[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2824 Introduced in House (IH)]


104th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2824

To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of Utah at Snowbasin Ski 
                                 Area.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           December 21, 1995

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To authorize an exchange of lands in the State of Utah at Snowbasin Ski 
                                 Area.

    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 ``Snowbasin Land Exchange Act of 
1995''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND DETERMINATION.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds that--
            (1) in June 1995, Salt Lake City, Utah, was selected to 
        host the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, and the Snowbasin Ski 
        Resort, which is owned by the Sun Valley Company, was 
        identified as the site of six Olympic events: the men's and 
        women's downhills, men's and women's Super-Gs, and men's and 
        women's combined downhills;
            (2) in order to adequately accommodate these events, which 
        are traditionally among the most popular and heavily attended 
        at the Winter Olympic Games, major new skiing, visitor, and 
        support facilities will have to be constructed at the Snowbasin 
        Ski Resort on land currently administered by the United States 
        Forest Service;
            (3) while certain of these new facilities can be 
        accommodated on National Forest land under traditional Forest 
        Service permitting authorities, the base area facilities 
        necessary to host visitors to the ski area and the Winter 
        Olympics are of such a nature that they should logically be 
        located on private land;
            (4) land exchanges have been routinely utilized by the 
        Forest Service to transfer base area lands to many other ski 
        areas, and the Forest Service and the Sun Valley Company have 
        concluded that a land exchange to transfer base area lands at 
        the Snowbasin Ski Resort to the Sun Valley Company is both 
        logical and advisable;
            (5) an environmental impact statement and numerous resource 
        studies have been completed by the Forest Service and the Sun 
        Valley Company for the lands proposed to be transferred to the 
        Sun Valley Company by this Act;
            (6) the Sun Valley Company has assembled lands with 
        outstanding environmental, recreational, and other values to 
        convey to the Forest Service in return for the lands it will 
        receive in the exchange, and the Forest Service has identified 
        such lands as desirable for acquisition by the United States; 
        and
            (7) completion of a land exchange and approval of a 
        development plan for Olympic related facilities at the 
        Snowbasin Ski Resort is essential to ensure that all necessary 
        facilities can be constructed, tested for safety and other 
        purposes, and become fully operational in advance of the 2002 
        Winter Olympics and earlier pre-Olympic events.
    (b) Determination.--The Congress has reviewed the previous analyses 
and studies of the lands to be exchanged and developed pursuant to this 
Act, and has made its own review of these lands and issues involved, 
and on the basis of those reviews hereby finds and determines that a 
legislated land exchange and development plan approval is necessary to 
meet Olympic goals and timetables.

SEC. 3. PURPOSE AND INTENT.

    The purpose of this Act is to authorize and direct the Secretary to 
exchange 1,320 acres of federally-owned land within the Cache National 
Forest in the State of Utah for lands of approximately equal value 
owned by the Sun Valley Company. It is the intent of Congress that this 
exchange be effected without delay within the period specified by 
section 5.

SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act--
            (1) the term ``Sun Valley Company'' means the Sun Valley 
        Company, a division of Sinclair Oil Corporation, a Wyoming 
        Corporation, or its successors or assigns; and
            (2) the term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture.

SEC. 5. EXCHANGE.

