[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 72 (Thursday, May 20, 2004)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5955-S5956]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. REID (for himself and Mr. Ensign):
  S. 2458. A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain public lands 
in and around historic mining townsites in Nevada, and for other 
purposes; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today on behalf of myself and Senator 
Ensign to introduce the Nevada Mining Townsite Conveyance Act, which 
will address an important public land issue in rural Nevada. As you may 
know, the Federal Government controls over 87 percent of the State of 
Nevada. That's more than 61 million acres of land. This fact makes it 
necessary for our State and our communities to pursue Federal remedies 
for problems that in other States can be handled in a much more 
expeditious manner. With this in mind, Senator Ensign and I look 
forward to working with our colleagues to pass this common-sense 
legislation in a bipartisan and timely fashion.
  Two rural counties in Nevada have asked for our help in settling 
longstanding trespass issues that hurt 2 historic mining communities. 
The towns of Ione and Gold Point have been continuously occupied for 
over 100 years. Many residents live on land that their families have 
ostensibly owned for many decades. These citizens have paid their 
property taxes and made improvements to their properties, rehabilitated 
historic structures and built new ones.
  The documents by which many of these people claim possession of the 
properties date back many years. In fact, some of the deeds are 
historic documents themselves. Yet because many of these documents do 
not satisfy modern requirements for demonstrating land title, they have 
been deemed invalid. In other words, the Bureau of Land Management has 
determined that some of the residents of Ione and Gold Point are 
trespassing on Federal land. This unfortunate situation puts the BLM at 
odds with the local residents and county governments.
  Nye County, Esmeralda County, and the BLM have worked together for 
almost 10 years to come up with a solution to this problem. All of 
these parties support the legislation that we offer today as a solution 
to these land ownerships conflicts, and as a means of promoting 
responsible resource management. All of the land included in our bill 
has been identified by the BLM for disposal.
  Our legislation represents the first of a two-part solution. Under 
this bill, specified lands within the historic mining townsites of Ione 
and Gold Point would be conveyed to the respective counties. Under the 
provisions of a State law passed several years ago in Nevada, the 
counties will then re-convey the land to these people or entities who 
can demonstrate ownership or longstanding occupancy of specific land 
parcels.
  The sum of our bill is that it conveys for no consideration 
approximately 760 acres in Ione and Gold Point to the counties of Nye 
and Esmeralda. As a condition of the conveyance, all historic and 
cultural resources contained in the townsites shall be preserved and 
protected under applicable Federal and State law. These conveyances 
will benefit the agencies that manage Nevada's

[[Page S5956]]

vast Federal lands as well as the proud citizens of our rural 
communities. We sincerely hope that our colleagues will support this 
legislation. It is a practical solution that deserves swift passage. We 
salute the Bureau of Land Management, the counties, and the local 
residents for their cooperation and hard work in crafting this 
excellent compromise.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the 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:
       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 ``Nevada Mining Townsite 
     Conveyance Act''.

     SEC. 2. DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC LANDS IN MINING TOWNSITES, 
                   ESMERALDA AND NYE COUNTIES, NEVADA.

