I

104TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 723

To provide for the protection of the geothermal resources of Yellowstone

National Park.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 27, 1995

Mr. WILLIAMS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for the protection of the geothermal resources

of Yellowstone National Park.

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 ‘‘Old Faithful Protec5 tion Act of 1995’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—

8 (1) Yellowstone National Park is a unique and

9 irreplaceable national and international treasure and
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1 part of one of the few remaining undisturbed hydro2 thermal systems in the world;

3 (2) there is a risk that unrestricted ground4 water use or hydrothermal or geothermal resource

5 development adjacent to Yellowstone National Park

6 in the States of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho will

7 interfere or adversely affect the hydrothermal and

8 geothermal features of such Park or the manage9 ment of relevant mineral resources;

10 (3) further research is needed to understand

11 the characteristics of the protected systems and fea12 tures and the effects of development on such system,

13 and features on lands outside of Yellowstone Na14 tional Park but within the Yellowstone Protection

15 Area, as such area is defined in this Act;

16 (4) preservation and protection, free from in17 jury or impairment, of the hydrothermal system as18 sociated with and the features within Yellowstone

19 National Park is a benefit to the people of the

20 United States and the world;

21 (5) cooperation between the United States and

22 the States of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming to pro23 tect and preserve Yellowstone National Park is de24 sirable; and
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1 (6) as a settlement of litigation concerning

2 water rights, including the reserved water rights of

3 the United States associated with units of the Na4 tional Park System in Montana, the Department of

5 the Interior and the Department of Justice, on be6 half of the United States, and a Compact Commis7 sion, on behalf of the State of Montana, have devel8 oped a Compact that, when ratified by the State and

9 signed by the Secretary of the Interior and the At10 torney General of the United States, will constitute

11 such a settlement of litigation concerning matters

12 within its scope and which, in Article IV, also estab13 lishes a program for regulation of development and

14 use of groundwater in areas adjacent to Yellowstone

15 National Park.

16 (b) PURPOSES.—The purposes of this Act are—

17 (1) to require the Secretary to take the nec18 essary actions to preserve and protect the hydro19 thermal system associated with, and the hydro20 thermal and geothermal features within, Yellowstone

21 National Park from injury or impairment by protect22 ing the Federal reserved water rights of Yellowstone

23 National Park;

24 (2) to provide a framework for management by

25 the States of Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho of reg-
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1 ulated resources outside of but significantly related

2 to Yellowstone National Park to the extent such

3 States implement appropriate approved programs for

4 such management that are adequate to preserve and

5 protect, free from injury or impairment, the pro6 tected systems and features;

7 (3) to authorize, as provided in section 8, ap8 proval of Article IV of the Compact as such an ap9 propriate State program; and

10 (4) to require relevant research.

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

12 For purposes of this Act:

13 (1) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

14 of the Interior.

15 (2) The term ‘‘Yellowstone Protection Area’’

16 means the area in Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming

17 identified on the map entitled ‘‘Yellowstone Protec18 tion Area’’, numbered 20036, and dated May 1993,

19 and any modifications thereof as may be made under

20 section 7.

21 (3) The term ‘‘protected systems and features’’

22 means the hydrothermal and geothermal systems

23 and hydrothermal and geothermal features associ24 ated with Yellowstone National Park.

25 (4) The term ‘‘regulated resources’’ means—
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1 (A) geothermal steam and associated geo2 thermal resources, as defined in section 2(c) of

3 the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C.

4 1001(e)); and

5 (B) hydrothermal resources.

6 (5) The term ‘‘geothermal well’’ means a well

7 or facility producing or intended to produce regu8 lated resources.

9 (6) The term ‘‘hydrothermal system’’ means a

10 groundwater system, including cold water recharge

11 and transmission and warm and hot water dis12 charge.

