A bill to provide for the orderly disposal of certain Federal lands in Nevada and for the acquisition of certain other lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin, and for other purposes.
PL 96-586 (H.R.7306), enacted 12/23/1980

PUBLIC LAW 96-586—DEC. 23, 1980 
94 STAT. 3381 
Public Law 96-586 
96th Congress 
An Act 
To provide for the orderly disposal of certain Federal lands in Nevada and for 
the acquisition of certain other lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin, 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. (a) The Congress finds that— 
(1) the Bureau of Land Management heis extensive land owner-
ship in small parcels interspersed with or adjacent to private 
lands in urban areas of 
Clark County, Nevada; 
(2) for orderly development of the communities in that county 
certain of those lands should be sold by the Federal Government; 
(3) the Lake Tahoe Basin is a closed basin two-thirds of which is 
located within the State of California and one-third within the 
State of Nevada; 
(4) the environmental quality of the Lake Tahoe Basin is 
seriously 
jeopardized by overdevelopment of sensitive land areas; 
(5) a majority of the acreage developed within the Lake Tahoe 
Basin and the potential for further development of sensitive land 
areas is within California; 
(6) further tourist oriented development within the basin 
encourages significant permanent development of other kinds as 
well as tourist visitation; and 
(7) the unique character of the Lake Tahoe Basin is of national 
significance deserving of further protection and management. 
(b) The purpose of this Act is to provide for the orderly disposal of 
Federal lands in Clark County, Nevada, and to provide for acquisition 
of 
environmentally sensitive lands in the Lake Tahoe Basin. 
SEC. 2. (a) The Secretary of the Interior Giereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the "Secretary") is authorized and directed to dispose of 
lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management in 
Clark County, Nevada, as shown on the map numbered 7306A, dated 
May 1980, and entitled "Las Vegas Valley, Nevada, Land Sales Map", 
which map shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 
offices of the Bureau of Land Management. Such disposal shall be in 
accordance with regulations developed jointly by the Secretary and 
the affected local governmental jurisdictions and shall be consistent 
with the provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
and other applicable law except to the extent necessary to expedi-
tiously carry out the provisions of this Act. 
Qo) No more than seven hundred acres per calendar year may be 
offered for sale by the Bureau of Land Management in Clark County. 
(c) Notwithstanding section lOt)), the Secretary and the affected 
local governmental jurisdictions shall jointly select lands to be 
offered for sale under this Act. The Secretary may not offer any land 
for sale if in his judgment such land has not been appropriately 
classified in accordance with adjacent land use by the local govern-
mental jurisdiction. In the event agreement cannot be reached on 
joint selection, no lands shall be offered for sale. 
Dec. 23, 1980 
[H.R. 7306] 
Nevada and 
Lake 
Tahoe Basin, 
land 
disposal and ac-
quisition. 
Clark County, 
Nev.; 
land disposal. 
43 u s e 1701 
note. 
Annual acreage 
limit. 
Land selection. 
79-194 
O—81—pt. 3 
47 : QL3 
94 STAT. 3382 
PUBLIC LAW 96-586—DEC. 23, 1980 
Revenues. 
Report to con-
gressional 
committees. 
Payments to 
localities. 
Water pollution 
control and 
land manage-
ment. 
(d)(1) Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, the revenues 
from the sale of pubUc lands under this subsection within Clark 
County, Nevada, shall, notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
be deposited annually, in the general fund of the Treasury of the 
United States: Provided, That from these revenues, an amount equal 
to that actually appropriated from the Land and Water Conservation 
Fund pursuant to section 3 of this Act, shall be deposited in the Fund 
prior to fiscal year 1995. 
(2) Five per centum of the annual revenues referred to in para-
graph (1) shall be returned to the State of Nevada annually for use in 
the general education program of the State. 
(3) Ten per centum of the net annual revenues referred to in 
paragraph (1) shall be returned annually directly to the county or 
municipality within the boundaries of which such land sale occurred 
to be used for the purpose of acquisition and development of recre-
ational lands and facilities. The total annual revenue returned under 
this paragraph to each such county or municipality shall be an 
amount proportional to the amount of revenues generated under this 
section from sales under this section of Federal land located within 
each such county or municipality. 
(e) The revenues deposited in the general fund of the Treasury of 
the United States under subsection (d) are deemed to be in the nature 
of repayment for those authorizations set forth in section 3 of this 
Act. The Secretary, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, 
shall submit an accounting report biannually of income and expendi-
ture provided for by this Act to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources of the United States Senate and the Committee 
on Interior and Insular Affairs of the United States House of 
Representatives. 
