1.This Act may be cited as
the Green Mountain National Forest
Land Adjustment Act of 2005
.
2.In this Act:
(1)The
term Bromley means Bromley Mountain Ski Resort, Inc.
(2)The
term map means the map entitled Proposed Bromley Land Sale
or Exchange
and dated April 7, 2004.
(3)The
term Secretary means the Secretary of Agriculture.
(4)The
term State means the State of Vermont.
3.Sale or exchange
of green mountain national forest land
(a)The Secretary may, under any terms and conditions that
the Secretary may prescribe, sell or exchange any right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to the parcels of National Forest System land
described in subsection (b).
(b)The parcels of National Forest System land referred to in
subsection (a) are the 5 parcels of land in Bennington County in the State, as
generally depicted on the map.
(c)Map and legal
descriptions
(1)The map shall be on file and available for public
inspection in—
(A)the office of the
Chief of the Forest Service; and
(B)the office of the
Supervisor of the Green Mountain National Forest.
(2)The
Secretary may modify the map and legal descriptions to—
(A)correct technical
errors; or
(B)facilitate the
conveyance under subsection (a).
(d)Consideration
for the sale or exchange of land described in subsection (b)—
(1)shall be equal to
an amount that is not less than the fair market value of the land sold or
exchanged; and
(2)may be in the
form of cash, land, or a combination of cash and land.
(e)Any
appraisal carried out to facilitate the sale or exchange of land under
subsection (a) shall conform with the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal
Land Acquisitions.
(f)
(1)
(A)Before soliciting offers under paragraph (2), the
Secretary shall offer to convey to Bromley the land described in subsection
(b).
(B)If Bromley accepts the offer under subparagraph (A), the
Secretary and Bromley shall have not more than 180 days after the date on which
any environmental analyses with respect to the land are completed to enter into
a contract for the sale or exchange of the land.
(2)If the Secretary and Bromley do not enter into a
contract for the sale or exchange of the land by the date specified in
paragraph (1)(B), the Secretary may sell or exchange the land at public or
private sale (including auction), in accordance with such terms, conditions,
and procedures as the Secretary determines to be in the public interest.
(3)The Secretary may reject any offer received under this
subsection if the Secretary determines that the offer is not adequate or is not
in the public interest.
(4)In
any sale or exchange of land under this section, the Secretary may—
(A)use a real estate
broker or other third party; and
(B)pay the real
estate broker or third party a commission in an amount comparable to the
amounts of commission generally paid for real estate transactions in the
area.
(g)Notwithstanding
section 206(b) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1716(b)), the Secretary may accept a cash equalization payment in excess of 25
percent of the value of any Federal land exchanged under this Act.
4.
(a)The Secretary shall deposit the net proceeds from a sale
or exchange under this Act in the fund established under Public Law 90–171 (16
U.S.C. 484a) (commonly known as the Sisk Act
).
(b)Amounts
deposited under subsection (a) shall be available to the Secretary until
expended, without further appropriation, for—
(1)the location and
relocation of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Long National
Recreation Trail in the State;
(2)the acquisition
of land and interests in land by the Secretary for National Forest System
purposes within the boundary of the Green Mountain National Forest, including
land for and adjacent to the Appalachian National Scenic Trail and the Long
National Recreation Trail;
(3)the acquisition
of wetland or an interest in wetland within the boundary of the Green Mountain
National Forest to offset the loss of wetland from the parcels sold or
exchanged; and
(4)the payment of
direct administrative costs incurred in carrying out this Act.
(c)Amounts
deposited under subsection (a) shall not—
(1)be paid or
distributed to the State or counties or towns in the State under any provision
of law; or
(2)be considered to
be money received from units of the National Forest System for purposes
of—
(A)the Act of May
23, 1908 (16 U.S.C. 500); or
(B)the Act of March
4, 1913 (16 U.S.C. 501).
(d)Prohibition of
Transfer or ReprogrammingAmounts deposited under subsection (a)
shall not be subject to transfer or reprogramming for wildfire management or
any other emergency purposes.
5.The Secretary may
acquire, using funds made available under section 4 or otherwise made available
for acquisition, land or an interest in land for National Forest System
purposes within the boundary of the Green Mountain National Forest.
6.Exemption from
certain lawsSubtitle I of
title 40, United States Code, shall not apply to any sale or exchange of
National Forest System land under this Act.