[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3541 Introduced in House (IH)]







104th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3541

To provide for an exchange of lands with the city of Greeley, Colorado, 
     and The Water Supply and Storage Company to eliminate private 
 inholdings in wilderness areas, to cause instream flows to be created 
 above a Wild and Scenic River, to eliminate potential development on 
 private inholdings within the Forest boundary, to reduce the need for 
   future water reservoirs, to reduce the number of Federal land use 
authorizations, and to improve the security of the water supply of the 
             city and the company, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 29, 1996

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide for an exchange of lands with the city of Greeley, Colorado, 
     and The Water Supply and Storage Company to eliminate private 
 inholdings in wilderness areas, to cause instream flows to be created 
 above a Wild and Scenic River, to eliminate potential development on 
 private inholdings within the Forest boundary, to reduce the need for 
   future water reservoirs, to reduce the number of Federal land use 
authorizations, and to improve the security of the water supply of the 
             city and the company, 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. LAND EXCHANGE WITH CITY OF GREELEY, COLORADO, AND THE WATER 
              SUPPLY AND STORAGE COMPANY.

    (a) In General.--If the city of Greeley, Colorado, and The Water 
Supply and Storage Company, a Colorado mutual ditch company, offer to 
transfer all their right, title, and interest in and to the Rockwell 
Ranch property and Timberline Lake property, and The Water Supply and 
Storage Company designated lands, all described in subsection (b), the 
Secretary of Agriculture shall, in exchange for such property, transfer 
to the city and to the company, as they each shall designate, all 
right, title, and interest of the United States, including the mineral 
estate, in and to the Federal lands described in subsection (c) within 
12 months of the date of the city's and company's offer.
    (b) City and Company Lands.--
            (1) The city and company lands to be exchanged under this 
        section are these lands depicted on maps entitled ``Rockwell 
        Ranch Property Land Exchange'' and ``Timberline Lake Property'' 
        and ``Cameron Pass Lands'' dated ______________ 1995.
            (2) The Rockwell Ranch property is comprised of 4 parcels 
        containing approximately 520 acres of lands.
            (3) The Timberline Lake Property is a parcel of 
        approximately 10 acres located in the Comanche Peak Wilderness 
        which shall be conveyed by quit claim deed for the purposes of 
        eliminating any future title conflict between the city of 
        Greeley and the United States in regard to the property.
            (4) The Cameron Pass Lands consist of 2 parcels totaling 
        approximately 178 acres owned by The Water Supply and Storage 
        Company.
    (c) Federal Lands To Be Exchanged.--The Federal lands to be 
exchanged under this section are those lands depicted on the maps 
referred to in subsection (b) as ``Federal Exchange Lands''. The total 
area of Federal lands to be exchanged is approximately 1,176 acres, 
including approximately 447 acres occupied by the city and the company 
under perpetual easements of the United States Department of the 
Interior, Numbers D-028135 and D-029149. The Federal lands to be 
exchanged include the following:
            (1) All Federal land within the high water contour lines of 
        the following existing reservoirs: Barnes Meadow, Chambers 
        Lake, Comanche, Hourglass, Long Draw, Milton Seaman, Peterson 
        Lake, and Twin Lakes, together with their dams and structures. 
        The high water line is defined as the elevation at the dam 
        crest of each reservoir.
            (2) A surcharge and operational access area around each 
        reservoir consisting of an average 50 foot horizontal 
        projection from the high water line and an average 100 foot 
        horizontal projection from the outer perimeter of all dams and 
        appurtenant structures, including but not limited to, outlets, 
        measuring devices, spillways, wasteways, toe drains, canals, 
        abutments, and the Peterson Lake operations cabin, as generally 
        depicted on such map. The access area to the east of Long Draw 
        Reservoir will be limited to the extent necessary to convey 
        only those lands within the boundary of the National Forest.
            (3) Those Federal lands which would be occupied by an 
        enlargement of Seaman Reservoir to an approximate capacity of 
        43,000 acre feet (but not to exceed 50,000 acre feet), 
        including an average 50 foot horizontally projected buffer zone 
        around the enlarged water line and structures, and an 80-acre 
        parcel of Federal land south of Seaman Reservoir potentially 
        required for a downstream damsite on the North Fork of the 
        Cache la Poudre River, as generally depicted on such map.

