[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 119 (Tuesday, September 28, 2004)]
[House]
[Page H7661]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page H7661]]
              RANCHO EL CAJON BOUNDARY RECONCILIATION ACT

  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 3954) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to resolve 
boundary discrepancies in San Diego County, California, arising from an 
erroneous survey conducted by a Government contractor in 1881 that 
resulted in overlapping boundaries for certain lands, and for other 
purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 3954

       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 ``Rancho El Cajon Boundary 
     Reconciliation Act''.

     SEC. 2. RESOLUTION OF BOUNDARY DISCREPANCIES, SAN DIEGO 
                   COUNTY, CALIFORNIA.

       (a) Resolution of Boundary Discrepancies.--The Secretary of 
     the Interior shall provide compensation to any landowner 
     whose title to land in lots 1 and 2 of section 9, township 15 
     south, range 1 east, San Bernardino Meridian, in San Diego 
     County, California, is based on an erroneous survey conducted 
     by a Government contractor in 1881 and is rendered void 
     because that title is inferior to the title to the same land 
     established by a survey of the Rancho El Cajon conducted in 
     1872 and approved by the Commissioner of the General Land 
     Office in 1876.
       (b) Forms of Compensation.--Compensation under subsection 
     (a) shall be mutually agreed upon by the Secretary and the 
     landowner and shall consist of--
       (1) public lands in San Diego or Imperial Counties, 
     California, selected jointly by the Secretary and the 
     landowner and conveyed by the Secretary to the landowner;
       (2) a cash payment to the landowner; or
       (3) a combination of a conveyance under paragraph (1) and a 
     cash payment under paragraph (2).
       (c) Equal Value.--Compensation provided under subsection 
     (a) for a parcel of land whose title was rendered void, as 
     described in such subsection, may not exceed the fair market 
     value of the land, as determined by an appraisal satisfactory 
     to the Secretary and the landowner.
       (d) Source of Funds.--The Secretary may make payments under 
     subsection (a) using funds available to the Secretary to 
     equalize land exchanges under section 206(b) of the Federal 
     Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716(b)).
       (e) Public Lands Defined.--In this section, the term 
     ``public lands'' has the meaning given the term in section 
     103(e) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 
     (7 U.S.C. 1702(e)).

     SEC. 3. REVOCATION OF PUBLIC LAND ORDER WITH RESPECT TO LANDS 
                   ERRONEOUSLY INCLUDED IN CIBOLA NATIONAL 
                   WILDLIFE REFUGE, CALIFORNIA.

       (a) Revocation.--Public Land Order 3442, dated August 21, 
     1964, is revoked insofar as it applies to the following 
     described lands: San Bernardino Meridian, T11S, R22E, sec. 6, 
     all of lots 1, 16, and 17, and SE\1/4\ of SW\1/4\ in Imperial 
     County, California, aggregating approximately 140.32 acres.
       (b) Resurvey and Notice of Modified Boundaries.--The 
     Secretary of the Interior shall, by not later than 6 months 
     after the date of the enactment of this Act--
       (1) resurvey the boundaries of the Cibola National Wildlife 
     Refuge, as modified by the revocation under section 1;
       (2) publish notice of, and post conspicuous signs marking, 
     the boundaries of the refuge determined in such resurvey; and
       (3) prepare and publish a map showing the boundaries of the 
     refuge.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Radanovich) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. 
Bordallo) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich).
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3954, introduced by the gentleman from California 
(Mr. Hunter) and amended by the Committee on Resources, would authorize 
the Secretary of the Interior to resolve boundary discrepancies in San 
Diego County, California, arising from an 1881 erroneous survey 
conducted by a government contractor. The survey resulted in 
overlapping boundaries for certain lands.
  In addition, section 3 of the bill incorporates the text of H.R. 417, 
which revokes a portion of a public land order affecting the Cibola 
National Wildlife Refuge. H.R. 417 passed the House unanimously on 
March 19, 2003. I urge adoption of the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, we have no objection to the consideration of this 
measure.
  Mr. HUNTER. Mr. Speaker, when Fred Gruner returned from World War II 
he did what we encourage all of our young veterans to do, invested his 
money and planned for his family's future. Mr. Gruner chose to build 
equity by purchasing land in San Diego County. Unfortunately, due to an 
erroneous Federal Government survey that resulted in overlapping 
boundaries for certain lands, Mr. Gruner is now told that he does not, 
in fact, own the land that he paid for and on which he has been paying 
taxes for over 40 years. Although the Department of the Interior 
recognizes the mistake, they have communicated to me that they are not 
authorized to provide the necessary compensation for Mr. Gruner. H.R. 
3954 simply allows the Secretary of the Interior to provide 
compensation through conveyance of lands or cash payment.
  The error dates back to an 1881 survey which failed to correctly 
locate the El Cajon northern boundary thereby creating a 1,100 foot 
overlap of land, essentially creating land on paper that did not exist. 
Nevertheless, titles were sold or passed on and taxes were assessed as 
if it did. Though he purchased his property in good faith in 1962, Mr. 
Gruner eventually learned of the overlap. When a recent survey was 
completed by the Department of the Interior in response to Mr. Gruner's 
concerns, the full scope of his problem was discovered. According to 
the survey, lots one and two of Section nine fell into the overlap and 
as a result, the 23 acres no longer belong to him.
  Part of the mission of the Federal Government agencies is to set 
standards and uphold them where the private sector is not able. This is 
one of those situations. The main mission of the General Land Office 
(the Interior agency that completed the 1881 survey) was the survey and 
sale of public lands. When a well-intentioned citizen that has served 
his country seeks to purchase a piece of land, he ought to be able to 
trust that the existing Federal Government survey of the land is 
reliable. Mr. Gruner worked his entire life to build this nest-egg. He 
has spent over 20 years fighting to protect it. This is his last 
recourse. Please join me in doing what is right. I urge my colleagues 
to join with me in supporting H.R. 3954.
  I would like to thank Chairman Pombo and Subcommittee Chairman 
Radanovich for their leadership on this issue and their dedication to 
righting this wrong.
  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. RADANOVICH. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I 
yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Radanovich) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 3954, 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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