IIB 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 523 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 23, 2007 

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

Resources 

AN ACT 

To require the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain 

public land located wholly or partially within the boundaries of the Wells Hydroelectric Project of Public Utility 

District No. 1 of Douglas County, Washington, to the 

utility district. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
2 

HR 523 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Douglas County, 

3 Washington, PUD Conveyance Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

7 means the approximately 622 acres of Federal land 

8 managed by the Bureau of Land Management and 

9 identified for conveyance on the map prepared by 

10 the Bureau of Land Management entitled ‘‘Douglas 

11 County Public Utility District Proposal’’ and dated 

12 March 2, 2006. 

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

14 the Secretary of the Interior. 

15 (3) PUD.—The term ‘‘PUD’’ means the Public 

16 Utility District No. 1 of Douglas County, Wash17 ington. 

18 (4) WELLS HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT.—The 

19 term ‘‘Wells Hydroelectric Project’’ means Federal 

20 Energy Regulatory Commission Project No. 2149. 

21 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PUBLIC LAND, WELLS HYDRO22 ELECTRIC PROJECT, PUBLIC UTILITY DIS23 TRICT NO. 1 OF DOUGLAS COUNTY, WASH24 INGTON. 

25 (a) CONVEYANCE REQUIRED.—Notwithstanding the 

26 land use planning requirements of sections 202 and 203 


ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
3 

HR 523 RFS

1 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

2 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713), and notwithstanding section 24 

3 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 818) and Federal 

4 Power Order for Project 2149, and subject to valid exist5 ing rights, if not later than 45 days after the date of com6 pletion of the appraisal required under subsection (b), the 

7 Public Utility District No. 1 of Douglas County, Wash8 ington, submits to the Secretary of the Interior an offer 

9 to acquire the public land for the appraised value, the Sec10 retary shall convey, not later than 30 days after the date 

11 of the offer, to the PUD all right, title, and interest of 

12 the United States in and to the public land. 

13 (b) APPRAISAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

14 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete 

15 an appraisal of the public land. The appraisal shall be con16 ducted in accordance with the ‘‘Uniform Appraisal Stand17 ards for Federal Land Acquisitions’’ and the ‘‘Uniform 

18 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice’’. 

19 (c) PAYMENT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

20 on which the public land is conveyed under this section, 

21 the PUD shall pay to the Secretary an amount equal to 

22 the appraised value of the public land as determined under 

23 subsection (b). 

24 (d) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—As soon as 

25 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 


ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
4 

HR 523 RFS

1 Secretary shall finalize legal descriptions of the public land 

2 to be conveyed under this section. The Secretary may cor3 rect any minor errors in the map referred to in section 

4 2 or in the legal descriptions. The map and legal descrip5 tions shall be on file and available for public inspection 

6 in appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management. 

7 (e) COSTS OF CONVEYANCE.—As a condition of con8 veyance, any costs related to the conveyance under this 

9 section shall be paid by the PUD. 

10 (f) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.—The Secretary shall 

11 deposit the proceeds from the sale in the Federal Land 

12 Disposal Account established by section 206 of the Fed13 eral Land Transaction Facilitation Act (43 U.S.C. 2305) 

14 to be expended to improve access to public lands adminis15 tered by the Bureau of Land Management in the State 

16 of Washington. 

17 SEC. 4. SEGREGATION OF LANDS. 

18 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—Except as provided in section 

19 3(a), effective immediately upon enactment of this Act, 

20 and subject to valid existing rights, the public land is with21 drawn from— 

22 (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal 

23 under the public land laws, and all amendments 

24 thereto; 


ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS
5 

HR 523 RFS

1 (2) location, entry, and patenting under the 

2 mining laws, and all amendments thereto; and 

3 (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral 

4 materials, and geothermal leasing laws, and all 

5 amendments thereto. 

6 (b) DURATION.—This section expires two years after 

7 the date of enactment of this Act or on the date of the 

8 completion of the conveyance under section 3, whichever 

9 is earlier. 

10 SEC. 5. RETAINED AUTHORITY. 

11 The Secretary shall retain the authority to place con12 ditions on the license to insure adequate protection and 

13 utilization of the public land granted to the Secretary in 

14 section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 797(e)) 

15 until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has 

16 issued a new license for the Wells Hydroelectric Project, 

17 to replace the original license expiring May 31, 2012, con18 sistent with section 15 of the Federal Power Act (16 

19 U.S.C. 808). 

Passed the House of Representatives October 22, 

2007. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


ccoleman on PROD1PC69 with BILLS