[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4700 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4700

To provide special authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
certain Forest Service administrative sites in the White River National 
 Forest in Colorado, to reserve the proceeds from such conveyances to 
  help resolve the facilities needs of that national forest, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 24, 2004

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To provide special authority to the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
certain Forest Service administrative sites in the White River National 
 Forest in Colorado, to reserve the proceeds from such conveyances to 
  help resolve the facilities needs of that national forest, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 ``White River National Forest 
Improvement Act of 2004''.

SEC. 2. ADMINISTRATIVE SITES CONVEYANCE AUTHORITY, WHITE RIVER NATIONAL 
              FOREST, COLORADO.

    (a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
            (1) The White River National Forest in Colorado (in this 
        section referred to as the ``Forest'') is one of the most 
        visited recreation forests in the United States, but the 
        administrative facilities of the Forest have become outdated 
        and prohibitively expensive to operate and maintain.
            (2) The recently completed facility master plan for the 
        Forest, entitled ``Facility Master Plan, White River National 
        Forest'' and dated March 2003, including Appendix 3 of the 
        plan, entitled ``Baseline Analysis and Strategic 
        Recommendations'' (in this section referred to as the 
        ``Facility Master Plan and Appendix 3''), provides an excellent 
        model for solving the facilities needs of the Forest so as to 
        better serve the public and otherwise fulfill the mission of 
        the Forest.
    (b) Special Conveyance Authority.--
            (1) Authority provided.--The Secretary of Agriculture is 
        authorized to sell, lease, exchange or otherwise convey, under 
        such terms and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe, any 
        or all right, title, and interest of the United States in and 
        to the following parcels of real property, including 
        improvements thereon, within the Forest, as identified for 
        disposal in the Facility Master Plan and Appendix 3:
                    (A) Parcel a.--Shop/Barracks/Residential Compound, 
                10.9 acres, more or less.
                    (B) Parcel b.--Eagle D.O. and dwelling unit, 0.3 
                acres, more or less.
                    (C) Parcel c.--Eagle Shop/Pasture compound, 8.0 
                acres, more or less.
                    (D) Parcel d.--Washington Street Residence, 0.2 
                acres, more or less.
                    (E) Parcel e.--Holy Cross D.O. (Dowd Junction), 10 
                acres, more or less.
                    (F) Parcel f.--Martin Property, 11.7 acres, more or 
                less.
                    (G) Parcel g.--Bone Yard/Storage Area, 5 acres, 
                more or less.
                    (H) Parcel h.--Housing Compound, 7 acres, more or 
                less.
                    (I) Parcel i.--Cross Creek Parcel, 10 acres, more 
                or less.
                    (J) Parcel j.--Dwelling 355 Fairway, 0.2 acres, 
                more or less.
                    (K) Parcel k.--Dwelling 236 Fairway, 0.2 acres, 
                more or less.
                    (L) Parcel l.--Sopris D.O. (Site #300), 1.2 acres, 
                more or less.
                    (M) Parcel m.--Sopris Pasture (Site #380), 11 
                acres, more or less.
                    (N) Parcel n.--Old Tree Nursery (Site #360), 29 
                acres, more or less.
                    (O) Parcel o.--SO Shop (Site #610), 0.66 acres, 
                more or less.
                    (P) Parcel p.--Airport Site, 4.0 acres, more or 
                less.
            (2) Inclusion of additional parcels.--The Secretary may use 
        the authority provided by this section to convey other real 
        property in the Forest that is excess or extraneous to the 
        needs of the Forest Service and is used predominantly for 
        administrative purposes. The Secretary may include the 
        approximately 3.0 acre administrative parcel in Aspen, 
        Colorado, but the Secretary may only convey that parcel by 
        lease or other contractual arrangement so that the United 
        States retains fee ownership of the parcel.
            (3) Descriptions.--The Secretary may modify the description 
        of a parcel of real property referred to in paragraph (1) to 
        correct errors or to reconfigure the parcel to facilitate a 
        conveyance.
    (c) Consideration.--
            (1) Acceptance and forms.--As consideration for the 
        conveyance of real property under this section, the Secretary 
        of Agriculture may accept cash, land, improvements, operational 
        and maintenance services related to the administrative 
        facilities of the Forest, or a combination thereof.
            (2) Use.--Subject to subsection (e), the Secretary shall 
        utilize the parcels of real property referred to in subsection 
        (b)(1) and the consideration received under this subsection in 
        connection with implementing the financial arrangements, 
        including public/private partnership transactions and full 
        solution transactional packages, described in the Facility 
        Master Plan and Appendix 3. The Secretary may modify the 
        details of the Facility Master Plan and Appendix 3 consistent 
        with the goal of solving the facilities needs of the Forest so 
        as to better serve the public and otherwise fulfill the mission 
        of the Forest.
            (3) Valuation.--Any appraisal of real property considered 
        necessary or desirable by the Secretary to carry out a 
        conveyance under this section shall conform to the Uniform 
        Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions.
            (4) Cash equalization.--Notwithstanding any other provision 
        of law, the Secretary may accept a cash equalization payment in 
        excess of 25 percent of the value of any real property conveyed 
        under this section by exchange.
    (d) Methods and Manner of Conveyance.--
            (1) Solicitations of offers.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
        may--
                    (A) solicit offers for the sale, lease, exchange, 
                or other conveyance of parcels of real property under 
                this section on such terms and conditions as the 
                Secretary may prescribe; and
                    (B) reject any offer that the Secretary determines 
                is not adequate or not in the public interest.
            (2) Use of competitive methods.--The Secretary shall convey 
        a parcel of real property under this section utilizing 
        competitive processes, including competitive solicitation by 
        auction, bid, or otherwise, except insofar as the Secretary 
        determines that other procedures are required to facilitate the 
        conveyance of the parcel.
            (3) Use of brokers.--The Secretary may utilize brokers or 
        other third parties in the conveyance of real property under 
        this section and, from the proceeds of the conveyance, may pay 
        reasonable commissions or fees for services rendered.
    (e) Treatment of Receipts.--
            (1) Deposit in sisk act fund.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
        shall deposit the net receipts of a conveyance under this 
        section in the fund established by Public Law 90-171 (commonly 
        known as the ``Sisk Act''; 16 U.S.C. 484a).
            (2) Relation to other forest receipts.--The receipts from a 
        conveyance under this section shall not be paid or distributed 
        to the State of Colorado or any county in the State under any 
        provision of law or otherwise be considered as moneys received 
        from the National Forest System for purposes of the Act of May 
        23, 1908, or the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500), or the 
        Act of March 4, 1913 (16 U.S.C. 501).
            (3) Use of receipts.--Amounts deposited pursuant to 
        paragraph (1) shall be available to the Secretary for 
        expenditure, without further appropriation, for the 
        acquisition, construction, operation, and maintenance of 
        administrative improvements in the Forest, including provisions 
        for employee housing, in connection with implementing the 
        financial arrangements, including public/private partnership 
        transactions and full solution transactional packages, 
        described in the Facility Master Plan and Appendix 3, subject 
        to such modifications of the Facility Master Plan and Appendix 
        3 as the Secretary may make under subsection (c).
    (f) Miscellaneous Provisions.--
            (1) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the 
        parcels of real property referred to in subsection (b)(1) are 
        withdrawn from location, entry, and patent under the mining 
        laws of the United States.
            (2) Inapplicable authorities.--Subchapters II and III of 
        chapter 5 of title 40, United States Code, and the Agriculture 
        Property Management Regulations shall not apply to any action 
        taken pursuant to this section.
    (g) Authorization for Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this section.
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