I

103D CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 194

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands and minerals within the State

of Colorado for military uses, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JANUARY 5, 1993

Mr. HEFLEY introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly to the

Committees on Natural Resources and Armed Services

A BILL

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’’.

7 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for

8 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.
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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 Management of withdrawn lands.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 Management of withdrawn and acquired mineral resources.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.

1 SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT

2 FORT CARSON MILITARY RESERVATION.

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

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

5 at the Fort Carson Military Reservation that are described

6 in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of

7 appropriation under the public land laws including the

8 mining laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws.

9 (b) RESERVATION.—The lands withdrawn under sub10 section (a) are reserved for use by the Secretary of the

11 Army—

12 (1) for military maneuvering, training and

13 weapons firing; and

14 (2) for other defense related purposes consist15 ent with the uses specified in paragraph (1).

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

17 subsection (a) comprise 3,133.02 acres of public land and

18 11,415.16 acres of federally-owned minerals in El Paso,

19 Pueblo, and Fremont Counties, Colorado, as generally de20 picted on the map entitled ‘‘Fort Carson Proposed With-
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1 drawal—Fort Carson Base’’, dated February 1992, and

2 filed in accordance with section 4.

3 SEC. 3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT

4 PINON CANYON MANEUVER SITE.

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

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

7 at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site that are described in

8 subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of ap9 propriation under the public land laws including the min10 ing 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 and training; and

15 (2) for other defense related purposes consist16 ent with the uses specified in paragraph (1).

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

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

19 130,139 acres of federally-owned minerals in Las Animas

20 County, Colorado, as generally depicted on the map enti21 tled ‘‘Fort Carson Proposed Withdrawal—Fort Carson

22 Maneuver Area—Pinon Canyon site’’, dated February

23 1992, and filed in accordance with section 4.
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1 SEC. 4. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

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

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

4 shall—

5 (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice

6 containing the legal description of the lands with7 drawn and reserved by this Act; and

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

9 lands withdrawn and reserved by this Act with the

10 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the

11 Senate and with the Committee on Interior and In12 sular Affairs of the House of Representatives.

13 (b) LEGAL EFFECT.—Such maps and legal descrip14 tions shall have the same force and effect as if they were

15 included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Inte16 rior may correct clerical and typographical errors in such

17 maps and legal descriptions.

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

19 legal descriptions shall be available for public inspection

20 in the offices of the Colorado State Director and the

21 Canon City District Manager of the Bureau of Land Man22 agement, and the Commander, Fort Carson, Colorado.

23 (d) COSTS.—The Secretary of the Army shall reim24 burse the Secretary of the Interior for the costs of imple25 menting this section.
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1 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

2 (a) MANAGEMENT GUIDELINES.—(1) Except as pro3 vided in section 6, during the period of withdrawal, the

4 Secretary of the Army shall manage for military purposes

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

6 the lands by the other military departments and agencies

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

8 as appropriate.

9 (2) When military operations, public safety, or na10 tional security, as determined by the Secretary of the

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

12 withdrawn by this Act commonly in public use, the Sec13 retary of the Army is authorized to take such action, ex14 cept that such closures shall be limited to the minimum

15 areas and periods required for the purposes specified in

16 this subsection. Appropriate warning notices shall be kept

17 posted during closures.

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

19 precautions to prevent and suppress brush and range fires

20 occurring within and outside the lands as a result of mili21 tary activities and may seek assistance from the Bureau

22 of Land Management in suppressing such fires. The

23 memorandum of understanding required by this section

24 shall provide for Bureau of Land Management assistance

25 in the suppression of such fires, and for a transfer of
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1 funds from the Department of the Army to the Bureau

2 of Land Management as compensation for such assistance.

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

4 Army, with the concurrence of the Secretary of the Inte5 rior, shall develop a plan for the management of acquired

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

7 period of withdrawal. The plan shall—

8 (1) be consistent with applicable law;

9 (2) include such provisions as may be necessary

10 for proper resource management and protection of

11 the natural, cultural, and other resources and values

12 of such lands;

13 (3) identify those withdrawn and acquired

14 lands, if any, which are to be open to mining or min15 eral and geothermal leasing, including mineral mate16 rials disposal; and

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

18 the date of enactment of this Act.

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

20 completion of the management plan prepared pursuant to

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

22 a notice in the Federal Register listing the lands deter23 mined under such subsection to be suitable for opening

24 to mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing, including
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1 mineral materials disposal, and specifying the opening

2 date.

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

4 The Secretary of the Army and the Secretary of the Inte5 rior shall enter into a memorandum of understanding to

6 implement the management plan described in subsection

7 (b).

