[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 110 (Monday, July 23, 2012)]
[House]
[Pages H5083-H5085]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




PROVIDING FOR LAND EXCHANGE BETWEEN TRINITY PUBLIC UTILITIES DISTRICT, 
     BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT, AND THE SIX RIVERS NATIONAL FOREST

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules 
and pass the bill (H.R. 1237) to provide for a land exchange with the 
Trinity Public Utilities District of Trinity County, California, 
involving the transfer of land to the Bureau of Land Management and the 
Six Rivers National Forest in exchange for National Forest System land 
in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, and for other purposes, as 
amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 1237

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

     SECTION 1. LAND EXCHANGE, TRINITY PUBLIC UTILITIES DISTRICT, 
                   TRINITY COUNTY, CALIFORNIA, THE BUREAU OF LAND 
                   MANAGEMENT, AND THE FOREST SERVICE.

       (a) Land Exchange Required.--If the Trinity Public 
     Utilities District of Trinity County, California (in this 
     section referred to as the ``Utilities District'') conveys to 
     the Secretary of Agriculture all right, title, and interest 
     of the Utilities District in and to the parcel of land 
     described in subsection (b)(1) and conveys to the Secretary 
     of the Interior all right, title, and interest of the 
     Utilities District in and to the parcel of land described in 
     subsection (b)(2), the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey 
     to the Utilities District, in exchange, all right, title, and 
     interest of the United States in and to a parcel of land in 
     the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in the State of California 
     consisting of approximately 100 acres near the Weaverville 
     Airport in Trinity County.
       (b) Land To Be Acquired.--
       (1) Forest service acquisition.--The land to be acquired by 
     the Secretary of Agriculture under subsection (a) consists of 
     approximately 150 acres, known as the Van Duzen parcel, 
     within the boundaries of the Six Rivers National Forest.

[[Page H5084]]

       (2) BLM acquisition.--The land to be acquired by the 
     Secretary of the Interior under subsection (a) consists of 
     approximately 47 acres, known as the Sky Ranch parcel, 
     adjacent to public land administered by the Redding Field 
     Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
       (c) Availability of Maps and Legal Descriptions.--Any map 
     prepared by the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of 
     the Interior in connection with the land exchange required by 
     subsection (a), and the legal description of the lands to be 
     exchanged, shall be on file and available for public 
     inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service 
     and the appropriate office of the Bureau of Land Management. 
     With the agreement of the parties to a conveyance under 
     subsection (a), the Secretary concerned may make technical 
     corrections to the map and legal descriptions.
       (d) Land Exchange Process.--Section 206 of the Federal Land 
     Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716) shall 
     apply to the land conveyances under this section, except 
     that--
       (1) if the value of the land described in paragraphs (1) 
     and (2) of subsection (b) is less than the value of the land 
     to be conveyed to the Utilities District, any cash 
     equalization payments received by the Secretaries shall be 
     deposited in the General Treasury; and
       (2) if the value of the land described in paragraphs (1) 
     and (2) of subsection (b) is greater than the value of the 
     land to be conveyed to the Utilities District, no cash 
     equalization payment may be made to the Utilities District 
     and the acreage of the land involved in the exchange may be 
     adjusted to equalize the value of the exchange.
       (e) Survey and Administrative Costs.--The exact acreage and 
     legal description of the land to be exchanged under 
     subsection (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory 
     to the Secretary concerned. The Utilities District shall be 
     responsible for the costs of the survey and reasonable 
     administrative costs related to the land exchange.
       (f) Management of Acquired Land.--
       (1) Forest service acquisition.--The land acquired by the 
     Secretary of Agriculture under subsection (a) shall be added 
     to and administered as part of the Six Rivers National Forest 
     and managed in accordance with the Act of March 1, 1911 
     (commonly known as the Weeks Act; 16 U.S.C. 480 et seq.), and 
     the laws and regulations applicable to the National Forest 
     System.
       (2) BLM acquisition.--The land acquired by the Secretary of 
     the Interior under subsection (a) shall be administered as 
     public land by the Redding Field Office of the Bureau of Land 
     Management in accordance with the Federal Land Policy and 
     Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) and the laws 
     and regulations applicable to public land administered by the 
     Bureau of Land Management.
       (g) Completion of Land Exchange.--The Secretary of 
     Agriculture shall complete the conveyance of National Forest 
     System land required by subsection (a) not later than one 
     year after the date on which the Utilities District offers to 
     make the conveyances to the Secretary of Agriculture and the 
     Secretary of the Interior described in such subsection.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from the Northern Mariana 
Islands (Mr. Sablan) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.


