103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 194

AN ACT

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands and

tary uses, and for other purposes.minerals within the State of Colorado for mili-
103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 194

AN ACT

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands and minerals

within the State of Colorado for military uses, and for

other purposes.

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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the

5 ‘‘Fort Carson-Pinon Canyon Military Lands Withdrawal

6 Act’’.
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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

2 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.

Sec. 2. Withdrawal and reservation of lands at Fort Carson Military Reservation.

Sec. 3. Withdrawal and reservation of lands at Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

Sec. 4. Maps and legal descriptions.

Sec. 5. Management of withdrawn lands.

Sec. 6. Management of withdrawn and acquired mineral resources.

Sec. 7. Hunting, fishing, and trapping.

Sec. 8. Termination of withdrawal and reservation and effect of contamination.

Sec. 9. Delegation.

Sec. 10. Hold harmless.

Sec. 11. Amendment to military lands withdrawal act of 1986.

Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.

3 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT

4 FORT CARSON MILITARY RESERVATION.

5 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

6 and except as otherwise provided in this Act, the lands

7 at the Fort Carson Military Reservation that are described

8 in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of

9 appropriation under the public land laws, including the

10 mining laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws.

11 (b) RESERVATION.—The lands withdrawn under sub12 section (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the

13 Army—

14 (1) for military maneuvering, training and

15 weapons firing; and

16 (2) for other defense related purposes consist17 ent with the uses specified in paragraph (1).

18 (c) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The lands referred to in

19 subsection (a) comprise 3,133.02 acres of public land and
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1 11,415.16 acres of federally-owned minerals in El Paso,

2 Pueblo, and Fremont Counties, Colorado, as generally de3 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Fort Carson Proposed With4 drawal—Fort Carson Base’’, dated February 1992, and

5 filed in accordance with section 4.

6 SEC. 3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT

7 PINON CANYON MANEUVER SITE.

8 (a) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights

9 and except as otherwise provided in this Act, the lands

10 at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site that are described in

11 subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of ap12 propriation under the public land laws, including the min13 ing laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws.

14 (b) RESERVATION.—The lands withdrawn under sub15 section (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the

16 Army—

17 (1) for military maneuvering and training; and

18 (2) for other defense related purposes consist19 ent with the uses specified in paragraph (1).

20 (c) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The lands referred to in

21 subsection (a) comprise 2,517.12 acres of public lands and

22 130,139 acres of federally-owned minerals in Las Animas

23 County, Colorado, as generally depicted on the map enti24 tled ‘‘Fort Carson Proposed Withdrawal—Fort Carson
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1 Maneuver Area—Pinon Canyon site’’, dated February

2 1992, and filed in accordance with section 4.

3 SEC. 4. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

4 (a) PREPARATION.—As soon as practicable after the

5 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior

6 shall—

7 (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice

8 containing the legal description of the lands with9 drawn and reserved by this Act; and

10 (2) file maps and a legal description of the

11 lands withdrawn and reserved by this Act with the

12 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

13 Senate and with the Committee on Interior and In14 sular Affairs of the House of Representatives.

15 (b) LEGAL EFFECT.—Such maps and legal descrip16 tions shall have the same force and effect as if they were

17 included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Inte18 rior may correct clerical and typographical errors in such

19 maps and legal descriptions.

20 (c) LOCATION OF COPIES.—Copies of such maps and

21 legal descriptions shall be available for public inspection

22 in the offices of the Colorado State Director and the

23 Canon City District Manager of the Bureau of Land Man24 agement, and the Commander, Fort Carson, Colorado.
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1 (d) COSTS.—The Secretary of the Army shall reim2 burse the Secretary of the Interior for the costs of imple3 menting this section.

4 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

5 (a) MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.—(1) Except as pro6 vided in section 6, during the period of withdrawal, the

7 Secretary of the Army shall manage for military purposes

8 the lands covered by this Act and may authorize use of

9 the lands by the other military departments and agencies

10 of the Department of Defense, and the National Guard,

11 as appropriate.

12 (2) When military operations, public safety, or na13 tional security, as determined by the Secretary of the

14 Army, require the closure of roads and trails on the lands

15 withdrawn by this Act commonly in public use, the Sec16 retary of the Army is authorized to take such action, ex17 cept that such closures shall be limited to the minimum

18 areas and periods required for the purposes specified in

19 this subsection. Appropriate warning notices shall be kept

20 posted during closures.

