IIB 
114TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2130 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
DECEMBER 10, 2015 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
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, 
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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 DISCLAIMER AND OUTDATED SURVEYS.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 disclaims any 
right, title, and interest to the land located south of the 
South Bank boundary line in the affected area. 
(b) CLARIFICATION OF PRIOR SURVEYS.—Surveys 
conducted by the Bureau of Land Management before the 
date of the enactment of this Act shall have no force or 
effect in determining the South Bank boundary line. 
SEC. 3. SURVEY OF SOUTH BANK BOUNDARY LINE. 
(a) SURVEY REQUIRED.—To identify the South Bank 
boundary line in the affected area, the Secretary shall 
commission a survey. The survey shall— 
(1) adhere to the gradient boundary survey 
method; 
(2) span the entire length of the affected area; 
(3) be conducted by Licensed State Land Sur-
veyors chosen by the Texas General Land Office, in 
consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners of 
the Land Office and each affected federally recog-
nized Indian tribe; 
(4) be completed not later than 2 years after 
the date of the enactment of this Act; and 
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(5) not be submitted to the Bureau of Land 
Management for approval. 
(b) APPROVAL OF THE SURVEY.—After the survey is 
completed, the Secretary shall submit the survey to be ap-
proved by the Texas General Land Office, in consultation 
with the Oklahoma Commissioners of the Land Office and 
each affected federally recognized Indian tribe. 
(c) SURVEYS OF INDIVIDUAL PARCELS.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Parcels surveyed as required 
by this section shall be surveyed and approved on an 
individual basis by the Texas General Land Office, 
in consultation with the Oklahoma Commissioners of 
the Land Office and each affected federally recog-
nized Indian tribe. 
(2) SURVEYS
OF
INDIVIDUAL
PARCELS
NOT 
SUBMITTED
TO
THE
BUREAU
OF
LAND
MANAGE-
MENT.—Surveys of individual parcels shall not be 
submitted to the Bureau of Land Management for 
approval. 
(d) NOTICE.— 
(1) NOTIFICATION TO THE SECRETARY.—Not 
later than 30 days after a survey for a parcel is ap-
proved by the Texas General Land Office under sub-
section (c), such office shall provide to the Secretary 
the following: 
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(A) Notice of the approval of such survey. 
(B) A copy of such survey and field notes 
relating to such parcel. 
(2) 
NOTIFICATION
TO
ADJACENT
LAND-
OWNERS.—Not later than 30 days after the date on 
which the Secretary receives notification relating to 
a parcel under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall 
provide to landowners adjacent to such parcel the 
following: 
(A) Notice of the approval of such survey. 
(B) A copy of such survey and field notes 
relating to such parcel. 
(C) Notice that the landowner may file an 
appeal and seek further judicial review under 
section 4. 
(D) Notice that the landowner may apply 
for a patent under section 5. 
(E) Any additional information considered 
appropriate by the Secretary. 
SEC. 4. APPEAL. 
(a) APPEAL TO ADMINISTRATIVE LAW JUDGE.—Not 
later than 1 year after the date on which a landowner re-
ceives notification under section 3(d)(2), a landowner who 
claims to hold right, title, or interest in the affected area 
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may appeal the determination of the survey to an adminis-
trative law judge of the Department of the Interior. 
(b) FURTHER JUDICIAL REVIEW.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—A landowner who filed an 
appeal under subsection (a) and is adversely affected 
by the final decision may, not later than 120 days 
after the date of the final decision, file a civil action 
in the United States district court for the district— 
(A) in which the person resides; or 
(B) in which the affected area is located. 
(2) STANDARD OF REVIEW.—The district court 
may review the case de novo and may enter a judg-
ment enforcing, modifying, and enforcing as so 
modified, or setting aside in whole or in part, the de-
cision of the administrative law judge. 
SEC. 5. RED RIVER SURFACE RIGHTS. 
(a) NOTIFICATION
OF APPLICATION PERIOD
FOR 
PATENTS.— 
(1) IN
GENERAL.—On the date that is 18 
months after the date on which the Secretary re-
ceives notification relating to a parcel under section 
3(d)(1), the Secretary shall determine whether such 
parcel is subject to appeal or further judicial review. 
