[Congressional Bills 110th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 523 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

  1st Session
                                H. R. 523


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            October 23, 2007

   Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT


 
To require the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain public land 
    located wholly or partially within the boundaries of the Wells 
   Hydroelectric Project of Public Utility District No. 1 of Douglas 
              County, Washington, to the utility district.

    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 ``Douglas County, Washington, PUD 
Conveyance Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means the 
        approximately 622 acres of Federal land managed by the Bureau 
        of Land Management and identified for conveyance on the map 
        prepared by the Bureau of Land Management entitled ``Douglas 
        County Public Utility District Proposal'' and dated March 2, 
        2006.
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (3) PUD.--The term ``PUD'' means the Public Utility 
        District No. 1 of Douglas County, Washington.
            (4) Wells hydroelectric project.--The term ``Wells 
        Hydroelectric Project'' means Federal Energy Regulatory 
        Commission Project No. 2149.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF PUBLIC LAND, WELLS HYDROELECTRIC PROJECT, PUBLIC 
              UTILITY DISTRICT NO. 1 OF DOUGLAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON.

    (a) Conveyance Required.--Notwithstanding the land use planning 
requirements of sections 202 and 203 of the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712, 1713), and notwithstanding 
section 24 of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 818) and Federal Power 
Order for Project 2149, and subject to valid existing rights, if not 
later than 45 days after the date of completion of the appraisal 
required under subsection (b), the Public Utility District No. 1 of 
Douglas County, Washington, submits to the Secretary of the Interior an 
offer to acquire the public land for the appraised value, the Secretary 
shall convey, not later than 30 days after the date of the offer, to 
the PUD all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to 
the public land.
    (b) Appraisal.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary shall complete an appraisal of the public 
land. The appraisal shall be conducted in accordance with the ``Uniform 
Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions'' and the ``Uniform 
Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice''.
    (c) Payment.--Not later than 30 days after the date on which the 
public land is conveyed under this section, the PUD shall pay to the 
Secretary an amount equal to the appraised value of the public land as 
determined under subsection (b).
    (d) Map and Legal Descriptions.--As soon as practicable after the 
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize legal 
descriptions of the public land to be conveyed under this section. The 
Secretary may correct any minor errors in the map referred to in 
section 2 or in the legal descriptions. The map and legal descriptions 
shall be on file and available for public inspection in appropriate 
offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
    (e) Costs of Conveyance.--As a condition of conveyance, any costs 
related to the conveyance under this section shall be paid by the PUD.
    (f) Disposition of Proceeds.--The Secretary shall deposit the 
proceeds from the sale in the Federal Land Disposal Account established 
by section 206 of the Federal Land Transaction Facilitation Act (43 
U.S.C. 2305) to be expended to improve access to public lands 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management in the State of 
Washington.

SEC. 4. SEGREGATION OF LANDS.

    (a) Withdrawal.--Except as provided in section 3(a), effective 
immediately upon enactment of this Act, and subject to valid existing 
rights, the public land is withdrawn from--
            (1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under 
        the public land laws, and all amendments thereto;
            (2) location, entry, and patenting under the mining laws, 
        and all amendments thereto; and
            (3) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, 
        and geothermal leasing laws, and all amendments thereto.
    (b) Duration.--This section expires two years after the date of 
enactment of this Act or on the date of the completion of the 
conveyance under section 3, whichever is earlier.

SEC. 5. RETAINED AUTHORITY.

    The Secretary shall retain the authority to place conditions on the 
license to insure adequate protection and utilization of the public 
land granted to the Secretary in section 4(e) of the Federal Power Act 
(16 U.S.C. 797(e)) until the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has 
issued a new license for the Wells Hydroelectric Project, to replace 
the original license expiring May 31, 2012, consistent with section 15 
of the Federal Power Act (16 U.S.C. 808).

            Passed the House of Representatives October 22, 2007.

            Attest:

                                            LORRAINE C. MILLER,

                                                                 Clerk.