II 

110TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3411 

To authorize the sale of certain National Forest System lands in the Superior 

National Forest in Minnesota. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 31, 2008 

Ms. KLOBUCHAR (for herself and Mr. COLEMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To authorize the sale of certain National Forest System 

lands in the Superior National Forest in Minnesota. 

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 ‘‘Superior National For5 est Land Adjustment Act of 2008’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Fragmentation of property rights on certain 

9 lands described herein within and adjacent to the 

10 Superior National Forest in Minnesota hampers the 


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1 ability of the Forest Service to manage associated 

2 forested areas as well as the ability of private min3 eral owners to utilize their mineral rights. 

4 (2) The United States primarily owns the sur5 face estate in the lands described in section 3, sub6 ject to reserved and outstanding mineral rights, with 

7 such lands located within a well-established mining 

8 district with a large open pit mine lying directly to 

9 the north and a mine railroad lying directly to the 

10 south. 

11 (3) The public interest in selling the federally 

12 owned property estate interests in lands described in 

13 section 3 under the terms and conditions of this Act 

14 would appear to outweigh the interest served by 

15 maintaining such lands under Federal ownership 

16 subject to a final determination under this Act. 

17 (4) The sale of some Federal surface and sub18 surface rights in land under this Act will facilitate 

19 mining in the areas described in section 3, and 

20 thereby improve the local and national economy by 

21 providing needed mineral resources, enhancing the 

22 property tax base, and promoting employment op23 portunities through expanded job creation and will 

24 allow for the acquisition of desirable public holdings 


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1 that are located within or adjacent to Forest Service 

2 land by the Forest Service. 

3 (5) Minnesota and the Army Corps of Engi4 neers, in cooperation with the Forest Service, are 

5 preparing an environmental impact statement for 

6 the proposed mining operations by PolyMet Mining, 

7 Inc., on and adjacent to the lands authorized for 

8 conveyance by this Act, more fully described in the 

9 notice of intent of the Department of Defense (70 

10 Fed. Reg. 38122 (July 1, 2005)) and a draft envi11 ronmental impact statement is expected to be re12 leased for public review and comment in the near fu13 ture. 

14 (6) Proceeds from the sale of lands authorized 

15 by this Act shall be used by the Forest Service to 

16 purchase desirable private inholdings within and ad17 jacent to the Superior National Forest consistent 

18 with the land and resource management plan for the 

19 Superior National Forest. 

20 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

21 (1) The term ‘‘lands’’ includes interests in 

22 lands. 

23 (2) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

24 of Agriculture. 


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1 (3) The term ‘‘surface mining’’ means the exca2 vation of lands for the purposes of obtaining min3 erals, including excavation by such methods as con4 tour, strip, auger, open pit, and area mining. 

5 SEC. 3. LAND CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY, SUPERIOR NA6 TIONAL FOREST, MINNESOTA. 

7 (a) CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY.— 

8 (1) After considering the public interest factors 

9 described in paragraph (2), the Secretary of Agri10 culture may sell in accordance with this Act any or 

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

12 and to the lands within the Superior National Forest 

13 in Minnesota described in subsection (b). 

14 (2) The sale authorized by this Act may pro15 ceed if, based on the environmental documentation 

16 provided in accordance with section 5(b), or other 

17 information as the Secretary may choose to utilize, 

18 the Secretary determines that a sale will— 

19 (A) result in better and more efficient 

20 management and development of Federal lands 

21 and resources taking into consideration the 

22 property interests and reservations for mining 

23 uses and surrounding use of the lands which 

24 are the subject of this Act; 


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1 (B) help consolidate the ownership of lands 

2 or interests in such lands, including mineral 

3 rights and surface ownership, thereby pro4 moting economic development; 

5 (C) result in receipt to the public of con6 sideration equal to appraised market value as 

7 defined herein; and 

8 (D) allow with proceeds from any sale the 

9 purchase of replacement lands which result in a 

10 net benefit to the multiple use resources of the 

11 Superior National Forest. 

12 (3) This subsection prescribes the sole public 

13 interest determination required for any sale. 

