II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1620

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land to Federal

Energy Regulatory Commission permit holders.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

SEPTEMBER 22, 1999

Mr. GORTON introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain

land to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission permit

holders.

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

3 SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE.

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any provision in

5 the record of decision adopting the Northwest Forest Plan

6 dated April 13, 1994 (59 Fed. Reg. 18788), the Secretary

7 of Agriculture shall convey to the permit holders described

8 in subsection (b), at fair market value and by quitclaim

9 deed, the parcels of land (including roads) necessary for

10 development of the small hydroelectric power project sites,
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•S 1620 IS

1 located in whole or in part within the Mt. Baker/

2 Snoqualmie National Forest, Washington, described as

3 follows:

4 (1) Anderson Creek, comprising approximately

5 26.3 acres, Sections 21, 28, 29, and 32, T37N, R9E

6 Willamette meridian.

7 (2) Irene Creek, comprising approximately 10.3

8 acres, T35N, R12E, Sections 18 and 19, Willamette

9 meridian.

10 (3) Martin Creek, comprising approximately

11 14.13 acres, T26N, RI2E, Sections 12, 13, 24, and

12 25, and R13E, Section 8, Willamette meridian.

13 (4) Big/Grade Creeks, comprising approxi14 mately 19.96 acres, T33N, R11E, Sections 7, 8, 9,

15 17, and 18, Willamette meridian.

16 (5) Cumberland Creek, comprising approxi17 mately 8.46 acres, T35N, R6E, Sections 23, 24, and

18 25, Willamette meridian.

19 (6) O’Toole Creek, comprising approximately

20 10.0 acres, T35N, R7E, Sections 28, 29, and 33,

21 Willamette meridian.

22 (b) PERMIT HOLDERS.—The permit holders de23 scribed in this subsection are the persons holding prelimi24 nary permits issued by, or having filed license applications

25 with, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission covering
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1 the parcels described in subsection (a) during the period

2 beginning on January 1, 1990, and ending on December

3 31, 1996.

4 (c) TIMING.—A conveyance under subsection (a)

5 shall be made as soon as practicable after receipt of a writ6 ten request made by a permit holder that—

7 (1) describes the Federal land or other real

8 property interest needed for project development;

9 and

10 (2) sets forth a fair market price, which shall

11 not include the value of timber on the land.

12 (d) ADDITIONAL LAND.—The Secretary of

13 Agriculture—

14 (1) shall convey any additional land or property

15 interests that may be required under a license issued

16 by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a

17 project described in subsection (b); but

18 (2) may retain in any quitclaim deed an ease19 ment for public access to Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie Na20 tional Forest land.

21 (e) CONSIDERATION.—On removal and sale of timber

22 required for project development under a license issued by

23 the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a parcel,

24 the licensee shall pay the net proceeds, if any, of the sale

25 to the Secretary of Agriculture.
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1 (f) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Proceeds received by the

2 Secretary of Agriculture under subsection (e) shall—

3 (1) be deposited in a separate account in the

4 Treasury of the United States; and

5 (2) remain available to the Secretary of Agri6 culture, without further Act of appropriation, for use

7 in watershed and species management activities to

8 ensure proper implementation of the Northwest For9 est Plan in the Mt. Baker/Snoqualmie National For10 est.

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