[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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