(f) The Secretary shall, subject to the provisions of subsection (c), 
make the first land sale offering of Clark County, Nevada, land no 
later than one year after the date of enactment of this Act. 
(g)(1) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized and directed to 
make annual payments to the governing bodies of each of the 
political subdivisions any portion of which is located in the area 
depicted on the final map filed pursuant to section 3(a). Such 
payments may be used only for water pollution control, soil erosion 
mitigation, or acquisition by local government authorities of lands 
and interests in lands within the Lake Tahoe Basin, or for any 
combination of the foregoing purposes. 
(2) The total amounts appropriated for pajnnents pursuant to this 
subsection shall be allocated proportionately among such political 
subdivisions in any fiscal year on the basis of the relative amounts of 
acreage acquired under this Act in each such political subdivision. 
(3) In addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out the provisions of section 3 of this Act, there is authorized to 
be appropriated for making payments under this subsection a sum 
equal to 15 per centum of the amount appropriated under such 
section 3. 
(h) In addition to the amounts authorized to be appropriated to 
carry out the provisions of section 3 of this Act, there is authorized to 
be appropriated a sum equal to 5 per centum of the amount appropri-
ated under such section 3 to be used by the Secretary of Agriculture 
only for purposes of preventing, controlling, or mitigating water 
pollution associated with National Forest System lands in the Lake 
Tahoe Basin and for managing acquired lands within the Lake Tahoe 
Basin. Such sum shall be in addition to any other amounts available 
PUBLIC LAW 96-586—DEC. 23, 1980 
94 STAT. 3383 
to the Secretary of Agriculture for expenditure in the Lake Tahoe 
Basin. 
(i) The provisions of section 3 of the Act of October 20, 1976 (31 
U.S.C. 1601) and the provisions of subsections (a) through (c) of section 
106 of the Act of March 27, 1978 (16 U.S.C. 79o) shall apply to lands 
acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act in the same 
manner and to the same extent as such provisions apply to lands 
owned by the United States and referred to in such section 106. For 
purposes of applying such provisions, any reference in such provi-
sions to the lands referred to in such section 106 or to the National 
Park System shall be treated as including reference to the lands 
acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture under this Act. 
SEC. 3. (a)(1) The Secretary of Agriculture is authorized to acquire 
by donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or other-
wise, lands and interests in lands which were unimproved as of the 
date of enactment of this Act (except as provided in subsection (c)), 
and which are environmentally sensitive lands within the meaning of 
paragraph (2). The funds used for acquisition of such lands and 
interests in lands shall be the funds authorized to be appropriated 
pursuant to this Act, and no such funds may be expended until the 
final map has been filed in accordance with paragraph (2)(B). Such 
funds shall be in addition to any other amounts available to the 
Secretary of Agriculture for expenditure in the Lake Tahoe Basin. 
(2)(A) The Secretary of Agriculture, in consultation with the 
governments of Nevada and California, the Tahoe Regional Planning 
Agency and with local governments, including the appropriate plan-
ning and regulatory agencies, after notice and opportunity for public 
hearing, shall prepare a map of the lands to be acquired pursuant to 
this subsection. 
(B) The Secretary of Agriculture shall, within six months of the 
date of enactment of this Act, and after notice and opportunity for 
public hearing, file with the United States Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources and the United States House of 
Representatives Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs a map 
which in the Secretary of Agriculture's judgment best achieves the 
objectives set forth in this Act and includes the environmentally 
sensitive land defined in subparagraph (C) of this paragraph. 
(C) For purposes of this paragraph, the term "environmentally 
sensitive land means— 
(i) stream environment zones which are— 
(I) areas generally located within the one-hundred-year 
flood plain; 
(II) areas containing soils which are associated with high 
runoff or high water tables; 
(III) areas of riparian vegetation types; or 
(IV) minimum protective buffer areas for the areas 
referred to in subclauses (I) through (III); 
(ii) high hazard lands which are characterized by steep slopes 
and a fragile environmental balance or with a high erosion 
potential; 
(iii) unimproved lands previously modified by man which are 
causing unacceptably high rates of sedimentation; and 
(iv) shore zone areas which are sensitive to cliff erosion, beach 
erosion, and near-shore instability. 
(D) The map filed pursuant to subparagraph (B) shall be prepared 
at such scale as to clearly identify the affected land tracts by 
ownership and shall designate such tracts for acquisition or non-
acquisition. 
