[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4874 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4874

    To direct the Secretary of the Interior to disclaim any Federal 
 interest in lands adjacent to Spirit Lake and Twin Lakes in the State 
of Idaho resulting from possible omission of lands from an 1880 survey.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              June 5, 2002

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of the Interior to disclaim any Federal 
 interest in lands adjacent to Spirit Lake and Twin Lakes in the State 
of Idaho resulting from possible omission of lands from an 1880 survey.

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

SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The meander lines in the original surveys by John B. 
        David, deputy surveyor, of two lakes in the State of Idaho, 
        Spirit Lake, formerly known as Lake Tesemini, located in T. 53 
        N., R. 4 W., Boise Meridian, and Twin Lakes, formerly known as 
        Fish Lake, located in T. 52 N. and T. 53 N., R. 4 W., Boise 
        Meridian, do not reflect the current line of ordinary high 
        water conditions.
            (2) All lands adjacent to the original meander lines have 
        been patented.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to direct the Secretary of 
the Interior to issue a recordable disclaimer of interest by the United 
States to any omitted lands or lands lying outside the record meander 
lines in the vicinity of the lakes referred to in subsection (a).

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Recordable disclaimer of interest.--The term 
        ``recordable disclaimer of interest'' means a document recorded 
        in the county clerk's office or other such local office where 
        real property documents are recorded, in which the United 
        States disclaims any right, title, or interest to those lands 
        found lying outside the recorded meander lines of the lakes 
        referred to in section 1(a)(1), including omitted lands, if 
        any.
            (2) Omitted lands.--The term ``omitted lands'' means those 
        lands that were in place on the date of the original surveys 
        referred to in section 1(a)(1) but were not included in the 
        survey of the township and the meander lines of the water body 
        due to gross error or fraud by the original surveyor.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.

SEC. 3. SURVEYS.

    The Secretary shall--
            (1) conduct a survey investigation of the conditions along 
        the lakeshores of Spirit Lake and Twin Lakes in the townships 
        referenced in section 1(a); and
            (2) after the completion of the survey investigation, 
        resurvey the original meander lines along the lakeshores, using 
        the results of the survey investigation.

SEC. 4. DISCLAIMER OF INTEREST IN LANDS ADJACENT TO SPIRIT LAKE AND 
              TWIN LAKES, IDAHO.

    Upon acceptance and approval of the surveys under section 3 by the 
Secretary, the Secretary shall--
            (1) prepare a recordable disclaimer of interest with land 
        descriptions, using the lot or tract numbers of the omitted 
        lands, if any, and lands lying outside the record meander 
        lines, as shown on the survey plats; and
            (2) record such recordable disclaimer of interest 
        simultaneously with the filing of the surveys.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary $400,000 to 
carry out this Act. Funds appropriated to carry out the purposes of 
this Act may be available without fiscal year limitation.
                                 <all>