I 
113TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1691 
To provide for the transfer of certain public land currently administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management to the administrative jurisdiction 
of the Secretary of the Navy for inclusion in the Chocolate Mountain 
Aerial Gunnery Range, California, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
APRIL 23, 2013 
Mr. VARGAS introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com-
mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed 
Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To provide for the transfer of certain public land currently 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management to 
the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 
Navy for inclusion in the Chocolate Mountain Aerial 
Gunnery Range, California, 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 ‘‘Chocolate Mountain 
Aerial Gunnery Range Transfer Act of 2013’’. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
SEC. 2. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION, 
CHOCOLATE MOUNTAIN AERIAL GUNNERY 
RANGE, CALIFORNIA. 
(a) TRANSFER REQUIRED.—The Secretary of the In-
terior shall transfer to the administrative jurisdiction of 
the Secretary of the Navy the surface estate in certain 
public land administered by the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment in Imperial and Riverside Counties, California, con-
sisting of approximately 226,711 acres, as generally de-
picted on the map titled ‘‘Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gun-
nery Range Proposed–Withdrawal’’ dated 1987 (revised 
July 1993), and identified as WESTDIV Drawing No. C– 
102370, which was prepared by the Naval Facilities Engi-
neering Command of the Department of the Navy and is 
on file with the California State Office of the Bureau of 
Land Management. 
(b) VALID EXISTING RIGHTS.—The transfer of ad-
ministrative jurisdiction under subsection (a) shall be sub-
ject to any valid existing rights, including any property, 
easements, or improvements held by the Bureau of Rec-
lamation and appurtenant to the Coachella Canal. The 
Secretary of the Navy shall provide for reasonable access 
by the Bureau of Reclamation for inspection and mainte-
nance purposes not inconsistent with military training. 
(c) TIME FOR CONVEYANCE.—The transfer of admin-
istrative jurisdiction under subsection (a) shall occur pur-
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
suant to a schedule agreed to by the Secretary of the Inte-
rior and the Secretary of the Navy, but in no case later 
than the date of the completion of the boundary realign-
ment required by section 4. 
(d) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 
(1) PREPARATION
AND
PUBLICATION.—The 
Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal 
Register a legal description of the public land to be 
transferred under subsection (a). 
(2) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary 
of the Interior shall file with the Committee on En-
ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
Representatives— 
(A) a copy of the legal description pre-
pared under paragraph (1); and 
(B) a map depicting the legal description 
of the transferred public land. 
(3) AVAILABILITY FOR PUBLIC INSPECTION.— 
Copies of the legal description and map filed under 
paragraph (2) shall be available for public inspection 
in the appropriate offices of— 
(A) the Bureau of Land Management; 
(B) the Office of the Commanding Officer, 
Marine Corps Air Station Yuma, Arizona; 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:37 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(C) the Office of the Commander, Navy 
Region Southwest; and 
(D) the Office of the Secretary of the 
Navy. 
(4) FORCE OF LAW.—The legal description and 
map filed under paragraph (2) shall have the same 
force and effect as if included in this Act, except 
that the Secretary of the Interior may correct cler-
ical and typographical errors in the legal description 
or map. 
(5) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS.—The transfer 
required by subsection (a) shall be made without re-
imbursement, except that the Secretary of the Navy 
shall reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for any 
costs incurred by the Secretary of the Interior to 
prepare the legal description and map under this 
subsection. 
SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT AND USE OF TRANSFERRED LAND. 
(a) USE OF TRANSFERRED LAND.—Upon the receipt 
of the land under section 2, the Secretary of the Navy 
shall administer the land as the Chocolate Mountain Aer-
ial Gunnery Range, California, and continue to authorize 
use of the land for military purposes. 
(b) PROTECTION OF DESERT TORTOISE.—Nothing in 
the transfer required by section 2 shall affect the prior 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
designation of certain lands within the Chocolate Moun-
tain Aerial Gunnery Range as critical habitat for the 
desert tortoise (Gopherus Agassizii). 
(c) WITHDRAWAL OF MINERAL ESTATE.—Subject to 
valid existing rights, the mineral estate of the land to be 
transferred under section 2 are withdrawn from all forms 
of appropriation under the public land laws, including the 
mining laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws. 
(d) INTEGRATED NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGE-
MENT PLAN.—Not later than one year after the transfer 
of the land under section 2, the Secretary of the Navy, 
in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall pre-
pare an integrated natural resources management plan 
pursuant to the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a et seq.) for 
the transferred land and for land that, as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act, is under the jurisdiction of the 
Secretary of the Navy underlying the Chocolate Mountain 
Aerial Gunnery Range. 
