recreation, or result in adverse im21 pacts to critical fish and wildlife habitat; or 

22 (E) is not in the public interest, as deter23 mined under 43 Code of Federal Regulations 

24 2200.0–6(b), as in effect on the date of enact25 ment of this Act; 


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1 (4) shall not accept any State land grant par2 cels that, in the judgment of the Secretary, are not 

3 suitable for inclusion in the applicable unit described 

4 in subparagraphs (A) through (G) of section 3(2) in 

5 which the land is located; 

6 (5) shall, prior to approving an application, con7 sult with the head of any Federal agency with juris8 diction over Federal land— 

9 (A) within which a western State proposes 

10 to relinquish a State land grant parcel; or 

11 (B) that is adjacent to public land pro12 posed for conveyance to a western State; 

13 (6) shall, prior to approving an application— 

14 (A) consult, in accordance with Federal 

15 law, with any Indian tribe affected by the sub16 ject of the application, including any Indian 

17 tribe that notifies the Secretary that there is 

18 traditional cultural property located within the 

19 public land proposed for conveyance to the 

20 western State; and 

21 (B) if the Secretary determines that tradi22 tional cultural property is located within the 

23 public land proposed for conveyance to the 

24 western State, consider the extent to which pro25 tection would be available for the traditional 


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1 cultural property after conveyance of the public 

2 land to the western State, including terms or 

3 conditions that the Secretary, with the agree4 ment of the western State, may impose on the 

5 conveyance of the public land to the western 

6 State; 

7 (7) may reject an application in whole or in 

8 part if the Secretary, after consideration of available 

9 protection for traditional cultural property located 

10 within the public land proposed for conveyance to 

11 the western State pursuant to paragraph (6)(B), de12 termines that insufficient protection would be avail13 able for the traditional cultural property after con14 veyance of the public land to the western State; 

15 (8) shall, for applications by a western State for 

16 the conveyance of a parcel of public land that will 

17 result in significantly diminished public access to ad18 jacent Federal land— 

19 (A) reject that portion of the application; 

20 or 

21 (B) reserve a right-of-way through the 

22 public land to be conveyed ensuring continued 

23 public access to adjacent Federal land; and 

24 (9) shall convey any public land approved for 

25 selection not later than 1 year after entering into a 


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1 final agreement between the Secretary and the west2 ern State on the land to be conveyed, subject to such 

3 other terms and conditions as may be appropriate. 

4 (f) COSTS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—All costs of conveyances 

6 under this Act, including appraisals, surveys, and re7 lated costs, shall be paid equally by the Secretary 

8 and the western State. 

9 (2) ALLOCATION.—The Federal agency that re10 ceives State land in a conveyance under this Act 

11 shall assume the Federal share of administrative 

12 costs, including appraisals, surveys, and related 

13 costs, unless otherwise agreed to by the heads of the 

14 respective agencies. 

15 (g) CONVEYANCE BY WESTERN STATE.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—The conveyance of any State 

17 land grant parcel under this Act shall— 

18 (A) be by patent or deed acceptable to the 

19 Secretary; and 

20 (B) not be considered an exchange or ac21 quisition for purposes of sections 205 and 206 

22 of FLPMA (43 U.S.C. 1715, 1716). 

23 (2) CONCURRENCE.—The Secretary of Agri24 culture shall concur in any determination to accept 

25 the conveyance of a State land grant parcel within 


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1 the boundaries of any unit of the National Forest 

2 System. 

3 (h) CONVEYANCE BY UNITED STATES.—The convey4 ance of public land by the United States shall— 

5 (1) not be considered a sale, exchange, or con6 veyance under section 203, 206, or 209 of FLPMA 

7 (43 U.S.C. 1713, 1716, and 1719); and 

8 (2) include such terms or conditions as the Sec9 retary may require. 

10 SEC. 6. MINERAL LAND. 

11 (a) SELECTION AND CONVEYANCE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to this Act, a west13 ern State may select, and the Secretary may convey, 

14 land that is mineral in character under this Act. 

