IB
Union Calendar No. 236
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 2824
[Report No. 104–493]
To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of Utah at Snowbasin
Ski Area.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
DECEMBER 21, 1995
Mr. HANSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Resources
MARCH 25, 1996
Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union
and ordered to be printed
A BILL
To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of Utah
at Snowbasin Ski Area.
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 ‘‘Snowbasin Land Ex-
change Act of 1995’’.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.
(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds that—
(1) in June 1995, Salt Lake City, Utah, was
selected to host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games,
and the Snowbasin Ski Resort, which is owned by
the Sun Valley Company, was identified as the site
of six Olympic events: the men’s and women’s
downhills, men’s and women’s Super-Gs, and men’s
and women’s combined downhills;
(2) in order to adequately accommodate these
events, which are traditionally among the most pop-
ular and heavily attended at the Winter Olympic
Games, major new skiing, visitor, and support facili-
ties will have to be constructed at the Snowbasin Ski
Resort on land currently administered by the United
States Forest Service;
(3) while certain of these new facilities can be
accommodated on National Forest land under tradi-
tional Forest Service permitting authorities, the base
area facilities necessary to host visitors to the ski
area and the Winter Olympics are of such a nature
that they should logically be located on private land;
(4) land exchanges have been routinely utilized
by the Forest Service to transfer base area lands to
many other ski areas, and the Forest Service and
the Sun Valley Company have concluded that a land
exchange to transfer base area lands at the
Snowbasin Ski Resort to the Sun Valley Company is
both logical and advisable;
(5) an environmental impact statement and nu-
merous resource studies have been completed by the
Forest Service and the Sun Valley Company for the
lands proposed to be transferred to the Sun Valley
Company by this Act;
(6) the Sun Valley Company has assembled
lands with outstanding environmental, recreational,
and other values to convey to the Forest Service in
return for the lands it will receive in the exchange,
and the Forest Service has identified such lands as
desirable for acquisition by the United States; and
(7) completion of a land exchange and approval
of a development plan for Olympic related facilities
at the Snowbasin Ski Resort is essential to ensure
that all necessary facilities can be constructed, test-
ed for safety and other purposes, and become fully
operational in advance of the 2002 Winter Olympics
and earlier pre-Olympic events.
(b) DETERMINATION.—The Congress has reviewed
the previous analyses and studies of the lands to be ex-
changed and developed pursuant to this Act, and has
made its own review of these lands and issues involved,
and on the basis of those reviews hereby finds and deter-
mines that a legislated land exchange and development
plan approval is necessary to meet Olympic goals and
timetables.
SEC. 3. PURPOSE AND INTENT.
The purpose of this Act is to authorize and direct
the Secretary to exchange 1,320 acres of federally-owned
land within the Cache National Forest in the State of
Utah for lands of approximately equal value owned by the
Sun Valley Company. It is the intent of Congress that this
exchange be effected without delay within the period speci-
fied by section 5.
SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.
As used in this Act—
(1) the term ‘‘Sun Valley Company’’ means the
Sun Valley Company, a division of Sinclair Oil Cor-
poration, a Wyoming Corporation, or its successors
or assigns; and
(2) the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary
of Agriculture.
SEC. 5. EXCHANGE.
(a) FEDERAL SELECTED LANDS.—
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 45 days after
the final determination of value of the Federal se-
lected lands, the Secretary shall, subject to this Act,
transfer all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to the lands referred to in paragraph
(2) to the Sun Valley Company.
(2) LANDS DESCRIBED.—The lands referred to
in paragraph (1) are certain lands within the Cache
National Forest in the State of Utah comprising
1,320 acres, more or less, as generally depicted on
the map entitled ‘‘Snowbasin Land Exchange—Pro-
posed’’ and dated October 1995.
(b) NON-FEDERAL OFFERED LANDS.—Upon trans-
fer of the Federal selected lands under subsection (a), and
in exchange for those lands, the Sun Valley Company shall
convey to the Secretary all right, title and interest of the
Sun Valley Company in and to so much of the following
offered lands which have been previously identified by the
United States Forest Service as desirable by the United
States, or which are identified pursuant to paragraph (5),
as are of approximate equal value to the Federal selected
lands:
(1) Certain lands located within the exterior
boundaries of the Cache National Forest in Weber
County, Utah, which comprise approximately 640
acres and are generally depicted on a map entitled
‘‘Lightning Ridge Offered Lands’’, dated October
1995.
