I
107TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4874
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to disclaim any Federal interest
in lands adjacent to Spirit Lake and Twin Lakes in the State of Idaho
resulting from possible omission of lands from an 1880 survey.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 5, 2002
Mr. OTTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee
on Resources
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to disclaim any Fed-
eral interest in lands adjacent to Spirit Lake and Twin
Lakes in the State of Idaho resulting from possible omis-
sion of lands from an 1880 survey.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
(1) The meander lines in the original surveys by
John B. David, deputy surveyor, of two lakes in the
State of Idaho, Spirit Lake, formerly known as Lake
Tesemini, located in T. 53 N., R. 4 W., Boise Merid-
ian, and Twin Lakes, formerly known as Fish Lake,
located in T. 52 N. and T. 53 N., R. 4 W., Boise
Meridian, do not reflect the current line of ordinary
high water conditions.
(2) All lands adjacent to the original meander
lines have been patented.
(b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to direct
the Secretary of the Interior to issue a recordable dis-
claimer of interest by the United States to any omitted
lands or lands lying outside the record meander lines in
the vicinity of the lakes referred to in subsection (a).
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) RECORDABLE DISCLAIMER OF INTEREST.—
The term ‘‘recordable disclaimer of interest’’ means
a document recorded in the county clerk’s office or
other such local office where real property docu-
ments are recorded, in which the United States dis-
claims any right, title, or interest to those lands
found lying outside the recorded meander lines of
the lakes referred to in section 1(a)(1), including
omitted lands, if any.
(2) OMITTED
LANDS.—The term ‘‘omitted
lands’’ means those lands that were in place on the
date of the original surveys referred to in section
1(a)(1) but were not included in the survey of the
township and the meander lines of the water body
due to gross error or fraud by the original surveyor.
(3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of the Interior.
SEC. 3. SURVEYS.
The Secretary shall—
(1) conduct a survey investigation of the condi-
tions along the lakeshores of Spirit Lake and Twin
Lakes in the townships referenced in section 1(a);
and
(2) after the completion of the survey investiga-
tion, resurvey the original meander lines along the
lakeshores, using the results of the survey investiga-
tion.
SEC. 4. DISCLAIMER OF INTEREST IN LANDS ADJACENT TO
SPIRIT LAKE AND TWIN LAKES, IDAHO.
Upon acceptance and approval of the surveys under
section 3 by the Secretary, the Secretary shall—
(1) prepare a recordable disclaimer of interest
with land descriptions, using the lot or tract num-
bers of the omitted lands, if any, and lands lying
outside the record meander lines, as shown on the
survey plats; and
(2) record such recordable disclaimer of interest
simultaneously with the filing of the surveys.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Sec-
retary $400,000 to carry out this Act. Funds appropriated
to carry out the purposes of this Act may be available
without fiscal year limitation.
Æ