106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1474

AN ACT

Providing for conveyance of the Palmetto Bend project to

the State of Texas.

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 ‘‘Palmetto Bend Con5 veyance Act’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) PROJECT.—the term ‘‘Project’’ means the

4 Palmetto Bend Reclamation Project in the State of

5 Texas authorized under Public Law 90–562 (82

6 Stat. 999).

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

8 the Secretary of the Interior.

9 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State

10 of Texas, acting through the Texas Water Develop11 ment Board or the Lavaca-Navidad River Authority

12 or both.

13 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE.

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, as soon as

15 practicable after the date of enactment of this Act and

16 in accordance with all applicable law, and subject to the

17 conditions set forth in sections 4 and 5, convey to the

18 State all right, title and interest (excluding the mineral

19 estate) in and to the Project held by the United States.

20 (b) REPORT.—If the conveyance under Section 3 has

21 not been completed within 1 year and 180 days after the

22 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit

23 to the Committee on Resources of the House of Represent24 atives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Re25 sources of the Senate a report that describes—

26 (1) the status of the conveyance;
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1 (2) any obstacles to completion of the convey2 ance; and

3 (3) the anticipated date for completion of the

4 conveyance.

5 SEC. 4. PAYMENT.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the conveyance,

7 the State shall pay the Secretary the adjusted net present

8 value of current repayment obligations on the Project, cal9 culated 30 days prior to closing using a discount rate

10 equal to the average interest rate on 30-year United

11 States Treasury notes during the proceeding calendar

12 month, which following application of the State’s August

13 1, 1999 payment, was, as of October 1999, calculated to

14 be $45,082,675 using a discount rate of 6.070 percent.

15 The State shall also pay interest on the adjusted net

16 present value of current repayment obligations from the

17 date of the State’s most recent annual payment until clos18 ing at the interest rate for constant maturity United

19 States Treasury notes of an equivalent term.

20 (b) OBLIGATION EXTINGUISHED.—Upon payment by

21 the State under subsection (a), the obligation of the State

22 and the Bureau of Reclamation under the Bureau of Rec23 lamation Contract No. 14–06–500–1880, as amended

24 shall be extinguished. After completion of conveyance pro25 vided for in Section 3, the State shall assume full responsi-
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1 bility for all aspects of operation, maintenance and re2 placement of the Project.

3 (c) ADDITIONAL COSTS.—The State shall bear the

4 cost of all boundary surveys, title searches, appraisals, and

5 other transaction costs for the conveyance.

6 (d) RECLAMATION FUND.—All funds paid by the

7 State to the Secretary under this section shall be credited

8 to the Reclamation Fund in the Treasury of the United

9 States.

10 SEC. 5. FUTURE MANAGEMENT.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the conveyance

12 under section 3, the State shall agree that the lands,

13 water, and facilities of the Project shall continue to be

14 managed and operated for the purposes for which the

15 Project was originally authorized; that is, to provide a de16 pendable municipal and industrial water supply, to con17 serve and develop fish and wildlife resources, and to en18 hance recreational opportunities. In future management of

19 the Project, the State shall, consistent with other project

20 purposes and the provision of dependable municipal and

21 industrial water supply:

22 (1) provide full public access to the Project’s

23 lands, subject to reasonable restrictions for purposes

24 of Project security, public safety, and natural re25 source protection;
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1 (2) not sell or otherwise dispose of the lands

2 conveyed under Section 3;

3 (3) prohibit private or exclusive uses of lands

4 conveyed under Section 3;

5 (4) maintain and manage the Project’s fish and

6 wildlife resource and habitat for the benefit and en7 hancement of those resources;

8 (5) maintain and manage the Project’s existing

9 recreational facilities and assets, including open

10 space, for the benefit of the general public;

11 (6) not charge the public recreational use fees

12 that are more than is customary and reasonable.

13 (b) FISH, WILDLIFE, AND RECREATION MANAGE14 MENT.—As a condition of conveyance under Section 3,

15 management decisions and actions affecting the public as16 pects of the Project (namely, fish, wildlife, and recreation

17 resources) shall be conducted according to a management

18 agreement between all recipients of title to the Project and

19 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that has been

20 approved by the Secretary and shall extend for the useful

21 life of the Project.

22 (c) EXISTING OBLIGATIONS.—The United States

23 shall assign to the State and the State shall accept all

24 surface use obligations of the United States associated

25 with the Project existing on the date of the conveyance
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1 including contracts, easements, and any permits or license

2 agreements.

3 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF MINERAL ESTATE.

4 All mineral interests in the Project retained by the

5 United States shall be managed consistent with Federal

6 Law and in a manner that will not interfere with the pur7 poses for which the Project was authorized.

8 SEC. 7. LIABILITY.

9 (a) IN GENERAL.—Effective on the date of convey10 ance of the Project, the United States shall be liable for

11 damages of any kind arising out of any act, omission, or

12 occurrence relating to the Project, except for damages

13 caused by acts of negligence committed prior to the date

14 of conveyance by—

15 (1) the United States; or

16 (2) an employee, agent, or contractor of the

17 United States.

18 (b) NO INCREASE IN LIABILITY.—Nothing in this

19 Act increases the liability of the United States beyond that

20 provided for in the Federal Tort Claims Act, (28 U.S.C.

21 2671 et seq.).

22 SEC. 8. FUTURE BENEFITS.

23 (a) DEAUTHORIZATION.—Effective on the date of

24 conveyance of the Project, the Project conveyed under this

25 Act shall be deauthorized.
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1 (b) NO RECLAMATION BENEFITS.—After deauthor2 ization of the Project under subsection (a), the State shall

3 not be entitled to receive any benefits for the Project

4 under Federal reclamation law (the Act of June 17, 1902

5 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts supplemental to

6 and amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.).

Passed the Senate October 13 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.

Attest:

Secretary.

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1474

AN ACT

Providing for conveyance of the Palmetto Bend

project to the State of Texas.