                             General Leave

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that 
all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Washington?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1237, authored by our friend from California (Mr. 
Herger), authorizes a land exchange between the Trinity County Public 
Utilities District, the Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land 
Management in northern California.
  The utilities district currently owns a parcel of land within the 
city of Weaverville that is cut off by the surrounding Federal land. 
The utilities district would like to acquire approximately 100 acres of 
the national forest to consolidate its holdings and guarantee access 
for future use of the property near the Weaverville Airport. In 
exchange for this parcel, the utilities district will convey about 150 
acres it currently owns to the Six Rivers National Forest and 
approximately 50 acres to the Bureau of Land Management.
  Passage of this legislation will allow additional opportunity for 
economic development in remote Trinity County, California, while 
allowing the Forest Service to consolidate its land base and the Bureau 
of Land Management to acquire a prime recreational site.
  The suspension text makes a minor amendment to the bill to conform to 
House rules by specifying that any cash equalization payments for the 
parcels that may be paid to the Secretary must be deposited in the 
general fund of the Treasury. It also requires that no cash 
equalization payment may be paid to the utilities district.
  With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  (Mr. SABLAN asked and was given permission to revise and extend his 
remarks.)
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1237 provides for the exchange of land 
between the Trinity Public Utilities District in California, the United 
States Forest Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. We do not 
object to this legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield 5 
minutes to the author of this legislation and somebody that this body 
will miss, as he is retiring at the end of this session, the gentleman 
from California (Mr. Herger).
  Mr. HERGER. I thank my good friend.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise to urge support for H.R. 1237, a noncontroversial 
land exchange bill I introduced to provide for greater economic 
opportunities in Trinity County, located in the northern California 
congressional district I represent. With a 19 percent unemployment 
rate, this rural community faces significant economic challenges.
  The Trinity County Public Utilities District owns property surrounded 
by land administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest 
Service. The TPUD seeks to economically improve one parcel near the 
Weaverville Airport, but it currently cannot do so because it is 
landlocked by the Forest Service.
  This legislation would transfer 47 acres of the district's property 
near the Trinity River, known as Sky Ranch, to the Bureau of Land 
Management and 150 acres within Six Rivers National Forest, known as 
Van Duzen, to the Forest Service. The district would receive a parcel 
of equal value from the Shasta-Trinity National Forest that surrounds 
their site at the airport.
  This land exchange would benefit the Federal Government as well by 
consolidating BLM and Forest Service holdings and increasing the 
efficiency of managing the land. This would allow the TPUD to develop 
the property and enhance economic opportunities for the community.
  Trinity County faces significant challenges attracting businesses 
because the Federal Government currently owns 75 percent of the 
available land--over 1.5 million acres--limiting the availability of 
land for commercial use.
  The county also faces significant economic challenges because 
government mismanagement and lawsuits from fringe groups have shut down 
responsible stewardship and management of the county's vast timber 
resources. This decline in management has been devastating to the 
timber industry and has had a multiplier effect on the county's 
economy, with severe impacts on schools, infrastructure, and small 
retail businesses.
  In closing, I strongly believe that these resources belong to the 
people, and local needs should drive their management. Sensible land 
exchanges like the one this legislation would implement would have the 
twofold benefit of making Federal land management more efficient while 
providing local communities with greater access to their natural 
resources.
  I want to thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member Grijalva for 
their efforts on behalf of this commonsense bill, and I urge my 
colleagues to vote for it.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, may I inquire if Chairman Hastings has any 
additional speakers at this time?
  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I have no more requests for 
time. If the gentleman is prepared to close, I'll close.
  Mr. SABLAN. Mr. Speaker, again, like I said, we have no objection to 
this legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H5085]]

  Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, this is a good piece of 
legislation, and I congratulate the gentleman for his introduction and 
getting this far.
  With that, I urge adoption and yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1237, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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