[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 194 Engrossed in House (EH)]

103d CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               H. R. 194

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

 To withdraw and reserve certain public lands and minerals within the 
      State of Colorado for military uses, and for other purposes.






103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 194

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
 To withdraw and reserve certain public lands and minerals within the 
      State of Colorado for military uses, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Fort Carson-Pinon 
Canyon Military Lands Withdrawal Act''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Withdrawal and reservation of lands at Fort Carson Military 
                            Reservation.
Sec. 3. Withdrawal and reservation of lands at Pinon Canyon Maneuver 
                            Site.
Sec. 4. Maps and legal descriptions.
Sec. 5. Management of withdrawn lands.
Sec. 6. Management of withdrawn and acquired mineral resources.
Sec. 7. Hunting, fishing, and trapping.
Sec. 8. Termination of withdrawal and reservation and effect of 
                            contamination.
Sec. 9. Delegation.
Sec. 10. Hold harmless.
Sec. 11. Amendment to military lands withdrawal act of 1986.
Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT FORT CARSON MILITARY 
              RESERVATION.

    (a) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights and except as 
otherwise provided in this Act, the lands at the Fort Carson Military 
Reservation that are described in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn 
from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including 
the mining laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws.
    (b) Reservation.--The lands withdrawn under subsection (a) are 
reserved for use by the Secretary of the Army--
            (1) for military maneuvering, training and weapons firing; 
        and
            (2) for other defense related purposes consistent with the 
        uses specified in paragraph (1).
    (c) Land Description.--The lands referred to in subsection (a) 
comprise 3,133.02 acres of public land and 11,415.16 acres of 
federally-owned minerals in El Paso, Pueblo, and Fremont Counties, 
Colorado, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Fort Carson 
Proposed Withdrawal--Fort Carson Base'', dated February 1992, and filed 
in accordance with section 4.

SEC. 3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS AT PINON CANYON MANEUVER 
              SITE.

    (a) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights and except as 
otherwise provided in this Act, the lands at the Pinon Canyon Maneuver 
Site that are described in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all 
forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining 
laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws.
    (b) Reservation.--The lands withdrawn under subsection (a) are 
reserved for use by the Secretary of the Army--
            (1) for military maneuvering and training; and
            (2) for other defense related purposes consistent with the 
        uses specified in paragraph (1).
    (c) Land Description.--The lands referred to in subsection (a) 
comprise 2,517.12 acres of public lands and 130,139 acres of federally-
owned minerals in Las Animas County, Colorado, as generally depicted on 
the map entitled ``Fort Carson Proposed Withdrawal--Fort Carson 
Maneuver Area--Pinon Canyon site'', dated February 1992, and filed in 
accordance with section 4.

SEC. 4. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

    (a) Preparation.--As soon as practicable after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall--
            (1) publish in the Federal Register a notice containing the 
        legal description of the lands withdrawn and reserved by this 
        Act; and
            (2) file maps and a legal description of the lands 
        withdrawn and reserved by this Act with the Committee on Energy 
        and Natural Resources of the Senate and with the Committee on 
        Interior and Insular Affairs of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Legal Effect.--Such maps and legal descriptions shall have the 
same force and effect as if they were included in this Act, except that 
the Secretary of the Interior may correct clerical and typographical 
errors in such maps and legal descriptions.
    (c) Location of Copies.--Copies of such maps and legal descriptions 
shall be available for public inspection in the offices of the Colorado 
State Director and the Canon City District Manager of the Bureau of 
Land Management, and the Commander, Fort Carson, Colorado.
    (d) Costs.--The Secretary of the Army shall reimburse the Secretary 
of the Interior for the costs of implementing this section.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