14 (b) LANDS AUTHORIZED FOR CONVEYANCE.— 

15 (1) LANDS DESCRIBED.—The federally owned 

16 lands subject to sale under this Act are certain lands 

17 located in St. Louis County, Minnesota, comprising 

18 approximately 6,700 acres, more fully described as 

19 follows: 

20 (A) Township 59 North, Range 13 West, 

21 4th Principal Meridian: 

22 (i) Sections 1 through 9, inclusive. 

23 (ii) Sections 10, 11, 17, and 18, those 

24 portions lying north of and subject to the 

25 right-of-way held by the Erie Railroad. 


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(iii) The N1 1 ⁄2 of section 12. 

2 (B) Township 59 North, Range 12 West, 

3 4th Principal Meridian: 

4 (i) Section 6: Lots 3, 4, and 9, inclu5 sive. 

6 (ii) Section 7: Lots 3 and 4, inclusive. 

7 (C) Township 60 North, Range 13 West, 

8 4th Principal Meridian: 

(i) The S1⁄2SE1 9 ⁄4 of section 33. 

(ii) The S1⁄2S1 10 ⁄2 of section 34. 

(iii) The S1⁄2S1 11 ⁄2 of section 35. 

12 (2) MAP.—The lands described in paragraph 

13 (1) are generally depicted on a Forest Service map 

14 dated October 4, 2007, and entitled ‘‘PolyMet (Pro15 ponent) Case #4544’’, which shall be on file and 

16 available for public inspection in the office of the 

17 Forest Supervisor, Superior National Forest, until 

18 such time as the lands are conveyed. 

19 (3) MODIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES.—The Sec20 retary may modify the boundaries of the lands de21 scribed in paragraph (1) based on factors such as 

22 buffers and other land management considerations. 

23 (c) FORM OF CONVEYANCE.—The lands sold under 

24 this Act shall be conveyed by quitclaim deed executed by 

25 the Forest Service, Eastern Region, Director of Air, Soil, 


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1 Water, Lands, and Minerals. The Secretary may reserve 

2 such rights-of-way or other rights or interests in the lands 

3 as the Secretary considers necessary for future public land 

4 management purposes or is otherwise in the public inter5 est. 

6 (d) VALUATION.—Any appraisal of the lands to be 

7 sold under this Act shall conform to the Uniform Ap8 praisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions, and the 

9 appraisal shall be subject to the approval of the Secretary. 

10 For purposes of appraisal, it shall be assumed that the 

11 lands authorized for conveyance under this Act are subject 

12 to the right of the United States, as surface owner to allow 

13 or deny all forms of surface mining. 

14 (e) CONSIDERATION.—Consideration for a sale of 

15 lands under this Act shall be in an amount not less than 

16 the appraised market value as determined in accordance 

17 with subsection (d). 

18 (f) METHOD OF SALE.—The Secretary may sell lands 

19 described in subsection (b) at public or private sale, in20 cluding competitive sale by auction, bid, or otherwise, in 

21 accordance with such terms, conditions, and procedures as 

22 the Secretary determines are in the best interests of the 

23 United States, subject to the following: 

24 (1) The Secretary shall first offer the sale of 

25 such lands for consideration at the appraised market 


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1 value to Poly Met Mining, Inc., a Minnesota cor2 poration, which shall have 90 days from the date of 

3 the offer during which to contract for the purchase 

4 of such lands. 

5 (2) During the 90-day period referred to in 

6 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall not offer to sell 

7 such lands to any party other than Poly Met Mining, 

8 Inc. 

9 (3) In the offer under paragraph (1), the Sec10 retary shall require Poly Met Mining, Inc., to cover 

11 the costs of survey, appraisal, and other expendi12 tures directly associated with the proposed sale. 

13 (4) The Secretary may reject any counteroffer 

14 made by Poly Met Mining, Inc., in response to the 

15 offer of the Secretary under paragraph (1) if the 

16 Secretary determines that the counteroffer is less 

17 than fair market value or is not in the public inter18 est. 