8 (2) The duration of any such memorandum of under9 standing shall be the same as the period of withdrawal

10 under section 8.

11 (3) The memorandum of understanding may be

12 amended by agreement of both Secretaries.

13 (e) REEXAMINATION OF LANDS FOR SUITABILITY

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

15 identification of lands suitable for opening to mining re16 quired by subsection (b)(3), the Secretary of the Army and

17 the Secretary of the Interior shall determine those with18 drawn lands, if any, which the Secretaries consider suit19 able for opening to mining, mineral and geothermal leas20 ing, or mineral material disposal, and those acquired

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

22 opening to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral ma23 terial disposal. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish

24 a notice in the Federal Register listing the lands deter-
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1 mined suitable for opening and specifying the opening

2 date.

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

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

5 mineral or mineral material resources when the use of

6 such resources is required for construction needs of the

7 Fort Carson Reservation or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

8 SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN AND ACQUIRED

9 MINERAL RESOURCES.

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

11 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and except

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

13 Interior shall manage all withdrawn and acquired mineral

14 resources contained within the boundaries of the Fort Car15 son Reservation and Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

16 (b) EFFECT OF IDENTIFICATION OF LANDS AS SUIT17 ABLE FOR MINING.—On the day specified by the Sec18 retary of the Interior in the notice published in the Fed19 eral Register pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) of section

20 5, the land identified as suitable for opening to the oper21 ation of the mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing and

22 the mineral material disposal laws shall automatically be

23 open to the operation of such laws without the necessity

24 for further action by either the Secretary of the Interior

25 or the Congress.
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1 (c) EXCEPTION FROM CERTAIN LAWS.—No deposit

2 of minerals or materials of the types identified by section

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

4 368), whether or not included in the term ‘‘common vari5 eties’’ in that Act, shall be subject to location under the

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

7 Law of 1872) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), on lands described

8 in sections 2 and 3.

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

10 to mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral ma11 terial disposal by section 5(b)(3), or by subsequent amend12 ments to the management plan described in section 5, all

13 minerals contained in those lands shall be subject to min14 ing, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral material

15 disposal under such rules and regulations as the Secretary

16 of the Interior may promulgate pursuant to the terms and

17 conditions of section 12 of the Military Lands Withdrawal

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

19 (e) CLOSURE OF LANDS UNDER CERTAIN CIR20 CUMSTANCES.—In the event of a national emergency or

21 for purposes of national defense or security, the Secretary

22 of the Interior, at the request of the Secretary of the

23 Army, shall close any lands that have been opened to min24 ing, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral material

25 disposal pursuant to this section.
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1 (f) MINING CLAIMS.—(1) Except as otherwise pro2 vided in this Act, mining claims located pursuant to this

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

4 10, 1872 (commonly known as the Mining Law of 1872)

5 (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.). In the event of a conflict between

6 that law and this Act, this Act shall prevail.

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

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

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

10 seq.).

11 (g) PATENTS FOR LOCATABLE MINERALS.—(1) Pat12 ents issued pursuant to this Act for locatable minerals

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

14 be issued together with an appropriate authorization for

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

16 purposes incident to mining under the guidelines for such

17 use established by the Secretary of the Interior by regula18 tion.

19 (2) All such patents shall contain a reservation to the

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

21 all nonlocatable minerals on those lands.

22 (3) For the purposes of this section, all minerals sub23 ject to location under the Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly

24 known as the Mining Law of 1872) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.),

25 are referred to as ‘‘locatable minerals’’.
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1 SEC. 7. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

2 All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands with3 drawn and reserved by this Act shall be conducted in ac4 cordance with section 2671 of title 10, United States

5 Code.

6 SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION

7 AND EFFECT OF CONTAMINATION.

8 (a) TERMINATION DATE.—The withdrawal and res9 ervation established by this Act shall terminate 15 years

10 after the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 (b) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY

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

13 under subsection (a) of the withdrawal and reservation es14 tablished by this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall ad15 vise the Secretary of the Interior as to whether or not the

16 Department of the Army will have a continuing military

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

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

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

20 for any of the lands after the termination date established

21 by subsection (a), the Secretary of the Army, in accord22 ance with applicable law, shall evaluate the environmental

23 effects of renewal of such withdrawal and reservation,

24 shall hold at least one public hearing in Colorado concern25 ing such evaluation, and shall thereafter file an application

26 for extension of the withdrawal and reservation of such
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1 lands in accordance with the regulations and procedures

2 of the Department of the Interior applicable to the exten3 sion of withdrawals for military uses. The Secretary of the

4 Interior shall notify the Congress concerning such filing

5 and thereafter may take necessary steps, in accordance

6 with applicable law, to prevent uses inconsistent with such

7 extension for a period not in excess of 2 years after the

8 termination of the withdrawal and reservation made by

9 this Act.

