I
106TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 5359
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain properties in the
vicinity of the Elephant Butte Reservoir and the Caballo Reservoir,
New Mexico.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
OCTOBER 2, 2000
Mr. SKEEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain
properties in the vicinity of the Elephant Butte Reservoir
and the Caballo Reservoir, New Mexico.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Lease Lot Conveyance
Act of 2000’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that the convey-
ance of the Properties to the Lessees for fair market value
would have the beneficial results of—
(1) eliminating Federal payments in lieu of
taxes and associated management expenditures in
connection with the Government’s ownership of the
Properties, while increasing local tax revenues from
the new owners;
(2) sustaining existing economic conditions in
the vicinity of the Properties, while providing the
new owners of the Properties the security to invest
in permanent structures and improvements;
(3) adding needed jobs to the county in which
the Properties are located and increasing revenue to
the county and surrounding communities through
property and gross receipt taxes, thereby increasing
economic stability and a sustainable economy in one
of the poorest counties in New Mexico; and
(4) eliminating expensive and contentious dis-
putes between the Secretary, the Lessees and the
two irrigation districts in the Rio Grande Project
while ensuring that the Federal Government and
those districts receive full and fair value for the sale
of the Properties.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) FAIR
MARKET
VALUE.—The term ‘‘fair
market value’’ means, with respect to a parcel of
property, the value determined by an independent
appraiser approved by the Secretary, the purchaser,
and each of the Irrigation Districts, based on—
(A) treatment of the property as unim-
proved land; and
(B) a market comparison of similar prop-
erties in the immediate geographic area of the
appraised parcel.
(2) IRRIGATION DISTRICTS.—The term ‘‘Irriga-
tion Districts’’ means the Elephant Butte Irrigation
District and the El Paso County Water Improve-
ment District No. 1.
(3) LESSEE.—The term ‘‘Lessee’’ means the
leaseholder of a Property on the date of enactment
of this Act, and any heir, executor, or assign of the
leaseholder with respect to that leasehold interest.
(4) PROPERTY.—The term ‘‘Property’’ means
any of the cabin sites comprising the Properties.
(5) 
PROPERTIES.—The 
term 
‘‘Properties’’
means all the real property comprising 403 cabin
sites under the administrative jurisdiction of the Bu-
reau of Reclamation that are located along the west-
ern portion of the reservoirs in Elephant Butte State
Park and Caballo State Park, New Mexico, including
easements, roads, and other appurtenances. The
exact acreage and legal description of such real
property shall be determined by the Secretary after
consulting with the Purchaser.
(6) 
PURCHASER.—The 
term 
‘‘Purchaser’’
means the Elephant Butte/Caballo Leaseholders As-
sociation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation established
under the laws of New Mexico.
(7) 
RESERVOIRS.—The 
term 
‘‘reservoirs’’
means the Elephant Butte Reservoir and the Caballo
Reservoir in the State of New Mexico.
(8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 4. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall convey to the
Purchaser in accordance with this Act, subject to valid ex-
isting rights, all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to the Properties and all appurtenances
thereto, including specifically easements for—
(1) vehicular access to each Property;
(2) drainage; and
(3) access to and the use of all ramps, retaining
walls, and other improvements for which access is
provided under the leases that apply to the Prop-
erties as of the date of the enactment of this Act.
(b) CONSIDERATION.—As consideration for any con-
veyance under this section, the Secretary shall require the
Purchaser to pay to the United States fair market value
of the Properties.
SEC. 5. TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.
(a) SPECIFIC CONDITIONS.—As conditions of any
conveyance to the Purchaser under this Act, the Secretary
shall require the following:
(1) LEASEHOLDERS’ OPTION.—The Purchaser
shall grant to each Lessee of a Property an option—
(A) to purchase the Property at fair mar-
ket value; or
(B) to continue leasing the Property on
terms to be negotiated with the Purchaser.
(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
COSTS.—Any reasonable
administrative cost incurred by the Secretary inci-
dent to the conveyance under section 6 shall be re-
imbursed by the Purchaser.
(b) RESTRICTIVE USE COVENANT.—
(1) IN
GENERAL.—To maintain the unique
character of the area in the vicinity of the Res-
ervoirs, the Secretary shall establish, by the terms of
conveyance, use restrictions to carry out paragraph
(2) that—
(A) are appurtenant to, and run with, each
Property; and
(B) are binding upon each subsequent
owner of each Property.
(2) ACCESS TO RESERVOIRS.—The use restric-
tions required by paragraph (1) shall ensure that—
(A) public access to and along the shore-
line of the Reservoirs in existence on the date
of enactment of this Act is not obstructed;
(B) adequate public access to and along
the shoreline of the Reservoirs is maintained;
and
(C) the operation of the Reservoirs by the
Secretary or the Irrigation Districts shall not
result in liability of the United States or the Ir-
rigation Districts for damages incurred, as a di-
rect or indirect result of such operation, by the
owner of any Property conveyed under this Act,
including—
(i) damages for any loss of use or en-
joyment of a Property; and
(ii) damages resulting from any modi-
fications or construction of any reservoir
dam.
notice is not provided to the Purchaser within 20 days
after the date the Lessee knew or should have known of
such dispute or claim, then any right of the Lessee for
relief based on such dispute or claim shall be waived. If
the Lessee and the Purchaser are unable to resolve the
dispute or claim by mediation, the dispute or claim shall
be resolved by binding arbitration.
SEC. 7. USE OF PROCEEDS.
Amounts received as proceeds under this Act shall be
deposited in the reclamation fund on behalf of the Rio
Grande Project and shall be made immediately available
to the Irrigation Districts under the distribution scheme
set forth in subsection I of section 4 of the Act of Decem-
ber 5, 1924 (43 U.S.C. 501).
SEC. 8. FEDERAL RECLAMATION LAW.
No conveyance under this Act shall restrict or limit
the authority or ability of the Secretary to fulfill the duties
of the Secretary under the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat.
388, chapter 1093), and Acts supplemental to and amend-
atory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.).
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