(2) Certain lands located within the Cache Na-
tional Forest in Weber County, Utah, which com-
prise approximately 635 acres and are generally de-
picted on a map entitled ‘‘Wheeler Creek Watershed
Offered Lands-Section 21’’, dated October 1995.
(3) Certain lands located within the exterior
boundaries of the Cache National Forest in Weber
County, Utah, and lying immediately adjacent to the
outskirts of the City of Ogden, Utah, which comprise
approximately 800 acres and are generally depicted
on a map entitled ‘‘Taylor Canyon Offered Lands’’,
dated October 1995.
(4) Certain lands located within the exterior
boundaries of the Cache National Forest in Weber
County, Utah, which comprise approximately 2,040
acres and are generally depicted on a map entitled
‘‘North Fork Ogden River-Devil’s Gate Valley’’,
dated October 1995.
(5) Such additional offered lands as may be
necessary to make the values of the lands exchanged
pursuant to this Act approximately equal, and which
are acceptable to the Secretary.
(c) SUBSTITUTION OF OFFERED LANDS.—If one or
more of the precise offered land parcels identified in para-
graphs (1) through (4) of subsection (b) is unable to be
conveyed to the United States due to appraisal or other
reasons, or if the Secretary and the Sun Valley Company
mutually agree and the Secretary determines that an al-
ternative offered land package would better serve long
term public needs and objectives, the Sun Valley Company
may convey to the United States alternative offered lands
acceptable to the Secretary in lieu of any or all of the
lands identified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of sub-
section (b).
(d) VALUATION AND APPRAISALS.—
(1) Values of the lands to be exchanged pursu-
ant to this Act shall be equal as determined by the
Secretary utilizing nationally recognized appraisal
standards. If due to size, location, or use of lands
exchanged under this Act, the values are not exactly
equal, they shall be equalized by the payment of
cash equalization money to the Secretary or the Sun
Valley Company as appropriate in accordance with
section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Man-
agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716). In order to
expedite the consummation of the exchange directed
by this Act, the Sun Valley Company shall arrange
and pay for appraisals of the offered and selected
lands by a qualified appraiser mutually acceptable to
the Sun Valley Company and the Secretary. The ap-
praisal of the Federal selected lands shall be com-
pleted and submitted to the Secretary for approval
no later than 90 days after the date of enactment
of this Act and the Secretary shall make a deter-
mination of value not later than 30 days after re-
ceipt of the appraisal. In the event the Secretary
and the Sun Valley Company are unable to agree to
the appraised value of a certain tract or tracts of
land, the appraisal, appraisals, or appraisal issues in
dispute and a final determination of value shall be
resolved through a process of bargaining or submit-
ted to arbitration in accordance with section 206(d)
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of
1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)).
(2) In order to expedite the appraisal of the
Federal selected lands, such appraisal shall—
(A) value the land as a single entity for its
highest and best use as if in private ownership
and as of the date of enactment of this Act;
(B) consider the effect on value of im-
provements constructed on the land by the For-
est Service or third parties but not consider im-
provements owned or constructed by the
Snowbasin Ski Resort or previous permittee;
(C) recognize that Snowbasin is a proven
ski area and assume that special use permits
which are required for operation of a ski resort
would be granted a buyer of the Federal se-
lected lands;
(D) consider the effect on value, if any, of
the remaining permit periods of existing special
use permits on the lands held by parties other
than the Snowbasin Ski Resort;
(E) not reflect any enhancement in value
to the Federal selected lands based on the exist-
ence of private lands owned by the Sun Valley
Company in the vicinity of the Snowbasin Ski
Resort, and shall assume that private lands
owned by the Sun Valley Company are not
available for use in conjunction with the Fed-
eral selected lands; and
(F) reflect a diminution in value resulting
from deed restrictions or other conditions on
the transfer of the Federal selected lands.
SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE EX-
CHANGE.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The exchange authorized by this
Act shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
(1) RESERVED RIGHTS-OF-WAY.—In the deed to
be issued pursuant to section 5(a), the Secretary
shall reserve in the United States a right of reason-
able access across the property conveyed for public
access and for administrative purposes of the United
States necessary to manage adjacent federally-owned
lands. The terms of such access shall be prescribed
by the Secretary within 30 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act.