       (a) Findings.-- Congress finds the following:
       (1) The Federal Government owns real property in and around 
     historic mining townsites in the counties of Esmeralda and 
     Nye in the State of Nevada.
       (2) While the real property is under the jurisdiction of 
     the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Bureau of 
     Land Management, some of the real property land has been 
     occupied for decades by persons who took possession by 
     purchase or other documented and putatively legal 
     transactions, but whose continued occupation of the real 
     property constitutes a ``trespass'' upon the title held by 
     the Federal Government.
       (3) As a result of the confused and conflicting ownership 
     claims, the real property is difficult to manage under 
     multiple use policies and creates a continuing source of 
     friction and unease between the Federal Government and local 
     residents.
       (4) All of the real property is appropriate for disposal 
     for the purpose of promoting administrative efficiency and 
     effectiveness, and the Bureau of Land Management has already 
     identified certain parcels of the real property for disposal.
       (5) Some of the real property contains historic and 
     cultural values that must be protected.
       (6) To promote responsible resource management of the real 
     property, certain parcels should be conveyed to the county in 
     which the property is situated in accordance with land use 
     management plans of the Bureau of Land Management so that the 
     county can, among other things, dispose of the property to 
     persons residing on or otherwise occupying the property.
       (b) Mining Townsite Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``mining townsite'' means real property in the counties of 
     Esmeralda and Nye, Nevada, that is owned by the Federal 
     Government, but upon which improvements were constructed 
     because of a mining operation on or near the property and 
     based upon the belief that--
       (1) the property had been or would be acquired from the 
     Federal Government by the entity that operated the mine; or
       (2) the person who made the improvement had a valid claim 
     for acquiring the property from the Federal Government.
       (c) Conveyance Authority.--
       (1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 202 and 203 of 
     the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 
     1712, 1713), the Secretary of the Interior, acting through 
     the Bureau of Land Management, shall convey, without 
     consideration, all right, title, and interest of the United 
     States in and to mining townsites (including improvements 
     thereon) identified for conveyance on the maps entitled 
     ``Original Mining Townsite Ione Land Disposal Map Nye 
     County'' and ``Original Mining Townsite Gold Point Land 
     Disposal Map Esmeralda County'' dated October 29, 2003.
       (2) Availability of maps.--The maps referred to in 
     paragraph (1) shall be on file and available for public 
     inspection in the appropriate offices of the Secretary of the 
     Interior, including the office of the Bureau of Land 
     Management located in the State of Nevada.
       (d) Recipients.--
       (1) Original recipient.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
     conveyance of a mining townsite under subsection (c) shall be 
     made to the county in which the mining townsite is situated.
       (2) Reconveyance to occupants.--In the case of a mining 
     townsite conveyed under subsection (c) for which a valid 
     interest is proven by one or more persons, under the 
     provisions of Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 244, the county 
     that received the mining townsite under paragraph (1) shall 
     reconvey the property to that person or persons by 
     appropriate deed or other legal conveyance as provided in 
     that State law. For purposes of proving a valid interest, the 
     person making the claim must have occupied the mining 
     townsite for at least 15 years immediately before the date of 
     the enactment of this Act. The county is not required to 
     recognize a claim under this paragraph submitted more than 10 
     years after the date of the enactment of this Act.
       (e) Protection of Historic and Cultural Resources.--As a 
     condition on the conveyance or reconveyance of a mining 
     townsite under subsection (c), all historic and cultural 
     resources (including improvements) on the mining townsite 
     shall be preserved and protected in accordance with 
     applicable Federal and State law.
       (f) Valid Existing Rights.--The conveyance of a mining 
     townsite under this section shall be subject to valid 
     existing rights, including any easement or other right-of-way 
     or lease in existence as of the date of the conveyance. All 
     valid existing rights and interests of mining claimants shall 
     be maintained, unless those rights or interests are deemed 
     abandoned and void or null and void under--
       (1) section 2320 of the Revised Statutes (30 U.S.C. 21 et 
     seq);
       (2) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 
     U.S.C. 1701 et seq); or
       (3) subtitle B of title X of the Omnibus Budget 
     Reconciliation Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28(f)-(k)), including 
     regulations promulgated under section 3833.1 of title 43, 
     Code of Federal Regulations or any successor regulation.
       (g) Survey.--A mining townsite to be conveyed by the United 
     States under this section shall be sufficiently surveyed to 
     legally describe the land for patent conveyance.
       (h) Release.--On completion of the conveyance of a mining 
     townsite under subsection (c), the United States shall be 
     relieved from liability for, and shall be held harmless from, 
     any and all claims arising from the presence of improvements 
     and materials on the conveyed property.
       (i) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior such 
     amounts as may be necessary to carry out the conveyances 
     required by this section, including funds to cover the costs 
     of cadastral and mineral surveys, mineral potential reports, 
     hazardous materials, biological, cultural and archaeological 
     clearances, validity examinations and other expenses 
     incidental to the conveyances.
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