Calendar No. 68

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 440

[Report No. 104–45]

AN ACT

To provide for the conveyance of lands to certain

individuals in Butte County, California.

APRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Reported without amendment
II

Calendar No. 68

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 440

[Report No. 104–45]

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

FEBRUARY 2 (legislative day, JANUARY 30), 1995

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources

APRIL 7 (legislative day, APRIL 5), 1995

Reported by Mr. MURKOWSKI, without amendment

AN ACT

To provide for the conveyance of lands to certain individuals

in Butte County, California.

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

3 SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

4 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds and declares

5 that—

6 (1) certain landowners in Butte County, Cali7 fornia who own property adjacent to the Plumas Na-
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HR 440 RS

1 tional Forest have been adversely affected by certain

2 erroneous surveys;

3 (2) these landowners have occupied or improved

4 their property in good faith and in reliance on erro5 neous surveys of their properties that they believed

6 were accurate; and

7 (3) the 1992 Bureau of Land Management de8 pendent resurvey of the Plumas National Forest will

9 correctly establish accurate boundaries between such

10 forest and private lands.

11 (b) PURPOSE.—It is the purpose of this Act to au12 thorize and direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey,

13 without consideration, certain lands in Butte County, Cali14 fornia, to persons claiming to have been deprived of title

15 to such lands.

16 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

17 For the purpose of this Act—

18 (1) the term ‘‘affected lands’’ means those Fed19 eral lands located in the Plumas National Forest in

20 Butte County, California, in sections 11, 12, 13, and

21 14, township 21 north, range 5 East, Mount Diablo

22 Meridian, as described by the dependent resurvey by

23 the Bureau of Land Management conducted in

24 1992, and subsequent Forest Service land line loca25 tion surveys, including all adjoining parcels where
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1 the property line as identified by the 1992 BLM de2 pendent resurvey and National Forest boundary

3 lines before such dependent resurvey are not coinci4 dent;

5 (2) the term ‘‘claimant’’ means an owner of real

6 property in Butte County, California, whose real

7 property adjoins Plumas National Forest lands de8 scribed in subsection (a), who claims to have been

9 deprived by the United States of title to property as

10 a result of previous erroneous surveys; and

11 (3) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

12 of Agriculture.

13 SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF LANDS.

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Sec15 retary is authorized and directed to convey, without con16 sideration, all right, title, and interest of the United States

17 in and to affected lands as described in section 2(1), to

18 any claimant or claimants, upon proper application from

19 such claimant or claimants, as provided in section 4.

20 SEC. 4. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.

21 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 2 years after the

22 date of enactment of this Act, claimants shall notify the

23 Secretary, through the Forest Supervisor of the Plumas

24 National Forest, in writing of their claim to affected lands.

25 Such claim shall be accompanied by—
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1 (1) a description of the affected lands claimed;

2 (2) information relating to the claim of owner3 ship of such lands; and

4 (3) such other information as the Secretary

5 may require.

6 (b) ISSUANCE OF DEED.—(1) Upon a determination

7 by the Secretary that issuance of a deed for affected lands

8 is consistent with the purpose and requirements of this

9 Act, the Secretary shall issue a quitclaim deed to such

10 claimant for the parcel to be conveyed.

11 (2) Prior to the issuance of any such deed as provided

12 in paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that—

13 (A) the parcel or parcels to be conveyed have

14 been surveyed in accordance with the Memorandum

15 of Understanding between the Forest Service and

16 the Bureau of Land Management, dated November

17 11, 1989;

18 (B) all new property lines established by such

19 surveys have been monumented and marked; and

20 (C) all terms and conditions necessary to pro21 tect third party and Government Rights-of-Way or

22 other interests are included in the deed.

23 (3) The Federal Government shall be responsible for

24 all surveys and property line markings necessary to imple25 ment this subsection.
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1 (c) NOTIFICATION TO BLM.—The Secretary shall

2 submit to the Secretary of the Interior an authenticated

3 copy of each deed issued pursuant to this Act no later

4 than 30 days after the date such deed is issued.

5 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

6 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

7 as necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives February 1,

1995.

Attest: ROBIN H. CARLE,

Clerk.