[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 16 (Wednesday, January 27, 2016)]
[Senate]
[Page S282]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 3026. Mr. CORNYN submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 2953 proposed by Ms. Murkowski to the bill S. 2012, to
provide for the modernization of the energy policy of the United
States, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table;
as follows:
At the end of subtitle E of title IV, add the following:
SEC. 4405. RED RIVER PRIVATE PROPERTY PROTECTION.
(a) Disclaimer and Outdated Surveys.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary hereby disclaims any right,
title, and interest to all land located south of the South
Bank boundary line of the Red River in the affected area.
(2) Clarification of prior surveys.--Previous surveys
conducted by the Bureau of Land Management shall have no
force or effect in determining the current South Bank
boundary line.
(b) Identification of Current Boundary.--
(1) Boundary identification.--To identify the current South
Bank boundary line along the affected area, the Secretary
shall commission a new survey that--
(A) adheres to the gradient boundary survey method;
(B) spans the entire length of the affected area;
(C) is conducted by Licensed State Land Surveyors chosen by
the Texas General Land Office; and
(D) is completed not later than 2 years after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(2) Approval of the survey.--The Secretary shall submit the
survey conducted under this section to the Texas General Land
Office for approval. State approval of the completed survey
shall satisfy the requirements under this section.
(c) Appeal.--Not later than 1 year after the survey is
completed and approved pursuant to subsection (b), a private
property owner who holds right, title, or interest in the
affected area may appeal public domain claims by the
Secretary to an Administrative Law Judge.
(d) Resource Management Plan.--The Secretary shall ensure
that no parcels of land in the affected area are treated as
Federal land for the purpose of any resource management plan
until the survey has been completed and approved and the
Secretary ensures that the parcel is not subject to further
appeal pursuant to this section.
(e) Construction.--This section does not change or affect
in any manner the interest of the States or sovereignty
rights of federally recognized Indian tribes over lands
located to the north of the South Bank boundary line of the
Red River as established by this section.
(f) Sale of Remaining Red River Surface Rights.--
(1) Competitive sale of identified federal lands.--After
the survey has been completed and approved and the Secretary
ensures that a parcel is not subject to further appeal under
this section, the Secretary shall offer any and all such
remaining identified Federal lands for disposal by
competitive sale for not less than fair market value as
determined by an appraisal conducted in accordance with
nationally recognized appraisal standards, including the
Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions;
and the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice.
(2) Existing rights.--The sale of identified Federal lands
under this subsection shall be subject to valid existing
tribal, State, and local rights.
(3) Proceeds of sale of lands.--Net proceeds from the sale
of identified Federal lands under this subsection shall be
used to offset any costs associated with this section.
(4) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate a list of any identified Federal
lands that have not been sold under paragraph (1) and the
reasons such lands were not sold.
(g) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section:
(1) Affected area.--The term ``affected area'' means lands
along the approximately 116-mile stretch of the Red River
from its confluence with the North Fork of the Red River on
the west to the 98th meridian on the east between the States
of Texas and Oklahoma.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of Bureau of
Land Management.
(3) South bank.--The term ``South Bank'' means the water-
washed and relatively permanent elevation or acclivity,
commonly called a cut bank, along the southerly or right side
of the Red River which separates its bed from the adjacent
upland, whether valley or hill, and usually serves to confine
the waters within the bed and to preserve the course of the
river; as specified in the fifth paragraph of the decree
rendered March 12, 1923, in Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340,
43 S. Ct. 376, 67 L. Ed. 687.
(4) South bank boundary line.--The term ``South Bank
boundary line'' means the boundary between Texas and Oklahoma
identified through the gradient boundary survey method; as
specified in the sixth and seventh paragraphs of the decree
rendered March 12, 1923, in Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340,
43 S. Ct. 376, 67 L. Ed. 687.
(5) Gradient boundary survey method.--The term ``gradient
boundary survey method'' means the measurement technique used
to locate the South Bank boundary line under the methodology
established by the United States Supreme Court which
recognizes that the boundary line between the States of Texas
and Oklahoma along the Red River is subject to such changes
as have been or may be wrought by the natural and gradual
processes known as erosion and accretion as specified in the
second, third, and fourth paragraphs of the decree rendered
March 12, 1923, in Oklahoma v. Texas, 261 U.S. 340, 43 S. Ct.
376, 67 L. Ed. 687.
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