[House Report 107-665]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



107th Congress                                                 Report
                     HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-665
======================================================================
 
DIRECTING THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TO CONVEY CERTAIN REAL PROPERTY 
           IN THE DIXIE NATIONAL FOREST IN THE STATE OF UTAH

                                _______
                                

 September 23, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5180]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 5180) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
certain real property in the Dixie National Forest in the State 
of Utah, having considered the same, report favorably thereon 
with an amendment and recommend that the bill as amended do 
pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF REAL PROPERTY.

  (a) In General.--As soon as practicable after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, subject to valid, existing rights, the Secretary 
of Agriculture shall convey to Kirk R. Harrison, who owns property in 
Pinto Valley, Utah, at fair market value, all right, title, and 
interest, including appurtenances, of the United States to--
          (1) the land depicted on the Map as ``Purchase A''; and
          (2) the land depicted on the Map as ``Purchase B''.
  (b) Map.--
          (1) Definition.--For the purposes of this section, the term 
        ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Exhibit G'' and dated 
        ``September 10, 2002''.
          (2) On file.--The Map shall be kept on file and available for 
        public inspection in the office of the Chief of the Forest 
        Service. The Secretary of Agriculture may make technical 
        corrections to the Map.
  (c) Treatment of Proceeds.--All funds received pursuant to this Act 
shall be deposited in the fund established under section 8 of Public 
Law 90-171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known as the ``Sisk Act'') and 
shall remain available to the Secretary of Agriculture until expended 
for the acquisition of lands and interests in land for inclusion in the 
Dixie National Forest.
  (d) Appraisal.--The Secretary shall determine the fair market value 
of the property conveyed by subsection (a) by using nationally 
recognized appraisal standards, including, to the extent appropriate--
          (1) the uniform appraisal standards for Federal land 
        acquisitions;
          (2) the uniform standards of professional appraisal practice; 
        and
          (3) other applicable law.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 5180 is to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey certain real property in the Dixie 
National Forest in the State of Utah.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 1860, before the creation of the Dixie National Forest, 
the State of Utah, and the U.S. Forest Service, the Harrison 
family settled in the Pinto Valley located in present day 
Washington County, Utah. The Harrisons established property 
boundaries by erecting ``rip gut'' fences that exist still 
today. In 1885, John J. Harrison and Benjamin Platt applied for 
and were granted patents to certain lands in Pinto Valley.
    Surveys were conducted by the U.S. Surveyor General's 
Office in 1881, establishing section corners in the valley. 
Another government survey in 1905 established the boundary of 
the Dixie National Forest. In 1984, the U.S. Forest Service 
retained an outside firm to perform surveys in the area, 
including lands adjacent to the Harrison property. When 
boundary markers were set and the survey was complete, the 
Harrison family and the United States Government became aware 
that portions of the lands to which the Harrisons claimed title 
were in violation of the boundary described in the 1885 patent.
    Discrepancies over the boundary are due to several factors. 
During the 1984 survey, the U.S. Forest Service surveyors did 
not accept an ``historic mound'' monument used in previous 
surveys, and failed to locate the southwest corner of section 2 
where the 1881 survey rock monument is located. This 1881 
monument is located 37 feet from the 1905 rock monument, 
creating even more confusion. In fact, several corners have at 
least two different survey monuments where only one survey 
monument should be used. Additionally, the 1984 Forest Service 
markers are inconsistent with Washington County corner markers. 
Lastly, the patents received in 1885 were not based on as-built 
surveys of the properties, which left Mr. Harrison and Mr. 
Pratt no way of knowing that there was an inconsistency between 
the patents they received and the actual fence lines.
    This legislation seeks to correct this problem by directing 
the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 112 acres to Kirk 
Harrison at fair market value. This legislation is necessary 
because the U.S. Forest Service lacks administrative authority 
to resolve this type of boundary dispute. This legislation 
would create a straight and manageable boundary along the land 
managed by the U.S. Forest Service. This legislation would 
further direct the Secretary to utilize the funds from this 
sale to acquire high priority environmentally sensitive lands 
within the Dixie National Forest to further the mandates and 
objectives of the agency.
    The Committee on Resources recognizes that portions of the 
land conveyed by this legislation are currently subject to 
active grazing permits administered by the U.S. Forest Service. 
The Committee recognizes that grazing privileges are valuable, 
and that an action that could be construed as a taking of those 
privileges must be followed by adequate compensation. It is 
therefore the intent of the Committee on Resources that before 
any provision of this legislation is carried out, the buyer 
must reach a mutual agreement with the permit holders for: (1) 
the relinquishment of the affected AUMs to the U.S. Forest 
Service; and (2) providing just compensation to those permit 
holders for such relinquishment. It is also the intent of the 
Committee that this agreement be private and reached on a 
willing-seller basis. The Committee requests that if the two 
parties reach an agreement, a copy of the executed agreement be 
submitted for the Committee on Resources as proof of the 
fulfillment of the Committee's intent for this legislation.
    The Committee on Resources does not intend for any 
provision in this legislation to be construed as transferring 
or conveying any water right. If the parties have any disputes 
over water rights pertaining to the land conveyed by this 
legislation, the Committee urges the parties to consult with 
the Water Engineer of the State of Utah.
    The Committee on Resources does not intend for this 
legislation to infringe on any valid existing right, including, 
but not limited to, public access to water systems or other 
national forest lands not conveyed by this legislation.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5180 was introduced on July 23, 2002, by Congressman 
James V. Hansen (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee 
on Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health. On July 25, 2002, the Subcommittee 
held a hearing on the bill. On September 12, 2002, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The bill was 
discharged from further consideration by the Subcommittee on 
Forests and Forest Health by unanimous consent. Congressman 
Hansen offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
reflect negotiations that occurred between the parties that 
decreased the acreage of the conveyance from 560 acres to 112 
acres. The amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill 
as amended was then ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures. 
According to the Congressional Budget Office, this bill would 
result in proceeds of approximately $150,000 to the federal 
government in 2003, which would then be spent by the Secretary 
of Agriculture by 2004.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 20, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5180, a bill to 
direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain real 
property in the Dixie National Forest in the state of Utah.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 5180--A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
        certain real property in the Dixie National Forest in the State 
        of Utah

    CBO estimates that H.R. 5180 would not significantly affect 
the federal budget. The bill would affect direct spending 
(including offsetting receipts); therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would apply, but we estimate that any such effects 
would be negligible. H.R. 5180 contains no intergovernmental or 
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates 
Reform Act and would have no significant impact on the budgets 
of state, local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 5180 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to 
convey to a private landowner about 112 acres of federal lands 
within the Dixie National Forest in Utah. The private landowner 
would pay fair market value for those lands. The bill would 
authorize the Secretary to use proceeds from the conveyance to 
acquire other lands and interests for inclusion in the Dixie 
National Forest.
    According to the Forest Service, the lands to be sold 
currently generate no significant receipts and are not expected 
to do so over the next 10 years. Based on information from the 
agency, CBO estimates that proceeds from the proposed sale 
would total up to $150,000 in 2003, and that the agency would 
spend those proceeds over the 2003-2004 period. Hence, we 
estimate that, under H.R. 5180, the net change in direct 
spending in those years would be negligible.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.


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