10 (3) If the Secretary of the Army concludes under

11 paragraph (1) that prior to the termination date estab12 lished by subsection (a), there will be no military need for

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

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

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

16 withdrawn and reserved under this Act, the Secretary of

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

18 the Secretary of the Interior.

19 (c) DETERMINATION OF CONTAMINATION.—Prior to

20 the filing of a notice of intention to relinquish pursuant

21 to subsection (b)(3), the Secretary of the Army shall pre22 pare a written determination as to whether and to what

23 extent the lands are contaminated with explosive, toxic,

24 or other hazardous materials. A copy of the determination

25 made by the Secretary of the Army shall be supplied with
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1 the notice of intention to relinquish. Copies of both the

2 notice of intention to relinquish and the determination

3 concerning the contaminated state of the lands shall be

4 published in the Federal Register by the Secretary of the

5 Interior.

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

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

8 under subsection (b)(3) is contaminated, and the Sec9 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Secretary

10 of the Army, determines that decontamination is prac11 ticable and economically feasible, taking into consideration

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

13 upon decontamination, the land could be opened to the

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

15 the mining laws, the Secretary of the Army shall decon16 taminate the land to the extent that funds are appro17 priated for such purpose.

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

19 conclude either that decontamination of any or all of the

20 lands proposed for relinquishment is not practicable or

21 economically feasible, or that the lands cannot be decon22 taminated sufficiently to allow them to be opened to the

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

24 to appropriate funds for decontamination of the lands, the
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1 Secretary of the Interior shall not be required to accept

2 the lands proposed for relinquishment.

3 (3) If, because of their contaminated state, the Sec4 retary of the Interior declines under paragraph (2) to ac5 cept jurisdiction of the lands proposed for relinquishment,

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

7 the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of the

8 lands withdrawn by this Act are contaminated to an extent

9 which prevents opening such contaminated lands to oper10 ation of the public land laws—

11 (A) the Secretary of the Army shall take appro12 priate steps to warn the public of the contaminated

13 state of such lands and any risks associated with

14 entry onto such lands;

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

16 Secretary of the Army shall undertake no activities

17 on such lands except in connection with decon18 tamination of such lands; and

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

20 the Secretary of the Interior and to the Congress

21 concerning the status of such lands and all actions

22 taken in furtherance of the subsection.

23 (4) If the lands are subsequently decontaminated,

24 upon certification by the Secretary of the Army that the

25 lands are safe for all nonmilitary uses, the Secretary of
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1 the Interior shall reconsider accepting jurisdiction over the

2 lands.

3 (e) PROGRAM OF DECONTAMINATION.—Throughout

4 the duration of the withdrawal and reservation made by

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

6 are made available, shall maintain a program of decon7 tamination of the lands withdrawn by this Act at least

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

9 (f) ACCEPTANCE OF LANDS PROPOSED FOR RELIN10 QUISHMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of

11 law, the Secretary of the Interior, upon deciding that it

12 is in the public interest to accept jurisdiction over the

13 lands proposed for relinquishment, is authorized to revoke

14 the withdrawal and reservation established by this Act as

15 it applies to the lands proposed for relinquishment. Should

16 the decision be made to revoke the withdrawal and res17 ervation, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Reg18 ister an appropriate order which shall—

19 (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;

20 (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdic21 tion over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior;

22 and

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

24 opened to the operation of the public land laws, in25 cluding the mining laws if appropriate.
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1 SEC. 9. DELEGATION.

2 The functions of the Secretary of the Army under

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

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

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

6 and signed only by the Secretary of the Interior, the Dep7 uty Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary

8 of the Department of the Interior.

9 SEC. 10. HOLD HARMLESS.

10 The United States and all departments or agencies

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

12 any injuries or damages to persons or property suffered

13 in the course of any mining, mineral, or geothermal leas14 ing activity conducted on lands comprising the Fort Car15 son Reservation or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

16 SEC. 11. AMENDMENT TO MILITARY LANDS WITHDRAWAL

17 ACT OF 1986.

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

19 of 1986 (Public Law 99–606, 100 Stat. 3461) is amended

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

21 ‘‘(2) The Secretary of the military department con22 cerned may utilize sand, gravel, or similar mineral or ma23 terial resources when the use of such resources is required

24 for construction needs on the respective lands withdrawn

25 by this Act.’’.
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1 SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such

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

4 this Act.

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