II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3340 

To provide for the resolution of several land ownership and related issues 

with respect to parcels of land located within the Everglades National Park. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 26, 2008 

Mr. MARTINEZ (for himself and Mr. NELSON of Florida) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the resolution of several land ownership and 

related issues with respect to parcels of land located 

within the Everglades National Park. 

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 ‘‘Everglades National 

5 Park Land Exchange Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) the Everglades National Park is a nation9 ally and internationally significant resource adVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:52 Jul 29, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3340.IS S3340

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1 versely affected by external factors that have altered 

2 the natural hydrological conditions within the bound3 ary of the National Park; 

4 (2) section 102(a) of the Everglades National 

5 Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989 (16 

6 U.S.C. 410r–6(a)) modified the boundary of the Na7 tional Park to include 107,600 acres of land located 

8 in the Northeast Shark River Slough and the East 

9 Everglades, each area of which is critical to the hy10 drology of the National Park; 

11 (3) the construction of modifications to the 

12 Central and South Florida Project authorized under 

13 section 104(a) of the Everglades National Park Pro14 tection and Expansion Act of 1989 (16 U.S.C. 

15 410r–8(a)) is designed to improve water deliveries to 

16 the National Park through physical and operational 

17 modifications to the Project; 

18 (4) the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration 

19 Plan approved by section 601(b) of the Water Re20 sources Development Act of 2000 (114 Stat. 2680) 

21 provides guidance for the implementation of numer22 ous restoration projects located in the Everglades of 

23 the State of Florida, including projects that would 

24 ultimately benefit the National Park; 


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1 (5) the success of the Project, the Plan, and the 

2 future ecological health of the Everglades of the 

3 State depends in part on the resolution of several 

4 land ownership issues relating to parcels of land lo5 cated in the National Park; 

6 (6) the United States has entered into a contin7 gent agreement that— 

8 (A) provides for the exchange of land with 

9 the Florida Power & Light Company; and 

10 (B) is contingent on the approval of Con11 gress; 

12 (7) the land exchange proposed in the Agree13 ment is critical to the success of the Project; 

14 (8) the Osceola family of Roy Cypress has occu15 pied the area of the National Park commonly known 

16 as the ‘‘William McKinley Osceola Hammock’’ since 

17 before the date on which the National Park was es18 tablished; and 

19 (9) the interests of the Family and the United 

20 States would be enhanced by a further delineation of 

21 the rights and obligations of each party because the 

22 Hammock may be impacted by construction of im23 provements relating to the Project. 

24 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to direct, 

25 facilitate, and expedite the exchange of certain Federal 


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1 land and non-Federal land in the State to further the pub2 lic interest by— 

3 (1) authorizing an exchange of land held by the 

4 United States that is affected by the construction, 

5 operation, and maintenance of a relocated and raised 

6 section of the Tamiami Trail, U.S. Rt. 41 roadway, 

7 pursuant to the Project; 

8 (2) ratifying and executing a contingent agree9 ment between the United States and the Company 

10 to exchange and relocate certain property interests 

11 of the Company (including the provision of ease12 ments and other actions); and 

13 (3) authorizing the Secretary to enter into an 

14 agreement with the Family to allow the Family to 

15 occupy and use certain parcels of land located in the 

16 National Park for purposes consistent with the pur17 poses and resource values of the National Park. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) AGREEMENT.—The term ‘‘Agreement’’ 

21 means the agreement described in the document— 

22 (A) entitled ‘‘Contingent Agreement Be23 tween the United States of America and Flor24 ida Power & Light Company for Exchange and 

25 Relocation of Florida Power & Light Company’s 


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1 Property Located In or Adjacent to the Ever2 glades National Park Expansion Area’’; and 

3 (B) executed by the United States and the 

4 Company on July 24, 2008, including any sub5 sequent amendments to the document. 

6 (2) COMPANY.—The term ‘‘Company’’ means 

7 the Florida Power & Light Company. 

