Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993
PL 103-253 (H.R.1134), enacted 05/19/1994

108 STAT. 674 
PUBLIC LAW 103-253—MAY 19, 1994 
Public Law 103-253 
103d Congress 
An Act 
May 19, 1994 
[H.R. 1134] 
Clear Creek 
County, 
Colorado, Public 
Lands Transfer 
Act of 1993. 
To provide for the transfer of certain public lands located in Clear Creek County, 
Colorado, to the Forest Service, the State of Colorado, and certain local govern-
ments in the State of Colorado, 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. 
This Act may be cited as the "Clear Creek County, Colorado, 
Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993". 
SEC. 
2. 
TRANSFER 
OF 
PUBLIC 
LANDS. 
The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this Act referred 
to as the "Secretary") shall transfer in accordance with this Act 
the approximately 14,000 acres of public lands generally depicted 
on a map entitled "Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands 
Transfer—Proposed", and dated May 1993, to the Secretary of Agri-
culture, the State of Colorado, and certain political subdivisions 
of the State of Colorado, as indicated in sections 3, 4, and 5. 
Conveyances made pursuant to this Act shall be made without 
conducting new surveys. 
SEC. 3. LAND TRANSFER TO FOREST SERVICE. 
(a) TRANSFER.—Subject to valid existing rights, administrative 
jurisdiction to the approximately 3,400 acres of the public lands 
described as "Part I Lands" on the map referred to in section 
2 is hereby transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture. Such lands 
are added to and shall be administered as part of the Arapaho 
National Forest in accordance with the laws and regulations 
pertaining to the National Forest System and the Arapaho National 
Forest. 
(b) ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.—(1) The boundaries of the 
Arapaho National Forest are hereby modified as shown on the 
map referred to in section 2. For the purpose of section 7 of the 
Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 (78 Stat. 903, 
as amended; 16 U.S.C. 4601-9) the boundaries of the Arapaho 
National Forest as modified by this section shall be treated as 
if they were the boundaries of such forest on January 1, 1965. 
(2) Nothing in this section shall affect valid existing rights, 
or interests in existing land use authorizations, except that any 
such right or authorization shall be administered by the Forest 
Service in accordance with this section and other applicable laws. 
Reissuance of any such authorization shall be in accordance with 
laws applicable to the National Forest System and regulations 
of the Secretary of Agriculture, except that the change in adminis-
PUBLIC LAW 103-253—MAY 19, 1994 
108 STAT. 675 
trative jurisdiction shall not constitute in itself a ground to deny 
renewal or reissuance of any such authorization. 
SEC. 4. LAND TRANSFERS TO STATE OF COLORADO AND TO CLEAR 
CREEK COUNTY AND TOWNS OF SILVER PLUME AND 
GEORGETOWN, COLORADO. 
(a) TRANSFER.—Subject to section 6 and valid existing rights, 
the Secretary shall transfer, without consideration, all right, title, 
and interest, both surface and subsurface, of the United States 
in and to the approximately 3,200 acres of public lands described 
as "Part II Lands" on the map referred to in section 2, excluding 
any such lands within the corporate boundaries of the towns of 
Georgetown or Silver Plume, Colorado, as of January 1, 1993, 
as follows: 
(1) Approximately 600 acres of such lands to the town 
of Silver Plume, Colorado, as so indicated on such map. 
(2) Approximately 800 acres of such lands to the town 
of Georgetown, Colorado, as so indicated on such map. 
(3) Approximately 600 acres of such lands to the County 
of Clear Creek, Colorado, as so indicated on such map. 
(4) Approximately 1,200 acres of such lands to the State 
of Colorado, as so indicated on such map. 
(b) MANAGEMENT AND REVERSION.— 
(1) The lands transferred under this section shall be man-
aged in accordance with the cooperative management agree-
ment among the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Colorado 
State Historical Society, the town of Silver Plume, the town 
of Georgetown, and the County of Clear Creek, which is dated 
January 1989; the stipulations related to the preservation of 
artifacts contained in the Bureau of Land Management's cul-
tural resource survey pertaining to such lands; and the terms 
of the applications filed with the Secretary for the disposal 
of such lands under the Act of June 14, 1926 (43 U.S.C. 869 
et seq.; hereafter in this Act referred to as the "Recreation 
and Public Purposes Act"), except that other uses of the lands 
may be made with the approval of the Secretary. 
(2)(A) Title to lands conveyed by the Secretary under this 
section may not be transferred by the grantee or its successor 
except, with the consent of the Secretary, to a transferee which 
would be a qualified grantee under section 2 (a) or (c) of 
the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869-1 (a), 
(c)). 
(B) The provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection shall 
apply if at any time after such conveyance— 
(i) the grantee or its successor attempts to transfer 
to any other party title to or control over any portion 
of the lands conveyed to such grantee under this section, 
except as provided in subparagraph (A), or 
(ii) such lands or any portion thereof are devoted to 
a use inconsistent with this subsection. 
(3) In case of occurrence of an event described in paragraph 
(2)(B) of this subsection, the grantee of the relevant lands 
shall be liable to pay to the Secretary of the Interior, on 
behalf of the United States, the fair market value of all lands 
conveyed to such grantee under this section, together with 
any improvements thereon, as of the date of such occurrence. 
All sums paid to the Secretary of the Interior under this para-
graph shall be retained by the Secretary and subject to appro-
108 STAT. 676 
PUBLIC LAW 103-253—MAY 19, 1994 
priation, used for management of the public lands pursuant 
to the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. 
