[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1308 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1308

To withdraw and reserve certain public lands in the State of California 
     utilized in the mission of the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, 
                              California.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 23, 1995

  Mr. Hunter introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on National 
Security, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To withdraw and reserve certain public lands in the State of California 
     utilized in the mission of the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, 
                              California.

    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 ``El Centro Naval 
Air Facility Ranges 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. Findings and definitions.
Sec. 3. Withdrawal and reservation of lands for El Centro.
Sec. 4. Maps and legal descriptions.
Sec. 5. Management of withdrawn lands.
Sec. 6. Duration of withdrawal and reservation; process for extension.
Sec. 7. Ongoing decontamination.
Sec. 8. Early relinquishment of withdrawal.
Sec. 9. Delegation.
Sec. 10. Hunting, fishing, and trapping.
Sec. 11. Immunity of United States.
Sec. 12. Termination of prior reclamation withdrawals.
Sec. 13. Authorization of appropriations.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) the Federal lands within the desert areas of California 
        have provided essential opportunities for military training, 
        research, and development for the Armed Forces of the United 
        States and allied nations;
            (2) alternative sites for military training and other 
        military activities carried out on Federal lands in the 
        California desert area are not readily available;
            (3) while changing world conditions have lessened to some 
        extent the immediacy of military threats to the national 
        security of the United States and its allies, there remains a 
        need for military training, research, and development 
        activities of the types that have been carried out on Federal 
        lands in the California desert area; and
            (4) continuation of existing military training, research, 
        and development activities, under appropriate terms and 
        conditions, is not incompatible with the protection and proper 
        management of the natural, environmental, cultural, and other 
        resources and values of the Federal lands in the California 
        desert area.
    (b) Definitions.--For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``El Centro'' means the Naval Air Facility, El 
        Centro, California.
            (2) The term ``cooperative agreement'' means the 
        cooperative agreement entered into between the Bureau of Land 
        Management, Bureau of Reclamation, and the Department of the 
        Navy, dated June 29, 1987, with regard to the defense-related 
        uses of Federal lands to further the mission of El Centro.
            (3) The term ``relinquishment notice'' means a notice of 
        intention by the Secretary of the Navy under section 8(a) to 
        relinquish, before the termination date specified in section 
        6(a), the withdrawal and reservation of certain lands withdrawn 
        under this Act.

SEC. 3. WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION OF LANDS FOR EL CENTRO.

    (a) Withdrawals.--Subject to valid existing rights, and except as 
otherwise provided in this Act, the Federal lands utilized in the 
mission of the Naval Air Facility, El Centro, California, that are 
described in subsection (c) are hereby withdrawn from all forms of 
appropriation under the public land laws (including the mining laws) 
but not the mineral or geothermal leasing laws or the mineral materials 
sales laws.
    (b) Reservation.--The lands withdrawn under subsection (a) are 
reserved for use by the Secretary of the Navy--
            (1) for defense-related purposes in accordance with the 
        Memorandum of Understanding dated June 29, 1987, between the 
        Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the 
        Department of the Navy; and
            (2) subject to the provisions of section 5(e), for other 
        defense-related purposes consistent with the purposes specified 
        in such memorandum.
    (c) Description of Withdrawn Lands.--The lands referred to in 
subsection (a) are--
            (1) the Federal lands comprising approximately 46,600 acres 
        in Imperial County, California, as generally depicted on a map 
        entitled ``Exhibit A, Naval Air Facility, El Centro, 
        California, Land Acquisition Map, Range 2510 (West Mesa)'' and 
        dated March 1993 and a map entitled ``Exhibit B, Naval Air 
        Facility, El Centro, California, Land Acquisition Map Range 
        2512 (East Mesa)'' and dated March 1993; and
            (2) and all other areas within the boundaries depicted on 
        such maps that may become subject to the operation of the 
        public land laws.

SEC. 4. MAPS AND LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.