(2) RIGHT OF RESCISSION.—This Act shall not
be binding on either the United States or the Sun
Valley Company if, within 30 days after the final de-
termination of value of the Federal selected lands,
the Sun Valley Company submits to the Secretary a
duly authorized and executed resolution of the Com-
pany stating its intention not to enter into the ex-
change authorized by this Act.
(b) WITHDRAWAL.—Subject to valid existing rights,
effective on the date of enactment of this Act, the Federal
selected lands described in section 5(a) and all National
Forest System lands currently under special use permit
to the Sun Valley Company at the Snowbasin Ski Resort
are hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation
under the public land laws (including the mining laws) and
from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and
geothermal leasing.
(c) DEED.—The conveyance of the offered lands to
the United States under this Act shall be by general war-
ranty or other deed acceptable to the Secretary and in con-
formity with applicable title standards of the Attorney
General of the United States.
(d) STATUS OF LANDS.—Upon acceptance of title by
the Secretary, the land conveyed to the United States pur-
suant to this Act shall become part of the Wasatch or
Cache National Forests as appropriate, and the bound-
aries of such National Forests shall be adjusted to encom-
pass such lands. Once conveyed, such lands shall be man-
aged in accordance with the Act of March 1, 1911, as
amended (commonly known as the ‘‘Weeks Act’’), and in
accordance with the other laws, rules and regulations ap-
plicable to National Forest System lands. This subsection
does not limit the Secretary’s authority to adjust the
boundaries pursuant to section 11 of the Act of March
1, 1911 (‘‘Weeks Act’’). For the purposes of section 7 of
the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (16
U.S.C. 460l–9), the boundaries of the Wasatch and Cache
National Forests, as adjusted by this Act, shall be consid-
ered to be boundaries of the forests as of January 1, 1965.
SEC. 7. PHASE I FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND OPER-
ATION.
(a) PHASE I FACILITY REVIEW AND FINDING.—The
Congress has reviewed the Snowbasin Ski Area Master
Development Plan dated October 1995 (hereinafter in this
Act referred to as the ‘‘Master Plan’’), insofar as such
plan pertains to ‘‘Phase I’’ facilities which are to be con-
structed and operated wholly or partially on National For-
est System lands retained by the Secretary after con-
summation of the land exchange directed by this Act. On
the basis of such review, Congress hereby finds that the
Phase I facilities identified and described in the Master
Plan to be located on National Forest System lands, or
any modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Sec-
retary and the Sun Valley Company, are reasonable and
necessary to accommodate the 2002 Olympics and directs
the Secretary to issue all necessary permits and authoriza-
tions for construction and operation of such facilities in
accordance with the procedures and provisions of this sec-
tion.
(b) PHASE I FACILITY APPROVAL, CONDITIONS AND
TIMETABLE.—Within 120 days of receipt of an applica-
tion by the Sun Valley Company to authorize construction
and operation of any particular Phase I facility, facilities,
or group of facilities, the Secretary, in consultation with
the Sun Valley Company, shall authorize construction and
operation of such facility, facilities, or group of facilities,
subject to the general policies of the Forest Service per-
taining to the construction and operation of ski area facili-
ties on National Forest System lands. In providing author-
ization to construct and operate a facility, facilities, or
group of facilities, the Secretary may not impose any con-
dition that would significantly change the location, size,
or scope of the applied for Phase I facility unless (1) the
modification is mutually agreed to by the Secretary and
the Sun Valley Company; or (2) the change is necessary
to protect public health and safety. In providing any such
authorization, the Secretary shall provide for resource pro-
tection without regard to section 102(2)(C) of the Na-
tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or the participa-
tion requirements of section 6(d) of the Forest and Range-
land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16
U.S.C. 1604(d)). Nothing in this section shall be con-
strued to affect the Secretary’s responsibility to monitor
and assure compliance with the conditions set forth in the
construction and operation authorization.
(c) CONGRESSIONAL DIRECTIONS.—Notwithstanding
any other provision of law, Congress finds consummation
of the land exchange directed by this Act and all deter-
minations, authorizations, and actions taken by the Sec-
retary pursuant to this Act pertaining to Phase I facilities
(or modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Sec-
retary and the Sun Valley Company) to be non-discre-
tionary actions authorized and directed by Congress and
hence to comply with all procedural and other require-
ments of the laws of the United States.
(d) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—The Secretary shall re-
port to the Committee on Resources of the United States
House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy
and Natural Resources of the United States Senate as to
whether construction and operation of Phase I facilities
have provided for sufficient environmental protection on
National Forest System lands affected by such facilities.