SEC. 
5
. 
LAND 
TRANSFER 
TO 
CLEAR 
CREEK 
COUNTY, 
COLORADO. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), section 6, and valid 
existing rights, the Secretary shall transfer, without consideration, 
all right, title, and interest, both surface and subsurface, of the 
United States in and to the approximately 7,400 acres of public 
lands described as "Parts III Lands" on the map referred to in 
section 2, along with any public lands on that map within the 
corporate boundaries of the towns of Greorgetown or Silver Plume, 
Colorado as of January 1, 1993 to Clear Creek County, Colorado 
(hereinafter in this section referred to as the "County"). 
(b) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—^The lands referred to in sub-
section (a) may not be transferred to the County until— 
(1) it is shown to the satisfaction of the Secretary that 
the county has adopted comprehensive land use plans and 
zoning regulations applicable to the area in which the lands 
are located; 
(2) the Secretary finds that such plans and regulations 
are consistent with proper management of any adjacent lands 
owned by the United States; and 
(3)(A) the Secretary and the County have reached an 
agreement— 
(i) concerning the steps, including but not limited to 
the use of appraisals (and the methodology thereof) and 
the use of competitive bids or other sales methods, that 
the County will take to ensure that so far as possible 
any sales of the lands by the County will be for fair market 
value; and 
(ii) under which the County will provide the Secretary 
with an annual accounting of all receipts and expenditures 
with regard to such lands after their transfer to the County, 
and that on the date that is 10 years after the date of 
enactment of this Act, or at such earlier date as the County 
may elect, the County will pay to the United States an 
amount the Secretary determines to be equal to the 
County's total net receipts from the sale of some or all 
of such lands; 
and, in addition, 
(B) the Secretary has also agreed that in determining the 
amounts to be paid by the County pursuant to this paragraph, 
the Secretary will allow the County to deduct from the gross 
receipts from the sale of the lands all ordinary and necessary 
costs incurred by the County, including— 
(i) expenses for necessary surveying, mapping, and 
other site characterization, and appraisals; 
(ii) historical preservation and environmental protec-
tion; and 
(iii) reasonable overhead, including staffing 
and 
administrative costs. 
(c) UNSOLD LANDS.—(1) The County may transfer some or 
all of the lands referred to in subsection (a) to an entity that 
would be a qualified grantee under section 2(a) or 2(c) of the 
Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869-1 (a), (c)). Any 
lands so transferred shall be held by the recipient thereof under 
the same terms and conditions as if transferred by the United 
PUBLIC LAW 103-253—MAY 19, 1994 
108 STAT. 677 
States under such Act, except that such terms and conditions shall 
also apply to the mineral estate in such lands. 
(2) Any of the lands referred to in subsection (a) which remain 
in County ownership on the date 10 years after the date of enact-
ment of this Act, or regarding which the County has prior to 
such date notified the Secretary that the County intends to retain 
ownership, shall be retained by the County under the same terms 
and conditions as if transferred to the County on such date or 
on the date of such notification (whichever first occurs) by the 
United States under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, except 
that such terms and conditions shall also apply to the mineral 
estate in such lands. 
SEC. 6. MINERALS. 
(a) WITHDRAWAL FROM MINERAL ENTRY.—Subject to valid exist-
ing rights, the public lands referred to in sections 4 and 5 are 
hereby withdrawn from all forms of entry under the general mining 
laws and mineral leasing laws of the United States and shall 
not be— 
(1) open to the location of mining and mill site claims 
under the general mining laws of the United States; 
(2) subject to any lease under the Mineral Leasing Act 
(30 U.S.C. 181 and following) or the Geothermal Steam Act 
of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 100 and following); or 
(3) available for disposal of mineral materials under the 
Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as the Materials Act 
of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 and following). 
(b) LIMITATION ON PATENT ISSUANCE.—Subject to valid existing 
rights, no patent shall be issued after the date of enactment of 
this Act for any mining or mill site claim located under the gen-
eral mining laws within the public lands referred to in sections 
4 and 5. 
SEC. 7. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS. 
(a) INSPECTIONS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
neither the Secretary nor any other officer or agent of the United 
States shall be required to inspect any of the public lands described 
in this Act or to inform Clear Creek County or any member of 
the public regarding the condition of such lands with regard to 
the presence or absence of any hazardous substances or otherwise. 
(b) LIABILITY.—^Notwithstanding any other provision of law, 
the United States shall have no responsibility or liability with 
respect to any hazardous wastes or other substances placed on 
any of the lands covered by this Act after their transfer to the 
ownership of another party, but nothing in this Act shall be con-
strued as either diminishing or increasing any responsibility or 
liability of the United States based on the condition of such lands 
on the date of their transfer to the ownership of another party. 
108 STAT. 678 
PUBLIC LAW 103-253—MAY 19, 1994 
(c) ACCOUNTING.—For purposes of the distribution of receipts, 
any funds paid to the United States by the County pursuant to 
an agreement described in section 5(b)(3) shall be deemed to be 
receipts from the sale of public lands, but shall be specifically 
accounted for in documents submitted to justify proposed appropria-
tions for the Bureau of Land Management. 
Approved May 19, 1994. 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY—H.R. 1134: 
HOUSE REPORTS: No. 103-141 (Comm. on Natural Resources). 
SENATE REPORTS: No. 103-228 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources). 
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD: 
Vol. 139 (1993): June 21, considered and passed House. 
Vol. 140 (1994): Apr. 12, considered and passed Senate, amended. 
May 10, House concurred in Senate amendments.