    (a) Management Guidelines.--(1) Except as provided in section 6, 
during the period of withdrawal, the Secretary of the Army shall manage 
for military purposes the lands covered by this Act and may authorize 
use of the lands by the other military departments and agencies of the 
Department of Defense, and the National Guard, as appropriate.
    (2) When military operations, public safety, or national security, 
as determined by the Secretary of the Army, require the closure of 
roads and trails on the lands withdrawn by this Act commonly in public 
use, the Secretary of the Army is authorized to take such action, 
except that such closures shall be limited to the minimum areas and 
periods required for the purposes specified in this subsection. 
Appropriate warning notices shall be kept posted during closures.
    (3) The Secretary of the Army shall take necessary precautions to 
prevent and suppress brush and range fires occurring within and outside 
the lands as a result of military activities and may seek assistance 
from the Bureau of Land Management in suppressing such fires. The 
memorandum of understanding required by this section shall provide for 
Bureau of Land Management assistance in the suppression of such fires, 
and for a transfer of funds from the Department of the Army to the 
Bureau of Land Management as compensation for such assistance.
    (b) Management Plan.--The Secretary of the Army, with the 
concurrence of the Secretary of the Interior, shall develop a plan for 
the management of acquired lands and lands withdrawn under sections 2 
and 3 for the period of withdrawal. The plan shall--
            (1) be consistent with applicable law;
            (2) include such provisions as may be necessary for proper 
        resource management and protection of the natural, cultural, 
        and other resources and values of such lands;
            (3) identify those withdrawn and acquired lands, if any, 
        which are to be open to mining or mineral and geothermal 
        leasing, including mineral materials disposal; and
            (4) be developed not later than 5 years after the date of 
        enactment of this Act.
    (c) Listing of Lands Suitable for Mining.--On completion of the 
management plan prepared pursuant to subsection (b), the Secretary of 
the Interior shall publish a notice in the Federal Register listing the 
lands determined under such subsection to be suitable for opening to 
mining, and mineral and geothermal leasing, including mineral materials 
disposal, and specifying the opening date.
    (d) Implementation of Management Plan.--(1) The Secretary of the 
Army and the Secretary of the Interior shall enter into a memorandum of 
understanding to implement the management plan described in subsection 
(b).
    (2) The duration of any such memorandum of understanding shall be 
the same as the period of withdrawal under section 8.
    (3) The memorandum of understanding may be amended by agreement of 
both Secretaries.
    (e) Reexamination of Lands for Suitability for Mining.--At least 
every five years after the initial identification of lands suitable for 
opening to mining required by subsection (b)(3), the Secretary of the 
Army and the Secretary of the Interior shall determine those withdrawn 
lands, if any, which the Secretaries consider suitable for opening to 
mining, mineral and geothermal leasing, or mineral material disposal, 
and those acquired lands, if any, which the Secretaries consider 
suitable for opening to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral 
material disposal. The Secretary of the Interior shall publish a notice 
in the Federal Register listing the lands determined suitable for 
opening and specifying the opening date.
    (f) Use of Certain Resources.--The Secretary of the Army is 
authorized to utilize sand, gravel, or similar mineral or mineral 
material resources when the use of such resources is required for 
construction needs of the Fort Carson Reservation or Pinon Canyon 
Maneuver Site.

SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN AND ACQUIRED MINERAL RESOURCES.

