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






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2766

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


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 17, 2003

  Mr. Beauprez (for himself, Mr. Udall of Colorado, and Mr. Tancredo) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
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.--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:
            (1) 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.
            (2) The surface estate of certain lands located near 
        Argentine Pass, in Clear Creek and Summit Counties, Colorado, 
        comprising approximately 60.909 acres in 15 patented mining 
        claims, as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Argentine 
        Pass/Continental Divide Trail Lands'', dated June 2003.
    (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) 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 
        surface estates of the non-Federal lands identified in 
        subsection (a)(2) shall be considered as 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) 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)(1) 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), the values shall be equalized 
        by the Secretary preparing a statement of value for the non-
        Federal lands identified in subsection (a)(2) and utilizing 
        such value to the extent necessary to equalize value. If the 
        Secretary declines to accept the non-Federal lands identified 
        in subsection (a)(2) for any reason, the City shall make a cash 
        equalization payment to the Secretary as necessary to equalize 
        the values of the Federal land and the non-Federal lands 
        identified in subsection (a)(1).
    (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 hereby authorized 
to construct a water pipeline on the existing course of the Lindstrom 
ditch through the Federal land identified in subsection (b) without 
further action by the Secretary, if such construction has not been 
authorized by the Secretary. 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)(1) and an additional 40 acres as depicted 
on a map entitled ``Arapahoe 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 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.
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