[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5039 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5039

  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey title to certain 
  irrigation project property in the Humboldt Project, Nevada, to the 
 Pershing County Water Conservation District, Pershing County, Lander 
                    County, and the State of Nevada.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 27, 2002

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey title to certain 
  irrigation project property in the Humboldt Project, Nevada, to the 
 Pershing County Water Conservation District, Pershing County, Lander 
                    County, and the State of Nevada.

    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 ``Humboldt Project Conveyance Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (2) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Nevada.
            (3) PCWCD.--The term ``PCWCD'' means the Pershing County 
        Water Conservation District, a public entity organized under 
        the laws of the State of Nevada.
            (4) Pershing county.--The term ``Pershing County'' means 
        the Pershing County government, a political subunit of the 
        State of Nevada.
            (5) Lander county.--The term ``Lander County'' means the 
        Lander County government, a political subunit of the State of 
        Nevada.

SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO CONVEY TITLE.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall, no later than 2 years after 
the date of enactment of this Act, convey, without regard to Federal 
laws governing patents, all right, title, and interest in and to the 
lands and features of the Humboldt Project to PCWCD, the State, 
Pershing County, and Lander County, consistent with the terms and 
conditions set forth in the Memorandum of Agreement between PCWCD and 
Lander County dated January 24, 2000, the Conceptual Agreement between 
PCWCD and the State dated October 18, 2001, the Memorandum of Agreement 
between the Bureau of Reclamation and PCWCD dated ____, and the Letter 
of Agreement between Pershing County and the State dated April 16, 
2002.
    (b) Compliance With Agreements.--All parties to the conveyance 
under subsection (a) shall comply with the terms and conditions of the 
agreements cited in subsection (a).
    (c) Report.--If the conveyance required by this section has not 
been completed within 18 months after the date of enactment of this 
Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committee on Resources 
of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate that describes--
            (1) the status of the conveyance;
            (2) any obstacles to completion of the conveyance; and
            (3) the anticipated date for completion of the conveyance.-
        -

SEC. 4. PAYMENT.

    (a) In General.--As consideration for any conveyance required by 
section 3, PCWCD shall pay to the United States the net present value 
of miscellaneous revenues associated with the lands and facilities to 
be conveyed.
    (b) Withdrawn Lands.--As consideration for any conveyance of 
withdrawn lands required by section 3, the entity receiving title shall 
pay the United States (in addition to amounts paid under subsection 
(a)) the fair market value for any such lands conveyed that were 
withdrawn from the public domain pursuant to the Secretarial Orders 
dated March 16, 1934, and April 6, 1956.
    (c) Administrative Costs.--Administrative costs for conveyance of 
any land or facility under this Act shall be paid in equal shares by 
the Secretary and the entity receiving title to the land or facility, 
except costs identified in subsections (d) and (e).
    (d) Real Estate Transfer Costs.--As a condition of any conveyance 
of any land or facility required by section 3, costs of all boundary 
surveys, title searches, cadastral surveys, appraisals, and other real 
estate transactions required for the conveyance shall be paid by the 
entity receiving title to the land or facility.
    (e) NEPA Costs.--Costs associated with any review required under 
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for conveyance of any 
land or facility under section 3 shall be paid in equal shares by the 
Secretary and the entity receiving title to the land or facility.
    (f) Cost Limitation.--Notwithstanding subsections (c) and (e), the 
Secretary shall not require any of the entities receiving land or 
facilities to pay a total of more than $40,000 in costs under 
subsections (c) and (e).
    (g) State of Nevada.--The State shall not be responsible for any 
payments or costs under this section. The State shall ensure that all 
lands transferred under this Act are used for recreation, wildlife 
habitat, wetlands, or resource conservation pursuant to the Conceptual 
Agreement between PCWCD and the State dated October 18, 2001. If such 
purposes change after conveyance, title shall either convey to the 
PCWCD pursuant to this Act or the State shall make payments and pay 
costs pursuant to this section.

SEC. 5. COMPLIANCE WITH OTHER LAWS.

    Following the conveyance required by section 3, the District, the 
State, Pershing County, and Lander County shall, with respect to the 
interests conveyed, comply with all requirements of Federal, State, and 
local law applicable to non-Federal water distribution systems.

SEC. 6. REVOCATION OF WITHDRAWALS.

    Effective on the date of the conveyance required by section 3, the 
Secretarial Orders dated March 16, 1934, and April 6, 1956, that 
withdrew public lands for the Rye Patch Reservoir and the Humboldt 
Sink, are hereby revoked.

SEC. 7. LIABILITY.

    Effective on the date of the conveyance required by section 3, the 
United States shall not be held liable by any court for damages of any 
kind arising out of any act, omission, or occurrence relating to the 
Humboldt Project, except for damages caused by acts of negligence 
committed by the United States or by its employees or agents prior to 
the date of conveyance. Nothing in this section shall be considered to 
increase the liability of the United States beyond that currently 
provided in chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code, popularly 
known as the Federal Tort Claims Act.

SEC. 8. EXISTING RIGHTS NOT AFFECTED.

    Nothing in this Act shall affect the rights of any person except as 
provided in this Act. Any conveyance under this Act shall not affect or 
abrogate any provision of any contract executed by the United States or 
by State law regarding any person's right to use water.

SEC. 9. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT.

    Prior to conveyance the Secretary shall complete all actions as may 
be required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (U.S.C. 
4321 et seq.).
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