[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 953 Reported in Senate (RS)]





                                                       Calendar No. 239

106th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                                 S. 953

                          [Report No. 106-129]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the 
           State of South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.

_______________________________________________________________________

                             July 29, 1999

                       Reported with an amendment





                                                       Calendar No. 239
106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 953

                          [Report No. 106-129]

 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the 
           State of South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 4, 1999

  Mr. Johnson (for himself and Mr. Daschle) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

                             July 29, 1999

              Reported by Mr. Murkowski, with an amendment
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the 
           State of South Dakota to the Terry Peak Ski Area.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

<DELETED>SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    This Act may be cited as the ``Terry Peak Land Conveyance 
Act of 1999''.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) certain land in the National Forest system 
        located in the Black Hills National Forest in Lawrence County, 
        South Dakota, is permitted to the Terry Peak Ski Area by the 
        Secretary of Agriculture under the National Forest Ski Area 
        Permit Act of 1986 (16 U.S.C. 497b);</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) the Forest land comprises only 10 percent of 
        the land at the Ski Area, and the remaining 90 percent of land 
        at the Ski Area is owned by the Ski Area operator;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) the small percentage of Forest land at the Ski 
        Area--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) is encumbered by ski lifts and trails, 
                a base lodge, a parking lot, and other privately-owned 
                improvements;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) serves little purpose in continued 
                public ownership; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) should be conveyed to the Ski Area to 
                unify land management and eliminate permitting and 
                related administrative costs to the United 
                States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) the Ski Area is interested in acquiring the 
        land from the United States;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) the Secretary lacks the administrative 
        authority to convey the land in a non-simultaneous land 
        exchange absent specific authorization from Congress;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) the Forest contains several small inholdings 
        of undeveloped private land with multiple landowners that--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) complicate the management of Forest 
                land; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) may be acquired by the United States 
                from willing sellers if funds for the acquisition of 
                the land are made available to the Secretary;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) the proceeds from the Terry Peak conveyance 
        would provide a modest, but readily available and flexible 
        source of funds that may be used by the Secretary to acquire 
        certain inholdings in the Forest from willing 
        sellers;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) due to the small and scattered nature of the 
        inholdings of private land in the Forest and the number of 
        potential sellers involved, the Secretary could acquire the 
        inholdings more quickly and efficiently by purchasing them 
        directly rather than acquiring the inholdings through 
        administrative land exchanges; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) it is in the public interest to--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) convey the Forest land at Terry Peak 
                to the Ski Area at fair market value; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) use the proceeds of the conveyance to 
                acquire more desirable land for addition to the Forest 
                for permanent public use and enjoyment.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) authorize and direct the conveyance of certain 
        Forest land at the Ski Area to the Ski Area; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) to use the proceeds of the conveyance to 
        acquire more desirable land for the United States for permanent 
        public use and enjoyment.</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    In this Act:</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) Forest.--The term ``Forest'' means the Black 
        Hills National Forest in the State of South Dakota.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the 
        Secretary of Agriculture.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) Selected land.--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 the map entitled 
        ``Terry Peak Land Conveyance'', dated March, 1999.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) Ski area.--The term ``Ski Area'' means--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the Terry Peak Ski Area of the Black 
                Hills Chairlift Company, a South Dakota Corporation; 
                or</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the successors, heirs, and assigns of 
                the entity described in subparagraph (A).</DELETED>

<DELETED>SEC. 4. LAND CONVEYANCE.</DELETED>

<DELETED>    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall convey the selected 
land to the Ski Area at fair market value as determined by the 
Secretary under subsection (b).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (b) Appraisal.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--The Secretary shall determine the 
        value of the selected land by using nationally recognized 
        appraisal standards, including, to the extent appropriate--
        </DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) the uniform appraisal standards for 
                Federal land acquisitions;</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) the uniform standards of professional 
                appraisal practice; and</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (C) other applicable law.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Costs.--As a condition of the conveyance under 
        this section, the Ski Area shall pay all costs of the 
        appraisal.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (c) Completion.--The conveyance under this section shall 
be completed not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 
this Act, unless the Secretary and the Ski Area agree to postpone the 
completion date.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (d) Other Law.--Prior to completing the conveyance under 
this section, the Secretary shall complete standard pre-disposal 
analyses and obtain necessary permits and clearances pertaining to--
</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) threatened and endangered species;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) cultural and historic resources;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) wetland and floodplains; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) hazardous materials.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (e) Use of Proceeds.--All funds received by the Secretary 
under this Act shall be--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) considered to be funds received and deposited 
        under the Public Law 90-171 (16 U.S.C. 484a); and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) used by the Secretary to acquire replacement 
        land from willing sellers for addition to the Forest.</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (f) Land Acquired.--</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (1) In general.--Any land acquired under 
        subsection (e)(2) shall be added to and administered as part of 
        the Forest.</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) Boundary.--</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (A) In general.--If any land acquired 
                under subsection (e)(2) lies outside the exterior 
                boundary of the Forest, the Secretary may modify the 
                boundary of the Forest to include the acquired 
                land.</DELETED>
                <DELETED>    (B) No effect on other law.--Nothing in 
                this section limits the authority of the Secretary to 
                adjust the boundaries of the Forest in accordance with 
                section 11 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 963, 
                chapter 186; 16 U.S.C. 500).</DELETED>
<DELETED>    (g) Valid Existing Rights; Easements.--The conveyance 
under this section shall be subject to valid rights, easements 
(including utility easements), rights-of-way, and any other right, 
title, or interest of record on the selected land existing on the date 
of the conveyance of the selected land to the Ski Area.</DELETED>

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 retained and utilized by the Secretary 
until fully expended 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.