[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 37 (Tuesday, April 9, 2002)]
[House]
[Pages H1100-H1101]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
BEAR RIVER MIGRATORY BIRD REFUGE SETTLEMENT ACT OF 2002
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 3958) to provide a mechanism for the settlement of claims of
the State of Utah regarding portions of the Bear River Migratory Bird
Refuge located on the shore of the Great Salt Lake, Utah, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3958
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 ``Bear River Migratory Bird
Refuge Settlement Act of 2002''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Secretary of the Interior and the State of Utah
have negotiated a preliminary agreement concerning the
ownership of lands within the Bear River Migratory Bird
Refuge located in Bear River Bay of the Great Salt Lake,
Utah.
(2) The State is entitled to ownership of those sovereign
lands constituting the bed of the Great Salt Lake, and,
generally, the location of the sovereign lands boundary was
set by an official survey of the Great Salt Lake meander
line.
(3) The establishment of the Refuge in 1928 along the shore
of the Great Salt Lake, and lack of a meander line survey
within the Refuge, has led to uncertainty of ownership of
some those sovereign lands.
(4) In order to settle the uncertainty concerning the
sovereign land boundary caused by the gap in the surveyed
Great Salt Lake meander line within the Refuge, the Secretary
and the State have agreed to the establishment of a fixed
sovereign land boundary along the southern boundary of the
Refuge and the State has agreed to release any claim to the
lake bed above such boundary line.
(5) The Secretary and the State have expressed their
intentions to establish a mutually agreed upon procedure to
address the conflicting claims to ownership of the lands and
interests in land within the Refuge.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(2) Refuge.--The term ``Refuge'' means the Bear River
Migratory Bird Refuge located in Bear River Bay of the Great
Salt Lake, Utah.
(3) Agreement.--The term ``agreement'' means the agreement
to be signed by the Secretary and the State to establish a
mutually agreeable procedure for addressing the conflicting
claims to ownership of the lands and interests in land within
the Refuge.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Utah.
SEC. 4. REQUIRED TERMS OF LAND CLAIMS SETTLEMENT, BEAR RIVER
MIGRATORY BIRD REFUGE, UTAH.
(a) Specific Terms Required in Agreement.--The Secretary
shall not enter into an agreement with the State for the
quitclaim or other transfer of lands or interests in lands
within the Refuge unless the terms of the agreement include
each of the following provisions:
(1) Nothing in the agreement shall be construed to impose
upon the State or any of agency of the State any obligation
to convey to the United States any interest in water owned or
controlled by the State, except upon appropriate terms and
for adequate consideration.
(2) Nothing in the agreement shall constitute admission or
denial of the United States claim to a Federal reserved water
right.
(3) The State shall support the United States application
to add an enlarged Hyrum Reservoir, or another storage
facility, as an alternate place of storage under the Refuge's
existing
[[Page H1101]]
1,000 cubic feet per second State certified water right. Such
support shall be contingent upon demonstration by the United
States that no injury to water rights shall occur as a result
of the addition.
(4) Nothing in the agreement shall affect jurisdiction by
the State or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service over
wildlife resources management, including fishing, hunting and
trapping, within the Refuge.
(5) If the State elects to bring suit against the United
States challenging the validity of the deed issued pursuant
to the agreement, and if such suit is successful in
invalidating such deed, the State will--
(A) pay the United States for the fair market value of all
real property improvements on the property at the time of
invalidation, such as dikes, water control structures and
buildings;
(B) repay any amounts paid by the United States because of
ownership of the land by the United States from the date of
establishment of the Refuge, such as payments in lieu of
taxes; and
(C) repay any amounts paid to the State pursuant to the
agreement.
(6) Subject to the availability of funds for this purpose,
the Secretary shall agree to pay $15,000,000 to the State
upon delivery by the State of a quitclaim deed that meets all
applicable standards of the Department of Justice and covers
all lands and interests in lands claimed by the State within
the Refuge. Such payment shall be subject to the condition
that the State use the payment for the purposes, and in the
amounts, specified in subsections (b) and (c).
(b) Wetlands and Wildlife Protection Programs.--
(1) Deposit.--The State shall deposit $10,000,000 of the
amount paid pursuant to the agreement, as required by
subsection (a)(6), in a restricted account, known as the
Wetlands and Habitat Protection Account, to be used as
provided in paragraph (2).