    (a) Federal Selected Lands.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 45 days after the final 
        determination of value of the Federal selected lands, the 
        Secretary shall, subject to this Act, transfer all right, 
        title, and interest of the United States in and to the lands 
        referred to in paragraph (2) to the Sun Valley Company.
            (2) Lands described.--The lands referred to in paragraph 
        (1) are certain lands within the Cache National Forest in the 
        State of Utah comprising 1,320 acres, more or less, as 
        generally depicted on the map entitled ``Snowbasin Land 
        Exchange--Proposed'' and dated October 1995.
    (b) Non-Federal Offered Lands.--Upon transfer of the Federal 
selected lands under subsection (a), and in exchange for those lands, 
the Sun Valley Company shall convey to the Secretary all right, title 
and interest of the Sun Valley Company in and to so much of the 
following offered lands which have been previously identified by the 
United States Forest Service as desirable by the United States, or 
which are identified pursuant to paragraph (5), as are of approximate 
equal value to the Federal selected lands:
            (1) Certain lands located within the exterior boundaries of 
        the Cache National Forest in Weber County, Utah, which comprise 
        approximately 640 acres and are generally depicted on a map 
        entitled ``Lightning Ridge Offered Lands'', dated October 1995.
            (2) Certain lands located within the Cache National Forest 
        in Weber County, Utah, which comprise approximately 635 acres 
        and are generally depicted on a map entitled ``Wheeler Creek 
        Watershed Offered Lands-Section 21'', dated October 1995.
            (3) Certain lands located within the exterior boundaries of 
        the Cache National Forest in Weber County, Utah, and lying 
        immediately adjacent to the outskirts of the City of Ogden, 
        Utah, which comprise approximately 800 acres and are generally 
        depicted on a map entitled ``Taylor Canyon Offered Lands'', 
        dated October 1995.
            (4) Certain lands located within the exterior boundaries of 
        the Cache National Forest in Weber County, Utah, which comprise 
        approximately 2,040 acres and are generally depicted on a map 
        entitled ``North Fork Ogden River-Devil's Gate Valley'', dated 
        October 1995.
            (5) Such additional offered lands as may be necessary to 
        make the values of the lands exchanged pursuant to this Act 
        approximately equal, and which are acceptable to the Secretary.
    (c) Substitution of Offered Lands.--If one or more of the precise 
offered land parcels identified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of 
subsection (b) is unable to be conveyed to the United States due to 
appraisal or other reasons, or if the Secretary and the Sun Valley 
Company mutually agree and the Secretary determines that an alternative 
offered land package would better serve long term public needs and 
objectives, the Sun Valley Company may convey to the United States 
alternative offered lands acceptable to the Secretary in lieu of any or 
all of the lands identified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of subsection 
(b).
    (d) Valuation and Appraisals.--
            (1) Values of the lands to be exchanged pursuant to this 
        Act shall be equal as determined by the Secretary utilizing 
        nationally recognized appraisal standards. If due to size, 
        location, or use of lands exchanged under this Act, the values 
        are not exactly equal, they shall be equalized by the payment 
        of cash equalization money to the Secretary or the Sun Valley 
        Company as appropriate in accordance with section 206(b) of the 
        Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
        1716). In order to expedite the consummation of the exchange 
        directed by this Act, the Sun Valley Company shall arrange and 
        pay for appraisals of the offered and selected lands by a 
        qualified appraiser mutually acceptable to the Sun Valley 
        Company and the Secretary. The appraisal of the Federal 
        selected lands shall be completed and submitted to the 
        Secretary for approval no later than 90 days after the date of 
        enactment of this Act and the Secretary shall make a 
        determination of value not later than 30 days after receipt of 
        the appraisal. In the event the Secretary and the Sun Valley 
        Company are unable to agree to the appraised value of a certain 
        tract or tracts of land, the appraisal, appraisals, or 
        appraisal issues in dispute and a final determination of value 
        shall be resolved through a process of bargaining or submitted 
        to arbitration in accordance with section 206(d) of the Federal 
        Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(d)).
            (2) In order to expedite the appraisal of the Federal 
        selected lands, such appraisal shall--
                    (A) value the land as a single entity for its 
                highest and best use as if in private ownership and as 
                of the date of enactment of this Act;
                    (B) consider the effect on value of improvements 
                constructed on the land by the Forest Service or third 
                parties but not consider improvements owned or 
                constructed by the Snowbasin Ski Resort or previous 
                permittee;
                    (C) recognize that Snowbasin is a proven ski area 
                and assume that special use permits which are required 
                for operation of a ski resort would be granted a buyer 
                of the Federal selected lands;
                    (D) consider the effect on value, if any, of the 
                remaining permit periods of existing special use 
                permits on the lands held by parties other than the 
                Snowbasin Ski Resort;
                    (E) not reflect any enhancement in value to the 
                Federal selected lands based on the existence of 
                private lands owned by the Sun Valley Company in the 
                vicinity of the Snowbasin Ski Resort, and shall assume 
                that private lands owned by the Sun Valley Company are 
                not available for use in conjunction with the Federal 
                selected lands; and
                    (F) reflect a diminution in value resulting from 
                deed restrictions or other conditions on the transfer 
                of the Federal selected lands.

 SEC. 6. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE EXCHANGE.

