[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 706 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 706

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.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 14, 2001

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    (a) 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;
            (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; and
            (4) eliminating expensive and contentious disputes between 
        the Secretary, the Lessees and the two irrigation districts in 
        the Rio Grande Project while ensuring that the Federal 
        Government and those districts receive full and fair value for 
        the sale of the Properties.

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 
        determined by an independent appraiser approved by the 
        Secretary, the purchaser, and each of the Irrigation Districts, 
        based on--
                    (A) treatment of the property as unimproved land; 
                and
                    (B) a market comparison of similar properties in 
                the immediate geographic area of the appraised parcel.
            (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 is provided 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.
    (d) Timing.--The Secretary shall make every effort to complete all 
actions necessary for the conveyance of the Properties by the Secretary 
under this Act not later than--
            (1) 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act; and
            (2) 90 days after the receipt and approval by the Purchaser 
        of a survey of the Properties.
    (e) Payment of Consideration.--The Secretary shall provide the 
Purchaser 36 months, beginning on the date of conveyance of the 
Properties to the Purchaser, to pay the consideration required for the 
conveyance of the Properties to the Purchaser.
    (f) 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. USE OF PROCEEDS.

    Amounts received as proceeds under this Act shall be deposited in 
the reclamation fund on behalf of the Rio Grande Project and shall be 
made immediately available to the Irrigation Districts under the 
distribution scheme set forth in subsection I of section 4 of the Act 
of December 5, 1924 (43 U.S.C. 501).

SEC. 8. 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.).
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