    (a) Authority of Secretary of the Interior.--Notwithstanding any 
other provision of law, and except as provided in section 5 of this 
Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall manage all withdrawn and 
acquired mineral resources contained within the boundaries of the Fort 
Carson Reservation and Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.
    (b) Effect of Identification of Lands as Suitable for Mining.--On 
the day specified by the Secretary of the Interior in the notice 
published in the Federal Register pursuant to subsections (c) and (e) 
of section 5, the land identified as suitable for opening to the 
operation of the mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing and the 
mineral material disposal laws shall automatically be open to the 
operation of such laws without the necessity for further action by 
either the Secretary of the Interior or the Congress.
    (c) Exception From Certain Laws.--No deposit of minerals or 
materials of the types identified by section 3 of the Act of July 23, 
1955 (30 U.S.C. 611; 69 Stat. 368), whether or not included in the term 
``common varieties'' in that Act, shall be subject to location under 
the Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly known as the Mining Law of 1872) (30 
U.S.C. 22 et seq.), or any other law providing for the location of 
mining claims, on lands described in sections 2 and 3.
    (d) Regulations.--On lands identified for opening to mining, 
mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral material disposal by section 
5(b)(3), or by subsequent amendments to the management plan described 
in section 5, all minerals contained in those lands shall be subject to 
mining, mineral, and geothermal leasing or mineral material disposal 
under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may 
promulgate pursuant to the terms and conditions of section 12 of the 
Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public Law 99-606; 100 Stat. 
3466).
    (e) Closure of Lands Under Certain Circumstances.--In the event of 
a national emergency or for purposes of national defense or security, 
the Secretary of the Interior, at the request of the Secretary of the 
Army, shall close any lands that have been opened to mining, mineral, 
and geothermal leasing or mineral material disposal pursuant to this 
section.
    (f) Mining Claims.--(1) Except as otherwise provided in this Act, 
mining claims located pursuant to this Act shall be subject to the 
provisions of the Act of May 10, 1872 (commonly known as the Mining Law 
of 1872) (30 U.S.C. 22 et seq.), or to the provisions of other laws 
enacted hereafter (including provisions for payments to the United 
States) that are applicable to similar claims on the public domain.
    (2) All mining claims located under the terms of this Act shall be 
subject to the provisions of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
    (g) Patents for Locatable Minerals.--(1) Patents issued pursuant to 
this Act for locatable minerals shall convey title to the locatable 
minerals only, and shall be issued together with an appropriate 
authorization for use of so much of the surface as may be necessary for 
purposes incident to mineral activities under the guidelines for such 
use established by the Secretary of the Interior by regulation.
    (2) All such patents shall contain a reservation to the United 
States of the surface of all lands patented and of all nonlocatable 
minerals on those lands.
    (3) For the purposes of this Act:
            (A) The term ``locatable minerals'' means any mineral not 
        subject to disposition under any of the following:
                    (i) The Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 
                seq.).
                    (ii) The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 
                1001 et seq.).
                    (iii) The Act of July 31, 1947, commonly known as 
                the Materials Act of 1947 (30 U.S.C. 601 et seq.).
                    (iv) The Mineral Leasing for Acquired Lands Act (30 
                U.S.C. 351 et seq.).
            (B) The term ``mineral activities'' means any activity for, 
        related to, or incidental to mineral exploration, mining, 
        beneficiation, and processing activities for any locatable 
        mineral, including access.

SEC. 7. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

    All hunting, fishing, and trapping on the lands withdrawn and 
reserved by this Act shall be conducted in accordance with section 2671 
of title 10, United States Code.

SEC. 8. TERMINATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION AND EFFECT OF 
              CONTAMINATION.