    (a) Publication and Filing Requirements.--As soon as practicable 
after the date of the 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 under 
        this Act; and
            (2) file maps and the legal description of the lands 
        withdrawn and reserved under this Act with the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and with the 
        Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives.
    (b) Legal Effect.--The maps and legal descriptions prepared under 
subsection (a) 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) Availability for Public Inspection.--Copies of the maps and 
legal descriptions prepared under subsection (a) shall be available for 
public inspection in--
            (1) the Office of the Director of the Bureau of Land 
        Management, Washington, District of Columbia;
            (2) the Office of the State Director, California State 
        Office of the Bureau of Land Management, Sacramento, 
        California;
            (3) the Office of the District Manager, California Desert 
        District of the Bureau of Land Management, Riverside, 
        California;
            (4) the Office of the Commanding Officer, Marine Corps Air 
        Station, Yuma, Arizona;
            (5) and the Office of the Commending Officer, El Centro.
    (d) Reimbursement.--The Secretary of Navy shall reimburse the 
Secretary of the Interior for the cost of implementing this section.

SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF WITHDRAWN LANDS.

    (a) Management by the Secretary of the Interior.--During the period 
of the withdrawal, the Secretary of the Interior shall manage the lands 
withdrawn under this Act pursuant to the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and other applicable 
law, including this Act. The Secretary of the Interior shall manage 
such lands in consultation with the Secretary of the Navy.
    (b) Permitted Management Activities.--To the extent consistent with 
applicable law and Executive orders and the cooperative agreement, the 
lands withdrawn under this Act may be managed in a manner permitting--
            (1) protection of wildlife and wildlife habitat;
            (2) control of predatory and other animals;
            (3) the prevention and appropriate suppression of brush and 
        range fires resulting from nonmilitary activities; and
            (4) geothermal leasing and development and related power 
        production, mineral leasing and development, and mineral 
        material sales.
    (c) Conditions on Nonmilitary Uses.--
            (1) Conditions and restrictions.--All nonmilitary use of 
        the lands withdrawn under this Act, including the uses 
        described in subsection (b), shall be subject to such 
        conditions and restrictions as may be necessary to permit the 
        military use of such lands for the purposes specified in or 
        authorized pursuant to this Act.
            (2) Concurrence of navy.--The Secretary of the Interior may 
        issue a lease, easement, right-of-way, or other authorization 
        with respect to the nonmilitary use of such lands only with the 
        concurrence of the Secretary of the Navy and under the terms of 
        the cooperative agreement.
    (d) Closure to Public.--If the Secretary of the Navy determines 
that military operations, public safety, or national security require 
the closure to public use of any road, trail, or other portion of the 
lands withdrawn under this Act, the Secretary may take such action as 
the Secretary determines necessary or desirable to effect and maintain 
such closure. Any such closure shall be limited to the minimum areas 
and periods which the Secretary of the Navy determines are required to 
carry out this subsection. Before and during any closure under this 
subsection, the Secretary of the Navy shall keep appropriate warning 
notices posted and take appropriate steps to notify the public 
concerning such closures.
    (e) Additional Military Uses.--Lands withdrawn under this Act may 
be used for defense-related uses other than those specified in the 
memorandum of understanding referred to in section 3(b)(1). The 
Secretary of the Navy shall promptly notify the Secretary of the 
Interior in the event that the lands withdrawn under this Act will be 
used for additional defense-related purposes. Such notification shall 
indicate the additional use or uses involved, the proposed duration of 
such uses, and the extent to which such additional military uses of the 
withdrawn lands will require that additional or more stringent 
conditions or restrictions be imposed on otherwise-permitted 
nonmilitary uses of all or any portion of the withdrawn land.
    (f) Cooperative Agreement.--To the extent consistent with this Act, 
the lands withdrawn under this Act, and minerals within such lands, 
shall be managed in accordance with the cooperative agreement. As soon 
as practicable after the enactment of this Act, the parties to the 
cooperative agreement shall revise and amend the cooperative agreement 
as necessary to implement the provisions of this Act. The term of the 
cooperative agreement shall be amended so that its duration is at least 
equal to the duration of the withdrawal made by section 6(a). The 
cooperative agreement may be reviewed and amended by the managing 
agencies as necessary.

