I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1695

To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal public lands in the Ivanpah

Valley, Nevada, to Clark County, Nevada, for the development of an

airport facility, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 5, 1999

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

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for the conveyance of certain Federal public lands

in the Ivanpah Valley, Nevada, to Clark County, Nevada,

for the development of an airport facility, 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. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Ivanpah Valley Airport

5 Public Lands Transfer Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO CLARK COUNTY, NE2 VADA.

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding the land use

4 planning requirements contained in sections 202 and 203

5 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

6 (43 U.S.C. 1712 and 1713), but subject to subsection (b)

7 of this section, the Secretary shall convey to the County

8 all right, title, and interest of the United States in and

9 to the Federal public lands identified for disposition on

10 the map entitled ‘‘Ivanpah Valley, Nevada-Airport Selec11 tions’’ numbered 01, and dated April 1999, for the pur12 pose of developing an airport facility and related infra13 structure. The Secretary shall keep such map on file and

14 available for public inspection in the offices of the Director

15 of the Bureau of Land Management and in the district

16 office of the Bureau located in Las Vegas, Nevada.

17 (b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary shall make no con18 veyance under subsection (a) until each of the following

19 conditions are fulfilled:

20 (1) The County has conducted an airspace as21 sessment to identify any potential adverse effects on

22 access to the Las Vegas Basin under visual flight

23 rules that would result from the construction and

24 operation of a commercial or primary airport, or

25 both, on the land to be conveyed.
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1 (2) The Federal Aviation Administration has

2 made a certification under section 4(b).

3 (3) The County has entered into an agreement

4 with the Secretary to retain ownership of Jean Air5 port, located at Jean, Nevada, and to maintain and

6 operate such airport for general aviation purposes.

7 (c) PHASING OF CONVEYANCES.—The Secretary

8 shall make conveyances of small parcels of land under sub9 section (a) over a period of up to 20 years, as such parcels

10 may be needed by the County to construct and develop11 ment the airport facility and infrastructure on the lands

12 conveyed.

13 (d) PAYMENT.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—As consideration for the con15 veyance of each parcel, the County shall pay to the

16 United States an amount equal to the fair market

17 value of the parcel.

18 (2) DEPOSIT IN SPECIAL ACCOUNT.—The Sec19 retary shall deposit the payments received under

20 paragraph (1) in the special account described in

21 section 4(e)(1)(C) of the Southern Nevada Public

22 Land Management Act (31 U.S.C. 6901 note).

23 (3) DETERMINATIONS OF FAIR MARKET

24 VALUE.—During the 3-year period beginning on the

25 date of the enactment of this Act, the fair market
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1 value of a parcel to be conveyed under subsection (a)

2 shall be based on an appraisal of the fair market

3 value as of a date not later than 6 months after the

4 date of the enactment of this Act. The fair market

5 value of each parcel conveyed after such period shall

6 be based on an appraisal conducted after such pe7 riod. An appraisal conducted after such period shall

8 consider the parcel in its unimproved state and shall

9 not reflect any enhancement in value to the parcel

10 based upon the existence or planned construction of

11 infrastructure on or near the parcel.

12 (e) REVERSION AND REENTRY.—

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—During the 5-year period be14 ginning 20 years after the date on which the Sec15 retary conveys the first parcel under subsection (a),

16 if the Secretary determines that the County is not

17 developing or progressing toward the development of

18 any parcel of the conveyed lands as an airport facil19 ity, all right, title, and interest in that parcel shall

20 revert to the United States, and the Secretary may

21 reenter such lands.

22 (2) PROCEDURE.—Any determination of the

23 Secretary under paragraph (1) shall be made only

24 on the record after an opportunity for a hearing.
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1 (3) REFUND.—If any right, title, and interest

2 in lands revert to the United States under this sub3 section, the Secretary shall refund to the County all

4 payments made to the United States for such lands

5 under subsection (d).

6 SEC. 3. MINERAL ENTRY FOR LANDS ELIGIBLE FOR CON7 VEYANCE.

8 The public lands referred to in section 2(a) are with9 drawn from mineral entry under the Act of May 10, 1872

10 (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.; popularly known as the Mining Law

11 of 1872) and the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et

12 seq.).

13 SEC. 4. ACTIONS BY THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPOR14 TATION.

15 (a) DEVELOPMENT OF AIRPSACE MANAGEMENT

16 PLAN.—The Secretary of Transportation shall, in con17 sultation with the Secretary, develop an airspace manage18 ment plan for the Ivanpah Valley Airport that shall, to

19 the maximum extent practicable and without adversely im20 pacting safety considerations, restrict aircraft arrivals and

21 departures over the Mojave Desert Preserve in California.

22 (b) CERTIFICATION OF ASSESSMENT.—The Adminis23 trator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall certify

24 to the Secretary that the assessment made by the County

25 under section 2(b)(1) is thorough and that alternatives
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1 have been developed to address each adverse effect identi2 fied in the assessment, including alternatives that ensure

3 access to the Las Vegas Basin under visual flight rules

4 at a level that is equal to or better than existing access.

5 SEC. 5. DEFINITIONS.

6 In this Act—

7 (1) the term ‘‘County’’ means Clark County,

8 Nevada; and

9 (2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

10 of the Interior.

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