[Congressional Bills 114th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3027 Introduced in House (IH)]

114th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3027

 To authorize the conveyance of four small parcels of land within the 
boundaries of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge for the purposes of 
              addressing a long-term boundary discrepancy.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 10, 2015

   Mr. Gosar (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Franks of Arizona, Mrs. 
 Kirkpatrick, Mr. Salmon, Ms. Sinema, Mr. Schweikert, Mr. Gallego, and 
 Ms. McSally) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the conveyance of four small parcels of land within the 
boundaries of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge for the purposes of 
              addressing a long-term boundary discrepancy.

    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 ``Meers Point Boundary Clarification 
Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Administrative costs.--The term ``administrative 
        costs'' refers to any costs necessary to transfer the Federal 
        Land from the United States to the Property Owner, such as--
                    (A) boundary surveys;
                    (B) boundary marking;
                    (C) title work;
                    (D) closing costs;
                    (E) recording fees; and
                    (F) Level 1 contaminant reports.
            (2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal Land'' means the land 
        that is owned by the United States and managed cooperatively by 
        the Bureau of Reclamation and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
        Service; located within lots 34, 35, 37, and 38 in section 13 
        of Township 5 South, Range 22 West; and identified in the 
        survey as those portions of lots 34, 35, 37, and 38 that are 
        within the boundary of the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge.
            (3) Property owner.--The term ``Property Owner'' means the 
        current landowner or landowners of those properties described 
        in Quit Claim Deeds, dated July 1, 1992, and filed in Yuma 
        County, Arizona at DKT 1816, page 740; DKT 1816, page 748; DKT 
        1816, page 752; and State of Arizona, State Land Department 
        Special Land Use Permit No. 23-113167-17, dated August 27, 
        2008, and identified in this Act as--
                    (A) lot 34, State of Arizona ``lease lot'';
                    (B) lot 35;
                    (C) lot 37; and
                    (D) lot 38.
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (5) Survey.--The term ``Survey'' means a survey of Meers 
        Point that shall--
                    (A) be conducted by the Secretary, acting through 
                the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service;
                    (B) cover those portions of lots 34, 35, 37, and 38 
                that are currently within the boundary of the Imperial 
                National Wildlife Refuge; and
                    (C) determine the exact acreage and legal 
                description of the Federal Land to be conveyed under 
                this Act.

SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO PROPERTY OWNERS.

    (a) In General.--After completion of the survey, the Secretary 
shall convey to each Property Owner by quitclaim deed all right, title, 
and interest of the United States in and to that Federal Land within 
each Property Owner's lot.
    (b) Consideration.--
            (1) Payment of administrative costs.--As consideration for 
        the conveyance of the Federal Land under this section, each 
        Property Owner shall pay to the Secretary a percentage of the 
        total administrative costs incurred by the United States in an 
        amount that equals the proportion of the acreage conveyed to 
        each Property Owner to the total acreage conveyed under 
        subsection (a) to all Property Owners. Such consideration shall 
        be paid by a Property Owner to the Secretary on or before the 
        date of the conveyance.
            (2) Waiver for state.--Payment is hereby waived for any 
        conveyance of Federal Land under this Act to the State of 
        Arizona.
    (c) Liability.--Effective on the date of conveyance of Federal Land 
to a Property Owner under this section, the United States shall not be 
held liable by any court for damages of any kind arising out of any 
act, omission, or occurrence relating to the land conveyed, except for 
damages caused by acts of negligence committed by the United States or 
by its employees or agents prior to the date of conveyance. Nothing in 
this section increases the liability of the United States beyond that 
provided in chapter 171 of title 28, United States Code (popularly 
known as the ``Federal Tort Claims Act'') on the date of the enactment 
of this Act.
    (d) Property Owner Discretion.--The conveyance of Federal Land in 
accordance with this Act shall be subject to a Property Owner's 
compliance with the provisions of this section.

SEC. 4. DISPOSITION AND USE OF PROCEEDS.

    Any amounts paid to the Secretary under section 3, shall remain 
available to the Secretary, without further appropriation until 
expended, for visitor services and resource protection at Imperial 
National Wildlife Refuge.
                                 <all>