    (a) In General.--The exchange authorized by this Act shall be 
subject to the following terms and conditions:
            (1) Reserved rights-of-way.--In the deed to be issued 
        pursuant to section 5(a), the Secretary shall reserve in the 
        United States a right of reasonable access across the property 
        conveyed for public access and for administrative purposes of 
        the United States necessary to manage adjacent federally-owned 
        lands. The terms of such access shall be prescribed by the 
        Secretary within 30 days after the date of the enactment of 
        this Act.
            (2) Right of rescission.--This Act shall not be binding on 
        either the United States or the Sun Valley Company if, within 
        30 days after the final determination of value of the Federal 
        selected lands, the Sun Valley Company submits to the Secretary 
        a duly authorized and executed resolution of the Company 
        stating its intention not to enter into the exchange authorized 
        by this Act.
    (b) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, effective on the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Federal selected lands described in 
section 5(a) and all National Forest System lands currently under 
special use permit to the Sun Valley Company at the Snowbasin Ski 
Resort are hereby withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the 
public land laws (including the mining laws) and from disposition under 
all laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing.
    (c) Deed.--The conveyance of the offered lands to the United States 
under this Act shall be by general warranty or other deed acceptable to 
the Secretary and in conformity with applicable title standards of the 
Attorney General of the United States.
    (d) Status of Lands.--Upon acceptance of title by the Secretary, 
the land conveyed to the United States pursuant to this Act shall 
become part of the Wasatch or Cache National Forests as appropriate, 
and the boundaries of such National Forests shall be adjusted to 
encompass such lands. Once conveyed, such lands shall be managed in 
accordance with the Act of March 1, 1911, as amended (commonly known as 
the ``Weeks Act''), and in accordance with the other laws, rules and 
regulations applicable to National Forest System lands. This subsection 
does not limit the Secretary's authority to adjust the boundaries 
pursuant to section 11 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (``Weeks Act''). For 
the purposes of section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act 
of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-9), the boundaries of the Wasatch and Cache 
National Forests, as adjusted by this Act, shall be considered to be 
boundaries of the forests as of January 1, 1965.

SEC. 7. PHASE I FACILITY CONSTRUCTION AND OPERATION.

    (a) Phase I Facility Review and Finding.--The Congress has reviewed 
the Snowbasin Ski Area Master Development Plan dated October 1995 
(hereinafter in this Act referred to as the ``Master Plan''), insofar 
as such plan pertains to ``Phase I'' facilities which are to be 
constructed and operated wholly or partially on National Forest System 
lands retained by the Secretary after consummation of the land exchange 
directed by this Act. On the basis of such review, Congress hereby 
finds that the Phase I facilities identified and described in the 
Master Plan to be located on National Forest System lands, or any 
modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Secretary and the Sun 
Valley Company, are reasonable and necessary to accommodate the 2002 
Olympics and directs the Secretary to issue all necessary permits and 
authorizations for construction and operation of such facilities in 
accordance with the procedures and provisions of this section.
    (b) Phase I Facility Approval, Conditions and Timetable.--Within 
120 days of receipt of an application by the Sun Valley Company to 
authorize construction and operation of any particular Phase I 
facility, facilities, or group of facilities, the Secretary, in 
consultation with the Sun Valley Company, shall authorize construction 
and operation of such facility, facilities, or group of facilities, 
subject to the general policies of the Forest Service pertaining to the 
construction and operation of ski area facilities on National Forest 
System lands. In providing authorization to construct and operate a 
facility, facilities, or group of facilities, the Secretary may not 
impose any condition that would significantly change the location, 
size, or scope of the applied for Phase I facility unless (1) the 
modification is mutually agreed to by the Secretary and the Sun Valley 
Company; or (2) the change is necessary to protect public health and 
safety. In providing any such authorization, the Secretary shall 
provide for resource protection without regard to section 102(2)(C) of 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 or the participation 
requirements of section 6(d) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604(d)). Nothing in this 
section shall be construed to affect the Secretary's responsibility to 
monitor and assure compliance with the conditions set forth in the 
construction and operation authorization.
    (c) Congressional Directions.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
of law, Congress finds consummation of the land exchange directed by 
this Act and all determinations, authorizations, and actions taken by 
the Secretary pursuant to this Act pertaining to Phase I facilities (or 
modifications thereof mutually agreed to by the Secretary and the Sun 
Valley Company) to be non-discretionary actions authorized and directed 
by Congress and hence to comply with all procedural and other 
requirements of the laws of the United States.
    (d) Report to Congress.--The Secretary shall report to the 
Committee on Resources of the United States House of Representatives 
and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate as to whether construction and operation of Phase I facilities 
have provided for sufficient environmental protection on National 
Forest System lands affected by such facilities.
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