SEC. 6. DURATION OF WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION; PROCESS FOR EXTENSION.

    (a) Termination Date.--The withdrawal and reservation established 
under this Act shall terminate 25 years after the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
    (b) Determination of Continuing Military Need.--At least three 
years before the termination date specified in subsection (a), the 
Secretary of the Navy shall advise the Secretary of the Interior as to 
whether or not the Secretary of the Navy will have a continuing 
military need for any of the lands withdrawn under this Act after the 
termination date.
    (c) Process for Extension of Withdrawal and Reservation.--
            (1) Application for extension.--If the Secretary of the 
        Navy concludes under subsection (b) that there will be a 
        continuing military need for any of the lands withdrawn under 
        this Act after the termination date, the Secretary shall file 
        an application for extension of the withdrawal and reservation 
        of such needed lands in accordance with the regulations and 
        procedures of the Department of the Interior applicable to the 
        extension of withdrawals of lands for military uses.
            (2) Environmental impact statement.--In connection with the 
        application under paragraph (1), the Secretary of the Navy 
        shall publish an environmental impact statement concerning 
        continued or renewed withdrawal of any portion of the lands 
        withdrawn under this Act for which that Secretary intends to 
        seek such continued or renewed withdrawal. Such environmental 
        impact statement shall be consistent with the requirements of 
        the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 
        et seq.). Prior to the termination date specified in subsection 
        (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall hold a public hearing on 
        any draft environmental impact statement published pursuant to 
        this subsection. Such hearing shall be held in the State of 
        California in order to receive public comments on the 
        alternatives and other matters included in such draft 
        environmental impact statement.
            (3) Extensions or renewals by law.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraph (1), the withdrawal and reservation made under this 
        Act may not be extended or renewed except by a law enacted by 
        Congress after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 7. ONGOING DECONTAMINATION.

    (a) Program.--Throughout the duration of the withdrawal and 
reservation made under this Act, the Secretary of the Navy, to the 
extent funds are made available, shall maintain a program of 
decontamination of the lands withdrawn under this Act at least at the 
level of decontamination activities performed on such lands in fiscal 
year 1986.
    (b) Reports.--At the same time as the President transmits to the 
Congress the President's proposed budget for the first fiscal year 
beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act and for each 
subsequent fiscal year, the Secretary of the Navy shall transmit to the 
Committees on Appropriations, Armed Services, and Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate and to the Committees on Appropriations, 
National Security, and Resources of the House of Representatives a 
description of the decontamination efforts undertaken during the 
previous fiscal year on such lands and the decontamination activities 
proposed for such lands during the next fiscal year, including--
            (1) the amounts appropriated and obligated or expended for 
        decontamination of such lands;
            (2) the methods used to decontaminate such lands;
            (3) amount and types of contaminants removed from such 
        lands;
            (4) estimated types and amounts of residual contamination 
        on such lands;
            (5) an estimate of the costs for full decontamination of 
        such lands; and
            (6) an estimate of the time required to complete such 
        decontamination.

SEC. 8. EARLY RELINQUISHMENT OF WITHDRAWAL.