SEC. 4. REALIGNMENT OF RANGE BOUNDARY AND RE-
LATED TRANSFER OF TITLE. 
(a) REALIGNMENT; PURPOSE.—The Secretary of the 
Interior and the Secretary of the Navy shall realign the 
boundary of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery 
Range, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
Act, to improve public safety and management of the 
Range, consistent with the following: 
(1) The northwestern boundary of the Choco-
late Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range shall be re-
aligned to the edge of the Bradshaw Trail so that 
the Trail is entirely on public land under the juris-
diction of the Department of the Interior. 
(2) The centerline of the Bradshaw Trail shall 
be delineated by the Secretary of the Interior in con-
sultation with the Secretary of the Navy, beginning 
at its western terminus at Township 8 South, Range 
12 East, Section 6 eastward to Township 8 South, 
Range 17 East, Section 32 where it leaves the Choc-
olate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range. 
(b) TRANSFERS RELATED TO REALIGNMENT.—The 
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy 
shall make such transfers of administrative jurisdiction as 
may be necessary to reflect the results of the boundary 
realignment carried out pursuant to subsection (a). 
(c) APPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 
POLICY ACT OF 1969.—The National Environmental Pol-
icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall not apply 
to any transfer of land made under subsection (b) or any 
decontamination actions undertaken in connection with 
such a transfer. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(d) DECONTAMINATION.—The Secretary of the Navy 
shall maintain, to the extent funds are available for such 
purpose and consistent with applicable Federal and State 
law, a program of decontamination of any contamination 
caused by defense-related uses on land transferred under 
subsection (b). The Secretary of Defense shall include a 
description of such decontamination activities in the an-
nual report required by section 2711 of title 10, United 
States Code. 
(e) TIMELINE.—The delineation of the Bradshaw 
Trail under subsection (a) and any transfer of land under 
subsection (b) shall occur pursuant to a schedule agreed 
to by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of 
the Navy, but in no case later than two years after the 
date of the enactment of this Act. 
SEC. 5. EFFECT OF TERMINATION OF MILITARY USE. 
(a) NOTICE AND EFFECT.—Upon a determination by 
the Secretary of the Navy that there is no longer a mili-
tary need for all or portions of the land transferred under 
section 2, the Secretary of the Navy shall notify the Sec-
retary of the Interior of such determination. Subject to 
subsections (b), (c), and (d), the Secretary of the Navy 
shall transfer the land subject to such a notice back to 
the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Inte-
rior. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
(b) CONTAMINATION.—Before transmitting a notice 
under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall pre-
pare a written determination concerning whether and to 
what extent the land to be transferred are contaminated 
with explosive, toxic, or other hazardous materials. A copy 
of the determination shall be transmitted with the notice. 
Copies of the notice and the determination shall be pub-
lished in the Federal Register. 
(c) DECONTAMINATION.—The Secretary of the Navy 
shall decontaminate any contaminated land that is the 
subject of a notice under subsection (a) if— 
(1) the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation 
with the Secretary of the Navy, determines that— 
(A) decontamination is practicable and 
economically feasible (taking into consideration 
the potential future use and value of the land); 
and 
(B) upon decontamination, the land could 
be opened to operation of some or all of the 
public land laws, including the mining laws; and 
(2) funds are appropriated for such decon-
tamination. 
(d) ALTERNATIVE.—The Secretary of the Interior is 
not required to accept land proposed for transfer under 
subsection (a) if the Secretary of the Interior is unable 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00008
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
to make the determinations under subsection (c)(1) or if 
Congress does not appropriate a sufficient amount of 
funds for the decontamination of the land. 
SEC. 6. TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF EXISTING WITH-
DRAWAL PERIOD. 
Subsection (a) of section 806 of the California Mili-
tary Lands Withdrawal and Overflights Act of 1994 (title 
VIII of Public Law 103–433; 108 Stat. 4505) is amended 
to read as follows: 
‘‘(a) DURATION.—The withdrawal and reservation 
established by subsection (a) of section 803 shall termi-
nate on October 31, 2014. The withdrawal and reservation 
established by subsection (b) of such section shall not ter-
minate until the date on which the land transfer required 
by section 2 of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery 
Range Transfer Act of 2013 is executed.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:17 Apr 24, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00009
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H1691.IH
H1691
sroberts on DSK5SPTVN1PROD with BILLS