Title: Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) complete environmental, cultural resource, and other due diligence activities on certain public land to confirm its suitability for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, South Dakota; and (2) notify the Department of the Interior of such activities.
Interior shall publish a notice containing the legal descriptions of such transferred land.
The VA shall reimburse Interior for reasonable transfer costs, including survey costs.
Upon a determination by the VA that all or a portion of such transferred land shall not be used for cemetery purposes, the VA shall: (1) notify Interior and transfer jurisdiction of the land back to Interior, and (2) be responsible for any decontamination costs necessary for restoration of the lands to the public lands.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 337 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 337

  To transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land 
Management land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, 
                        and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 2017

  Mrs. Noem introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
 Veterans' Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 
  Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall 
           within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land 
Management land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of 
 Veterans Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, 
                        and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    The Act may be cited as the ``Black Hills National Cemetery 
Boundary Expansion Act''.

SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND TRANSFER OF PUBLIC LAND FOR CEMETERY USE.

    (a) Due Diligence.--Prior to the withdrawal and transfer in 
subsection (b), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs will complete 
appropriate environmental, cultural resource and other due diligence 
activities on the public lands identified in subsection (c), so that 
the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may confirm that the land is suitable 
for cemetery purposes. The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall notify 
the Secretary of the Interior of such due diligence activities prior to 
initiating and shall coordinate as needed during the performance of 
such activities.
    (b) Withdrawal and Transfer.--After completion of the due diligence 
activities in subsection (a) and upon receipt by the Secretary of the 
Interior of written confirmation from the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
that the land is suitable for cemetery purposes, and subject to valid 
existing rights, the public lands described in subsection (c) shall 
be--
            (1) withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the 
        public land laws, including the mining laws, the mineral 
        leasing laws, and the geothermal leasing laws, for as long as 
        the lands remain under the administrative jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs;
            (2) deemed property as defined in section 102(9) of title 
        40, United States Code, for as long as the lands remain under 
        the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans 
        Affairs; and
            (3) transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the 
        Secretary of Veterans Affairs for use as national cemeteries 
        under chapter 24 of title 38, United States Code.
    (c) Land Description.--The public lands withdrawn, deemed property, 
and transferred under subsection (b) shall be the approximately 200 
acres of land adjacent to Black Hills National Cemetery, South Dakota, 
generally depicted as ``Proposed National Cemetery Expansion'' on the 
map entitled ``Proposed Expansion of Black Hills National Cemetery--
South Dakota'' and dated June 16, 2016, except the land located within 
100 feet of the centerline of the Centennial Trail (which runs along 
the northern boundary of the ``Proposed National Cemetery Expansion'') 
and that is located south of the Trail.
    (d) Boundary Modification.--Immediately after the public lands are 
withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred under subsection (b), the 
boundary of the Black Hills National Cemetery shall be modified to 
include the public lands identified in subsection (c).
    (e) Modification of Public Land Order.--Immediately after the 
public lands under subsection (b) are withdrawn, deemed property, and 
transferred under subsection (b), Public Land Order 2112, dated June 6, 
1960 (25 Fed. Reg. 5243), shall be modified to exclude the lands 
identified in subsection (c).

SEC. 3. LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

    (a) Preparation of Legal Descriptions.--As soon as practicable 
following receipt of written confirmation from the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs that the land is suitable for cemetery purposes, the 
Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a 
notice containing the legal descriptions of the public lands withdrawn, 
deemed property, and transferred under section 2(b).
    (b) Legal Effect.--The legal descriptions prepared under subsection 
(a) shall have the same force and effect as if the legal descriptions 
were included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Interior 
may correct any clerical and typographical errors in the legal 
descriptions.
    (c) Availability.--Copies of the map referred to in section 2(c) 
and the legal descriptions prepared under subsection (a) shall be 
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of--
            (1) the Bureau of Land Management; and
            (2) the National Cemetery Administration.
    (d) Costs.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall reimburse the 
Secretary of the Interior for reasonable costs incurred by the 
Secretary of the Interior in implementing this section, including the 
costs of any surveys.

SEC. 4. RESTORATION TO PUBLIC LANDS FOR NON-CEMETERY USE.

    (a) Notice and Effect.--Upon a determination by the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs that all or a portion of the lands withdrawn, deemed 
property, and transferred under section 2 shall not be used for 
cemetery purposes, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall notify the 
Secretary of the Interior of such determination. Subject to subsections 
(b) and (c), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall transfer 
administrative jurisdiction of the lands subject to such notice to the 
Secretary of the Interior.
    (b) Decontamination.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall be 
responsible for costs of any decontamination of the lands resulting 
from contamination on the lands withdrawn, deemed property, and 
transferred under section 2(b) while the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
exercised jurisdiction over those lands subject to a notice under 
subsection (a) determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be 
necessary for the lands to be restored to the public lands.
    (c) Restoration to the Public Lands.--The lands subject to a notice 
under subsection (a) shall only be restored to the public lands upon 
acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior and a determination by the 
Secretary of the Interior that such lands are suitable for restoration 
to the public lands and operation of one or more of the public land 
laws.
    (d) Opening Order.--If the Secretary of the Interior accepts the 
lands subject to such a notice and determines that the lands are 
suitable for restoration, in whole or in part, the Secretary of the 
Interior may open the lands to operation of one or more of the public 
land laws and may issue an order to that effect.
                                 <all>