II 
114TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3839 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
SEPTEMBER 7, 2016 
Received 
AN ACT 
To transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau 
of Land Management land from the Secretary of the 
Interior to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for inclusion 
in the Black Hills National Cemetery, and for other 
purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
The Act may be cited as the ‘‘Black Hills National 
Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act’’. 
SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LAND 
FOR CEMETERY USE. 
(a) DUE DILIGENCE.—Prior to the withdrawal and 
transfer in subsection (b), the Secretary of Veterans Af-
fairs will complete appropriate environmental, cultural re-
source and other due diligence activities on the public 
lands identified in subsection (c), so that the Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs may confirm that the land is suitable 
for cemetery purposes. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of such due dili-
gence activities prior to initiating and shall coordinate as 
needed during the performance of such activities. 
(b) WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSFER.—After comple-
tion of the due diligence activities in subsection (a) and 
upon receipt by the Secretary of the Interior of written 
confirmation from the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs 
that the land is suitable for cemetery purposes, and sub-
ject to valid existing rights, the public lands described in 
subsection (c) shall be— 
(1) withdrawn from all forms of appropriation 
under the public land laws, including the mining 
laws, the mineral leasing laws, and the geothermal 
leasing laws, for as long as the lands remain under 
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the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs; 
(2) deemed property as defined in section 
102(9) of title 40, United States Code, for as long 
as the lands remain under the administrative juris-
diction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and 
(3) transferred to the administrative jurisdic-
tion of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for use as 
national cemeteries under chapter 24 of title 38, 
United States Code. 
(c) LAND DESCRIPTION.—The public lands with-
drawn, deemed property, and transferred under subsection 
(b) shall be the approximately 200 acres of land adjacent 
to Black Hills National Cemetery, South Dakota, gen-
erally depicted as ‘‘Proposed National Cemetery Expan-
sion’’ on the map entitled ‘‘Proposed Expansion of Black 
Hills National Cemetery - South Dakota’’ and dated June 
16, 2016, except the land located within 100 feet of the 
centerline of the Centennial Trail (which runs along the 
northern boundary of the ‘‘Proposed National Cemetery 
Expansion’’) and that is located south of the Trail. 
(d) BOUNDARY MODIFICATION.—Immediately after 
the public lands are withdrawn, deemed property, and 
transferred under subsection (b), the boundary of the 
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Black Hills National Cemetery shall be modified to include 
the public lands identified in subsection (c). 
(e) MODIFICATION OF PUBLIC LAND ORDER.—Im-
mediately after the public lands under subsection (b) are 
withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred under sub-
section (b), Public Land Order 2112, dated June 6, 1960 
(25 Fed. Reg. 5243), shall be modified to exclude the 
lands identified in subsection (c). 
SEC. 3. LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS. 
(a) PREPARATION
OF LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.—As 
soon as practicable following receipt of written confirma-
tion from the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs that the 
land is suitable for cemetery purposes, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a notice 
containing the legal descriptions of the public lands with-
drawn, deemed property, and transferred under section 
2(b). 
(b) LEGAL EFFECT.—The legal descriptions pre-
pared under subsection (a) shall have the same force and 
effect as if the legal descriptions were included in this Act, 
except that the Secretary of the Interior may correct any 
clerical and typographical errors in the legal descriptions. 
(c) AVAILABILITY.—Copies of the map referred to in 
section 2(c) and the legal descriptions prepared under sub-
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section (a) shall be available for public inspection in the 
appropriate offices of— 
(1) the Bureau of Land Management; and 
(2) the National Cemetery Administration. 
(d) COSTS.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for reasonable 
costs incurred by the Secretary of the Interior in imple-
menting this section, including the costs of any surveys. 
SEC. 4. RESTORATION TO PUBLIC LANDS FOR NON-CEME-
TERY USE. 
(a) NOTICE AND EFFECT.—Upon a determination by 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that all or a portion of 
the lands withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred 
under section 2 shall not be used for cemetery purposes, 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall notify the Sec-
retary of the Interior of such determination. Subject to 
subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
shall transfer administrative jurisdiction of the lands sub-
ject to such notice to the Secretary of the Interior. 
(b) DECONTAMINATION.—The Secretary of Veterans 
Affairs shall be responsible for costs of any decontamina-
tion of the lands resulting from contamination on the 
lands withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred under 
section 2(b) while the Secretary of Veterans Affairs exer-
cised jurisdiction over those lands subject to a notice 
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under subsection (a) determined by the Secretary of the 
Interior to be necessary for the lands to be restored to 
the public lands. 
(c) RESTORATION
TO
THE PUBLIC LANDS.—The 
lands subject to a notice under subsection (a) shall only 
be restored to the public lands upon acceptance by the 
Secretary of the Interior and a determination by the Sec-
retary of the Interior that such lands are suitable for res-
toration to the public lands and operation of one or more 
of the public land laws. 
(d) OPENING ORDER.—If the Secretary of the Inte-
rior accepts the lands subject to such a notice and deter-
mines that the lands are suitable for restoration, in whole 
or in part, the Secretary of the Interior may open the 
lands to operation of one or more of the public land laws 
and may issue an order to that effect. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 6, 
2016. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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