[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5016 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5016

Entitled ``Gilpin County, Colorado--B.L.M. Land Transfer Act of 1994''.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            August 21, 1994

  Mr. Skaggs introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
Entitled ``Gilpin County, Colorado--B.L.M. Land Transfer Act of 1994''.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) certain scattered parcels of Federal land located 
        within Gilpin County, Colorado, are currently administered by 
        the Secretary of the Interior as part of the Royal Gorge 
        Resource Area, Canon City District, United States Bureau of 
        Land Management;
            (2) these land parcels, comprised of approximately 130 
        separate tracts of land ranging in size from approximately 38 
        acres to much less than an acre, have been identified as 
        suitable for disposal by the Bureau of Land Management through 
        its resource management planning process and are appropriate 
        for disposal; and
            (3) even though these land parcels are scattered and small 
        in size, they nevertheless appear to have a fair market value 
        which may be used by the Federal Government to exchange for 
        lands which will better lend themselves to Federal management 
        and have higher values for future public access, use and 
        enjoyment, recreation, the protection and enhancement of fish 
        and wildlife and fish and wildlife habitat, and the protection 
        of riparian lands, wetlands, scenic beauty and other public 
        values.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to authorize, direct, 
facilitate and expedite the land exchange set forth herein in order to 
further the public interest by disposing of Federal lands with limited 
public utility and acquire in exchange therefor lands with important 
values for permanent public management and protection.

SEC. 2. LAND EXCHANGE.

    (a) In General.--The exchange directed by this Act shall be 
consummated if within 90 days after enactment of this Act Lake Gulch, 
Inc., a Colorado corporation (as defined in section 4 of this Act), 
offers to transfer to the United States pursuant to the provisions of 
this Act the offered lands or interests in land described herein.
    (b) Conveyance by Lake Gulch.--Subject to the provisions of section 
3 of this Act, Lake Gulch shall convey to the Secretary of the Interior 
all right, title, and interest in and to the following offered lands--
            (1) certain lands comprising approximately 40 acres with 
        improvements thereon located in Larimer County, Colorado, and 
        lying within the boundaries of Rocky Mountain National Park as 
        generally depicted on a map entitled ``Circle C Church Camp'', 
        dated August 1994, which shall upon their acquisition by the 
        United States and without further action by the Secretary of 
        the Interior be incorporated into Rocky Mountain National Park 
        and thereafter be administered in accordance with the laws, 
        rules and regulations generally applicable to the National Park 
        System and Rocky Mountain National Park;
            (2) certain lands located along the Arkansas River in Lake 
        County, Colorado, which comprise approximately 517 acres, as 
        generally depicted on a map entitled ``Arkansas River 
        Headwaters Frontage'', dated August 1994; and
            (3) certain lands located within and adjacent to the United 
        States Bureau of Land Management San Luis Resource Area in 
        Conejos County, Colorado, which comprise approximately 3,993 
        acres and are generally depicted on a map entitled ``Quinlan 
        Ranches Tract'', dated August 1994.
    (c) Substitution of Lands.--If one or more of the precise offered 
land parcels identified above is unable to be conveyed to the United 
States due to appraisal or other problems, Lake Gulch and the Secretary 
may mutually agree to substitute therefor alternative offered lands 
acceptable to the Secretary.
    (d) Conveyance by the United States.--(1) Upon receipt of title to 
the lands identified in subsection (a) the Secretary shall 
