[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 166 (Monday, November 17, 2003)]
[House]
[Pages H11169-H11170]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




RESOLVING BOUNDARY CONFLICTS IN VICINITY OF MARK TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST 
                 IN BARRY AND STONE COUNTIES, MISSOURI

  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2304) to resolve boundary conflicts in the vicinity of the 
Mark Twain National Forest in Barry and Stone Counties, Missouri, that 
resulted from private landowner reliance on a subsequent Federal 
survey, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2304

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

     SECTION 1. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

       (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
       (1) Certain landowners in Barry and Stone Counties, 
     Missouri, innocently and in good faith relied on subsequent 
     land surveys, which they believed to be correct, and 
     occupied, improved, or claimed portions of adjoining Federal 
     lands based on such survey information.
       (2) The appropriate Federal agencies should undertake 
     actions to correctly reestablish the corners of the Public 
     Land Survey System in Barry and Stone Counties, Missouri, and 
     rectify boundary conflicts and landownership claims against 
     Federal lands resulting from subsequent land surveys, and do 
     so in a manner which imposes the least cost and inconvenience 
     to affected private landowners.
       (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
       (1) to resolve boundary conflicts in Barry and Stone 
     Counties, Missouri, arising from subsequent land surveys; and
       (2) to minimize costs and inconvenience to the affected 
     private property owners in Barry and Stone Counties, 
     Missouri.

     SEC. 2. RESOLUTION OF BOUNDARY CONFLICTS, VICINITY OF MARK 
                   TWAIN NATIONAL FOREST, BARRY AND STONE 
                   COUNTIES, MISSOURI.