    (a) Termination Date.--The withdrawal and reservation established 
by this Act shall terminate 15 years after the date of the enactment of 
this Act.
    (b) Determination of Continuing Military Need.--(1) At least three 
years prior to the termination under subsection (a) of the withdrawal 
and reservation established by this Act, the Secretary of the Army 
shall advise the Secretary of the Interior as to whether or not the 
Department of the Army will have a continuing military need for any of 
the lands after the termination date.
    (2) If the Secretary of the Army concludes under paragraph (1) that 
there will be a continuing military need for any of the lands after the 
termination date established by subsection (a), the Secretary of the 
Army, in accordance with applicable law, shall evaluate the 
environmental effects of renewal of such withdrawal and reservation, 
shall hold at least one public hearing in Colorado concerning such 
evaluation, and shall thereafter file an application for extension of 
the withdrawal and reservation of such lands in accordance with the 
regulations and procedures of the Department of the Interior applicable 
to the extension of withdrawals for military uses. The Secretary of the 
Interior shall notify the Congress concerning such filing.
    (3) If the Secretary of the Army concludes under paragraph (1) that 
prior to the termination date established by subsection (a), there will 
be no military need for all or any of the lands withdrawn and reserved 
by this Act, or if, during the period of withdrawal, the Secretary of 
the Army decides to relinquish any or all of the lands withdrawn and 
reserved under this Act, the Secretary of the Army shall file a notice 
of intention to relinquish with the Secretary of the Interior.
    (c) Determination of Contamination.--Prior to the filing of a 
notice of intention to relinquish pursuant to subsection (b)(3), the 
Secretary of the Army shall prepare a written determination as to 
whether and to what extent the lands are contaminated with explosive, 
toxic, or other hazardous materials. A copy of the determination made 
by the Secretary of the Army shall be supplied with the notice of 
intention to relinquish. Copies of both the notice of intention to 
relinquish and the determination concerning the contaminated state of 
the lands shall be published in the Federal Register by the Secretary 
of the Interior.
    (d) Effect of Contamination.--(1) If any land which is the subject 
of a notice of intention to relinquish under subsection (b)(3) is 
contaminated, and the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with 
the Secretary of the Army, determines that decontamination is 
practicable and economically feasible, taking into consideration the 
potential future use and value of the land, and that upon 
decontamination, the land could be opened to the operation of some or 
all of the public land laws, including the mining laws, the Secretary 
of the Army shall decontaminate the land to the extent that funds are 
appropriated for such purpose.
    (2) If the Secretaries of the Army and the Interior conclude either 
that decontamination of any or all of the lands proposed for 
relinquishment is not practicable or economically feasible, or that the 
lands cannot be decontaminated sufficiently to allow them to be opened 
to the operation of the public land laws, or if Congress declines to 
appropriate funds for decontamination of the lands, the Secretary of 
the Interior shall not be required to accept the lands proposed for 
relinquishment.
    (3) If, because of their contaminated state, the Secretary of the 
Interior declines under paragraph (2) to accept jurisdiction of the 
lands proposed for relinquishment, or if at the expiration of the 
withdrawal made by this Act the Secretary of the Interior determines 
that some of the lands withdrawn by this Act are contaminated to an 
extent which prevents opening such contaminated lands to operation of 
the public land laws--
            (A) the Secretary of the Army shall take appropriate steps 
        to warn the public of the contaminated state of such lands and 
        any risks associated with entry onto such lands;
            (B) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the Secretary 
        of the Army shall undertake no activities on such lands except 
        in connection with decontamination of such lands; and
            (C) the Secretary of the Army shall report to the Secretary 
        of the Interior and to the Congress concerning the status of 
        such lands and all actions taken in furtherance of the 
        subsection.
    (4) If the lands are subsequently decontaminated, upon 
certification by the Secretary of the Army that the lands are safe for 
all nonmilitary uses, the Secretary of the Interior shall reconsider 
accepting jurisdiction over the lands.
    (e) Program of Decontamination.--Throughout the duration of the 
withdrawal and reservation made by this Act, the Secretary of the Army, 
to the extent funds are made available, shall maintain a program of 
decontamination of the lands withdrawn by this Act at least at the 
level of effort carried out during fiscal year 1992.
    (f) Acceptance of Lands Proposed for Relinquishment.--
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the 
Interior, upon deciding that it is in the public interest to accept 
jurisdiction over the lands proposed for relinquishment, is authorized 
to revoke the withdrawal and reservation established by this Act as it 
applies to the lands proposed for relinquishment. Should the decision 
be made to revoke the withdrawal and reservation, the Secretary shall 
publish in the Federal Register an appropriate order which shall--
            (1) terminate the withdrawal and reservation;
            (2) constitute official acceptance of full jurisdiction 
        over the lands by the Secretary of the Interior; and
            (3) state the date upon which the lands will be opened to 
        the operation of the public land laws, including the mining 
        laws if appropriate.

SEC. 9. DELEGATION.

    The functions of the Secretary of the Army under this Act may be 
delegated. The functions of the Secretary of the Interior under this 
Act may be delegated, except that the order referred to in section 8(f) 
may be approved and signed only by the Secretary of the Interior, the 
Deputy Secretary of the Interior, or an Assistant Secretary of the 
Department of the Interior.

SEC. 10. HOLD HARMLESS.

    The United States and all departments or agencies thereof shall be 
held harmless and shall not be liable for any injuries or damages to 
persons or property suffered in the course of any mining, mineral 
activity, or geothermal leasing activity conducted on lands comprising 
the Fort Carson Reservation or Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site.

SEC. 11. AMENDMENT TO MILITARY LANDS WITHDRAWAL ACT OF 1986.

    Section 3(f) of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1986 (Public 
Law 99-606; 100 Stat. 3461) is amended by adding at the end a new 
paragraph (2) as follows:
    ``(2) The Secretary of the military department concerned may 
utilize sand, gravel, or similar mineral or material resources when the 
use of such resources is required for construction needs on the 
respective lands withdrawn by this Act.''.

SEC. 12. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are hereby authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act.

            Passed the House of Representatives May 11, 1993.

            Attest:






                                                                 Clerk.

HR 194 EH----2