II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 1894

To provide for the conveyance of certain land to Park County, Wyoming.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

NOVEMBER 9, 1999

Mr. THOMAS (for himself and Mr. ENZI) introduced the following bill; which

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

A BILL

To provide for the conveyance of certain land to Park

County, Wyoming.

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 OF LAND TO PARK COUNTY, WY4 OMING.

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that—

6 (1) the parcel of land described in subsection

7 (d) has been withdrawn from the public domain for

8 reclamation purposes and is managed by the Bureau

9 of Reclamation;
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1 (2) the land has been subject to a withdrawal

2 review, a level I contaminant survey, and historical,

3 cultural, and archaeological resource surveys by the

4 Bureau of Reclamation;

5 (3) the Bureau of Land Management has con6 ducted a cadastral survey of the land and has deter7 mined that the land is no longer suitable for return

8 to the public domain; and

9 (4) the Bureau of Reclamation and the Bureau

10 of Land Management concur in the recommendation

11 of disposal of the land as described in the documents

12 referred to in paragraph (2).

13 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act:

14 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Park

15 County, Wyoming.

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

17 the Secretary of the Interior.

18 (c) CONVEYANCE.—In consideration of payment of

19 $240,000 to the Secretary by the County, the Secretary

20 shall convey to the County all right, title, and interest of

21 the United States in and to the parcel of land described

22 in subsection (d).

23 (d) DESCRIPTION OF PROPERTY.—The parcel of land

24 described in this subsection is the parcel located in the
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1 County comprising 190.12 acres, the legal description of

2 which is as follows:

Sixth Principal Meridian, Park County, Wyoming

T. 53 N., R. 101 W. Acreage

Section 20, S1⁄2SE1⁄4SW1⁄4SE1⁄4 ................................................. 5.00

Section 29, Lot 7 ......................................................................... 9.91

Lot 9 ......................................................................... 38.24

Lot 10 ....................................................................... 31.29

Lot 12 ....................................................................... 5.78

Lot 13 ....................................................................... 8.64

Lot 14 ....................................................................... .04

Lot 15 ....................................................................... 9.73

S1⁄2NE1⁄4NE1⁄4NW1⁄4 ............................................... 5.00

SW1⁄4NE1⁄4NW1⁄4 ..................................................... 10.00

SE1⁄4NW1⁄4NW1⁄4 ..................................................... 10.00

NW1⁄4SW1⁄4NW1⁄4 ..................................................... 10.00

Tract 101 .................................................................. 13.24

Section 30, Lot 31 ....................................................................... 16.95

Lot 32 ....................................................................... 16.30

3 (e) RESERVATION OF RIGHTS.—The instrument of

4 conveyance under subsection (c) shall reserve all rights to

5 locatable, salable, and leasable oil and gas reserves.

6 (f) LEASES, EASEMENTS, RIGHTS-OF-WAY, AND SPE7 CIAL USE PERMITS.—The conveyance under subsection

8 (c) shall be subject to any land use leases, easements,

9 rights-of-way, and special use permits in existence as of

10 the date of the conveyance.

11 (g) ENVIRONMENTAL LIABILITY.—

12 (1) LIABILITY OF THE FUTURE OWNERS.—

13 (A) FINDING.—Congress finds that—

14 (i) the United States has in good faith

15 exercised due diligence in accordance with

16 applicable laws (including regulations), in

17 an effort to identify any environmental
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1 contamination on the parcel of land de2 scribed in subsection (d); and

3 (ii) the parcel is free of any environ4 mental contamination.

5 (B) RELEASE FROM LIABILITY.—The

6 United States holds harmless and releases from

7 all liability any future owners of the conveyed

8 land for any violation of environmental law or

9 other contamination problem arising from any

10 action or inaction of any tenant of the land that

11 vacates the lease before the date of the convey12 ance under subsection (c).

13 (2) LIABILITY OF TENANTS.—A tenant of the

14 parcel of land described in subsection (d) on the

15 date of the conveyance or thereafter shall be liable

16 for any violation of environmental law or other con17 tamination problem that results from any action or

18 inaction of the tenant after the date of the convey19 ance.

20 (h) USE OF LAND.—The conveyance under sub21 section (c) shall be subject to the condition that the

22 County—

23 (1) use the land for the promotion of economic

24 development; or
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1 (2) transfer the land to a local organization

2 formed for the purpose of promoting economic devel3 opment.

4 (i) ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—The Sec5 retary may require such additional terms and conditions

6 in connection with the conveyance under subsection (c) as

7 the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the inter8 ests of the United States.

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