II 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. R. 428 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
FEBRUARY 15, 2017 
Received 
AN ACT 
To survey the gradient boundary along the Red River in 
the States of Oklahoma and 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 Gradient 
Boundary Survey Act’’. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act: 
(1) AFFECTED AREA.— 
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘affected 
area’’ means land along the approximately 116- 
mile stretch of the Red River, from its con-
fluence with the north fork of the Red River on 
the West to the 98th meridian on the east. 
(B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘affected 
area’’ does not include the portion of the Red 
River within the boundary depicted on the sur-
vey prepared by the Bureau of Land Manage-
ment entitled ‘‘Township 5 South, Range 14 
West, of the Indian Meridian, Oklahoma, De-
pendent Resurvey and Survey’’ and dated Feb-
ruary 28, 2006. 
(2) GRADIENT BOUNDARY SURVEY METHOD.— 
The term ‘‘gradient boundary survey method’’ 
means the measurement technique used to locate the 
South Bank boundary line in accordance with the 
methodology established in Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 
U.S. 340 (1923) (recognizing that the boundary line 
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along the Red River is subject to change due to ero-
sion and accretion). 
(3) 
LANDOWNER.—The 
term 
‘‘landowner’’ 
means any individual, group, association, corpora-
tion, federally recognized Indian tribe or member of 
such an Indian tribe, or other private or govern-
mental legal entity that owns an interest in land in 
the affected area. 
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 
the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Di-
rector of the Bureau of Land Management. 
(5) SOUTH
BANK.—The term ‘‘South Bank’’ 
means the water-washed and relatively permanent 
elevation or acclivity (commonly known as a ‘‘cut 
bank’’) along the southerly or right side of the Red 
River that— 
(A) separates the bed of that river from 
the adjacent upland, whether valley or hill; and 
(B) usually serves, as specified in the fifth 
paragraph of Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340 
(1923)— 
(i) to confine the waters within the 
bed; and 
(ii) to preserve the course of the river. 
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(6) SOUTH BANK BOUNDARY LINE.—The term 
‘‘South Bank boundary line’’ means the boundary, 
with respect to title and ownership, between the 
States of Oklahoma and Texas identified through 
the gradient boundary survey method that does not 
impact or alter the permanent political boundary line 
between the States along the Red River, as outlined 
under article II, section B of the Red River Bound-
ary Compact enacted by the States and consented to 
by Congress pursuant to Public Law 106–288 (114 
Stat. 919). 
SEC. 3. SURVEY OF SOUTH BANK BOUNDARY LINE. 
(a) SURVEY REQUIRED.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall commis-
sion a survey to identify the South Bank boundary 
line in the affected area. 
(2) REQUIREMENTS.—The survey shall— 
(A) adhere to the gradient boundary sur-
vey method; 
(B) span the length of the affected area; 
(C) be conducted by surveyors that are— 
(i) licensed and qualified to conduct 
official gradient boundary surveys; and 
(ii) selected jointly by and operating 
under the direction of— 
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