8 (3) FAMILY.—The term ‘‘Family’’ means the 

9 Osceola family of Roy Cypress. 

10 (4) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

11 means the parcels of land that are— 

12 (A) owned by the United States; 

13 (B) administered by the Secretary; 

14 (C) located within the National Park; and 

15 (D) generally depicted on the map as— 

16 (i) Tract ølll¿, which is adjacent 

17 to the Tamiami Trail, U.S. Rt. 41, in ex18 istence as of the date of enactment of this 

19 Act; and 

20 (ii) Tract øllll¿, which is lo21 cated on the eastern boundary of the Na22 tional Park. 

23 (5) HAMMOCK.—The term ‘‘Hammock’’ means 

24 the parcel of land that is— 


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1 (A) commonly known as the ‘‘William 

2 McKinley Osceola Hammock’’; and 

3 (B) generally depicted on the map as Tract 

4 ølll¿. 

5 (6) MAP.—The term ‘‘map’’ means the map 

6 prepared by the National Park Service, entitled 

7 ‘‘øllll¿’’, numbered øllll¿, and dated 

8 øllll¿. 

9 (7) MODIFIED WATER DELIVERIES PROJECT.— 

10 The term ‘‘modified water deliveries project’’ means 

11 the modifications to the Project authorized under 

12 section 104(a) of the Everglades National Park Pro13 tection and Expansion Act of 1989 (16 U.S.C. 

14 410r–8(a)). 

15 (8) NATIONAL PARK.—The term ‘‘National 

16 Park’’ means the Everglades National Park located 

17 in the State. 

18 (9) NON-FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘non-Fed19 eral land’’ means the area of land located in the 

20 State that is comprised of land that— 

21 (A) is owned by the State, the specific area 

22 and location of which shall be determined by 

23 the State; and 

24 (B) is owned by the Company— 


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1 (i) the area of which comprises ap2 proximately 320 acres; and 

3 (ii) the location of which is within the 

4 East Everglades Acquisition Area, as gen5 erally depicted on the map as Tract 

6 ølll¿. 

7 (10) PLAN.—The term ‘‘Plan’’ means the Com8 prehensive Everglades Restoration Plan— 

9 (A) contained in the Final Integrated Fea10 sibility Report and Programmatic Environ11 mental Impact Statement, dated April 1, 1999; 

12 and 

13 (B) approved under section 601(b) of the 

14 Water Resources Development Act of 2000 

15 (114 Stat. 2680). 

16 (11) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘Project’’ means the 

17 Central and Southern Florida Project. 

18 (12) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 

19 means the Secretary of the Interior. 

20 (13) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the 

21 State of Florida. 

22 SEC. 4. LAND EXCHANGE. 

23 (a) LAND EXCHANGE AUTHORIZED.—If the State of24 fers to convey to the Secretary all right, title, and interest 

25 of the State in and to the non-Federal land, and the offer 


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1 is acceptable to the Secretary, the Secretary shall, subject 

2 to valid existing rights— 

3 (1) accept the offer; and 

4 (2) convey to the State all right, title, and in5 terest of the United States in and to the Federal 

6 land. 

7 (b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The land exchange 

8 under subsection (a) shall be subject to such terms and 

9 conditions as the Secretary may require. 

10 (c) APPRAISALS; EQUALIZATION.— 

11 (1) APPRAISALS.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Federal land and 

13 non-Federal land shall be appraised by an inde14 pendent appraiser selected by the Secretary. 

15 (B) STANDARDS.—An appraisal conducted 

16 under subparagraph (A) shall be conducted in 

17 accordance with— 

18 (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 

19 for Federal Land Acquisitions; and 

20 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes21 sional Appraisal Practice. 

22 (2) EQUALIZATION.—If the values of the Fed23 eral land and the non-Federal land to be conveyed 

24 in the land exchange under subsection (a) are not 

25 equal, the values may be equalized by— 


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1 (A) donation; 

2 (B) payment using donated or appro3 priated funds; or 

4 (C) the conveyance of additional parcels of 

5 land. 

6 (d) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF EXCHANGE.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para8 graph (2), the land exchange under subsection (a) 

9 shall be completed by not later than the date that 

10 is 90 days after the date on which the results of 

11 each appraisal conducted under subsection (c)(1) are 

12 received by the Secretary and the State. 