    (a) Filing of Relinquishment Notice.--If, during the period of 
withdrawal and reservation specified in section 6(a), the Secretary of 
the Navy decides to relinquish all or any portion of the lands 
withdrawn and reserved under this Act, the Secretary of the Navy shall 
file a notice of intention to relinquish with the Secretary of the 
Interior.
    (b) Determination of Presence of Contamination.--Before 
transmitting a relinquishment notice, the Secretary of the Navy shall 
prepare a written determination concerning whether and to what extent 
the lands that are to be relinquished are contaminated with explosive, 
toxic, or other hazardous materials. A copy of such determination shall 
be transmitted with the relinquishment notice. The Secretary of the 
Interior shall publish in the Federal Register copies of both the 
relinquishment notice and the determination concerning the contaminated 
state of the lands.
    (c) Decontamination.--In the case of contaminated lands which are 
the subject of a relinquishment notice, the Secretary of the Navy shall 
decontaminate the land to the extent that funds are appropriated for 
such purpose if the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 
Secretary of the Navy, determines that--
            (1) decontamination of the lands is practicable and 
        economically feasible, taking into consideration the potential 
        future use and value of the land; and
            (2) upon decontamination, the land could be opened to the 
        operation of some or all of the public land laws, including the 
        mining laws.
    (d) Effect on Other Laws.--Nothing in this Act shall affect, or be 
construed to affect, the obligations of the Secretary of the Navy, if 
any, to decontaminate lands withdrawn under this Act pursuant to 
applicable law, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response 
Compensation and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) and the 
Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
    (e) Authority of Secretary of the Interior to Refuse Contaminated 
Lands.--The Secretary of the Interior shall not be required to accept 
lands specified in a relinquishment notice if the Secretary of the 
Interior, after consultation with the Secretary of the Navy, concludes 
that--
            (1) decontamination of any land which is the subject of the 
        relinquishment notice is not practicable or economically 
        feasible;
            (2) the land cannot be decontaminated sufficiently to be 
        opened to operation of some or all of the public land laws; or
            (3) a sufficient amount of funds are not appropriated for 
        the decontamination of the land.
    (f) Status of Contaminated Lands.--If the Secretary of the Interior 
declines under subsection (e) to accept jurisdiction of lands proposed 
for relinquishment or, if at the expiration of the withdrawal made 
under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior determines that some of 
the lands withdrawn under this Act are contaminated to an extent which 
prevents opening such contaminated lands to operation of the public 
land laws--
            (1) the Secretary of the Navy shall take appropriate steps 
        to warn the public of the contaminated state of such lands and 
        any risks associated with entry onto such lands;
            (2) after the expiration of the withdrawal, the Secretary 
        of the Navy shall undertake no activities on such lands except 
        in connection with decontamination of such lands; and
            (3) the Secretary of the Navy shall report to the Secretary 
        of the Interior and to the Congress concerning the status of 
        such lands and all actions taken under paragraphs (1) and (2).
    (g) Revocation Authority.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
law, upon deciding that it is in the public interest to accept 
jurisdiction over lands specified in a relinquishment notice, the 
Secretary of the Interior may revoke the withdrawal and reservation 
made under this Act as it applies to such lands. Should the decision be 
made to revoke the withdrawal and reservation, the Secretary of the 
Interior 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 some or all of the public land laws, including 
        the mining laws.

SEC. 9. DELEGATION.

    (a) Department of the Navy.--The functions of the Secretary of the 
Navy under this Act may be delegated.
    (b) Department of Interior.--The functions of the Secretary of the 
Interior under this Act may be delegated, except that an order 
described in section 8(g) 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. HUNTING, FISHING, AND TRAPPING.

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

SEC. 11. IMMUNITY OF UNITED STATES.

    The United States and all departments or agencies of the United 
States shall be held harmless and shall not be liable for any injury or 
damage to persons or property suffered in the course of any authorized 
nonmilitary activity conducted on lands withdrawn under this Act.

SEC. 12. TERMINATION OF PRIOR RECLAMATION WITHDRAWALS.

    Except to the extent that existing Bureau of Reclamation 
withdrawals of public lands were identified for continuation in Federal 
Register Notice Document 92-4838 (57 Federal Register 7599, March 3, 
1992), as amended by Federal Register Correction Notices (57 Federal 
Register 19135, May 4, 1992; 57 Federal Register 19163, May 4, 1992; 
and 58 Federal Register 30181, May 26, 1993), all existing Bureau of 
Reclamation withdrawals made by Secretarial Orders and Public Land 
Orders affecting public lands and Indian lands located within the 
California Desert Conservation Area established pursuant to section 601 
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1781) 
are hereby terminated.

SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be 
necessary to carry out this Act.
                                 <all>
HR 1308 IH----2