[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 706 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.706

                      One Hundred Seventh Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
          the twenty-third day of January, two thousand and two


                                 An Act


 
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain properties in 
the vicinity of the Elephant Butte Reservoir and the Caballo Reservoir, 
                               New Mexico.

    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 ``Lease Lot Conveyance Act of 2002''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that the conveyance of the Properties to the 
Lessees for fair market value would have the beneficial results of--
        (1) eliminating Federal payments in lieu of taxes and 
    associated management expenditures in connection with the 
    Government's ownership of the Properties, while increasing local 
    tax revenues from the new owners;
        (2) sustaining existing economic conditions in the vicinity of 
    the Properties, while providing the new owners of the Properties 
    the security to invest in permanent structures and improvements; 
    and
        (3) adding needed jobs to the county in which the Properties 
    are located and increasing revenue to the county and surrounding 
    communities through property and gross receipt taxes, thereby 
    increasing economic stability and a sustainable economy in one of 
    the poorest counties in New Mexico.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
        (1) Fair market value.--The term ``fair market value'' means, 
    with respect to a parcel of property, the value of the property 
    determined--
            (A) without regard to improvements constructed by the 
        Lessee of the property;
            (B) by an appraisal in accordance with the Uniform 
        Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions; and
            (C) by an appraiser approved by the Secretary and the 
        purchaser.
        (2) Irrigation districts.--The term ``Irrigation Districts'' 
    means the Elephant Butte Irrigation District and the El Paso County 
    Water Improvement District No. 1.
        (3) Lessee.--The term ``Lessee'' means the leaseholder of a 
    Property on the date of enactment of this Act, and any heir, 
    executor, or assign of the leaseholder with respect to that 
    leasehold interest.
        (4) Property.--The term ``Property'' means any of the cabin 
    sites comprising the Properties.
        (5) Properties.--The term ``Properties'' means all the real 
    property comprising 403 cabin sites under the administrative 
    jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation that are located along 
    the western portion of the reservoirs in Elephant Butte State Park 
    and Caballo State Park, New Mexico, including easements, roads, and 
    other appurtenances. The exact acreage and legal description of 
    such real property shall be determined by the Secretary after 
    consulting with the Purchaser.
        (6) Purchaser.--The term ``Purchaser'' means the Elephant 
    Butte/Caballo Leaseholders Association, Inc., a nonprofit 
    corporation established under the laws of New Mexico.
        (7) Reservoirs.--The term ``reservoirs'' means the Elephant 
    Butte Reservoir and the Caballo Reservoir in the State of New 
    Mexico.
        (8) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
    the Interior.

SEC. 4. CONVEYANCE OF PROPERTIES.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall convey to the Purchaser in 
accordance with this Act, subject to valid existing rights, all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to the Properties and 
all appurtenances thereto, including specifically easements for--
        (1) vehicular access to each Property;
        (2) drainage; and
        (3) access to and the use of all ramps, retaining walls, and 
    other improvements for which access isprovided under the leases 
that apply to the Properties as of the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (b) Consideration.--As consideration for any conveyance under this 
section, the Secretary shall require the Purchaser to pay to the United 
States fair market value of the Properties.

SEC. 5. TERMS OF CONVEYANCE.

    (a) Specific Conditions.--As conditions of any conveyance to the 
Purchaser under this Act, the Secretary shall require the following:
        (1) Leaseholders' option.--The Purchaser shall grant to each 
    Lessee of a Property an option--
            (A) to purchase the Property at fair market value; or
            (B) to continue leasing the Property on terms to be 
        negotiated with the Purchaser.
        (2) Administrative costs.--Any reasonable administrative cost 
    incurred by the Secretary incident to the conveyance under section 
    6 shall be reimbursed by the Purchaser.
    (b) Restrictive Use Covenant.--
        (1) In general.--To maintain the unique character of the area 
    in the vicinity of the Reservoirs, the Secretary shall establish, 
    by the terms of conveyance, use restrictions to carry out paragraph 
    (2) that--
            (A) are appurtenant to, and run with, each Property; and
            (B) are binding upon each subsequent owner of each 
        Property.
        (2) Access to reservoirs.--The use restrictions required by 
    paragraph (1) shall ensure that--
            (A) public access to and along the shoreline of the 
        Reservoirs in existence on the date of enactment of this Act is 
        not obstructed;
            (B) adequate public access to and along the shoreline of 
        the Reservoirs is maintained; and
            (C) the operation of the Reservoirs by the Secretary or the 
        Irrigation Districts shall not result in liability of the 
        United States or the Irrigation Districts for damages incurred, 
        as a direct or indirect result of such operation, by the owner 
        of any Property conveyed under this Act, including--
                (i) damages for any loss of use or enjoyment of a 
            Property; and
                (ii) damages resulting from any modifications or 
            construction of any reservoir dam.
    (c) Timing.--
        (1) In general.--The Secretary shall convey the Properties 
    under this Act as soon as practicable after the date of enactment 
    of this Act and in accordance with all applicable law.
        (2) Report.--If the Secretary has not completed conveyance of 
    the Properties to the Purchaser by the end of the 1-year period 
    beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
    shall, before the end of that period, submit a report to the 
    Congress explaining the reasons that conveyance has not been 
    completed and stating the date by which the conveyance will be 
    completed.
    (d) Reimbursement of Purchaser's Costs.--The terms of conveyance 
shall authorize the Purchaser to require each Lessee to reimburse the 
Purchaser for a proportionate share of the costs incurred by the 
Purchaser in completing the transactions pursuant to this Act, 
including any interest charges.

SEC. 6. RESOLUTION OF CLAIMS AND DISPUTES.

    After conveyance of the Properties to the Purchaser, if any Lessee 
has a dispute with or claim against the Purchaser or any of its 
officers, directors, or members arising from the Properties, the Lessee 
shall promptly give written notice of the dispute or claim to the 
Purchaser. If such notice is not provided to the Purchaser within 20 
days after the date the Lessee knew or should have known of such 
dispute or claim, then any right of the Lessee for relief based on such 
dispute or claim shall be waived. If the Lessee and the Purchaser are 
unable to resolve the dispute or claim by mediation, the dispute or 
claim shall be resolved by binding arbitration.

SEC. 7. FEDERAL RECLAMATION LAW.

    No conveyance under this Act shall restrict or limit the authority 
or ability of the Secretary to fulfill the duties of the Secretary 
under the Act of June 17, 1902 (32 Stat. 388, chapter 1093), and Acts 
supplemental to and amendatory of that Act (43 U.S.C. 371 et seq.).

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.