SEC. 2. TERMS AND CONDITIONS RELATING TO LAND EXCHANGE.

    The land exchange under section 1 shall be processed in accordance 
with Forest Service Land Exchange Regulations in part 254 of title 36, 
Code of Federal Regulations, subpart A subject to the direction in 
section 1 and the following terms and conditions:
            (1) The United States shall grant perpetual access 
        easements to the city of Greeley and to The Water Supply and 
        Storage Company to the lands conveyed by the United States 
        under section 1 as part of the consideration of this exchange. 
        The United States shall reserve easements for all designated 
        roads and trails crossing any Federal lands to be conveyed that 
        are necessary to assure public access to adjoining National 
        Forest lands.
            (2) The city of Greeley, Colorado, and The Water Supply and 
        Storage Company shall continue to make the following facilities 
        accessible to visitors to the Roosevelt National Forest: 
        Chambers, Long Draw, Peterson, Barnes Meadow, Comanche, Seaman 
        and Twin Lakes Reservoirs, under rules and restrictions as 
        determined by the city and the company.
            (3)(A) All special use permits and/or easements or other 
        instruments authorizing occupancy of the Federal lands 
        identified in section 1(c) are rescinded upon completion of the 
        exchange.
            (B) The conditions specified in the December 28, 1994, and 
        the January 4, 1995, easements for Long Draw, Peterson Lake and 
        Barnes Meadow Reservoirs requiring a joint operations plan 
        providing instream winter flows to the mainstream of the Cache 
        La Poudre River from Chambers Lake and Barnes Meadow shall 
        continue to be fulfilled regardless of land ownership unless 
        mutually agreed otherwise.
            (C) No further consultation with the United States Fish and 
        Wildlife Service shall be required for completion of this land 
        exchange.
            (D) No additional conditions, including instream or bypass 
        flow requirements, shall be required as a condition of this 
        land exchange.
            (4) The exchange under section 1 does not include any water 
        right owned by the city of Greeley, Colorado, or The Water 
        Supply and Storage Company, except as provided in section 2(5).
            (5) The city of Greeley's one-half interest in the 
        following rights associated with the Rockwell Ranch property, 
        to wit: Rockwell Ditches No. 1 in the volume of 1.2 c.f.s., No. 
        2 in the volume of 1.7 c.f.s., No. 3 in the volume of 2.68 
        c.f.s., No. 4 in the volume of 1.87 c.f.s., No. 5 in the volume 
        of 1.95 c.f.s. and No. 6 in the volume of 2.5 c.f.s., diverting 
        from the South Fork of the Cache la Poudre River, and its 
        tributaries, Little Beaver Creek and the North Fork of Little 
        Beaver Creek, and all with the appropriation date of December 
        31, 1888, shall be dedicated to the Colorado Water Conservation 
        Board in perpetuity for the instream flow program of the State 
        of Colorado upon completion of the exchange.
            (6) The Federal Exchange Lands to be exchanged under 
        section 1 shall be conveyed to the city of Greeley and to The 
        Water Supply and Storage Company by means of a land exchange 
        deed issued by an authorized officer of the United States 
        Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, and notwithstanding 
        any other requirements of law, the Secretary of Agriculture is 
        authorized to conduct and approve all cadastral surveys 
        necessary for completion of the exchange.
            (7) Values of the respective lands exchanged between the 
        United States and the city of Greeley and The Water Supply and 
        Storage Company pursuant to section 1 are deemed to be of 
        approximately equal value, without any need for cash 
        equalization, as based on statements of value prepared by a 
        qualified Forest Service Review Appraiser.
            (8) It is recognized that some Federal lands to be conveyed 
        to the city of Greeley and The Water Supply and Storage Company 
        will create new holdings in otherwise consolidated areas of 
        Federal ownership. If the city or the company decide to 
        permanently discontinue reservoir operations on any of the 
        properties acquired through this exchange, the United States 
        Forest Service, Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest Supervisor 
        shall be advised of the intent to perform nonreconstructive 
        breaching of the dam for purposes of permanently terminating 
        reservoir operations. Upon such notification, the United States 
        Forest Service will be afforded the opportunity to reacquire 
        property at fair market value or exchange or upon such other 
        terms and conditions as the parties may agree for a period of 
        time not to exceed one year.
            (9) The Federal lands to be exchanged under section 1, with 
        the exception of the Seaman Reservoir enlargement area and 
        potential new damsite below Seaman Reservoir on the North Fork 
        of the Cache la Poudre River, are already fully developed and 
        authorized for occupancy by the city of Greeley and The Water 
Supply and Storage Company. Therefore, this land exchange may be 
completed without further inventory or consultation under the National 
Historic Preservation Act. Should the city of Greeley seek enlargement 
of Seaman Reservoir or construction of a new dam on the North Fork of 
the Poudre River below Seaman Reservoir for a Seaman Reservoir 
Enlargement, the site will be subject to all Federal statutes and 
regulations applicable at the time of proposed construction.
            (10) The Forest Service shall grant a 20-year easement to 
        the city of Greeley for use of the existing cabin in the north 
        half of the southwest quarter of Section 30, Township 8 North, 
        Range 72 West. The easement shall allow the use of the cabin, 
        other improvements, and access to the forest lands nearby. The 
        access road shall be available for city employees to access the 
        cabin for recreational purposes and to the United States Forest 
        Service for administrative purposes.
            (11) The Forest Service shall grant a 20-year easement to 
        the city of Greeley for use of approximately 1 acre of land 
        under the existing cabin in the vicinity of Jacks Gulch 
        Campground on Pingree Road as depicted on the attached map. The 
        easement shall include the administrative use of the access 
        road to the cabin and the reservation of the use of the cabin 
        to those permitted under the existing special use permit.