15 (2) EXCLUSION.—A western State may not se16 lect, and the Secretary may not convey land that in17 cludes only— 

18 (A) a portion of a mineral lease or permit; 

19 (B) the Federal mineral estate, unless the 

20 United States does not own the associated sur21 face estate; or 

22 (C) the Federal surface estate, unless the 

23 United States does not own the associated min24 eral estate. 

25 (b) MINING CLAIMS.— 


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1 (1) MINING CLAIMS UNAFFECTED.—Nothing in 

2 this Act alters, diminishes, or expands the existing 

3 rights of a mining claimant under applicable law. 

4 (2) VALIDITY EXAMS.—Nothing in this Act re5 quires the United States to carry out a mineral ex6 amination for any mining claim located on public 

7 land to be conveyed under this Act. 

8 (3) WITHDRAWAL.—Public land selected by a 

9 western State for acquisition under this Act is with10 drawn, subject to valid existing rights, from location, 

11 entry, and patent under the mining laws until that 

12 date on which— 

13 (A) the land is conveyed by the Federal 

14 Government to the western State; 

15 (B) the Secretary makes a final determina16 tion not accepting the selection of the land; or 

17 (C) the western State withdraws the selec18 tion of the land. 

19 SEC. 7. CONSTRUCTION WITH OTHER LAWS. 

20 (a) CONSIDERATION.—In the application of laws, reg21 ulations, and policies relating to selections made under 

22 this Act, the Secretary shall consider the equities of the 

23 western States and the interest of the public. 


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1 (b) LAND USE PLAN.—The Secretary may approve 

2 an application submitted in accordance with this Act even 

3 if— 

4 (1) the selected public land is not otherwise 

5 identified for disposal; or 

6 (2) the land to be acquired is not identified to 

7 be acquired in the applicable land use plan. 

8 SEC. 8. VALUATION. 

9 (a) EQUAL VALUE.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The overall value of the 

11 State land grant parcels and the public land to be 

12 conveyed shall be— 

13 (A) equal; or 

14 (B) if the value is not equal— 

15 (i) equalized by the payment of funds 

16 to the western State or to the Secretary as 

17 the circumstances require; or 

18 (ii) reflected on the balance of a ledg19 er account established under subsection 

20 (c). 

21 (2) APPRAISAL REQUIRED.—Except as provided 

22 in subsection (b), the Secretary shall determine the 

23 value of a State land grant parcel and public land 

24 through an appraisal completed in accordance 

25 with— 


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1 (A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for 

2 Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

3 (B) the Uniform Standards for Profes4 sional Appraisal Practice. 

5 (3) EQUALIZATION.—For each transaction, an 

6 equalization payment described in paragraph 

7 (1)(B)(i) or a ledger entry described in paragraph 

8 (1)(B)(ii) may not exceed 25 percent of the total 

9 value of the land or interest transferred out of Fed10 eral ownership. 

11 (b) LOW VALUE PARCELS.— 

12 (1) VALUATION.—The Secretary may, with the 

13 consent of a western State, use a summary appraisal 

14 or statement of value made by a qualified appraiser 

15 carried out in accordance with the Uniform Stand16 ards for Professional Appraisal Practice instead of 

17 an appraisal that complies with the Uniform Ap18 praisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions if 

19 the western State and the Secretary agree that the 

20 market value of a State land grant parcel or a parcel 

21 of public land is— 

22 (A) less than $500,000; and 

23 (B) less than $500 per acre. 

24 (2) DIVISION.—A State land grant parcel or a 

25 parcel of public land may not be artificially divided 


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1 in order to qualify for a summary appraisal or state2 ment of value under paragraph (1). 

3 (c) LEDGER ACCOUNTS.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and any west5 ern State may agree to use a ledger account to make 

6 equal the value of land relinquished by the western 

7 State and conveyed by the United States to the 

8 western State under this Act. 

