[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 38 (Tuesday, April 12, 1994)]
[Senate]
[Page S]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: April 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                      LANDS CONVEYANCE LEGISLATION

  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill (S. 895) to reduce the 
restrictions on lands conveyed by deed under the act of June 8, 1926, 
which had been reported from the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources with an amendment to strike out all after the enacting clause 
and inserting in lieu thereof the following:

     That section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1926 (ch. 498; 44 Stat. 
     708), is amended by--
       (a) inserting ``(a)'' before ``The conveyance'';
       (b) striking ``States.'' at the end of the first sentence 
     and inserting in lieu thereof ``States, except that such 
     restrictions on conveyances and uses shall not apply to those 
     lands upon which communication facilities were located as of 
     January 1, 1993.''; and
       (c) adding at the end thereof the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(b) Reasonable access for the repair, maintenance, or 
     improvement of the communication facilities referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall be allowed: Provided, that the granting 
     of such access shall not be construed to require the Forest 
     Service to upgrade the condition of the access route beyond 
     the condition as of the date of enactment of the Act.
       ``(c) Recreational activities on the lands identified in 
     section 1, totaling approximately one thousand four hundred 
     and forty acres, may be allowed so long as such recreational 
     use is consistent both with the protection of the watershed 
     and water supply system of the city and with the management 
     objectives for adjacent National Forest System lands.''.

  Mr. HATCH. Mr. President, I am pleased to rise in strong support of 
S. 859, a bill introduced last April by myself and my colleague, 
Senator Bennett, to permit the city of Kaysville, UT, to lease certain 
patented lands for communications purposes.
  Similar legislation was introduced in the 102d Congress, but was not 
adopted because controversial language, which had nothing to do with 
the underlying subject matter of the bill, was added by the House and 
eventually doomed the bill.
  The purpose of S. 859 is simple. Sixty-eight years ago, in 1926, 
Kaysville City was granted a patent to Federal lands located on 
Kaysville Peak in order to provide protection to the city's watershed. 
Kaysville Peak is one of several peaks in the Wasatch Mountain Range 
that forms the eastern boundary of Davis County, UT, where Kaysville 
City is located. The 1926 act prohibited the use of the property on the 
peak, located in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest at an elevation of 
9,381 feet above sea level, for any purpose other than watershed 
protection. Any prohibited use would cause the lands to revert back to 
the Federal Government.
  In 1978, a communication relay station was constructed on the 
patented land located on the peak, technically violating the parameters 
of the 1926 patent act. When the patent was executed, communications 
stations on mountain peaks were very rare. Today, they are very common 
and essential to enhancing the communications link between the various 
local departments and city vehicles. The Kaysville Peak station, 
operated by a private company, is no different and provides similar 
functions. It is primarily used for the daily operations of the Davis 
County School District's buses. Without this capability, there would be 
no direct communications link between individual school buses and the 
district's administrative offices to ensure the proper daily operation 
of the buses.
  The Bureau of Land Management indicated in 1989, that there was no 
administrative relief available for this situation, which is why this 
legislation is necessary. S. 859 will correct this technicality by 
amending the 1926 act to permit the communication relay station to 
remain on the site in a manner consistent with watershed protection, 
which is the goal of the original act. Since there is no degradation to 
Kaysville City's watershed by having the station located on Kaysville 
Peak, this modification to the 1926 act is justified and warranted.
  During consideration of the bill by the Senate Energy and Natural 
Resources Committee, an amendment was adopted to address concerns 
raised by the Forest Service regarding unauthorized uses of the lands 
in question. This amendment will permit reasonable access for the 
repair, maintenance, or improvement of the communications facility 
without requiring the Forest Service to upgrade the condition of the 
access route. Also, recreational activities on these lands are 
authorized so long as they are consistent with protection of the city's 
watershed and water supply system, as well as the management objectives 
of the adjacent National Forest System lands. I am pleased the 
committee was able to achieve this accommodation with city officials, 
who support the legislation as constituted.
  I want to thank Senators Johnston, Wallop, and Bumpers for their 
assistance in moving this measure through the legislative process. 
Although a small and brief legislative proposal, it is vitally 
important to the citizens of Kaysville, UT.
  Mr. President, I urge my colleagues to support adoption of this 
measure.
  So the bill (S. 859), as amended, was passed as follows:

                                 S. 859

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled, That 
     section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1926 (ch. 498; 44 Stat. 708), 
     is amended by--
       (a) inserting ``(a)'' before ``The conveyance'';
       (b) striking ``States.'' at the end of the first sentence 
     and inserting in lieu thereof ``States, except that such 
     restrictions on conveyances and uses shall not apply to those 
     lands upon which communication facilities were located as of 
     January 1, 1993.''; and
       (c) adding at the end thereof the following new 
     subsections:
       ``(b) Reasonable access for the repair, maintenance, or 
     improvement of the communication facilities referred to in 
     subsection (a) shall be allowed: Provided, That the granting 
     of such access shall not be construed to require the Forest 
     Service to upgrade the condition of the access route beyond 
     the condition as of the date of enactment of the Act.
       ``(c) Recreational activities on the lands identified in 
     section 1, totaling approximately one thousand four hundred 
     and forty acres, may be allowed so long as such recreational 
     use is consistent both with the protection of the watershed 
     and water supply system of the city and with the management 
     objectives for adjacent National Forest System lands.''.

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