13 (7) The term ‘‘hydrothermal resources’’ means

14 groundwater with a temperature in excess of 59 de15 grees Fahrenheit and any other groundwater that,

16 on the basis of research pursuant to section 6, and,

17 in a State with an approved State program, pursu18 ant to the procedures in such approved State pro19 gram, is determined to have characteristics that in20 dicate it may be directly related to the protected sys21 tems and features.

22 (8) The term ‘‘approved State program’’ means

23 a program of Montana, Idaho, or Wyoming that has

24 been submitted to the Secretary and has been ap25 proved pursuant to this Act.
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1 (9) The term ‘‘Compact’’ means the water

2 rights compact ratified in 1993 by the State of Mon3 tana through enactment of H.R. 692.

4 (10) Except as otherwise provided in this Act,

5 terms used in this Act shall have the same meaning

6 as in the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970.

7 SEC. 4. RESTRICTION ON FEDERAL LANDS.

8 The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001

9 and following) is amended by adding at the end thereof

10 the following new section:

11 ‘‘SEC. 30. (a) The Congress hereby declares that—

12 ‘‘(1) Yellowstone National Park possesses nu13 merous hydrothermal and geothermal features, in14 cluding Old Faithful geyser and approximately

15 10,000 other geysers and hot springs, and warrants

16 designation as a significant thermal feature unto it17 self;

18 ‘‘(2) the establishment of the Park in 1872 re19 served to the United States a water right which in20 cludes a right with respect to groundwater (includ21 ing the water in the hydrothermal system supporting

22 such features) necessary to preserve and protect

23 such features for the benefit of future generations;

24 and
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1 ‘‘(3) Federal legislation is desirable to protect

2 these Federal water rights from possible injury or

3 damage.

4 ‘‘(b) The Congress hereby declares that any use of,

5 or production from, any existing geothermal well, as such

6 term is defined in section 3(5) of the Old Faithful Protec7 tion Act of 1993, or any exploration for, or development

8 of, any new geothermal well or any facility related to the

9 use of geothermal steam and associated geothermal re10 sources within the boundary of the Yellowstone Protection

11 Area, as defined in section 3(2) of the Old Faithful Pro12 tection Act of 1993, risks adverse effects on the hydro13 thermal and geothermal features of Yellowstone National

14 Park.

15 ‘‘(c) The Secretary shall not issue a lease under this

16 Act for lands within the boundary of the Yellowstone Pro17 tection Area, as defined in section 3(2) of the Old Faithful

18 Protection Act of 1993. Nothing in this section shall be

19 construed to either affect the ban on leasing referenced

20 under section 28(f) or to apply to any lands not owned

21 by the United States.’’.

22 SEC. 5. MORATORIUM ON OTHER LANDS.

23 (a) PROHIBITION.—(1) Except as provided by sec24 tions 7 and 8 of this Act, there shall be no use (except

25 for monitoring by the Secretary or monitoring under an
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1 approved State program) of, or production from, any ex2 isting geothermal well and no exploration for, or develop3 ment of, any new geothermal well or any other new facility

4 related to the use of regulated resources within the Yellow5 stone Protection Area.

6 (2) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to

7 affect existing facilities other than geothermal wells.

8 (b) MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary shall review Na9 tional Park Service management of Yellowstone National

10 Park and shall take such steps as may be necessary to

11 protect the protected systems and features and the hydro12 thermal, geothermal, and groundwater resources of such

13 National Park free from injury or impairment.

14 (c) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec15 tion shall be construed to affect the ban or prohibitions

16 referenced under sections 28(f) and 30(c) of the Geo17 thermal Steam Act of 1970.

18 SEC. 6. RESEARCH.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The National Park Service, in

20 consultation with the Forest Service, the United States

21 Geological Survey, and each State agency implementing

22 an approved State program, shall research the characteris23 tics of the protected systems and features, inventory and

24 research the existing and potential effects (including cu25 mulative effects) of hydrothermal, geothermal, mineral, or
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1 other resources development (including development of

2 groundwater other than regulated resources) on such sys3 tems and features, and periodically inform Congress con4 cerning the results of such inventory and research.