simultaneously convey to Lake Gulch all right, title, and interest of 
the United States, subject to valid existing rights, in and to the 
following selected lands--
            (A) certain surveyed lands located in Gilpin County, 
        Colorado, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal 
        Meridian, Section 18, Lots 118-220, which comprise 
        approximately 195 acres and are intended to include all 
        federally owned lands in section 18, as generally depicted on a 
        map entitled ``Lake Gulch Selected Lands'', dated July 1994;
            (B) certain surveyed lands located in Gilpin County, 
        Colorado, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, Sixth Principal 
        Meridian, Section 17, Lots 37, 38, 39, 40, 52, 53, and 54, 
        which comprise approximately 96 acres, as generally depicted on 
        a map entitled ``Lake Gulch Selected Lands'', dated July 1994; 
        and
            (C) certain unsurveyed lands located in Gilpin County, 
        Colorado, Township 3 South, Range 73 West, Sixth Principal 
        Meridian, Section 13, which comprise approximately 10 acres, 
        and are generally depicted as parcels 307-326 on a map entitled 
        ``Lake Gulch Selected Lands'', dated July 1994: Provided, 
        however, That a parcel or parcels of land in section 13 shall 
        not be transferred to Lake Gulch if at the time of the proposed 
        transfer the parcel or parcels are under formal application for 
        transfer to a qualified unit of local government. Due to the 
        small and unsurveyed nature of such parcels proposed for 
        transfer to Lake Gulch in section 13, and the high cost of 
        surveying such small parcels, the Secretary is authorized to 
        transfer such section 13 lands to Lake Gulch without survey 
        based on such legal or other description as he determines 
        appropriate to carry out the basic intent of the map cited in 
        this subparagraph.
    (2) If the Secretary and Lake Gulch mutually agree, and the 
Secretary determines it is in the public interest, the Secretary may 
utilize the authority and direction of this Act to transfer to Lake 
Gulch lands in sections 17 and 13 that are in addition to those precise 
selected lands shown on the maps cited in paragraphs (d)(1)(B) and 
(d)(1)(C), and which are not under formal application for transfer to a 
qualified unit of local government, upon transfer to the Secretary of 
additional offered lands acceptable to the Secretary or upon payment to 
the Secretary by Lake Gulch of cash equalization money amounting to the 
full appraised fair market value of any such additional lands. If any 
such additional lands are located in section 13 they may be transferred 
to Lake Gulch without survey based on such legal or other description 
as the Secretary determines appropriate as long as the Secretary 
determines that the boundaries of any adjacent lands not owned by Lake 
Gulch can be properly identified so as to avoid possible future 
boundary conflicts or disputes. If the Secretary determines surveys are 
necessary to convey any such additional lands to Lake Gulch, the costs 
of such surveys shall be paid by Lake Gulch but shall not be eligible 
for any adjustment in the value of such additional lands pursuant to 
section 206(f)(2) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
(as amended by the Federal Land Exchange Facilitation Act of 1988) (43 
U.S.C. 1716(f)(2)).
    (3) Prior to transferring out of public ownership pursuant to this 
Act or other authority of law any lands which are contiguous to North 
Clear Creek southeast of the City of Black Hawk, Colorado, in the 
County of Gilpin, Colorado, the Secretary shall notify and consult with 
the governments of the County and the City and afford such units of 
local government an opportunity to acquire or reserve pursuant to the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 or other applicable law 
such easements or rights-of-way parallel to North Clear Creek as may be 
necessary to serve public utility line or recreation path needs: 
Provided, however, That any survey or other costs associated with the 
acquisition or reservation of such easements or rights-of-way shall be 
paid for by the unit or units of local government concerned.

