[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 235 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 235

   To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to sell certain parcels of 
        Federal land in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 1, 2005

 Mr. Ensign (for himself and Mr. Reid) introduced the following bill; 
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to sell certain parcels of 
        Federal land in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada.

    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 ``Nevada National Forest Land Disposal 
Act of 2005''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The United States owns, and the Forest Service 
        administers, land in small and large parcels in Carson City and 
        Douglas County, Nevada.
            (2) Much of this Federal land is interspersed with or 
        adjacent to private land, which renders the Federal land 
        difficult, inefficient, and expensive for the Forest Service to 
        manage and more appropriate for disposal.
            (3) In order to promote responsible and orderly development 
        in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada, appropriate parcels 
        of the Federal land should be sold by the Federal Government 
        based on recommendations made by units of local government and 
        the public.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for the sale of 
certain parcels of Federal land in Carson City and Douglas County, 
Nevada.

SEC. 3. DISPOSAL OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS, CARSON CITY AND 
              DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA.

    (a) Disposal Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture (in this 
section referred to as the ``Secretary'' shall sell any right, title, 
or interest of the United States in and to the following parcels of 
National Forest System lands in Carson City or Douglas County, Nevada:
            (1) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Carson 
        Parcel'', consisting of approximately 3 acres, and more 
        particularly described as being a portion of the southeast 
        quarter, section 31, township 15 north, range 20 east, Mount 
        Diablo Base and Meridian.
            (2) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Jacks Valley/
        Highway 395 Parcel'', consisting of approximately 28 acres, and 
        more particularly described as being a portion of the southeast 
        quarter, section 6, township 14 north, range 20 east, Mount 
        Diablo Base and Meridian.
            (3) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Indian Hills 
        Parcel'', consisting of approximately 75 acres, and more 
        particularly described as being a portion of the southwest 
        quarter, section 18, township 14 north, range 20 east, Mount 
        Diablo Base and Meridian.
            (4) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Mountain House 
        Area Parcel'', consisting of approximately 40 acres, and more 
        particularly described as being a portion of the northwest 
        quarter northeast quarter, section 12, township 10 north, range 
        21 east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian.
            (5) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Holbrook 
        Junction Area Parcel'', consisting of approximately 80 acres, 
        and more particularly described as being a portion of the west 
        half of the southwest quarter, section 7, township 10 north, 
        range 22 east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian.
            (6) The two parcels of land referred to as the ``Topaz Lake 
        Parcels'', consisting of approximately 5 acres (approximately 
        2.5 acres per parcel), and more particularly described as being 
        portions of the northwest quarter, section 29, township 10 
        north, range 22 east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian.
    (b) Modification of Descriptions.--The Secretary may--
            (1) correct typographical or clerical errors in the 
        descriptions of land specified in subsection (a); and
            (2) for the purposes of soliciting offers for the sale of 
        such land, modify the descriptions based on--
                    (A) a survey; or
                    (B) a determination by the Secretary that the 
                modification is in the best interest of the public.
    (c) Selection and Sale.--
            (1) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate the sale 
        of land under this section with the unit of local government in 
        which the land is located.
            (2) Existing rights.--The sale of land under this section 
        shall be subject to all valid existing rights, such as rights-
        of-way, in effect as of the date of the sale.
            (3) Zoning laws.--The sale of land under this section shall 
        be in accordance with local land use planning and zoning laws 
        and regulations.
            (4) Solicitations of offers.--The Secretary shall solicit 
        offers for the sale of land under this section, subject to any 
        terms or conditions that the Secretary may prescribe. The 
        Secretary may reject any offer made under this section if the 
        Secretary determines that the offer is not adequate or not in 
        the public interest.
            (5) Method of sale.--The Secretary may sell the land 
        described in subsection (a) at public auction.
    (d) Disposition of Proceeds.--
            (1) Payments and deposits.--Of the gross proceeds from any 
        sale of land under this section, the Secretary shall--
                    (A) pay five percent to the State of Nevada for use 
                for the general education program of the State;
                    (B) pay five percent to the Carson Water 
                Subconservancy District in the State;
                    (C) deposit 25 percent in the fund established 
                under Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the ``Sisk 
                Act''; 16 U.S.C. 484a); and
                    (D) retain and use, without further appropriation, 
                the remaining funds for the purpose of expanding the 
                Minden Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nevada, 
                as provided in paragraph (3).
            (2) Use of sisk act funds.--The amounts deposited under 
        paragraph (1)(C) shall be available to the Secretary until 
        expended, without further appropriation, for the following 
        purposes:
                    (A) Reimbursement of costs incurred by the local 
                offices of the Forest Service in carrying out land 
                sales under this section, not to exceed 10 percent of 
                the total proceeds of the land sales.
                    (B) The development and maintenance of parks, 
                trails, and natural areas in Carson City or Douglas 
                County, Nevada, in accordance with a cooperative 
                agreement entered into with the unit of local 
                government in which the park, trail, or natural area is 
                located.
            (3) Minden interagency dispatch center.--The Minden 
        Interagency Dispatch Center is located on land made available 
        by the State of Nevada in Minden, Nevada, and will serve as a 
        joint facility for the Forest Service and the Nevada Division 
        of Forestry for the purpose of fighting wildland fires. The 
        expansion of the center shall include living quarters and 
        office space for the Blackmountain Hotshot Crew, a guard 
        station for housing engines and patrol vehicles, an air traffic 
        control tower, a training facility, and a warehouse.
            (4) Limitation.--None of the amounts made available to the 
        Carson Water Subconservancy District under paragraph (1)(B) 
        shall be used to pay the costs of litigation.
    (e) Relation to Other Property Management Laws.--The land described 
in subsection (a) shall not be subject to chapter 5 of title 40, United 
States Code, as codified by Public Law 107-217 (116 Stat. 1062).
    (f) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land 
described in subsection (a) is withdrawn from location, entry, and 
patent under the public land laws, mining laws, and mineral leasing 
laws, including geothermal leasing laws.
    (g) Revocation of Public Land Orders.--
            (1) In general.--To facilitate the sale of parcels of land 
        described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall revoke any 
        public land orders in existence on the date of the enactment of 
        this Act that withdraw the parcels from all forms of 
        appropriation under the public land laws, to the extent that 
        the orders apply to land described in such subsection (a).
            (2) Effective date.--A revocation under paragraph (1) shall 
        be effective on the date on which the instrument conveying the 
        parcels of land subject to the public land order is executed.
    (h) Report.--The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 
Agriculture and the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 
Forestry of the Senate an annual report on all land sales made under 
this section.
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