31 use 1603. 
Map, 
preparation; 
notice and 
hearing. 
Submittal to con-
gressional com-
mittees. 
"Environmen-
tally 
sensitive land." 
94 STAT. 3384 
PUBLIC LAW 96-586—DEC. 23, 1980 
Public notice. 
Donation. 
Administration. 
Improved lands, 
acquisition. 
Single family 
dwellings, ac-
quisition re-
strictions. 
"Improved 
land." 
"Unimproved 
land." 
Right of use 
and occupancy. 
(3) Before initiating acquisition proceedings for any lands under 
this subsection, the Secretary shall consult annually with State and 
local government agencies, the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency as 
to the necessity for such acquisition, the potential impacts on State 
and local government, and other appropriate aspects of the acquisi-
tion. The Secretary of Agriculture shall notify the public of the 
approved land acquisition program on an annual basis. 
(4) Lands within the boundaries of the area subject to acquisition 
under this section which are owned by any State or local government 
may be acquired only by donation. 
(b) Lands acquired under this section shall be administered £is a 
part of the United States National Forest System; except that the 
Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest 
Service, may, in the case of \anda which are unsuitable for Forest 
Service administration, transfer such lands or interests therein to an 
appropriate unit of State or local government with appropriate deed 
restrictions to protect the environmental quality and public recre-
ational use of the lands concerned. 
(c)(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), with respect to that 
portion of the Lake Tahoe Basin, as defined as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act by the Secretary of Agriculture, which lies 
within the boundary of the State of California, as in effect on the date 
of the establishment of the Tahoe National Forest (October 3,1905), 
the Secretary of Agriculture may acquire improved lands or interests 
in improved lands with the consent of the owner thereof or upon a 
finding by the Secretary of Agriculture that such lands are being 
used, or that an imminent threat exists that they will be used, in a 
manner detrimental to the preservation of the existing water quality 
of the basin. 
(2) No single family dwelling which is improved land (as defined in 
this subsection) may be acquired under the provisions of this subsec-
tion without the consent of the owner thereof unless the Secretary of 
Agriculture with the concurrence of the Tahoe Regional Planning 
Agency finds that (A) a change in the use of such dwelling has 
occurred subsequent to the date of enactment of this Act or that such 
a change in use is threatened, and (B) in the case of a single family 
dwelling having a change or threatened change in use but main-
tained as a single family dwelling, such change or threatened change 
will result in a detriment to the preservation of the existing water 
quality of 
the basin. 
(3) At such time as the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency has 
adopted final requirements for the protection of the water quality of 
the basin, the Secretary of Agriculture shall make the findings 
provided for in sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(2) herein in a manner consist-
ent with such requirements. 
(4) For purposes of this Act, the term— 
(A) "improved land" means any land on which there is located 
a single family dwelling or other residential or commercial 
building, the construction of which commenced before the date of 
enactment of this Act, together with so much of the land on 
which such building is located as is reasonably necessary to the 
use and enjo3nnent of 
such building; and 
(B) "unimproved land" means any land other than improved 
land. 
(5)(A) The owner or owners of any improved land acquired by the 
Secretary of Agriculture under this Act may retain a r i ^ t of use and 
occupancy of such land for— 
PUBLIC LAW 96-586—DEC. 23, 1980 
94 STAT. 3385 
(i) a definite term of not more than twenty-five years from the 
date of the enactment of this Act, or, 
(ii) a term ending at the death of the owner or owners of such 
land. 
The owner shall elect the term to be reserved, except that if the 
owner is a corporation, the term shall not exceed twenty-five years 
from the date of the enactment of this Act. Unless the improved land 
is wholly or partially donated, the Secretary of Agriculture shall pay 
to the owner the fair market value of the improved land on the date of 
its acquisition, less the fair market value on that date of the right 
retained by the owner. For purposes of applying the preceding 
provisions of this subparagraph, ownership shall be determined as of 
the date of acquisition, except that in applying clause (ii) ownership 
shall be determined as of May 1,1980. 
(B) A right retained by the owner pursuant to this paragraph shall 
be subject to termination by the Secretary of Agriculture upon his 
determination that it is being exercised in a manner inconsistent 
with the purposes of this Act, and it shall terminate by operation of 
law upon notification by the Secretary of Agriculture to the holder of 
the right of such determination and tendering to him the amount 
equal to the fair market value of that portion which remains 
unexpired. 