       (a) Definitions.--In this section:
       (1) The term ``appropriate Secretary'' means the Secretary 
     of the Army or the Secretary of Agriculture.
       (2) The term ``boundary conflict'' means the situation in 
     which the private claim of ownership to certain lands, based 
     on subsequent land surveys, overlaps or conflicts with 
     Federal ownership of the same lands.
       (3) The term ``Federal land surveys'' means any land survey 
     made by any agency or department of the Federal Government 
     using Federal employees, or by Federal contract with State-
     licensed private land surveyors or corporations and 
     businesses licensed to provide professional land surveying 
     services in the State of Missouri.
       (4) The term ``original land surveys'' means the land 
     surveys made by the United States General Land Office as part 
     of the Public Land Survey System in the State of Missouri, 
     and upon which Government land patents were issued conveying 
     the land.
       (5) The term ``Public Land Survey System'' means the 
     rectangular system of original Government lands surveys made 
     by the United States General Land Office and its successor, 
     the Bureau of Land Management, under Federal laws providing 
     for the survey of the public lands upon which the original 
     land patents were issued.
       (6) The term ``qualifying claimant'' means a private owner 
     of real property in Barry or Stone County, Missouri, who has 
     a boundary conflict as a result of good faith and innocent 
     reliance on subsequent land surveys, and as a result of such 
     reliance, has occupied, improved, or made ownership claims to 
     Federal lands.
       (7) The term ``subsequent land surveys'' mean any land 
     surveys made after the original land surveys.
       (b) Notice of Boundary Conflict.--
       (1) Submission and contents.--A qualifying claimant shall 
     notify the appropriate Secretary in writing of a claim that a 
     boundary conflict exists with Federal land administered by 
     the appropriate Secretary. The notice shall be accompanied by 
     the following information, which, except as provided in 
     subsection (d)(2)(B), shall be provided without cost to the 
     United States:
       (A) A land survey plat and legal description of the 
     affected Federal lands, which are based upon a land survey 
     completed and certified by a Missouri State-licensed 
     professional land surveyor, and done in conformity with the 
     Public Land Survey System and in compliance with the 
     applicable State and Federal land surveying laws.
       (B) Information relating to the claim of ownership of the 
     Federal lands, including supporting documentation showing the 
     landowner relied on a subsequent land survey due to actions 
     by the Federal Government in making or approving surveys for 
     the Table Rock Reservoir.
       (2) Deadline for submission.--To obtain relief under this 
     section, a qualifying claimant shall submit the notice 
     required by paragraph (1) within 15 years after the date of 
     the enactment of this Act.
       (3) Responsibilities of claimants.--The qualifying claimant 
     shall have the responsibility for establishing that the 
     qualifying claimant qualifies for the remedies provided in 
     subsection (c).
       (c) Resolution Authorities.--The appropriate Secretary may 
     take any of the following actions, or combination of actions, 
     in order to resolve boundary conflicts with qualifying 
     claimants involving lands under the administrative 
     jurisdiction of the appropriate Secretary:
       (1) Convey and quitclaim all right, title, and interest of 
     the United States in land subject to a boundary conflict.
       (2) Confirm Federal title to, and retain in Federal 
     management, any land subject to a boundary conflict, if the 
     appropriate Secretary determines there are Federal interests, 
     including improvements, authorized uses, easements, hazardous 
     materials, or historical and cultural resources, on the land 
     that necessitates retention of the land.
       (3) Compensate the qualifying claimant for the value of the 
     overlapping property for which title is confirmed and 
     retained in Federal management pursuant to paragraph (2).
       (d) Consideration and Cost.--
       (1) Conveyance without consideration.--The conveyance of 
     land under subsection (c)(1) shall be made without 
     consideration if the appropriate Secretary determines that 
     the boundary conflict was the result of the innocent 
     detrimental reliance by the qualifying claimant on a 
     subsequent land survey.
       (2) Costs.--The appropriate Secretary shall--
       (A) pay administrative, personnel, and any other costs 
     associated with the implementation of this section, including 
     the costs of survey, marking, and monumenting property lines 
     and corners; and
       (B) reimburse the qualifying claimant for reasonable out-
     of-pocket survey costs necessary to establish a claim under 
     this section.
       (3) Valuation.--Compensation paid to a qualifying claimant 
     pursuant to subsection (c)(3) for land retained in Federal 
     ownership pursuant to subsection (c)(2) shall be valued on 
     the basis of the contributory value of the tract of land to 
     the larger adjoining private parcel and not on the basis of 
     the land being a separate tract. The appropriate Secretary 
     shall not consider the value of any Federal improvements to 
     the land.
       (e) Preexisting Conditions; Reservations; Existing Rights 
     and Uses.--
       (1) Preexisting conditions.--The appropriate Secretary 
     shall not compensate a qualifying claimant or any other 
     person for any preexisting condition or reduction in value of 
     any land subject to a boundary conflict because of any 
     existing or outstanding permits, use authorizations, 
     reservations, timber removal, or other land use or condition.
       (2) Existing reservations and rights and uses.--Any 
     conveyance pursuant to subsection (c)(1) shall be subject 
     to--
       (A) reservations for existing public uses for roads, 
     utilities, and facilities; and
       (B) permits, rights-of-way, contracts and any other 
     authorization to use the property.
       (3) Treatment of land subject to special use authorization 
     or permit.--For any land subject to a special use 
     authorization or permit for access or utilities, the 
     appropriate Secretary may convert, at the request of the 
     holder, such authorization to a permanent easement prior to 
     any conveyance pursuant to subsection (c)(1).
       (4) Future reservations.--The appropriate Secretary may 
     reserve rights for future public uses in a conveyance made 
     pursuant to subsection (c)(1) if the qualifying claimant is 
     compensated for the reservation in cash or in land of equal 
     value.
       (f) Relation to Other Conveyance Authority.--Nothing in 
     this section affects the

[[Page H11170]]

     Quiet Title Act (28 U.S.C. 2409a) or other applicable law, or 
     affects the exchange and disposal authorities of the 
     Secretary of Agriculture, including the Small Tracts Act (16 
     U.S.C. 521c), or the exchange and disposal authorities of the 
     Secretary of the Army.
       (g) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The appropriate 
     Secretary may require such additional terms and conditions in 
     connection with a conveyance under subsection (c)(1) as the 
     Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of 
     the United States.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) and the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Stenholm) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht).

