Date: 1984-06-25
Speaker: DE LA GARZA (democrat)
Chamber: H

Mr. Speaker. I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker. I rise in support of H.R. 5183. The bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a 52acre parcel of nalional forest land to Craig County. VA. The conveyance would be made when Craig County pays the United States the fair market value of the land. The purpose of the bill can be very concisely stated. The county needs the land for governmental purposes. The Forest Service does not need the land. In fact. it has found the tract to be difficult to manage and uneconomical for national forest purposes. Thus. sale of the land to the county accommodates the needs of both the Forest Service and Craig County. VA. The land that would be conveyed under the bill is part of the Jefferson National Forest and was acquired by purchase from private parties in 1936. The county has held a special use permit from the Forest Service since 1973 to use 10.5 acres of the tract as a sanitary landfill. There has been no charge for this use. The county seeks to acquire the 52 acres to expand the sanitary landfill for possible use as a disoosal site for sludge from a sewage June.JS. 1984 11(67765 June 25. 1.984 CO treatment plant the county plans to construct with a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency. This tract is isolated from other National Forest System lands. It is surrounded on all sides by private land. Because of these factors and its relatively small size. the tract is not a manageable unit for th1e U.S. Forest Service. Further. the Department of Agriculture has reported that this property contains no deposits of valuable minerals. There has been an application for an oil and gas lease on the tract. The application is being held without action pending completion of the proposed sale. Such leases are common in the area. but are ordinarily for speculation only because the potential for oil and gas development is low. There are no coal deposits on the property. Craig County has been using a portion of this parcel for landfill purposes under a permit from the U.S. Forest Service. The county desires to expand the landfill. Alternative sites In the area are difficult to locate. at least in part because most of the land in the county Is owned by the United States. The county has easements that provide access to this site so long as it is used for landfill purposes. H.R. 5183. as amended by the committee. would provide that once Craig County pays fair market value and the tract is conveyed to it. the county will retain all right. title. and -interest in the property that was previously held by the United States. The committee conclude(d. as recommended by the Department of Agriculture. that no "public purpose" reverter clause should be included in the sale. Customarily. reverters are retained by the United States when conveyances of Federal real property are made to State or local governments. They usually become effective if the property is put to other than public use. However. in this case. the parcel is relatively small in size and has very little mineral potential. Further. the United States will receive fair market value for the land that will take account of whatever mineral potential it has. The committee believes that in these circumst ances. protection of the public interest docs not require the reversion provision. The committees action in pthis matter does not signal any abandonment of the general policy that "public purpose" reverter provisions should be included when conveyances of federally owned real property are made to State or local government units. Mr. Speaker. I ask the Members to join in support of this modest bill that serves the purposes of units of both the Federal and State governments. Mr. Speaker. I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman who represents the area in question. the gentleman from Virginia (Mr. BouCHElI.