13 (2) EXCEPTION.—In a case in which the Sec14 retary or the State disputes the results of any ap15 praisal conducted under subsection (c)(1), the land 

16 exchange under subsection (a) shall be completed by 

17 not later than the date that is 90 days after the date 

18 on which the Secretary and the State resolve the dis19 pute. 

20 (e) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.—Subject to the 

21 agreement of the State, the Secretary may make— 

22 (1) minor corrections to correct technical and 

23 clerical errors in the legal descriptions of the Fed24 eral and non-Federal land; and 


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1 (2) minor adjustments to the boundaries of the 

2 Federal and non-Federal land. 

3 (f) ADMINISTRATION OF LAND ACQUIRED BY SEC4 RETARY.—Land acquired by the Secretary through the 

5 land exchange under subsection (a) shall— 

6 (1) become part of the National Park; and 

7 (2) be administered in accordance with the laws 

8 (including regulations) applicable to the National 

9 Forest System. 

10 (g) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map shall be on file 

11 and available for public inspection in the appropriate of12 fices of the National Park Service. 

13 SEC. 5. RATIFICATION OF CONTINGENT AGREEMENT BE14 TWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE COM15 PANY. 

16 (a) RATIFICATION OF AGREEMENT.—The Agreement 

17 (including each term, condition, procedure, covenant, res18 ervation, and other provision contained in the Agreement) 

19 is ratified. 

20 (b) EXECUTION OF AGREEMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

23 shall execute the Agreement (including the land ex24 change under section 4(a)). 

25 (2) TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with 

2 subparagraph (B), the Secretary, subject to the 

3 agreement of the Company, may make minor 

4 corrections to correct technical and clerical er5 rors with respect to any land description or in6 strument of conveyance contained in the Agree7 ment. 

8 (B) WRITTEN NOTICE REQUIREMENT.—To 

9 make a minor correction under subparagraph 

10 (A), the Secretary shall provide written notice, 

11 the duration of which shall be not less than 30 

12 days, to— 

13 (i) the Committee on Energy and 

14 Natural Resources of the Senate; and 

15 (ii) the Committee on Natural Re16 sources of the House of Representatives. 

17 (c) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, in accordance 

20 with paragraph (2), the Secretary may prepare an 

21 environmental assessment regarding the land ex22 change under section 4(a). 

23 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In preparing the environ24 mental assessment under paragraph (1), the Sec25 retary shall— 


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1 (A) identify any— 

2 (i) immediate and proximate effect 

3 that may arise from the land exchange 

4 under section 4(a); and 

5 (ii) potential mitigation measure that 

6 the Secretary determines to be appropriate 

7 for each immediate and proximate effect 

8 identified under clause (i); and 

9 (B) provide for a period of public notice 

10 and comment with respect to the land exchange 

11 under section 4(a). 

12 SEC. 6. OSCEOLA FAMILY PERPETUAL USE AND OCCU13 PANCY AGREEMENT. 

14 (a) PERPETUAL USE AND OCCUPANCY AGREE15 MENT.—In accordance with subsection (b), and subject to 

16 subsection (c), the Secretary may enter into an agreement 

17 with the Family to allow the Family to occupy and use 

18 the Hammock in perpetuity for the purpose of a domestic 

19 residence. 

20 (b) PROTECTION OF NATIONAL PARK.—An agree21 ment entered into by the Secretary under subsection (a) 

22 shall ensure that the occupancy and use of the Hammock 

23 by the Family— 

24 (1) is carried out in a manner consistent with— 

25 (A) this Act; 


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1 (B) the purposes and resources of the Na2 tional Park; and 

3 (C) all applicable laws (including regula4 tions), including laws governing commercial ac5 tivities within the National Park (including reg6 ulations); and 

7 (2) does not prevent the Secretary from con8 structing any improvements necessary to allow for 

9 the completion of the Project. 

10 (c) PRESERVATION OF HAMMOCK.—Subject to the 

11 written approval of the Secretary, the area of the Ham12 mock shall not be enlarged— 

13 (1) through the addition of fill; or 

14 (2) by any other means. 

Æ 


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