                              {time}  1430

  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, this bill provides a mechanism for the Forest Service 
and the Army Corps of Engineers to resolve boundary conflicts between 
the Mark Twain National Forest and adjacent private landowners. The 
dispute over boundaries stems from recent surveys conducted by 
contractors to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which have 
subsequently been found severely flawed by the State Surveyor for 
Missouri.
  The measure sets a process for dealing with disputed boundaries. The 
landowner would notify the Secretary of Agriculture of a disputed 
boundary, prompting a new land survey. If the Secretary determines that 
the boundary conflict is the result of a reliance on a previous land 
survey, the land in dispute can be returned to the property owner.
  It is important to note that the bill does not require the conveyance 
of any particular lands. Where a new survey shows that the lands in 
question were surveyed improperly, the Forest Service can either 
execute a quit claim deed, assert Federal ownership if the Federal 
Government has improved the land, or compensate the landowner for the 
land.
  We made one minor change to the bill which requires that any 
liability for environmental hazards on the property, if any, be settled 
through an agreement between the landowner and the Federal Government. 
This change was requested by the Committee on Transportation and 
Infrastructure.
  This is a case where the Federal Government has not exercised 
adequate due diligence in maintaining their land surveys to the 
detriment of their neighbors. Rather than redrawing map boundaries from 
Washington, we are creating a process where these folks can address 
their claims closer to home. The Committee on Agriculture regards this 
as an equitable solution to a local problem created by the Federal 
Government. I urge my colleagues to join me in support of this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. STENHOLM. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 2304, legislation to resolve 
boundary conflicts in the vicinity of the Mark Twain National Forest in 
Barry and Stone Counties, Missouri, resulting from private landowner 
reliance on a subsequent Federal survey.
  These boundary conflicts resulted from discrepancies between recent 
land surveys conducted by the U.S. Forest Service and its 
implementation of the Restoration of Original Corners Program, and 
decades-old surveys conducted by the Army Corps of Engineers. As a 
result of the more recent land surveys, private property lands 
adjoining Federal lands were moved, and private property landowners 
discovered that, due to their reliance on the older land surveys, they 
had inadvertently trespassed on Federal land.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 2304 would remedy these boundary discrepancies by 
authorizing and directing the Secretary of Agriculture to convey title 
to U.S. Forest Service land on which private landowners can demonstrate 
that they inadvertently trespassed because of their reliance on a 
previous inaccurate Federal survey, or relied on a survey based on a 
previous inaccurate survey.
  I urge my colleagues to support this legislation in order to resolve 
these boundary discrepancies.
  Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  This is a commonsense solution at the local level to problems that 
the Federal Government has created. The Committee on Agriculture 
strongly supports this bill, and I hope that Members will join us in 
supporting this bill.
   Mr. BLUNT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to urge support for the speedy 
resolution of a boundary dispute affecting private property owners in 
my Congressional District.
   Apparently, there are some local issues that apparently only an act 
of Congress can solve.
   This issue surfaced when private property owners' historic boundary 
lines neighboring the Mark Twain National Forest and Table Rock Lake in 
Missouri's Barry and Stone Counties were blurred when the U.S. Forest 
Service restored the mid-1800s Corners program.
   Over the years, the Forest Service has been effectively shaving off 
substantial sections of private property that adjoins federal lands. 
Recent land surveys have found major differences in surveys conducted 
by the Forest Service and the Army Corps of Engineers. My legislation 
would resolve these discrepancies, so private property owners don't 
lose property adjoining Federal lands.
   A fight with the Federal Government over a boundary line can be an 
uphill battle. This bill will maintain the original property lines and 
hand the title of the disputed land to the private landowner.
   The Federal Government already owns a third of the nation's land, 
and inaccuracies in federally conducted surveys should never force 
landowners to forfeit their property.
   Mr. Speaker, I urge the House's approval of this common-sense bill.
  Mr. GUTKNECHT. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Petri). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Minnesota (Mr. Gutknecht) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2304, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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