21 (3) The Secretary of the Army shall take necessary

22 precautions to prevent and suppress brush and range fires

23 occurring within and outside the lands as a result of mili24 tary activities and may seek assistance from the Bureau

25 of Land Management in suppressing such fires. The
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1 memorandum of understanding required by this section

2 shall provide for Bureau of Land Management assistance

3 in the suppression of such fires, and for a transfer of

4 funds from the Department of the Army to the Bureau

5 of Land Management as compensation for such assistance.

6 (b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—The Secretary of the

7 Army, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Inte8 rior, shall develop a plan for the management of acquired

9 lands and lands withdrawn under sections 2 and 3 for the

10 period of withdrawal. The plan shall—

11 (1) be consistent with applicable law;

12 (2) include such provisions as may be necessary

13 for proper resource management and protection of

14 the natural, cultural, and other resources and values

15 of such lands;

16 (3) identify those withdrawn and acquired

17 lands, if any, which are to be open to mining or min18 eral and geothermal leasing, including mineral mate19 rials disposal; and

20 (4) be developed not later than 5 years after

21 the date of enactment of this Act.

22 (c) LISTING OF LANDS SUITABLE FOR MINING.—On

23 completion of the management plan prepared pursuant to

24 subsection (b), the Secretary of the Interior shall publish

25 a notice in the Federal Register listing the lands deter-
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1 mined under such subsection to be suitable for opening

2 to mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing, including

3 mineral materials disposal, and specifying the opening

4 date.

5 (d) IMPLEMENTATION OF MANAGEMENT PLAN.—(1)

6 The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Inte7 rior shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to

8 implement the management plan described in subsection

9 (b).

10 (2) The duration of any such memorandum of under11 standing shall be the same as the period of withdrawal

12 under section 8.

13 (3) The memorandum of understanding may be

14 amended by agreement of both Secretaries.

15 (e) REEXAMINATION OF LANDS FOR SUITABILITY

16 FOR MINING.—At least every five years after the initial

17 identification of lands suitable for opening to mining re18 quired by subsection (b)(3), the Secretary of the Army and

19 the Secretary of the Interior shall determine those with20 drawn lands, if any, which the Secretaries consider suit21 able for opening to mining, mineral and geothermal leas22 ing, or mineral material disposal, and those acquired

23 lands, if any, which the Secretaries consider suitable for

24 opening to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral ma25 terial disposal. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish
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1 a notice in the Federal Register listing the lands deter2 mined suitable for opening and specifying the opening

3 date.

4 (f) USE OF CERTAIN RESOURCES.—The Secretary of

5 the Army is authorized to utilize sand, gravel, or similar

6 mineral or mineral material resources when the use of

7 such resources is required for construction needs of the

8 Fort Carson Reservation or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

9 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN AND ACQUIRED

10 MINERAL RESOURCES.

11 (a) AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.—

12 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except

13 as provided in section 5 of this Act, the Secretary of the

14 Interior shall manage all withdrawn and acquired mineral

15 resources contained within the boundaries of the Fort Car16 son Reservation and Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

17 (b) EFFECT OF IDENTIFICATION OF LANDS AS SUIT18 ABLE FOR MINING.—On the day specified by the Sec19 retary of the Interior in the notice published in the Fed20 eral Register pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) of section

21 5, the land identified as suitable for opening to the oper22 ation of the mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing and

23 the mineral material disposal laws shall automatically be

24 open to the operation of such laws without the necessity
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1 for further action by either the Secretary of the Interior

2 or the Congress.

3 (c) EXCEPTION FROM CERTAIN LAWS.—No deposit

4 of minerals or materials of the types identified by section

5 3 of the Act of July 23, 1955 (30 U.S.C. 611; 69 Stat.

6 368), whether or not included in the term ‘‘common vari7 eties’’ in that Act, shall be subject to location under the

8 Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly known as the Mining

9 Law of 1872) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), or any other law

10 providing for the location of mining claims, on lands de11 scribed in sections 2 and 3.

12 (d) REGULATIONS.—On lands identified for opening

13 to mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral ma14 terial disposal by section 5(b)(3), or by subsequent amend15 ments to the management plan described in section 5, all

16 minerals contained in those lands shall be subject to min17 ing, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral material

18 disposal under such rules and regulations as the Secretary

19 of the Interior may promulgate pursuant to the terms and

20 conditions of section 12 of the Military Lands Withdrawal

21 Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–606; 100 Stat. 3466).

