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Union Calendar No. 285

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1680

[Report No. 106–510]

To provide for the conveyance of Forest Service property in Kern County,

California, in exchange for county lands suitable for inclusion in Sequoia

National Forest.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

MAY 4, 1999

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

Committee on Resources

MARCH 2, 2000

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 May 4, 1999]

A BILL

To provide for the conveyance of Forest Service property

in Kern County, California, in exchange for county lands

suitable for inclusion in Sequoia National Forest.

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. SHORT TITLE.

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Kern County California

3 Land Exchange Act of 2000’’.

4 SEC. 2. LAND EXCHANGE, CAMP OWEN AND RELATED PAR5 CELS, KERN COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

6 (a) EXCHANGE REQUIRED.—In exchange for the non7 Federal lands and the additional consideration described in

8 subsection (b), the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to

9 Kern County, California, all right, title, and interest of the

10 United States in and to four parcels of land under the juris11 diction of the Forest Service in Kern County, as follows:

12 (1) Approximately 70 acres known as Camp

13 Owen.

14 (2) Approximately 4 acres known as Wofford

15 Heights Park.

16 (3) Approximately 4 acres known as the French

17 Gulch maintenance yard.

18 (4) Approximately 14 acres known as the

19 Kernville Fish Hatchery.

20 (b) CONSIDERATION.—

21 (1) CONVEYANCE OF NON-FEDERAL LANDS.—As

22 consideration for the conveyance of the Federal lands

23 referred to in subsection (a), Kern County shall con24 vey to the Secretary a parcel of land consisting of ap25 proximately 52 acres of Greenhorn Mountain Park in
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1 Kern County, California, which is owned by Kern

2 County within Sequoia National Forest.

3 (2) REPLACEMENT FACILITY.—As additional

4 consideration for the conveyance of the storage facility

5 located at the maintenance yard referred to in sub6 section (a)(3), Kern County shall provide a replace7 ment storage facility of comparable size and condi8 tion, as acceptable to the Secretary, at the Greenhorn

9 Ranger District Lake Isabella Maintenance Yard

10 property.

11 (3) CASH EQUALIZATION PAYMENT.—As addi12 tional consideration for the conveyance of the Federal

13 lands referred to in subsection (a), Kern County shall

14 tender a cash equalization payment specified by the

15 Secretary, but not to exceed $100,000. Subject to such

16 limitation, the cash equalization payment shall be

17 based upon an appraisal performed at the option of

18 the Forest Service pursuant to section 206(b) of the

19 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976

20 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).

21 (c) CONDITIONS ON ACCEPTANCE.—Title to the non22 Federal lands to be conveyed under this section must be ac23 ceptable to the Secretary, and the conveyance shall be sub24 ject to valid existing rights of record. The non-Federal lands
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1 shall conform with the title approval standards applicable

2 to Federal land acquisitions.

3 (d) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—Subject to subsection (c),

4 the Secretary shall complete the conveyance of the Federal

5 lands under subsection (a) within three months after Kern

6 County tenders to the Secretary the consideration required

7 by subsection (b).

8 (e) STATUS OF ACQUIRED LANDS.—Upon approval

9 and acceptance of title by the Secretary, the non-Federal

10 lands conveyed to the United States under this section shall

11 become part of Sequoia National Forest, and the boundaries

12 of the national forest shall be adjusted to include the ac13 quired lands. The Secretary shall manage the acquired

14 lands for recreational purposes in accordance with the laws

15 and regulations pertaining to the National Forest System.

16 For purposes of section 7 of the Land and Water Conserva17 tion Fund Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l–9), the boundaries

18 of the national forest, as adjusted pursuant to this section,

19 shall be considered to be the boundaries of the national for20 est as of January 1, 1965.

21 (f) RELATIONSHIP TO ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY.—

22 In connection with the conveyances under this section, the

23 Secretary may require such additional terms and condi24 tions related to environmental liability as the Secretary
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1 considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United

2 States.

3 (g) LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—The exact acreage and

4 legal description of the real property to be exchanged under

5 this section shall be determined by a survey or surveys satis6 factory to the Secretary. The costs of any such survey, as

7 well as other administrative costs incurred to execute the

8 land exchange (other than costs incurred by Kern County

9 to comply with subsection (h)), shall be divided equally be10 tween the Secretary and Kern County.

11 (h) TREATMENT OF EXISTING UTILITY LINES AT CAMP

12 OWEN.—Upon receipt of the Federal lands described in sub13 section (a)(1), Kern County shall grant an easement, and

14 record the easement in the appropriate office, for permitted

15 or licensed uses of those lands that are unrecorded as of

16 the date of the conveyance.

17 (i) APPLICABLE LAW.—Except as otherwise provided

18 in this section, any exchange of National Forest System

19 land under this section shall be subject to the laws (includ20 ing regulations) applicable to the conveyance and acquisi21 tion of land for the National Forest System.

Calendar No. 285

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 1680

[Report No. 106–510]

A BILL

To provide for the conveyance of Forest Service

property in Kern County, California, in exchangefor county lands suitable for inclusion in SequoiaNational Forest.

MARCH 2, 2000

Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union,

and ordered to be printed