9 (2) IMBALANCES.—A ledger account described 

10 in paragraph (1) shall reflect imbalances in value to 

11 be reconciled in a subsequent transaction. 

12 (3) ACCOUNT BALANCING.—Each ledger ac13 count shall be— 

14 (A) balanced not later than 3 years after 

15 the date on which the ledger account is estab16 lished; and 

17 (B) closed not later than 5 years after the 

18 date of the last conveyance of land under this 

19 Act. 

20 (d) COSTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary or the west22 ern State may assume costs or other responsibilities 

23 or requirements for conveying land under this Act 

24 that ordinarily are borne by the other party. 


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1 (2) ADJUSTMENT.—If the Secretary assumes 

2 costs or other responsibilities under paragraph (1), 

3 the Secretary shall make adjustments to the value of 

4 the public land conveyed to the western State to 

5 compensate the Secretary for assuming the costs or 

6 other responsibilities. 

7 (e) ADJUSTMENT.—If value is attributed to any par8 cel of public land that has been selected by a western State 

9 because of the presence of minerals under a lease entered 

10 into under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

11 seq.) that is in a producing or producible status, and the 

12 lease is to be conveyed under this Act, the value of the 

13 parcel shall be reduced by the amount that represents the 

14 likely Federal revenue sharing obligation under that Act, 

15 but the adjustment shall not be considered as reflecting 

16 a property right of the western State. 

17 SEC. 9. MISCELLANEOUS. 

18 (a) HAZARDOUS MATERIALS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the west20 ern States shall make available for review and in21 spection any record relating to hazardous materials 

22 on land to be conveyed under this Act. 

23 (2) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary and the 

24 western State shall each complete an inspection and 

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1 veyed under this Act before the completion of the 

2 conveyance. 

3 (b) WATER RIGHTS.— 

4 (1) STATE-HELD APPURTENANT WATER

5 RIGHTS.—Any conveyance of a State land grant par6 cel under this Act may include the conveyance of 

7 State-held water rights appurtenant to the land con8 veyed in accordance with applicable law. 

9 (2) FEDERALLY HELD APPURTENANT WATER

10 RIGHTS.—Any conveyance of public land under this 

11 Act may include the conveyance of federally held 

12 water rights appurtenant to the land conveyed in ac13 cordance with applicable Federal and State law. 

14 (3) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act— 

15 (A) creates an implied or expressed Fed16 eral reserved water right; 

17 (B) affects a valid existing water right; or 

18 (C) affects the use of water conveyance in19 frastructure associated with a water right de20 scribed in subparagraph (B). 

21 (c) GRAZING PERMITS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—If land conveyed under this 

23 Act is subject to a lease, permit, or contract for the 

24 grazing of domestic livestock in effect on the date of 

25 the conveyance, the Secretary (or the Secretary of 


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1 Agriculture for land located within the National For2 est System) and the western State shall allow the 

3 grazing to continue for the remainder of the term of 

4 the lease, permit, or contract, subject to the related 

5 terms and conditions of user agreements, including 

6 permitted stocking rates, grazing fee levels, access, 

7 and ownership and use of range improvements. 

8 (2) RENEWAL.—On expiration of any grazing 

9 lease, permit, or contract described in paragraph 

10 (1), the party that has jurisdiction over the land on 

11 the date of expiration may elect to renew the lease, 

12 permit, or contract if permitted under applicable 

13 law. 

14 (3) CANCELLATION.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Nothing in this Act 

16 prevents the Secretary (or the Secretary of Ag17 riculture for land located within the National 

18 Forest System) or the western State from can19 celing or modifying a grazing permit, lease, or 

20 contract if the land subject to the permit, lease, 

21 or contract is sold, conveyed, transferred, or 

22 leased for nongrazing purposes. 

