[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 35 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]
S.35
One Hundred Fifteenth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE SECOND SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
the third day of January, two thousand and eighteen
An Act
To transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land
Management land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, 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 ``Black Hills National Cemetery
Boundary Expansion Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Cemetery.--The term ``Cemetery'' means the Black Hills
National Cemetery in Sturgis, South Dakota.
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the
approximately 200 acres of Bureau of Land Management land adjacent
to the Cemetery, generally depicted as ``Proposed National Cemetery
Expansion'' on the map entitled ``Proposed Expansion of Black Hills
National Cemetery-South Dakota'' and dated June 16, 2016.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
SEC. 3. TRANSFER AND WITHDRAWAL OF BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND FOR
CEMETERY USE.
(a) Conduct of Due Diligence Activities by the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs.--
(1) In general.--Before the transfer of administrative
jurisdiction and withdrawal of the Federal land under subsections
(b) and (c), respectively, and subject to paragraph (2), the
Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete any appropriate
environmental, cultural resource, and other due diligence
activities on the Federal land that would enable the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs to confirm that the Federal land is suitable for
cemetery purposes.
(2) Notice; required coordination.--The Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall--
(A) before conducting any due diligence activities under
paragraph (1), notify the Secretary of the activities to be
conducted;
(B) as the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines to be
necessary in the conduct of the due diligence activities under
paragraph (1), coordinate the activities with the Secretary;
and
(C) if the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines, on
completion of the due diligence activities under paragraph (1),
that the Federal land is suitable for cemetery purposes, submit
written notice of the determination to the Secretary.
(b) Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction.--
(1) Transfer.--
(A) In general.--On receipt by the Secretary of written
notice of a determination that the Federal land is suitable for
cemetery purposes under subsection (a)(2)(C), except as
provided in subparagraph (B), and subject to valid existing
rights, administrative jurisdiction over the Federal land is
transferred from the Secretary to the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs for use as a national cemetery in accordance with
chapter 24 of title 38, United States Code.
(B) Exclusion.--The transfer of administrative jurisdiction
over the Federal land under subparagraph (A) shall not include
the land located within 100 feet of the center of the
Centennial Trail, as generally depicted on the map entitled
``Proposed Expansion of Black Hills National Cemetery-South
Dakota'' and dated June 16, 2016.
(2) Legal descriptions.--
(A) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall publish in the
Federal Register a notice containing a legal description of the
Federal land.
(B) Effect.--A legal description published under
subparagraph (A) shall have the same force and effect as if
included in this Act, except that the Secretary may correct any
clerical and typographical errors in the legal description.
(C) Availability.--Copies of the legal description
published under subparagraph (A) shall be available for public
inspection in the appropriate offices of--
(i) the Bureau of Land Management; and
(ii) the National Cemetery Administration.
(D) Costs.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
reimburse the Secretary for the costs incurred by the Secretary
in carrying out this paragraph, including the costs of any
surveys and other reasonable costs.
(c) Withdrawal.--On receipt by the Secretary of written notice of a
determination that the Federal land is suitable for cemetery purposes
under subsection (a)(2)(C) and subject to valid existing rights, the
Federal land--
(1) is withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the
public land laws, including the mining laws, the mineral leasing
laws, and the geothermal leasing laws; and
(2) shall be treated as property as defined under section
102(9) of title 40, United States Code.
(d) Boundary Modification.--The boundary of the Cemetery is
modified to include the Federal land.
(e) Modification of Public Land Order.--Public Land Order 2112,
dated June 6, 1960 (25 Fed. Reg. 5243), is modified to exclude the
Federal land.
Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Vice President of the United States and
President of the Senate.