[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2079 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2079

 To provide for the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands 
                     in the State of South Dakota.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 8, 1999

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To provide for the conveyance of certain National Forest System lands 
                     in the State of South Dakota.

    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 ``Terry Peak Land Transfer Act of 
1999''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) Certain National Forest System land located in the 
        Black Hills National Forest in Lawrence County, South Dakota, 
        is currently permitted to the Terry Peak Ski Area by the 
        Secretary of Agriculture pursuant to section 3 of the National 
        Forest Ski Area Permit Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 497b).
            (2) The National Forest System land comprises only 10 
        percent of the land at the Ski Area, with the remaining 90 
        percent located on private land owned by the Ski Area operator.
            (3) As the fractional Forest Service land holding at the 
        Ski Area is also encumbered by ski lifts, ski trails, a base 
        lodge parking lot and other privately owned improvements, it 
        serves little purpose in continued public ownership, and can 
        more logically be conveyed to the Ski Area to unify land 
        management and eliminate permitting and other administrative 
        costs to the United States.
            (4) The Ski Area is interested in acquiring the land from 
        the United States, but the Secretary does not have 
        administrative authority to convey such land in a 
        nonsimultaneous land exchange absent specific authorization 
        from Congress.
            (5) The Black Hills National Forest contains several small 
        inholdings of undeveloped private land with multiple landowners 
        which complicate National Forest land management and which can 
        be acquired by the United States from willing sellers if 
        acquisition funds are made available to the Secretary.
            (6) The proceeds from the Terry Peak conveyance can provide 
        a modest, but readily available and flexible, funding source 
        for the Secretary to acquire certain inholdings in the Black 
        Hills National Forest from willing sellers, and given the small 
        and scattered nature of such inholdings, and number of 
        potential sellers involved, can do so more efficiently and 
        quickly than through administrative land exchanges.
            (7) It is, therefore, in the public interest to convey the 
        National Forest System land at Terry Peak to the Ski Area at 
        fair market value and to utilize the proceeds to acquire more 
        desirable lands for addition to the Black Hills National Forest 
        for permanent public use and enjoyment.
    (b) Purpose.--It is the purpose of this Act to require the 
conveyance of certain National Forest System lands at the Terry Peak 
Ski Area to the Ski Area and to utilize the proceeds to acquire more 
desirable lands for the United States for permanent public use and 
enjoyment.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    As used in this Act:
            (1) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, unless otherwise specified.
            (2) The term ``selected land'' means land comprising 
        approximately 41.42 acres and generally depicted as government 
        lots 6 and 11, section 2, township 4 north, range 2 east, Black 
        Hills meridian, on a map entitled ``Terry Peak Land 
        Conveyance'', dated March 1999; and
            (3) the terms ``Terry Peak Ski Area'' and ``Ski Area'' mean 
        the Black Hills Chairlift Company, a South Dakota Corporation, 
        or its successors, heirs and assigns.

SEC. 4. LAND CONVEYANCE AND MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Conveyance Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture shall convey 
the selected land to the Terry Peak Ski Area at fair market value, as 
determined by the Secretary.
    (b) Appraisal.--The value of the selected land shall be determined 
by the Secretary utilizing nationally recognized appraisal standards, 
including to the extent appropriate, the Uniform Appraisal Standards 
For Federal Land Acquisitions (1992), the Uniform Standards of 
Professional Appraisal Practice, and other applicable law. The costs of 
the appraisal shall be paid for by the Ski Area.
    (c) Completion of Conveyance.--It is the sense of Congress that the 
conveyance to the Ski Area required by this Act be consummated no later 
than 6 months after the date of enactment of this Act, unless the 
Secretary and the Ski Area mutually agree to extend the consummation 
date. Prior to conveying the selected land to the Ski Area, the 
Secretary shall complete standard pre-disposal analyses and clearances 
pertaining to threatened and endangered species, cultural and historic 
resources, wetlands and floodplains, and hazardous materials.
    (d) Use of Proceeds by The Secretary.--All monies received by the 
Secretary pursuant to this Act shall be considered monies received and 
deposited pursuant to Public Law 90-171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known 
as the Sisk Act) and shall be utilized by the Secretary to acquire 
replacement land from willing sellers for addition to the Black Hills 
National Forest in South Dakota. Any lands so acquired shall be added 
to and administered as part of the Black Hills National Forest and, if 
any such land lies outside the exterior boundaries of the Forest, the 
Secretary may modify the boundary of the Forest to include such land. 
Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of 
the Secretary to adjust the boundaries of the Forest pursuant to 
section 11 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 521; commonly known 
as the Weeks Act).
    (e) Conveyance Subject to Valid Existing Rights, Easements.--The 
conveyance to the Ski Area required by this Act shall be subject to 
valid existing rights and to existing easements, rights-of-way, utility 
lines and any other right, title or interest of record on the selected 
land as of the date of transfer of the selected land to the Terry Peak 
Ski Area.
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