[Congressional Bills 104th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1934 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
104th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 1934
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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
July 9, 1996
Mr. Brown introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 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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