An Act to render the assertion of land claims by the United States based upon accretion or avulsion subject to legal and equitable defenses to which private persons asserting such claims would be subject
PL 91-505 (H.R.15405), enacted 10/23/1970

1106 
PUBLIC LAW 91-505-OCT. 23, 1970 
[84 STAT. 
Petrified 
Forest. 
"Wilderness Plan, Craters of the Moon National Monument, 
Idaho", numbered 131-91,000 and dated March 1970, which shall 
be known as the "Craters of the Moon National Wilderness Area"; 
(b) certain lands in the Petrified Forest National Park, which 
comprise about fifty thousand two hundred and sixty acres and 
which are depicted on a map entitled "Kecommended Wilderness, 
Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona", numbered N P - P F -
3320-O and dated November 1967, which shall be known as the 
"Petrified Forest National Wilderness Area". 
Mount Baldy. 
Maps and de-
scriptions, filing 
with congressional 
committees. 
Admini s tration. 
78 Stat. 890. 
16 u s e 1131 
note. 
DESIGNATION OF WILDERNESS AREAS WITHIN NATIONAL, FORESTS 
SEC. 3. In accordance with section 3(b) of the Wilderness Act (78 
Stat. 890; 16 U.S.C. 1132(b)), the following lands are hereby desig-
nated as wilderness: the area classified as the Mount Baldy Primitive 
Area with the proposed additions thereto and deletions therefrom, 
as generally depicted on a map entitled "Proposed Mount Baldy Wil-
derness", dated April 1, 1966, comprising an area of approximately 
seven thousand acres, within and as a part of the Apache National 
Forest, in the State of Arizona. 
SEC. 4. As soon as practicable after this Act takes effect, a map and 
a legal description of each wilderness area shall be filed with the 
Interior and Insular Affairs Committees of the United States Senate 
and the House of Representatives, and such description shall have the 
same force and effect as if included in this Act: Provided^ 
however. 
That correction of clerical and typographical errors in such legal 
description and map may be made. 
SEC. 5. Wilderness areas designated by or pursuant to this Act shall 
be administered in accordance with the provisions of the Wilderness 
Act governing areas designated by that Act as wilderness areas, except 
that any reference in such provisions to the effective date of the Wil-
derness Act shall be deemed to be a reference to the effective date of 
this Act, and any reference to the Secretary of Agriculture shall be 
deemed to be a reference to the Secretary who has administrative 
jurisdiction over the area. 
Approved October 23, 1970. 
October 23, 1970 
[H.R. 15405] 
Public Law 91-505 
AN ACT 
To render the assertion of land claims by the United States based upon accretion 
or avulsion subject to legal and equitable defenses to which private persons 
asserting such claims would be subject. 
Riverside Coun-
ty land tract, 
Calif. 
Equitable set-
tlement between 
U.S. and private 
parties. 
Be it enacted hy the Senate and House of Representatives 
of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled^ That the United 
States shall be subject to all legal and equitable defenses which are 
available against a private party litigant under the laws of the State 
in which the subject real property is located on the date of enactment of 
this Act in any case wherein the United States seeks to establish title 
to land or seeks to obtain relief dependent on ownership of such lands 
and (1) such title or ownership is claimed on the basis of accretion or 
avulsion, (2) the lands to which the United States seeks title or owner-
ship are not necessary to provide riparian frontage to other contiguous 
lands owned by the United States, (3) the facts upon which the United 
84 STAT. ] 
PUBLIC LAW 91-505-OCT. 23, 1970 
1107 
States bases its claim of accretion or avulsion occurred more than forty 
years prior to the effective date of this Act, (4) the defendant has paid 
real property taxes on the disputed lands on the same basis as other 
owners of fee lands within the same taxing jurisdiction, (5) defend-
ants claim title to the disputed lands or lands to which the disputed 
lands are claimed to have accreted by chains of title deriving from a 
conveyance from the State or Federal Government or a political 
agency or subdivision thereof, and (6) a reasonably prudent man would 
have believed that, when he acquired title to the real property in ques-
tion, he had obtained title free of the likelihood of any claim by the 
United States Government, any State, or any private person, but in no 
event shall the provisions of this Act apply to any land other than that 
land situated in Riverside County, California, within three miles of 
any portion of the Colorado River between river points 13.00 and 
13.17, as defined in the interstate compact defining the boundary 
between the States of Arizona and California (80 Stat. 340). 
SEC. 2. For purposes of determining the date of acquisition of title ti^'^date d'^ter"! 
to the real property in question by a private party litigant, his date of mination, 
acquisition of title shall be deemed that of the earliest date when he 
first acquired title to the real property and for purposes of determining 
said acquisition and ownership of stock or real property under this 
Act— 
(A) ownership by any person related by blood or marriage to 
another shall be deemed ownership by the other; 
(B) ownership by an estate or trustee shall be deemed owner-
ship by the decedent or grantor of the trust, respectively; 
(C) ownership by a corporation shall be deemed ownership by 
its transferor or transferors: Prbvided^ That (1) at least 50 per 
centum of the stock of the corporation was owned by all trans-
ferors immediately after the transfer or (2) the corporation 
acquired the real property in question pursuant to a transaction 
where said real property was transferred solely in exchange for 
stock in such corporation and immediately after the transfer all 
corporations and persons transferring any property to the trans-
feree corporation owned at least 80 per centum of the shares of 
the transferee corporation; 
(D) ownership by a corporation shall be deemed ownership as 
tenants in common by each of its shareholders who own at least 
10 per centum of the outstanding stock of the corporation; and 
(E) property or stock acquired or held by tenants in common, 
joint tenants or persons associated together in business shall be 
deemed to be and have been entirely owned by either party so long 
as owned by any or all of them. 
SEC. 3. The application of the attribution rules once shall not pre-
clude any number of subsequent applications of the attribution rules 
set forth in section 2 of this Act. 
SEC. 4. The provisions of this Act shall apply in any case with respect 
Applicability,. 
to which an action has been brought by the United States before the 
date of the enactment of this Act, only if such action has not been con-
cluded by a final determination by the trial court or by such appellate 
courts as may review the action of the trial court in those actions 
wherein review by such courts is or has been timely sought. 
Approved October 23, 1970.