22 (e) CLOSURE OF LANDS UNDER CERTAIN CIR23 CUMSTANCES.—In the event of a national emergency or

24 for purposes of national defense or security, the Secretary

25 of the Interior, at the request of the Secretary of the
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1 Army, shall close any lands that have been opened to min2 ing, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral material

3 disposal pursuant to this section.

4 (f) MINING CLAIMS.—(1) Except as otherwise pro5 vided in this Act, mining claims located pursuant to this

6 Act shall be subject to the provisions of the Act of May

7 10, 1872 (commonly known as the Mining Law of 1872)

8 (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), or to the provisions of other laws

9 enacted hereafter (including provisions for payments to

10 the United States) that are applicable to similar claims

11 on the public domain.

12 (2) All mining claims located under the terms of this

13 Act shall be subject to the provisions of the Federal Land

14 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et

15 seq.).

16 (g) PATENTS FOR LOCATABLE MINERALS.—(1) Pat17 ents issued pursuant to this Act for locatable minerals

18 shall convey title to the locatable minerals only, and shall

19 be issued together with an appropriate authorization for

20 use of so much of the surface as may be necessary for

21 purposes incident to mineral activities under the guidelines

22 for such use established by the Secretary of the Interior

23 by regulation.
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1 (2) All such patents shall contain a reservation to the

2 United States of the surface of all lands patented and of

3 all nonlocatable minerals on those lands.

4 (3) For the purposes of this Act:

5 (A) The term ‘‘locatable minerals’’ means any

6 mineral not subject to disposition under any of the

7 following:

8 (i) The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C.

9 181 et seq.).

10 (ii) The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970

11 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).

12 (iii) The Act of July 31, 1947, commonly

13 known as the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C.

14 601 et seq.).

15 (iv) The Mineral Leasing for Acquired

16 Lands Act (30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.).

17 (B) The term ‘‘mineral activities’’ means any

18 activity for, related to, or incidental to mineral ex19 ploration, mining, beneficiation, and processing ac20 tivities for any locatable mineral, including access.

21 SEC. 7. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

22 All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands with23 drawn and reserved by this Act shall be conducted in ac24 cordance with section 2671 of title 10, United States

25 Code.
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1 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION

2 AND EFFECT OF CONTAMINATION.

3 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The withdrawal and res4 ervation established by this Act shall terminate 15 years

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

6 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY

7 NEED.—(1) At least three years prior to the termination

8 under subsection (a) of the withdrawal and reservation es9 tablished by this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall ad10 vise the Secretary of the Interior as to whether or not the

11 Department of the Army will have a continuing military

12 need for any of the lands after the termination date.

13 (2) If the Secretary of the Army concludes under

14 paragraph (1) that there will be a continuing military need

15 for any of the lands after the termination date established

16 by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Army, in accord17 ance with applicable law, shall evaluate the environmental

18 effects of renewal of such withdrawal and reservation,

19 shall hold at least one public hearing in Colorado concern20 ing such evaluation, and shall thereafter file an application

21 for extension of the withdrawal and reservation of such

22 lands in accordance with the regulations and procedures

23 of the Department of the Interior applicable to the exten24 sion of withdrawals for military uses. The Secretary of the

25 Interior shall notify the Congress concerning such filing.
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1 (3) If the Secretary of the Army concludes under

2 paragraph (1) that prior to the termination date estab3 lished by subsection (a), there will be no military need for

4 all or any of the lands withdrawn and reserved by this

5 Act, or if, during the period of withdrawal, the Secretary

6 of the Army decides to relinquish any or all of the lands

7 withdrawn and reserved under this Act, the Secretary of

8 the Army shall file a notice of intention to relinquish with

9 the Secretary of the Interior.

