[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2766 Engrossed in House (EH)]


  1st Session

                               H. R. 2766

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain lands in the 
    Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2766

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to exchange certain lands in the 
    Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests in the State of Colorado.

    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 ``Arapaho and Roosevelt National 
Forests Land Exchange Act of 2003''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) Certain National Forest System lands near Empire, 
        Colorado, are needed by the city of Golden, Colorado, to 
        facilitate the construction of a water pipeline to transport 
        domestic water supplies into storage for the city and its 
        residents.
            (2) Such National Forest System lands, comprising 
        approximately 9.84 acres in total, are of limited utility for 
        public administration or recreation and other use by virtue of 
        their largely steep terrain, irregular boundary, and lack of 
        easy public access.
            (3) The city of Golden owns, or has an option to purchase, 
        several parcels of non-Federal land comprising a total of 
        approximately 141 acres near Evergreen and Argentine Pass, 
        Colorado, which it is willing to convey to the United States 
        for addition to the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests.
            (4) The non-Federal lands owned or optioned by the city of 
        Golden, if conveyed to the United States, will eliminate 
        inholdings in the National Forest System, result in 
        administrative cost savings to the United States by reducing 
        costs of forest boundary administration, and provide the United 
        States with environmental and public recreational use benefits 
        (including enhanced Federal land ownership along the 
        Continental Divide National Scenic Trail) that greatly exceed 
        the benefits of the Federal land the United States will convey 
        in exchange.
            (5) It is in the public interest to authorize, direct, 
        expedite, and facilitate completion of a land exchange 
        involving these Federal and non-Federal lands to assist the 
        city of Golden in providing additional water to its residents 
        and to acquire valuable non-Federal lands for permanent public 
        use and enjoyment.

SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE, ARAPAHO AND ROOSEVELT NATIONAL FORESTS, 
              COLORADO.

