[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 66 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4379-S4380]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID:
  S. 2618. A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to sell 
certain land to the town of Kingston, Nevada, for use as an emergency 
medical air evacuation site and other public uses; to the Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources.


                   emergency landing strip conveyance

  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Town of 
Kingston Emergency Landing Strip Conveyance Act.
  The Town of Kingston, Nevada, currently uses federal land as an 
emergency landing strip at Kingston in southern Lander County, Nevada. 
Kingston is a rural town located on a small island of private land in 
the center of the state and is surrounded by both United States Forest 
Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) public lands. The isolation 
constrains the growth, economic diversity, and public services 
available to those who live in or visit Kingston. Medic Air of Reno has 
an agreement with local Fire and Rescue to provide 24-hour emergency 
medical service to this landing strip. BLM has extended the existing 
airport lease to the Kingston Town

[[Page S4380]]

Board until September 30, 2000, but cannot renew the lease because the 
strip does not meet FAA standards.
  This Act will convey a total of 144.88 acres to the Town of Kingston. 
Seventy acres will be conveyed at fair market value and 74.88 acres at 
no cost. The 70 acres contains the main landing strip. The 74.88 acres 
contains the balance of the approach and the disposal of this land for 
no consideration will benefit the United States by disposing of an 
isolated, segregated parcel that would be difficult to manage for 
public use. It is my sincere hope that Congress will pass this bill 
thereby allowing a win-win situation for both the United States and 
Kingston, Nevada.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the bill 
be printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                S. 2618

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
       (1) the lease by the Secretary of the Interior of certain 
     land to the town of Kingston, Nevada, for use as an emergency 
     airstrip is about to expire;
       (2) rather than renew the airport lease (which would 
     require certification by the Federal Aviation 
     Administration), the Secretary and the Town desire that the 
     parcel on which the main landing strip is situated be sold to 
     the Town for fair market value as determined by the 
     Secretary;
       (3) adjacent to that parcel is other land, most of which, 
     if the airstrip parcel is sold to the Town, would be isolated 
     from other land administered by the Secretary and would 
     therefore be difficult for the Secretary to manage;
       (4) it would in the best interests of the United States and 
     the Town for the Secretary to convey to the Town both the 
     airstrip parcel and the adjacent parcel, at the fair market 
     value of the airstrip parcel; and
       (5) the parcels have been determined to be suitable for 
     disposal in the Shoshone-Eureka Resource Management Plan and 
     Environmental Impact Statement.
       (b) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) Adjacent parcel.--The term ``adjacent parcel'' means 
     the parcels of land in the State of Nevada, comprising 74.88 
     acres, described as Mount Diablo Meridian, T16N, R44E, 
     section 31, lot 4, E1/2NESE, S1/2SWNESE, S1/2S1/2NWSE.
       (2) Airstrip parcel.--The term ``airstrip parcel'' means 
     the parcel of land, with a landing strip running on an 
     easterly bearing and a portion of a landing strip running on 
     a southerly bearing, in the State of Nevada, comprising 70.00 
     acres, described as Mount Diablo Meridian, T16N, R44E, 
     section 31, N1/2SESW, N1/2SWSE, N1/2SESE, SESESE.
       (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 
     Land Management.
       (4) Town.--The term ``Town'' means the town of Kingston, 
     Nevada.
       (c) Conveyance.--In consideration of payment of the fair 
     market value of the airstrip parcel, the Secretary of the 
     Interior shall convey to the Town, subject to valid existing 
     rights, all right, title, and interest of the United States 
     in and to the airstrip parcel and the adjacent parcel, 
     totaling 144.88 acres.
       (d) No Reservations.--The patent by which the conveyance 
     under subsection (c) is made shall contain no reservations.
       (e) Lease Extension.--If for any reason the conveyance 
     under subsection (c) is not completed before September 30, 
     2000, the term of the airport lease, as in effect on the date 
     of enactment of this Act, shall be considered to be extended 
     until the date of the conveyance.
                                 ______