5 (b) UNDER STATE PROGRAM.—If an approved State

6 program provides for research described in subsection (a),

7 the Secretary, in cooperation with the relevant State, may

8 conduct such research in areas within and adjoining Yel9 lowstone National Park.

10 (c) NONINTRUSIVE METHODOLOGIES.—Except for

11 research within a National Park System unit approved by

12 the Secretary or elsewhere under a permit issued by a

13 State agency implementing an approved State program,

14 research pursuant to this section shall exclusively use

15 nonintrusive methodologies.

16 (d) LIMITATION.—Nothing in this Act shall be con17 strued as authorizing any activities within any unit of the

18 National Park System inconsistent with laws or policies

19 applicable to the relevant unit.

20 SEC. 7. STATE MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS.

21 (a) DEVELOPMENT.—The States of Montana, Wyo22 ming, and Idaho are encouraged to develop State pro23 grams for the management of regulated resources outside

24 of Yellowstone National Park to preserve and protect, free
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1 from injury or impairment, the protected systems and fea2 tures.

3 (b) PERMIT.—As of the date of enactment of this

4 Act, no person shall engage in any use (including re5 search), production, exploration, or development of any

6 regulated resources on any land located within the Yellow7 stone Protection Area except to the extent authorized by

8 a permit issued by a State agency implementing an ap9 proved State program.

10 (c) STATE AUTHORITY.—(1) In the implementation

11 of an approved State program, a State may exercise the

12 authority to grant permits under subsection (b) for the

13 use (including research), production, exploration, or devel14 opment of any regulated resources within the Yellowstone

15 Protection Area.

16 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no

17 permit issued prior to the date of enactment of this Act

18 shall be deemed to have been issued in the implementation

19 of an approved State program, but in the event that after

20 the date of enactment of this Act the Secretary, on the

21 basis of research pursuant to section 6, determines that

22 groundwater with a temperature of 59 degrees Fahrenheit

23 or less has characteristics that indicate it may be directly

24 related to the protected systems and features, a permit

25 issued prior to such determination with respect to such
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1 groundwater shall not be invalidated unless, pursuant to

2 the procedures in an approved State program it is deter3 mined that continued utilization of the groundwater cov4 ered by such permit would be inconsistent with the pur5 poses of this Act.

6 (3)(A) The Secretary shall monitor the implementa7 tion of an approved State program (including the State’s

8 enforcement thereof) to assure consistency with the re9 quirements of this Act.

10 (B) The Secretary may suspend implementation of an

11 approved State program if such implementation (including

12 the State’s enforcement thereof) is not being exercised in

13 a manner consistent with this Act. During any such sus14 pension, no permit granted under such program shall be

15 effective except to the extent the Secretary determines

16 that the permitted activities would be consistent with the

17 purposes of this Act.

18 (C) If an approved State program includes proce19 dures for the exercise of the Secretary’s authority to sus20 pend such a program’s implementation, the Secretary

21 shall follow such procedures.

22 (d) APPROVAL BY THE SECRETARY.—(1) The Sec23 retary may approve a program submitted by a State if

24 the Secretary determines that such program, when imple-
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1 mented, will fulfill the purposes of this Act regarding the

2 protection of the protected systems and features.

3 (2) The Secretary shall not approve any State pro4 gram submitted under this section until the Secretary

5 has—

6 (A) solicited, publicly disclosed, and considered

7 the views of the heads of other State and Federal

8 agencies the Secretary determines are concerned

9 with the proposed State program;

10 (B) solicited, publicly disclosed, and considered

11 the views of the public; and

12 (C) found that the State has the necessary legal

13 authority and qualified personnel for the regulation

14 and management of regulated resources outside Yel15 lowstone National Park consistent with the require16 ments of this Act.

17 (3)(A) The Secretary may approve or disapprove a

18 program in whole or in part.

19 (B) If the Secretary disapproves any proposed State

20 program, in whole or in part, the Secretary shall notify

21 the State in writing of the decision and set forth in detail

22 the reasons therefor. The State may submit a revised

23 State program or portion thereof.

24 (4) The Secretary shall not approve any State pro25 gram that does not, at a minimum—
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1 (A) include ongoing scientific review of restric2 tions, boundaries, and permits applicable to the de3 velopment of a regulated resource;

4 (B) require that, in conducting the scientific re5 view referred to in subparagraph (A) and in imple6 menting the State program, any doubt shall be re7 solved in favor of protection of the protected systems

8 and features;

9 (C) allow the State agency authorized to admin10 ister the program to reject recommendations based

11 on the scientific review referred to in subparagraph

12 (A), to the extent such rejection is necessary to

13 guarantee no adverse effect on the hydrothermal sys14 tem within Yellowstone National Park; and

15 (D) enable citizens of such State to obtain judi16 cial review of actions taken by the State agency im17 plementing the program to the extent necessary to

18 assure that such actions are consistent with all ap19 plicable law, including this Act.

20 (e) SCOPE.—Except to the extent an approved State

21 program is being implemented by a State, section 5(a) of

22 this Act shall apply to the Yellowstone Protection Area.

23 (f) MODIFICATION OF YELLOWSTONE PROTECTION

24 AREA.—(1) The boundaries of the Yellowstone Protection

25 Area in a State may be modified pursuant to an approved
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1 State program to the extent such modification is approved

2 by the Secretary.

3 (2) The Secretary shall not approve any such modi4 fication that the Secretary finds would not be consistent

5 with the purposes of this Act.

6 (3) The Secretary shall revise the map of the Yellow7 stone Protection Area to reflect any approved boundary

8 modifications.

9 (4) If an approved State program includes procedures

10 for the exercise of the Secretary’s authority to approve

11 modifications of the boundaries of the Yellowstone Protec12 tion Area, the Secretary shall follow such procedures.

13 (g) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.—The Secretary is

14 authorized to enter into cooperative agreements with the

15 States of Montana, Idaho, and Wyoming and with the Sec16 retary of Agriculture to fulfill the purposes of this Act.

17 (h) FEDERAL FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE.—(1) Subject

18 to appropriation, the Secretary may provide financial as19 sistance to the implementation of an approved State pro20 gram. In providing such assistance, the Secretary may

21 enter into appropriate funding agreements, including

22 grants and cooperative agreements, with a State agency

23 or agencies, upon such terms and conditions as the Sec24 retary deems appropriate.
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1 (2) A recipient State may invest funds provided

2 under this subsection so long as such funds, together with

3 interest and any other earnings thereon, shall be available

4 for use by the State only under the terms and conditions

5 of the approved State program and an agreement entered

6 into with the Secretary under this subsection and shall

7 not be used by the State for any other purpose.

8 SEC. 8. MONTANA PROGRAM.

9 (a) APPROVAL.—(1) The Congress finds that Article

10 IV of the Compact, when implemented, will fulfill the pur11 poses of this Act regarding the protection of the protected

12 systems and features.

13 (2) All provisions of section 7 are applicable to this

14 section, except for purposes of section 7(d)(1) the Com15 pact shall be deemed to have been submitted to the Sec16 retary, and, notwithstanding sections 7(d)(2), 7(d)(3), and

17 7(d)(4), once signed by the Secretary and the Attorney

18 General of the United States, Article IV thereof shall be

19 considered an approved State program for regulation of

20 groundwater resources, including the hydrothermal re21 sources within the Montana portion of the Yellowstone

22 Protection Area. Article IV of the Compact shall not be

23 considered an approved State program for the manage24 ment of regulated resources within the Montana portion
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1 of the Yellowstone protection area other than groundwater

2 resources.

3 (b) SCOPE.—Nothing in this Act shall be construed

4 as amending the Compact or as altering its status in rela5 tionship to any litigation with regard to water rights.

6 (c) REVIEW PROCEDURES.—For purposes of sections

7 7(e)(3)(B), 7(e)(3)(C), 7(f)(1), and 7(f)(2), the provisions

8 of the Compact with respect to—

9 (1) review of administrative decisions under Ar10 ticle IV of the Compact;

11 (2) enforcement of the Compact;

12 (3) the discretion of any party to the Compact

13 to withdraw therefrom; and

14 (4) modification of boundaries and restrictions

15 within the Controlled Groundwater Area,

16 shall be deemed to be procedures for the exercise of the

17 Secretary’s authority to approve modifications of the

18 boundaries of the Yellowstone Protection Area or to sus19 pend the implementation of an approved State program.

20 SEC. 9. IDAHO PROGRAM.

21 For purposes of section 7(d)(1), the provisions of

22 Section 42 of the Idaho Code related to geothermal re23 sources shall be deemed to have been submitted to the Sec24 retary for approval as an approved State program.
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1 SEC. 10. IDAHO AND WYOMING PROGRAMS.

2 (a) Section 7 shall not be effective with respect to

3 the Yellowstone Protection Area within the State of Idaho

4 and the State of Wyoming for two years after the date

5 of enactment of this title if the Governor of the State noti6 fies the Secretary that the State will prohibit any permit

7 action or other approval action involving regulated re8 sources within the Yellowstone Protection Area during

9 such two-year period.

10 (b)(1) The State of Wyoming or the State of Idaho

11 may, within the two-year period provided for in subsection

12 (a) submit a State program to the Secretary for approval.

13 (2) Upon receipt of a State program within the two14 year period provided for in subsection (a), the Secretary

15 shall review such program pursuant to section 7.

16 (c) Section 4, subsections 5(a), 7(b), and paragraph

17 7(a)(2) shall become effective with respect to the Yellow18 stone Protection Area within the State of Idaho or the

19 State of Wyoming—

20 (1) upon the approval or disapproval of the re21 spective State program;

22 (2) at the end of the two-year period provided

23 for in subsection (a); or

24 (3) if the State takes any permit action or other

25 approval action contrary to the notification provided

26 to the Secretary pursuant to subsection (a).
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1 SEC. 11. CITIZEN SUITS.

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Any person may commence a

3 civil suit on the person’s own behalf to enjoin any party,

4 including the United States, except for a State or agency

5 or political subdivision thereof, that the plaintiff alleges—

6 (A) is in violation of any provision of this Act;

7 or

8 (B) is using a regulated resource in the absence

9 of, or beyond the scope of the terms or conditions

10 of, a permit issued pursuant to an approved State

11 program, or in violation of regulations issued under

12 the authority of an approved State program.

13 (2) The Federal district courts shall have jurisdiction,

14 without regard to the amount in controversy or the citizen15 ship of the parties—

16 (A) to require the Secretary or another party to

17 take any steps required or permitted by this Act, if

18 those steps are necessary to fulfill the purposes of

19 this Act; or

20 (B) to enforce the provisions, prohibitions, per21 mits, or regulations of an approved State program.

22 (b) VENUE AND INTERVENTION.—(1) Any suit under

23 this section may be brought in any appropriate judicial

24 district.

25 (2) In any such suit under this section in which the

26 United States is not a party, the Attorney General of the
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1 United States, at the request of the Secretary, may inter2 vene on behalf of the United States as a matter of right.

3 (c) COSTS.—The court, in issuing any final order in

4 any suit brought under this section, may award costs of

5 litigation (including reasonable attorney and expert wit6 ness fees) to any party, whenever the court determines

7 such award is appropriate.

8 (d) NONEXCLUSIVE RELIEF.—The injunctive relief

9 provided by this subsection shall not restrict any right

10 which any person (or class of persons) may have under

11 any statute or common law to seek judicial review of ac12 tions taken by the State agency implementing an approved

13 State program or to seek enforcement of any standard or

14 limitation or to seek any other relief including relief

15 against the Secretary.

16 (e) NOTICE.—Before seeking the injunctive relief au17 thorized under this section, notice of intent to sue shall

18 be given to the Secretary, the State agency implementing

19 any relevant approved State program described in section

20 7, and each intended defendant. Such notice shall allow

21 the minimum period of time necessary for an intended de22 fendant to take those measures that (1) will cure any al23 leged violations of this Act, or (2) will end any alleged

24 improper use of regulated resources, as described in sub25 section (a)(1)(B).
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1 SEC. 12. JUDICIAL REVIEW.

2 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURES.—Except as pro3 vided in this section, any Federal agency action or failure

4 to act to implement or enforce this Act shall be subject

5 to judicial review in accordance with and to the extent pro6 vided by chapter 7 of title 5, United States Code.

7 (b) REMEDY.—The sole remedy available to any per8 son claiming deprivation of a vested property right by en9 actment of this Act or Federal action pursuant to this Act

10 shall be an action for monetary damages, filed pursuant

11 to sections 1491 or 1505 of title 28, United States Code,

12 in the Court of Federal Claims. Any just compensation

13 awards determined by the Court of Federal Claims to be

14 due to a claimant shall be paid consistent with section

15 2517 of such title.

16 SEC. 13. REGULATIONS.

17 No later than two years after the date of enactment

18 of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate such rules and

19 regulations as are necessary to implement this Act.

20 SEC. 14. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

21 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

22 as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

23 SEC. 15. SCOPE OF ACT.

24 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as increasing

25 or diminishing any rights of the United States with re-
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1 spect to water, or as affecting any previous adjudication

2 of or any agreement concerning any such rights.

3 SEC. 16. LAND EXCHANGE.

4 (a) GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provision

5 of law and subject to the provisions of this title, the Sec6 retary of Agriculture shall acquire by exchange certain

7 lands and interests in lands owned by the Church Univer8 sal and Triumphant, its successors and assigns, (referred

9 to in this title as ‘‘the Church’’), located in the Yellow10 stone Controlled Groundwater Area and Corwin Springs

11 Known Geothermal Resource Area of the Gallatin Na12 tional Forest.

13 (b) OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE OF LAND AND INTER14 EST IN LAND.—

15 (1) NON-FEDERAL LANDS AND INTERESTS.—If

16 the Church offers—

17 (i) title that is acceptable to the United

18 States to all rights, title, and interests to ap19 proximately 26 acres of land owned by the

20 Church as depicted on the maps entitled

21 ‘‘Church/Forest Service Land Exchange Pro22 posal’’, dated July 1994;

23 (ii) all right, title and interest to the sub24 surface regulated resource estate on all Church
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1 properties within the Yellowstone Controlled

2 Groundwater Area;

3 (iii) a perpetual public access road and

4 utility easement of 60 feet in width, plus allow5 ance for cuts and fills, over Church property to

6 the Gallatin National Forest lands in the Cutler

7 Homestead/Sentinel Butte area, as depicted on

8 the maps referenced in paragraph (b)(1)(i); and

9 (iv) other rights and covenants in accord10 ance with the terms of the ‘‘Church/Forest

11 Service Land Exchange Specifications’’ docu12 ment prepared pursuant to paragraph (b)(1);

13 the Secretary of Agriculture shall accept a war14 ranty deed to the land specified in paragraph

15 (b)(1)(i), a special warranty deed to the geo16 thermal and hydrothermal resources specified in

17 paragraph (b)(1)(ii), State water rights transfer

18 documents, and any other such instruments as

19 may be necessary to transfer the above ref20 erenced property interests.

21 (2) FEDERAL LAND AND INTERESTS.—

22 (A) GENERAL.—Upon acceptance by the

23 Secretary of Agriculture of title to the lands, in24 terests, and rights and covenants offered by the

25 Church pursuant to paragraph (b)(1)—
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1 (i) the Secretary, upon request by the

2 Secretary of Agriculture, shall convey by

3 patent to the Church, subject to all valid

4 existing rights, and a reservation to the

5 United States of all regulated resources,

6 title to approximately 11 acres within the

7 Gallatin National Forest, as depicted on

8 the map referenced in paragraph (b)(3);

9 (ii) the Secretary of Agriculture shall

10 convey an easement to the Church grant11 ing the right to collect and transport

12 across Federal lands the natural surface

13 flow at LaDuke Hot Springs from its

14 source to the east bank of the Yellowstone

15 River as depicted on the maps referenced

16 in paragraph (b)(1), and the United States

17 shall withdraw all of its water rights claims

18 and objections filed with regard to LaDuke

19 Hot Springs in pending water rights adju20 dications under Federal and State law;

21 (iii) the Secretary shall grant to the

22 Church standard Forest Service rights-of23 way authorizations for existing roads

24 across National Forest System land as

25 generally depicted on the maps referenced
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1 in paragraph (b)(1) and further defined by

2 the document referenced in paragraph

3 (b)(3); and

4 (iv) the Secretary shall grant to the

5 Church other rights and covenants in ac6 cordance with the terms of the ‘‘Church/

7 Forest Service Land Exchange Specifica8 tions’’ document pursuant to paragraph

9 (b)(3).

10 (B) SURVEYS.—Surveys prepared to stand11 ards approved by the Secretary shall be fur12 nished by the Church for the affected Federal

13 and non-Federal lands and surface interests

14 prior to conveyance of the Federal lands and in15 terests in this exchange.

16 (3) AGREEMENT.—The document entitled

17 ‘‘Church/Forest Service Land Exchange Specifica18 tions,’’ jointly developed and agreed to by both par19 ties, shall define the non-Federal and Federal lands

20 and interests involved in this exchange, including

21 legal descriptions of lands and interests, and other

22 terms, conditions, and covenants, but shall not in23 clude any minimum surface flow requirements to the

24 Yellowstone River from LaDuke Hot Springs. Such

25 document, upon completion, shall be transmitted to
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1 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of

2 the United States Senate and the Committee on

3 Natural Resources of the United States House of

4 Representatives and shall not take effect until 60

5 days after receipt by both committees.

6 (c) TITLE.—

7 (1) REVIEW OF TITLE.—Within ninety days of re8 ceipt of the approved surveys and title documents

9 from the Church, the Secretary shall review the title

10 for the non-Federal lands described in paragraph (b)

11 and determine whether—

12 (A) the applicable title standards for Federal

13 land acquisition have been satisfied subject to

14 any variances expressly contained in this title;

15 and

16 (B) all draft conveyances and closing docu17 ments have been received and approved.

18 (2) CONVEYANCE OF TITLE.—In the event the

19 quality of title does not meet Federal standards or

20 is otherwise unacceptable to the Secretary, the Sec21 retary shall advise the Church regarding corrective

22 actions necessary to cure title defects. The convey23 ance of lands to the Church described in paragraph

24 (b)(2)(A) shall be completed not later than ninety

25 days after the Secretary has approved title.
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1 SEC. 17. GENERAL PROVISIONS.

2 (a) MAPS AND DOCUMENTS.—The maps referred to in

3 section 16 are subject to corrections for any technical er4 rors in describing the properties. The maps and docu5 ments described in section 16(b) (1) and (3) shall be on

6 file and available for public inspection in the Office of the

7 Chief of the Forest Service, in Washington, D.C.

8 (b) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS.—All lands and

9 interests in lands conveyed to the United States under this

10 title shall be administered in accordance with the laws and

11 regulations pertaining to the National Forest System.

12 (c) VALUATION.—The value of the lands and interests

13 in lands to be exchanged under this title and described

14 in section 16(b) are deemed to be equal, and therefore,

15 no appraisals shall be required.

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