    (a) Conveyance by the City of Golden.--
            (1) Lands described.--The land exchange directed by this 
        section shall proceed if, within 30 days after the date of the 
        enactment of this Act, the city of Golden, Colorado (in the 
        section referred to as the ``City''), offers to convey title 
        acceptable to the United States to the following non-Federal 
        lands:
                    (A) Certain lands located near the community of 
                Evergreen in Park County, Colorado, comprising 
                approximately 80 acres, as generally depicted on a map 
                entitled ``Non-Federal Lands--Cub Creek Parcel'', dated 
                June, 2003.
                    (B) Certain lands located near Argentine Pass in 
                Clear Creek and Summit Counties, Colorado, comprising 
                approximately 55.909 acres in 14 patented mining 
                claims, as generally depicted on a map entitled 
                ``Argentine Pass/Continental Divide Trail Lands'', 
                dated September 2003.
            (2) Conditions of conveyance.--The conveyance of lands 
        under paragraph (1) to the United States shall be subject to 
        the absolute right of the City to permanently enter upon, 
        utilize, and occupy so much of the surface and subsurface of 
        the lands as may be reasonably necessary to access, maintain, 
        repair, modify, make improvements in, or otherwise utilize the 
        Vidler Tunnel to the same extent that the City would have had 
        such right if the lands had not been conveyed to the United 
        States and remained in City ownership. The exercise of such 
        right shall not require the City to secure any permit or other 
        advance approval from the United States. Upon acquisition by 
        the United States, such lands are hereby permanently withdrawn 
        from all forms of entry and appropriation under the public land 
        laws, including the mining and mineral leasing laws, and the 
        Geothermal Steam Act of l970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
    (b) Conveyance by United States.--Upon receipt of acceptable title 
to the non-Federal lands identified in subsection (a), the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall simultaneously convey to the City all right, title 
and interest of the United States in and to certain Federal lands, 
comprising approximately 9.84 acres, as generally depicted on a map 
entitled ``Empire Federal Lands--Parcel 12'', dated June 2003.
    (c) Equal Value Exchange.--
            (1) Appraisal.--The values of the Federal lands identified 
        in subsection (b) and the non-Federal lands identified in 
        subsection (a)(1)(A) shall be determined by the Secretary 
        through appraisals performed in accordance with the Uniform 
        Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions (December 20, 
        2000) and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal 
        Practice. Except as provided in paragraph (3), the conveyance 
        of the non-Federal lands identified in subsection (a)(1)(B) 
        shall be considered a donation for all purposes of law.
            (2) Surplus of non-federal value.--If the final appraised 
        value, as approved by the Secretary, of the non-Federal lands 
        identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) exceeds the final appraised 
        value, as approved by the Secretary, of the Federal land 
        identified in subsection (b), the values may be equalized--
                    (A) by reducing the acreage of the non-Federal 
                lands identified in subsection (a) to be conveyed, as 
                determined appropriate and acceptable by the Secretary 
                and the City;
                    (B) the making of a cash equalization payment to 
                the City, including a cash equalization payment in 
                excess of the amount authorized by section 206(b) of 
                the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
                U.S.C. 1716(b)); or
                    (C) a combination of acreage reduction and cash 
                equalization.
            (3) Surplus of federal value.--If the final appraised 
        value, as approved by the Secretary, of the Federal land 
        identified in subsection (b) exceeds the final appraised value, 
        as approved by the Secretary, of the non-Federal lands 
        identified in subsection (a)(1)(A), the Secretary shall prepare 
        a statement of value for the non-Federal lands identified in 
        subsection (a)(1)(B) and utilize such value to the extent 
        necessary to equalize the values of the non-Federal lands 
        identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) and the Federal land 
        identified in subsection (b). If the Secretary declines to 
        accept the non-Federal lands identified in subsection (a)(1)(B) 
        for any reason, the City shall make a cash equalization payment 
        to the Secretary as necessary to equalize the values of the 
        non-Federal lands identified in subsection (a)(1)(A) and the 
        Federal land identified in subsection (b).
    (d) Exchange Costs.--To expedite the land exchange under this 
section and save administrative costs to the United States, the City 
shall be required to pay for--
            (1) any necessary land surveys; and
            (2) the costs of the appraisals, which shall be performed 
        in accordance with Forest Service policy on approval of the 
        appraiser and the issuance of appraisal instructions.
    (e) Timing and Interim Authorization.--It is the intent of Congress 
that the land exchange directed by this Act should be completed no 
later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act. 
Pending completion of the land exchange, the City is authorized, 
effective on the date of the enactment of this Act, to construct a 
water pipeline on or near the existing course of the Lindstrom ditch 
through the Federal land identified in subsection (b) without further 
action or authorization by the Secretary, except that, prior to 
initiating any such construction, the City shall execute and convey to 
the Secretary a legal document that permanently holds the United States 
harmless for any and all liability arising from the construction of 
such water pipeline and indemnifies the United States against all costs 
arising from the United States' ownership of the Federal land, and any 
actions, operations or other acts of the City or its licensees, 
employees, or agents in constructing such water pipeline or engaging in 
other acts on the Federal land prior to its transfer to the City. Such 
encumbrance on the Federal land prior to conveyance shall not be 
considered for purposes of the appraisal.
    (f) Alternative Sale Authority.--If the land exchange is not 
completed for any reason, the Secretary is hereby authorized and 
directed to sell the Federal land identified in subsection (b) to the 
City at its final appraised value, as approved by the Secretary. Any 
money received by the United States in such sale shall be considered 
money received and deposited pursuant to Public Law 90-171 (16 U.S.C. 
484(a); commonly known as the ``Sisk Act'', and may be used, without 
further appropriation, for the acquisition of lands for addition to the 
National Forest System in the State of Colorado.
    (g) Incorporation, Management, and Status of Acquired Lands.--Land 
acquired by the United States under the land exchange shall become part 
of the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests, and the exterior 
boundary of such forest is hereby modified, without further action by 
the Secretary, as necessary to incorporate the non-Federal lands 
identified in subsection (a) and an additional 40 acres as depicted on 
a map entitled ``Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forest Boundary 
Adjustment--Cub Creek'', dated June 2003. Upon their acquisition, lands 
or interests in land acquired under the authority of this Act shall be 
administered in accordance with the laws, rules and regulations 
generally applicable to the National Forest System. For purposes of 
Section 7 of the of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of l965 
(16 U.S.C. 460l-9), the boundaries of the Arapaho and Roosevelt 
National Forests, as adjusted by this subsection shall be deemed to be 
the boundaries of such forest as of January 1, 1965.
    (h) Technical Corrections.--The Secretary, with the agreement of 
the City, may make technical corrections or correct clerical errors in 
the maps referred to in this section or adjust the boundaries of the 
Federal lands to leave the United States with a manageable post-
exchange or sale boundary. In the event of any discrepancy between a 
map, acreage estimate, or legal description, the map shall prevail 
unless the Secretary and the City agree otherwise.
    (i) Revocation of Orders and Withdrawal.--Any public orders 
withdrawing any of the Federal lands identified in subsection (b) from 
appropriation or disposal under the public land laws are hereby revoked 
to the extent necessary to permit disposal of the Federal lands. Upon 
the enactment of this Act, if not already withdrawn or segregated from 
the entry and appropriation under the public land laws, including the 
mining and mineral leasing laws and the Geothermal Steam Act of l970 
(30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.), the Federal lands are hereby withdrawn until 
the date of their conveyance to the City.

            Passed the House of Representatives November 4, 2003.

            Attest:

                                                                 Clerk.