[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 117 (Thursday, June 25, 2020)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3368-S3369]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1835. Mrs. FEINSTEIN submitted an amendment intended to be
proposed by her to the bill S. 4049, to authorize appropriations for
fiscal year 2021 for military activities of the Department of Defense,
for military construction, and for defense activities of the Department
of Energy, to prescribe military personnel strengths for such fiscal
year, and for other purposes; which was ordered to lie on the table; as
follows:
At the end of title X, add the following:
SEC. 1__. LAND CONVEYANCE, OVER-THE-HORIZON BACKSCATTER RADAR
SYSTEM RECEIVING STATION, MODOC COUNTY,
CALIFORNIA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Subject to subsections (c), (d),
and (e), the Secretary of Agriculture (referred to in this
section as the ``Secretary'') shall offer to convey to Modoc
County, California (referred to in this section as the
``County''), all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to a parcel of National Forest System land,
including improvements thereon, consisting of approximately
927 acres in Modoc National Forest in the State of California
and containing an obsolete Over-the-Horizon Backscatter Radar
System receiving station established on the parcel pursuant
to a memorandum of agreement between the Department of the
Air Force and the Forest Service dated May 18 and 23, 1987.
(b) Purposes of Conveyance.--The purposes of the conveyance
under subsection (a) are to preserve and utilize the
improvements constructed on the parcel of National Forest
System land described in that subsection and
[[Page S3369]]
to permit the County to use the conveyed property, including
improvements thereon, for the development of renewable
energy, including solar and biomass cogeneration.
(c) Consideration.--As consideration for the conveyance
under subsection (a), the County shall provide the United
States with consideration in an amount that is acceptable to
the Secretary, whether by cash payment, in-kind
consideration, or a combination thereof.
(d) Appraisal.--
(1) Appraisal required.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall conduct an
appraisal to determine the fair market value of the National
Forest System land to be conveyed under subsection (a).
(2) Standards.--The appraisal under paragraph (1) shall be
conducted in accordance with--
(A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisition; and
(B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.
(e) Reservation of Easement Related to Continued Use of
Water Wells.--The conveyance required by subsection (a) shall
be conditioned on the reservation of an easement by the
Secretary, subject to such terms and conditions as the
Secretary determines to be appropriate, necessary to provide
access for use authorized by the Secretary of the 4 water
wells in existence on the date of enactment of this Act and
associated water conveyance infrastructure on the parcel of
National Forest System land to be conveyed.
(f) Payment of Costs of Conveyance.--
(1) Payment required.--
(A) In general.--As a condition on the conveyance required
by subsection (a), the Secretary shall require the County to
cover costs (except costs for environmental remediation of
the property) to be incurred by the Secretary, or to
reimburse the Secretary for those costs incurred by the
Secretary, to carry out the conveyance, including--
(i) survey costs;
(ii) costs for environmental documentation; and
(iii) any other administrative costs related to the
conveyance.
(B) Refund.--If the Secretary collects amounts from the
County in advance of the Secretary incurring the actual costs
described in subparagraph (A), and the amount collected
exceeds the costs actually incurred by the Secretary to carry
out the conveyance, the Secretary shall refund the excess
amount to the County.
(2) Treatment of amounts received.--Amounts received as
reimbursement under paragraph (1) shall be--
(A) credited to the fund or account that was used to cover
the costs described in that paragraph incurred by the
Secretary in carrying out the conveyance;
(B) merged with amounts in the fund or account described in
subparagraph (A); and
(C) available for the same purposes, and subject to the
same conditions and limitations, as amounts in the fund or
account described in subparagraph (A).
(g) Environmental Remediation.--
(1) In general.--To expedite the conveyance of the parcel
of National Forest System land described in subsection (a),
including improvements thereon, environmental remediation of
the land by the Department of the Air Force shall be limited
to--
(A) the removal of the perimeter wooden fence, which was
treated with an arsenic-based weatherproof coating; and
(B) treatment of soil affected by leaching of the chemical
described in subparagraph (A).
(2) Potential future environmental remediation
responsibilities.--Notwithstanding the conveyance of the
parcel of National Forest System land described in subsection
(a), the Secretary of the Air Force shall be responsible for
the remediation of any environmental contamination that is--
(A) discovered after that conveyance; and
(B) attributed to Air Force occupancy of and operations on
the parcel before that conveyance.
(h) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal
description of the property to be conveyed under subsection
(a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to the
Secretary.
(i) Compliance With Environmental Laws.--Nothing in this
section affects or limits the application of or obligation to
comply with any environmental law, including--
(1) the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.); and
(2) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.).
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