10 (c) DETERMINATION OF CONTAMINATION.—Prior to

11 the filing of a notice of intention to relinquish pursuant

12 to subsection (b)(3), the Secretary of the Army shall pre13 pare a written determination as to whether and to what

14 extent the lands are contaminated with explosive, toxic,

15 or other hazardous materials. A copy of the determination

16 made by the Secretary of the Army shall be supplied with

17 the notice of intention to relinquish. Copies of both the

18 notice of intention to relinquish and the determination

19 concerning the contaminated state of the lands shall be

20 published in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the

21 Interior.

22 (d) EFFECT OF CONTAMINATION.—(1) If any land

23 which is the subject of a notice of intention to relinquish

24 under subsection (b)(3) is contaminated, and the Sec25 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary
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1 of the Army, determines that decontamination is prac2 ticable and economically feasible, taking into consideration

3 the potential future use and value of the land, and that

4 upon decontamination, the land could be opened to the

5 operation of some or all of the public land laws, including

6 the mining laws, the Secretary of the Army shall decon7 taminate the land to the extent that funds are appro8 priated for such purpose.

9 (2) If the Secretaries of the Army and the Interior

10 conclude either that decontamination of any or all of the

11 lands proposed for relinquishment is not practicable or

12 economically feasible, or that the lands cannot be decon13 taminated sufficiently to allow them to be opened to the

14 operation of the public land laws, or if Congress declines

15 to appropriate funds for decontamination of the lands, the

16 Secretary of the Interior shall not be required to accept

17 the lands proposed for relinquishment.

18 (3) If, because of their contaminated state, the Sec19 retary of the Interior declines under paragraph (2) to ac20 cept jurisdiction of the lands proposed for relinquishment,

21 or if at the expiration of the withdrawal made by this Act

22 the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of the

23 lands withdrawn by this Act are contaminated to an extent

24 which prevents opening such contaminated lands to oper25 ation of the public land laws—
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1 (A) the Secretary of the Army shall take appro2 priate steps to warn the public of the contaminated

3 state of such lands and any risks associated with

4 entry onto such lands;

5 (B) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the

6 Secretary of the Army shall undertake no activities

7 on such lands except in connection with decon8 tamination of such lands; and

9 (C) the Secretary of the Army shall report to

10 the Secretary of the Interior and to the Congress

11 concerning the status of such lands and all actions

12 taken in furtherance of the subsection.

13 (4) If the lands are subsequently decontaminated,

14 upon certification by the Secretary of the Army that the

15 lands are safe for all nonmilitary uses, the Secretary of

16 the Interior shall reconsider accepting jurisdiction over the

17 lands.

18 (e) PROGRAM OF DECONTAMINATION.—Throughout

19 the duration of the withdrawal and reservation made by

20 this Act, the Secretary of the Army, to the extent funds

21 are made available, shall maintain a program of decon22 tamination of the lands withdrawn by this Act at least

23 at the level of effort carried out during fiscal year 1992.

24 (f) ACCEPTANCE OF LANDS PROPOSED FOR RELIN25 QUISHMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of
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1 law, the Secretary of the Interior, upon deciding that it

2 is in the public interest to accept jurisdiction over the

3 lands proposed for relinquishment, is authorized to revoke

4 the withdrawal and reservation established by this Act as

5 it applies to the lands proposed for relinquishment. Should

6 the decision be made to revoke the withdrawal and res7 ervation, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg8 ister an appropriate order which shall—

9 (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;

10 (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdic11 tion over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior;

12 and

13 (3) state the date upon which the lands will be

14 opened to the operation of the public land laws, in15 cluding the mining laws if appropriate.

16 SEC. 9. DELEGATION.

17 The functions of the Secretary of the Army under

18 this Act may be delegated. The functions of the Secretary

19 of the Interior under this Act may be delegated, except

20 that the order referred to in section 8(f) may be approved

21 and signed only by the Secretary of the Interior, the Dep22 uty Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary

23 of the Department of the Interior.
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1 SEC. 10. HOLD HARMLESS.

2 The United States and all departments or agencies

3 thereof shall be held harmless and shall not be liable for

4 any injuries or damages to persons or property suffered

5 in the course of any mining, mineral activity, or geo6 thermal leasing activity conducted on lands comprising the

7 Fort Carson Reservation or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

8 SEC. 11. AMENDMENT TO MILITARY LANDS WITHDRAWAL

9 ACT OF 1986.

10 Section 3(f) of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act

11 of 1986 (Public Law 99–606; 100 Stat. 3461) is amended

12 by adding at the end a new paragraph (2) as follows:

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the military department con14 cerned may utilize sand, gravel, or similar mineral or ma15 terial resources when the use of such resources is required

16 for construction needs on the respective lands withdrawn

17 by this Act.’’.

18 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

19 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

20 sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of

21 this Act.

Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 1993.

Attest:

Clerk.
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