23 (B) LIMITATION.—Except to the extent 

24 reasonably necessary to accommodate surface 

25 operations in support of mineral development, 


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1 the Secretary (or the Secretary of Agriculture 

2 for land located within the National Forest Sys3 tem) or the western State shall not cancel or 

4 modify a grazing permit, lease, or contract for 

5 land conveyed pursuant to this Act because the 

6 land subject to the permit, lease, or contract 

7 has been leased for mineral development. 

8 (4) BASE PROPERTIES.—If land conveyed by 

9 the western State under this Act is used by a graz10 ing permittee or lessee to meet the base property re11 quirements for a Federal grazing permit or lease, 

12 the land shall continue to qualify as a base property 

13 for the remaining term of the lease or permit and 

14 the term of any renewal or extension of the lease or 

15 permit. 

16 (5) RANGE IMPROVEMENTS.—Nothing in this 

17 Act prohibits a holder of a grazing lease, permit, or 

18 contract from being compensated for range improve19 ments pursuant to the terms of the lease, permit, or 

20 contract under existing Federal or State laws. 

21 (d) ROAD RIGHTS-OF-WAYS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—If land conveyed under this 

23 Act is subject to a road lease, road right-of-way, 

24 road easement, or other valid existing right in effect 

25 on the date of the conveyance, the Secretary (or the 


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1 Secretary of Agriculture for land located within the 

2 National Forest System) and the western State shall 

3 allow the lease, right-of-way, easement, or other 

4 valid existing right to continue for the remainder of 

5 the term of the lease, right-of-way, easement, or 

6 other valid existing right, subject to the applicable 

7 terms and conditions of the lease, right-of-way, ease8 ment, or other valid existing right. 

9 (2) RENEWAL.—On expiration of any road 

10 lease, road right-of-way, road easement, or other 

11 valid existing right described in paragraph (1), the 

12 party that has jurisdiction over the land on the date 

13 of expiration may elect to renew the lease, right-of14 way, easement, or other valid existing right if per15 mitted under applicable law. 

16 (e) PROTECTION OF INDIAN RIGHTS.— 

17 (1) TREATY RIGHTS.—Nothing in this Act al18 ters or diminishes the treaty rights of any Indian 

19 tribe. 

20 (2) LAND HELD IN TRUST.—Nothing in this 

21 Act affects— 

22 (A) land held in trust by the Secretary for 

23 any Indian tribe; or 

24 (B) any individual Indian allotment. 


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1 (3) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act alters, di2 minishes, or enlarges the application of— 

3 (A) division A of subtitle III of title 54, 

4 United States Code (formerly known as the 

5 ‘‘National Historic Preservation Act’’ (16 

6 U.S.C. 470 et seq.)); 

7 (B) the Native American Graves Protec8 tion and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et 

9 seq.); 

10 (C) Public Law 95–341 (commonly known 

11 as the ‘‘American Indian Religious Freedom 

12 Act’’) (42 U.S.C. 1996); 

13 (D) chapter 3125 of title 54, United States 

14 Code; or 

15 (E) the Archaeological Resources Protec16 tion Act of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470aa et seq.). 

17 SEC. 10. EFFECT. 

18 Nothing in this Act repeals or limits, expressly or by 

19 implication, any authority in existence on the date of en20 actment of this Act for the selection or exchange of land. 

21 SEC. 11. TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), the pro23 visions of this Act shall cease to be effective with regard 

24 to any State land grant parcel located within an eligible 

25 area for which an application has not been filed by the 


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1 date that is 20 years after the date of the enactment of 

2 this Act. 

3 (b) NEW ELIGIBLE AREAS.—If the application de4 scribed in subsection (a) is for a State land grant parcel 

5 that is located within an eligible area established after the 

6 date of enactment of this Act, the provisions of this Act 

7 shall remain effective for 20 years after the date on which 

8 the new eligible area is established. 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Union Calendar No. 524 

116TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 244 

[Report No. 116–639] 

A BILL 

To maximize land management efficiencies, proing, and for other purposes. mote land conservation, generate education fundDECEMBER 14, 2020 

Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 

State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS