I 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2130 
To provide legal certainty to property owners along the Red River in Texas, 
and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 30, 2015 
Mr. THORNBERRY (for himself, Mr. CARTER of Texas, Mr. MCCAUL, and Mr. 
GOHMERT) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To provide legal certainty to property owners along the Red 
River in Texas, and for other purposes. 
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 ‘‘Red River Private 
Property Protection Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DISCLAIMER AND OUTDATED SURVEYS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary hereby disclaims 
any right, title, and interest to all land located south of 
the South Bank boundary line of the Red River in the 
affected area. 
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(b) CLARIFICATION OF PRIOR SURVEYS.—Previous 
surveys conducted by the Bureau of Land Management 
shall have no force or effect in determining the current 
South Bank boundary line. 
SEC. 3. IDENTIFICATION OF CURRENT BOUNDARY. 
(a) BOUNDARY IDENTIFICATION.—To identify the 
current South Bank boundary line along the affected area, 
the Secretary shall commission a new survey that— 
(1) adheres to the gradient boundary survey 
method; 
(2) spans the entire length of the affected area; 
(3) is conducted by Licensed State Land Sur-
veyors chosen by the Texas General Land Office; 
and 
(4) is completed not later than 2 years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
(b) APPROVAL
OF
THE SURVEY.—The Secretary 
shall submit the survey conducted under this Act to the 
Texas General Land Office for approval. State approval 
of the completed survey shall satisfy the requirements 
under this Act. 
SEC. 4. APPEAL. 
Not later than 1 year after the survey is completed 
and approved pursuant to section 3, a private property 
owner who holds right, title, or interest in the affected 
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area may appeal public domain claims by the Secretary 
to an Administrative Law Judge. 
SEC. 5. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN. 
The Secretary shall ensure that no parcels of land 
in the affected area are treated as Federal land for the 
purpose of any resource management plan until the survey 
has been completed and approved and the Secretary en-
sures that the parcel is not subject to further appeal pur-
suant to this Act. 
SEC. 6. CONSTRUCTION. 
This Act does not change or affect in any manner 
the interest of the States or sovereignty rights of federally 
recognized Indian tribes over lands located to the north 
of the South Bank boundary line of the Red River as es-
tablished by this Act. 
SEC. 7. SALE OF REMAINING RED RIVER SURFACE RIGHTS. 
(a) COMPETITIVE SALE OF IDENTIFIED FEDERAL 
LANDS.—After the survey has been completed and ap-
proved and the Secretary ensures that a parcel is not sub-
ject to further appeal under this Act, the Secretary shall 
offer any and all such remaining identified Federal lands 
for disposal by competitive sale for not less than fair mar-
ket value as determined by an appraisal conducted in ac-
cordance with nationally recognized appraisal standards, 
including the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal 
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Land Acquisitions; and the Uniform Standards of Profes-
sional Appraisal Practice. 
(b) EXISTING RIGHTS.—The sale of identified Fed-
eral lands under this section shall be subject to valid exist-
ing tribal, State, and local rights. 
(c) PROCEEDS OF SALE OF LANDS.—Net proceeds 
from the sale of identified Federal lands under this section 
shall be used to offset any costs associated with this Act. 
(d) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 
to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat-
ural Resources of the Senate a list of any identified Fed-
eral lands that have not been sold under subsection (a) 
and the reasons such lands were not sold. 
SEC. 8. DEFINITIONS. 
For the purposes of this Act: 
(1) AFFECTED
AREA.—The term ‘‘affected 
area’’ means lands along the approximately 116-mile 
stretch of the Red River from its confluence with the 
North Fork of the Red River on the west to the 
98th meridian on the east between the States of 
Texas and Oklahoma. 
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(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-
rector of Bureau of Land Management. 
(3) SOUTH
BANK.—The term ‘‘South Bank’’ 
means the water-washed and relatively permanent 
elevation or acclivity, commonly called a cut bank, 
along the southerly or right side of the Red River 
which separates its bed from the adjacent upland, 
whether valley or hill, and usually serves to confine 
the waters within the bed and to preserve the course 
of the river; as specified in the fifth paragraph of 
the decree rendered March 12, 1923, in Oklahoma 
v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340, 43 S. Ct. 376, 67 L. Ed. 
687. 
(4) SOUTH BANK BOUNDARY LINE.—The term 
‘‘South Bank boundary line’’ means the boundary 
between Texas and Oklahoma identified through the 
gradient boundary survey method; as specified in the 
sixth and seventh paragraphs of the decree rendered 
March 12, 1923, in Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 
340, 43 S. Ct. 376, 67 L. Ed. 687. 
(5) GRADIENT BOUNDARY SURVEY METHOD.— 
The term ‘‘gradient boundary survey method’’ 
means the measurement technique used to locate the 
South Bank boundary line under the methodology 
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