(2) Authorized uses.--The Executive Director of the Utah
Department of Natural Resources may withdraw from the
Wetlands and Habitat Protection Account, on an annual basis,
amounts equal to the interest earned on the amount deposited
under paragraph (1) for the following purposes:
(A) Wetland or open space protection in and near the Great
Salt Lake.
(B) Enhancement and acquisition of wildlife habitat in and
near the Great Salt Lake.
(c) Recreational Trails and Streams Development and
Expansion.--The Utah Department of Natural Resources shall
use $5,000,000 of the amount paid pursuant to the agreement,
as required by subsection (a)(6), for the following purposes:
(1) Development, improvement, and expansion of motorized
and non-motorized recreational trails on public and private
lands in the State, with priority given to providing trail
access to the Great Salt Lake as part of the proposed
Shoshone and Ogden-Weber trail systems.
(2) Preservation, reclamation, enhancement, and
conservation of streams in the State.
(d) Coordination of Projects.--The Executive Director of
the Utah Department of Natural Resources shall seek to
maximize the use of funds under subsections (b) and (c)
through coordination with nonprofit organizations, Federal
agencies, other agencies of the State, and local governments,
and shall give priority to those projects under such
subsections that include Federal, State, or private matching
funds.
(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized
to be appropriated $15,000,000 for the payment required by
subsection (a)(6) to be included as a term of the agreement.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Mrs.
Christensen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
H.R. 3958 provides a mechanism for the settlement of claims between
the U.S. Department of Interior and the State of Utah regarding
portions of the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge located on the north
shore of the Great Salt Lake and authorizes a reimbursement to the
State of $15 million for the lands, oil, gas and mineral rights within
the refuge.
The Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge was created in 1928 by Congress.
Today, the refuge consists of 74,000 acres. Of these acres, the State
of Utah claims 18,000 acres below the meander line of the Great Salt
Lake as State sovereign lands. For nearly 75 years, the State and
Federal governments have disputed the ownership of these lands. A 1976
Supreme Court decision, Utah v. United States, quieted title to the bed
of the Great Salt Lake up to and including the surveyed meander line,
excepting the refuge from the decision.
On September 28, 2001, negotiations between the Fish and Wildlife
Service and the State resulted in a settlement agreement to be signed
by the Secretary and by the Governor of the State. The settlement
agreement is conditional upon congressional authorization and
appropriation of required funds as well as State legislative approval.
The 2002 Utah legislature approved the necessary measures. H.R. 3958
fulfills congressional action necessary for the Secretary of Interior
to sign the final agreement.
To assure that reimbursement moneys from the settlement are used to
benefit wildlife, this bill requires the State to place two-thirds of
the funds in a permanent interest-bearing account to fund wetland and
wildlife habitat projects in the State of Utah in perpetuity. The
remaining one-third of the funds will be used for trail and stream
enhancement. In return, the State will drop its claim to the disputed
portion of the refuge. I urge my colleagues to support H.R. 3958.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mrs. CHRISTENSEN asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3958 would provide the framework
for a quitclaim settlement between the Federal Government and the State
of Utah concerning lands and other interests at the Bear River
Migratory Bird Refuge. This legislation is necessary to enable the
Secretary of the Interior to sign the final agreement negotiated
between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the State regarding a
75-year-old dispute concerning ownership to the beds and waters of the
Great Salt Lake within the refuge. This legislation would not codify
the agreement. Rather, H.R. 3958 would simply specify the required
terms of the settlement.
Additionally, H.R. 3958 would authorize $15 million subject to the
availability of appropriations as reimbursement to the State to quiet
title to the lands, oil, gas and mineral rights within the refuge. In
exchange, the State will drop its claim to the 18,000 acres within the
refuge that are subject to the dispute and receive valuable funding to
support habitat conservation and outdoor recreation activities
benefiting both the refuge and the State lands and waters.
Mr. Speaker, the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge is one of the
oldest and most popular refuges within the entire National Wildlife
Refuge System. This legislation should enhance future Federal
management authority at the refuge. I commend Chairman Hansen for
bringing this bill before the House today. We are pleased to support
it.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHRISTENSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time,
and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3958, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds of
those present have voted in the affirmative.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the
Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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