(2) PARCEL NOT SUBJECT TO APPEAL OR JUDI-
CIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 30 days after the 
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date on which the Secretary determines a parcel is 
not subject to appeal or judicial review, the Sec-
retary shall— 
(A) notify federally recognized Indian 
tribes with jurisdiction over lands adjacent to 
such parcel that the Secretary shall accept ap-
plications for patents for that parcel under sub-
section (b) for a period of 210 days; and 
(B) begin accepting applications for pat-
ents for that parcel under subsection (b) for a 
period of 210 days. 
(3) PARCEL SUBJECT TO APPEAL OR JUDICIAL 
REVIEW.—If the Secretary determines a parcel is 
subject to appeal or further judicial review, the Sec-
retary shall, not less than once every 6 months, 
check the status of the appeals or judicial reviews 
relating to such parcel, until the Secretary deter-
mines such parcel is not subject to appeal or further 
judicial review. 
(b) PATENTS
FOR
LANDS
IN
THE
AFFECTED 
AREA.—If the Secretary receives an application for a pat-
ent for a parcel of identified Federal lands during the pe-
riod for applications for such parcel under subsection 
(a)(2)(B) and determines that the parcel has been held 
in good faith and in peaceful adverse possession by an ap-
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plicant, or the ancestors or grantors of such applicant, for 
more than 20 years under claim (including through a 
State land grant), the Secretary may issue a patent for 
the surface rights to such parcel to the applicant, on the 
payment of fair market value per acre, if the patent in-
cludes the following conditions: 
(1) All minerals contained in the parcel are re-
served to the United States and subject to sale or 
disposal by the United States under applicable leas-
ing and mineral land laws. 
(2) Permittees, lessees, or grantees of the 
United States have the right to enter the parcel for 
the purpose of prospecting for and mining deposits. 
(c) PENDING REQUESTS FOR PATENTS.—The Sec-
retary shall not offer a parcel of identified Federal land 
for purchase under section 6 if a patent request for that 
parcel is pending under this section. 
SEC. 6. RIGHT OF REFUSAL AND COMPETITIVE SALE. 
(a) RIGHT OF REFUSAL.— 
(1) OFFERS TO PURCHASE.—After the expira-
tion of the period for applications under section 
5(a)(2)(B), the Secretary shall offer for purchase for 
a period of 60 days for each right of refusal— 
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(A) the surface rights to the remaining 
identified Federal lands located north of the 
vegetation line of the South Bank to— 
(i) the federally recognized Indian 
tribes holding reservation or allotment land 
on June 5, 1906, with the first right of re-
fusal; 
(ii) the adjacent owner of land located 
in Oklahoma to the north with the second 
right of refusal; 
(iii) if applicable, the adjacent owner 
of land located in Texas to the south with 
the third right of refusal; 
(iv) if applicable, the adjacent owner 
of land located to the east with the fourth 
right of refusal; and 
(v) if applicable, the adjacent owner of 
land located to the west with the fifth right 
of refusal; and 
(B) the surface rights to the remaining 
identified Federal lands located south of the 
vegetation line of the South Bank to— 
(i) the federally recognized Indian 
tribes holding reservation or allotment land 
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on June 5, 1906, with the first right of re-
fusal; 
(ii) the adjacent owner of land located 
in Texas to the south with the second right 
of refusal; 
(iii) if applicable, the adjacent owner 
of land located in Oklahoma to the north 
with the third right of refusal; 
(iv) if applicable, the adjacent owner 
of land located to the east with the fourth 
right of refusal; and 
(v) if applicable, the adjacent owner of 
land located to the west with the fifth right 
of refusal. 
(2) REMAINING
IDENTIFIED
FEDERAL
LANDS 
DEFINED.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘remaining 
identified Federal lands’’ means any parcel of identi-
fied Federal lands— 
(A) not subject to appeal or further judi-
cial review under section 4; 
(B) not determined by an administrative 
law judge of the Department of the Interior or 
a Federal court to be the property of an adja-
cent landowner; and 
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