the public land laws, or if Congress declines to appropriate
funds for decontamination of the lands, the Secretary of the
Interior shall not be required to accept the lands proposed
for relinquishment.
(3) If, because of their contaminated state, the Sec-
retary of the Interior declines under paragraph (2) to ac-
cept jurisdiction of the lands proposed for relinquishment,
or if at the expiration of the withdrawal made by this Act
the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of the
lands withdrawn by this Act are contaminated to an extent
which prevents opening such contaminated lands to oper-
ation of the public land laws—
(A) the Secretary of the Army shall take appro-
priate steps to warn the public of the contaminated
state of such lands and any risks associated with
entry onto such lands;
(B) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the
Secretary of the Army shall undertake no activities on
such lands except in connection with decontamination
of such lands; and
(C) the Secretary of the Army shall report to the
Secretary of the Interior and to the Congress concern-
ing the status of such lands and all actions taken in
furtherance of the subsection.
(4) If the lands are subsequently decontaminated, upon
certification by the Secretary of the Army that the lands
are safe for all nonmilitary uses, the Secretary of the Inte-
rior shall reconsider accepting jurisdiction over the lands.
(5) Nothing in this Act shall affect, or be construed
to affect, the Secretary’s obligations, if any, to decontami-
nate such lands pursuant to applicable law, including but
not limited to the Comprehensive Environmental Response
Compensation and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.),
and the Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Re-
source Conservation and Recovery Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et
seq.).
(e) PROGRAM OF DECONTAMINATION.—Throughout the
duration of the withdrawal and reservation made by this
Act, the Secretary of the Army, to the extent funds are made
available, shall maintain a program of decontamination of
the lands withdrawn by this Act at least at the level of effort
carried out during fiscal year 1992.
(f) ACCEPTANCE OF LANDS PROPOSED FOR RELIN-
QUISHMENT.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
the Secretary of the Interior, upon deciding that it is in
the public interest to accept jurisdiction over the lands pro-
posed for relinquishment, is authorized to revoke the with-
drawal and reservation established by this Act as it applies
to the lands proposed for relinquishment. Should the deci-
sion be made to revoke the withdrawal and reservation, the
Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Reg-
ister an appropriate order which shall—
(1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;
(2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdic-
tion over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior;
and
(3) state the date upon which the lands will be
opened to the operation of the public land laws, in-
cluding the mining laws if appropriate.
SEC. 9. DELEGATION.
The functions of the Secretary of the Army under this
Act may be delegated. The functions of the Secretary of the
Interior under this Act may be delegated, except that the
order referred to in section 8(f) may be approved and signed
only by the Secretary of the Interior, the Deputy Secretary
of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary of the Department
of the Interior.
SEC. 10. HOLD HARMLESS PROVISION.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The United States and all depart-
ments or agencies thereof shall be held harmless and shall
not be liable for any injuries or damages to persons or prop-
erty suffered in the course of any mining, mineral activity,
or geothermal leasing activity conducted on lands compris-
ing the Fort Carson Military Reservation or Pinon Canyon
Maneuver Site, including liabilities to non-Federal entities
under sections 107 or 113 of the Comprehensive Environ-
mental Response Compensation and Liability Act, 42
U.S.C. 9607 and 9613, or section 7003 of the Solid Waste
Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and
Recovery Act, 42 U.S.C. 6973.
(b) INDEMNIFICATION.—Any party conducting any
mining, mineral or geothermal leasing activity on such
lands shall indemnify the United States and its depart-
ments or agencies thereof against any costs, fees, damages,
or other liabilities, including costs of litigation, arising
from or related to such mining activities, including costs
of mineral materials disposal, whether arising under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and
Liability Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act,
or otherwise.
SEC. 11. AMENDMENTS TO MILITARY LANDS WITHDRAWAL
ACT OF 1986.
(a) USE OF CERTAIN RESOURCES.—Section 3(f) of the
Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–
606; 100 Stat. 3461) is amended by adding at the end a
new paragraph (2) as follows:
‘‘(2) Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary of
the military department concerned may utilize sand, grav-
el, or similar mineral or material resources from lands
withdrawn for the purposes of this Act when the use of such
resources is required for construction needs on the respective
lands withdrawn by this Act.’’.
(b) TECHNICAL CORRECTION.—Section 9(b) of the
Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public Law 99–
606; 100 Stat. 3466) is amended by striking ‘‘7(f)’’ and
inserting in lieu thereof, ‘‘8(f)’’.
SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such
sums as may be necessary to carry out this Act.
Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 1993.
Attest:
DONNALD K. ANDERSON,
Clerk.
HR 194 RS——2