SEC. 3. ADMINISTRATION OF LANDS ACQUIRED BY THE UNITED STATES.

    The Rockwell Ranch, Timberline Lake, and Cameron Pass Lands 
acquired by the United States under this Act shall be added to and 
administered as part of the Roosevelt National Forest. Those portions 
of such property located within a wilderness area shall be added to and 
administered as part of the wilderness area.

SEC. 4. BOUNDARY MODIFICATION OF THE ARAPAHO NATIONAL FOREST AND 
              ROOSEVELT NATIONAL FOREST.

    (a) In General.--In order to provide for more efficient 
administration of certain Federal lands adjoining the Arapaho National 
Forest and Roosevelt National Forest, the exterior boundary of the 
Arapaho Forest is hereby modified as shown on Department of 
Agriculture, Forest Service map entitled ``Boundary Modification, 
Arapaho National Forest'' dated ____, 1995, and the exterior boundary 
of the Roosevelt Forest is hereby modified as shown on Department of 
Agriculture, Forest Service map entitled ``Boundary Modification, 
Roosevelt National Forest'', dated ____, 1995. The maps and a legal 
description of the boundary changes shall be on file and available for 
public inspection in the offices of the Chief of the Forest Service and 
appropriate field offices.
    (b) Administration.--All Federal lands brought within the boundary 
of the Arapaho National Forest and Roosevelt National Forest by this 
Act are hereby added to the Arapaho National Forest and Roosevelt 
National Forest, respectively, and shall be administered in accordance 
with the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the National Forest 
System.
    (c) Availability of Certain Lands.--For the purpose of section 7 of 
the Land and Water Conservation Act of 1965 (16 U.S.C. 460l-9), the 
boundary of the Arapaho National Forest and Roosevelt National Forest, 
as modified by this section, shall be treated as if it were the 
boundary of that forest as of January 1, 1965.
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