[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 150 (2004), Part 12]
[House]
[Pages 16126-16127]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 NEWLANDS PROJECT HEADQUARTERS AND MAINTENANCE YARD FACILITY TRANSFER 
                                  ACT

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2831) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
the Newlands Project Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility to the 
Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, as amended.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 2831

       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 ``Newlands Project 
     Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility Transfer Act''.

     SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF NEWLANDS PROJECT HEADQUARTERS AND 
                   MAINTENANCE YARD FACILITY.

       (a) Conveyance.--The Secretary of the Interior shall convey 
     to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation District, Nevada, as soon as 
     practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act and 
     in accordance with all applicable law and the terms of the 
     memorandum of agreement between the District and the 
     Secretary dated June 9, 2003 (Contract No. 3-LC-20-8052), all 
     right, title, and interest of the United States in and to 
     real property within the Newlands Projects, Nevada, known as 
     2666 Harrigan Road, Fallon, Nevada, and identified for 
     disposition on the map entitled ``Newlands Project 
     Headquarters and Maintenance Yard Facility''.
       (b) Treatment of Proceeds From Fallon Freight Yard as 
     Consideration.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law to 
     the contrary, amounts received by the United States for the 
     lease and sale of Newlands Project lands comprising the 
     Fallon Freight Yard shall, for purposes of this section, be 
     treated as payment in full of consideration for the property 
     conveyed under subsection (a).
       (c) Report.--If the Secretary has not completed such 
     conveyance within 12 months after the date of enactment of 
     this Act, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Congress 
     explaining the reasons the conveyance has not been completed 
     and stating the date by which the conveyance will be 
     completed.
       (d) Environmental Review, Remediation, and Removal.--The 
     Secretary may not make any conveyance under this section 
     until the completion with respect to the conveyance, in 
     accordance with the memorandum of agreement referred to in 
     subsection (a), of--
       (1) compliance with requirements relating to the National 
     Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. et seq. 4321 et 
     seq.) and cultural resources; and
       (2) environmental site assessments, remediation, or 
     removal.
       (e) Liability.--The United States shall not be liable for 
     damages of any kind arising out of any act or omission by, or 
     occurrence relating to, the Truckee-Carson Irrigation 
     District or its employees, agents, or contractors relating to 
     the property conveyed under this section and occurring prior 
     to, on, or after the date of such conveyance.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) and the gentlewoman from Guam (Ms. Bordallo) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth).


                             General Leave

  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their 
remarks and include extraneous material on H.R. 2831, the bill under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arizona?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  H.R. 2831, authored by the gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons), our 
distinguished Committee on Resources vice chairman, directs the 
Secretary of the Interior to transfer 35 acres to the Truckee-Carson 
Irrigation District as soon as practicable. This transfer, which 
includes the Newlands Projects headquarters and maintenance yard 
facility, would occur after adjustments for the lease and sale of other 
project lands have been included in the valuation process.

[[Page 16127]]

  The bill also stipulates that environmental analyses, including those 
under the National Environmental Policy Act, must be completed prior to 
the transfer.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important 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, H.R. 2831 would provide for the transfer of the Bureau 
of Reclamation land in Nevada to the Truckee-Carson Irrigation 
District. My Republican colleagues have already explained the 
legislation, and we have no objection.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the 
gentleman from Nevada (Mr. Gibbons).
  Mr. GIBBONS. Mr. Speaker, first of all, I would like to thank my good 
friend and colleague, the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth), for 
yielding me the time on which to speak on this bill. I also would like 
to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Pombo), the chairman, and 
the gentleman from West Virginia (Mr. Rahall), the ranking member, as 
well as the gentleman from California (Mr. Calvert), the subcommittee 
chairman, for working with me to bring this important piece of 
legislation to the floor today.
  H.R. 2831, Mr. Speaker, as my colleagues have already heard, will 
require the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the Truckee-Carson 
Irrigation District, or TCID, as we say in Nevada, all rights, title 
and interest of the Newlands Reclamation Project located in Fallon, 
Nevada.
  On June 9, 2003, a little over a year ago, the Bureau of Reclamation 
and the TCID reached an agreement and signed a Memorandum of Agreement 
specifying the details of this transfer. This transfer of approximately 
35 acres will allow the irrigation district to make permanent 
improvements on the property for the continued operation and 
maintenance of the Newlands Reclamation Project. This transfer is 
necessary so that financing can be obtained for these improvements.
  It is important to note that in 1996, the Bureau of Reclamation 
certified that the TCID had repaid to the United States all of the 
original construction charges that were designated for repayment to the 
U.S. Government on this project.
  This legislation, Mr. Speaker, is of utmost importance to the people 
of the State of Nevada and especially those in the Second District of 
Nevada. Consequently, I have received letters of support from the 
governor of the State of Nevada, Mr. Kenny Guinn; Churchill County 
Commissioners; the mayor of Fallon; State representatives Grady and 
Goicoechea; as well as State senator Mike McGinness.
  Obviously, Mr. Speaker, there is a great deal of support and common-
sense agreement on this bill, and so I would urge all Members of this 
body to vote in favor of H.R. 2831.

                              {time}  1430

  Ms. BORDALLO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. HAYWORTH. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Stearns). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Hayworth) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2831, 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.

                          ____________________