SEC. 3. TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF EXCHANGE.

    (a) Equalization of Values.--The values of the lands to be 
exchanged pursuant to this Act shall be equal as determined by the 
Secretary of the Interior utilizing nationally recognized appraisal 
standards, including, to the extent appropriate, the Uniform Standards 
for Federal Land Acquisition, the Uniform Standards of Professional 
Appraisal Practice, the provisions of section 206(d) of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)), and other 
applicable law. In the event it is determined that cash equalization 
moneys are owed to the United States in the exchange, any such cash 
equalization moneys shall be retained by the Secretary of the Interior 
and may be utilized by the Secretary until fully expended to purchase 
from willing sellers land or water rights, or a combination thereof, to 
augment wildlife habitat and protect and restore wetlands in the Bureau 
of Land Management's Blanca Wetlands, Alamosa County, Colorado. Any 
water rights acquired by the United States pursuant to this section 
shall be obtained by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with 
all applicable provisions of Colorado law, including the requirement to 
change the time, place, and type of use of said water rights through 
the appropriate State legal proceedings and to comply with any terms, 
conditions, or other provisions contained in an applicable decree of 
the Colorado Water Court. The use of any water rights acquired pursuant 
to this section shall be limited to water than can be used or exchanged 
for water that can be used on the Blanca Wetlands. Any requirement or 
proposal to utilize facilities of the San Luis Valley Project, Closed 
Basin Diversion, in order to effectuate the use of any such water 
rights shall be subject to prior approval of the Rio Grande Water 
Conservation District.
    (b) Restrictions on Selected Lands.--(1) Conveyance of the selected 
lands to Lake Gulch pursuant to this Act shall be contingent upon Lake 
Gulch executing an agreement with the United States prior to such 
conveyance, the terms of which are acceptable to the Secretary of the 
Interior, and which--
            (A) grants the United States a covenant that none of the 
        selected lands (all of which currently lie outside the State of 
        Colorado's current legally approved gaming area) shall ever be 
        used for purposes of gaming should the current legal gaming 
        area ever be expanded by the State of Colorado; and
            (B) permanently holds the United States harmless for 
        liability and indemnify the United States against all costs 
        arising from any activities, operations (including the storing, 
        handling, and dumping of hazardous materials or substances) or 
        other acts conducted by Lake Gulch or its employees, agents, 
        successors or assigns on the selected lands after their 
        transfer to Lake Gulch: Provided, however, That nothing in this 
        Act shall be construed as either diminishing or increasing any 
        responsibility or liability of the United States based on the 
        condition of the selected lands prior to or on the date of 
        their transfer to Lake Gulch.
    (2) Conveyance of the selected lands to Lake Gulch pursuant to this 
Act shall be subject to the existing easement for Gilpin County Road 6.
    (3) The above terms and restrictions of this subsection shall not 
be considered in determining, or result in any diminution in, the fair 
market value of the selected land for purposes of the appraisals of the 
selected land required pursuant to section 3 of this Act.
    (c) Revocation of Withdrawal.--The Public Water Reserve established 
by Executive order dated April 17, 1926 (Public Water Reserve 107), 
Serial Number Colorado 17321, is hereby revoked insofar as it affects 
the NW\1/4\ SW\1/4\ of Section 17, Township 3 South, Range 72 West, 
Sixth Principal Meridian, which covers a portion of the selected lands 
identified in this Act.
    (d) Management of Certain Lands.--Upon their acquisition by the 
United States, the lands referred to in section 2(b)(2) of this Act 
shall be managed by the Secretary of the Interior in accordance with 
the laws, rules, and regulations generally applicable to the public 
lands, and, as appropriate, in accordance with cooperative agreements 
such as the existing Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area Memorandum of 
Understanding, with special emphasis on public fishing and recreational 
access to the Arkansas River, and riparian and wetland habitat 
protection. The acquisition of such lands by the Secretary shall not be 
construed to impose any responsibility or liability on the Secretary 
with respect to hazardous substances which may exist on the lands as of 
the date of their acquisition by the United States. Without precluding 
any future determination by the Secretary or appropriate Federal or 
State authorities that cleanup of any hazardous substances which may be 
found to exist on the property would be appropriate, nothing in this 
Act shall be construed to require the Secretary to undertake any 
hazardous substances cleanup activities or studies.

SEC. 4. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Definitions.--As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the 
        Interior.
            (2) The term ``Lake Gulch'' means Lake Gulch, Inc., a 
        Colorado corporation, or its successors, heirs or assigns.
            (3) The term ``offered land'' means lands to be conveyed to 
        the United States pursuant to this Act.
            (4) The term ``selected land'' means lands to be 
        transferred to Lake Gulch pursuant to this Act.
            (5) The term ``Blanca Wetlands'' means an area of land 
        comprising approximately 9,290 acres, as generally depicted on 
        a map entitled ``Blanca Wetlands'', dated August 1994, and any 
        nearby land which the Secretary may purchase from willing 
        sellers after the date of enactment of this Act utilizing funds 
        provided by this Act or other funds and manage in conjunction 
        with and for the same general purposes as the land depicted on 
        that map.
    (b) Time Requirement for Completing Transfer.--It is the intent of 
Congress that unless the Secretary and Lake Gulch mutually agree 
otherwise the exchange of lands authorized and directed by this Act 
shall be completed not later than 6 months after the date of enactment 
of this Act.
    (c) Administration of Lands Acquired by United States.--In 
accordance with the provisions of section 206(c) of the Federal Land 
Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(c)), all lands 
acquired by the United States pursuant to this Act shall upon 
acceptance of title by the United States and without further action by 
the Secretary concerned become part of and be managed as part of the 
administrative unit or area within which they are located.
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