19 (g) BROKERS.—The Secretary may utilize brokers or 

20 other third parties in the disposition of the lands author21 ized by this Act and, from the proceeds of a sale, may 

22 pay reasonable commissions or fees. 

23 SEC. 4. TREATMENT OF PROCEEDS. 

24 (a) DEPOSIT.—The Secretary shall deposit the pro25 ceeds of a sale authorized by this Act in the fund estabVerDate Aug 31 2005 23:31 Aug 05, 2008 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3411.IS S3411

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1 lished under Public Law 90–171 (commonly known as the 

2 ‘‘Sisk Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 484a). 

3 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Monies deposited under sub4 section (a) shall be available to the Secretary until ex5 pended, without further appropriation, only for the acqui6 sition of lands within and adjacent to the Superior Na7 tional Forest. Monies deposited into the fund described in 

8 subsection (a) shall not be subject to transfer or re9 programming for wildland fire management or any other 

10 emergency purpose. 

11 (c) PRIORITY LAND ACQUISITIONS.—In utilizing 

12 funds derived from any sale of lands or interests author13 ized by this Act, in acquiring lands the Secretary shall 

14 give priority to— 

15 (1) privately owned inholdings within the 

16 Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness; 

17 (2) lands having important recreational, scenic, 

18 or natural values; or 

19 (3) eliminating nonconforming uses of land 

20 within the Superior National Forest when such uses 

21 are or may be reasonably expected to have detri22 mental impact on the area’s recreational, scenic, or 

23 natural values. 


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1 SEC. 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 

2 (a) WETLANDS OFFSET.—For purposes of compli3 ance with Executive Order 11990 (42 Fed. Reg. 26961 

4 (May 24, 1977)) and Executive Order 11988 (42 Fed. 

5 Reg. 26951 (May 24, 1977)), the Secretary shall, within 

6 7 years after the date of final conveyance of lands or inter7 ests under this Act, ensure that the total functional value 

8 of the wetlands acquired pursuant to section 4 is equal 

9 to or exceeds the functional value of the wetlands sold 

10 under this Act. 

11 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS REQUIREMENT.— 

12 (1) For conveyances authorized by this Act, the 

13 Secretary shall assume that the future use of the 

14 lands so conveyed will be for surface mining. 

15 (2) For conveyances authorized by this Act— 

16 (A) the Secretary shall be a cooperating 

17 agency on the environmental impact statement 

18 described in section 2(a)(5); and 

19 (B) the final environmental impact state20 ment described in section 2(a)(5) shall disclose 

21 and document the material environmental ef22 fects, if any, from the anticipated sale of the 

23 land and property interests under this Act, to 

24 the extent required under the National Environ25 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

26 seq.) and regulations promulgated thereunder. 


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1 (3) In complying with the requirements of this 

2 subsection, the Corps of Engineers, the State of 

3 Minnesota, and the Forest Service shall not be re4 quired to repeat notice or comment procedures, in5 cluding scoping, already accomplished as of the ef6 fective date of this Act with respect to the prepara7 tion of the environmental impact statement de8 scribed in section 2(a)(5), or republish a revised 

9 draft environmental impact statement to the extent 

10 one is published prior to the effective date of this 

11 Act. 

12 (4) For purposes of implementing this Act, the 

13 Forest Service shall only be required to utilize the 

14 final environmental impact statement described in 

15 section 2(a)(5), including the information required 

16 under paragraph (2) and shall not be required to do 

17 additional analysis or data gathering. 

18 (5) The closing of any land sale authorized 

19 under this Act shall not occur before the date on 

20 which notice of the final environmental impact state21 ment described in section 2(a)(5) is published in the 

22 Federal Register. 

23 (c) DEADLINE FOR SALE OF LANDS.—To the extent 

24 practicable, the sale of lands authorized by this Act shall 


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1 be completed within 180 days after the date described in 

2 subsection (b)(5). 

Æ 


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