(d) Lands and interests therein may be acquired by the Secretary of 
Agriculture with concurrence of the Tahoe Regional Planning 
Agency in accordance with this section without the consent of the 
owner thereof only where, in his judgment, all reasonable efforts to 
acquire such lands or interests therein by negotiation have failed. 
(e) The fair market value of any land or interest in land to be 
acquired by the Secretary of Agriculture under this section shall be 
determined by an independent appraisal made, where practicable, on 
the basis of comparable sales at the time of such acquisition. For 
purposes of the appraisal of any property to be acquired under this 
section, in determining the comparability of other property sales, the 
independent appraisal shall take into account the utilities, services, 
and facilities associated with the property concerned. Any change 
after the date of the enactment of this Act in the value of any 
property to be acquired under this section shall not be taken into 
account for purposes of determining the fair market value of such 
property to the extent that such change is attributable to the 
enactment of this Act. 
(f) In acquiring any property under this section, the Secretary of 
Agriculture and the owner of the property to be acquired may agree 
that the purchase price will be paid in periodic installments over a 
period that does not exceed ten years, with interest on the unpaid 
principal balance thereof at a rate which is not in excess of the 
current average market yield on outstanding marketable obligations 
of the United States with remaining period of maturity comparable 
to average maturities on the installments. 
(g) There is hereby authorized to be appropriated, for the purposes 
of this Act, from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, $10,000,000 
for the fiscal year 1982, and $20,000,000 for the fiscal year 1983. In 
addition there is hereby authorized to be appropriated for these and 
subsequent fiscal years an amount equal to the amount of revenue 
obtained by the Federal Government from the sale of federally owned 
lands in Clark County, Nevada, after October 1,1978, reduced for any 
fiscal year by the amount appropriated, pursuant to this sentence, in 
the prior fiscal years. Funds appropriated pursuant to this section 
may be expended without regard to any limitations contained in the 
Acquisition 
without owner's 
consent. 
Fair market 
value. 
Purchase price, 
installments. 
Appropriation 
authorization. 
94 STAT. 3386 
PUBLIC LAW 96-586—DEC. 23, 1980 
16 u s e 460/-9. 
Mar-A-Lago 
National 
Historic Site. 
Repeal. 
16 u s e 467a and 
note, 467a-1. 
16 u s e 461 note, 
467a note. 
Marjorie 
Merriweather 
Post Foundation, 
property 
transfer. 
16 u s e 467a 
note. 
D.e. Code 
29-1001. 
Funds, adjust-
ments. 
provisions of 
section 7(a)(1) of 
the Land and Water Conservation Fund 
Act of 1965. Amounts authorized to be appropriated under this 
subsection shall remain available until expended. Authorizations of 
mone3rs to be appropriated under this Act shall be effective October 1, 
1981. Authority to enter into contracts and agreements and to make 
payments under this Act shall be effective only to the extent or in 
such amounts as are provided in advance in appropriation Acts. 
SEC. 4. (aXD Effective upon the conveyance or transfer authorized 
in subsection b, the Act of October 21, 1972, entitled "An Act to 
grovide for the administration of the Mar-A-Lago National Historic 
ite, in Palm Beach, Florida" is repealed. 
(2) The order of designation of the Mar-A-Lago National Historic 
Site, dated January 16, 1969, is repealed and the site described 
therein is hereby designated as the Mar-A-Lago National Historic 
Landmark. 
(b) The Secretary of the Interior shall, within one hundred and 
twenty days of the date of enactment of this Act, take such measures, 
consistent with the terms and conditions of the deed of conveyance 
from Maijorie M. Post to the United States of America, dated 
December 18, 1972, as may be necessary to transfer the property 
described in the order of designation of the Mar-A-Lago National 
Historic Site to the Majorie Merriweather Post Foundation of the 
District of Columbia (a charitable foundation organized under the 
District of 
Columbia Nonprofit Corporation Act). 
(c) The Secretary is authorized upon conveyance, to make appropri-
ate adjustments in the funds available for the administration and 
management of the property, including but not limited to, return of 
unobligated donated funds to the trustees of the Marjorie 
Merriweather Post Foundation of the District of Columbia, and 
reprogram existing appropriations to related functions and activities 
of 
the National Park Service. 
Approved December 23, 1980. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY: 
HOUSE REPORT No. 96-1023 (eomm. on Interior and Insular Affairs). 
SENATE REPORT No. 96-1026 (eomm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 126 (1980): 
Sept. 8, considered and passed House. 
Dec. 4, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
Dec. 5, House concurred in Senate amendments.