[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 243 (Wednesday, December 19, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 71941-71943]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-24524]


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DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Bureau of Land Management

[NV-020-5870-EU; N-66141; 8-08807; TAS: 14X5260]


Notice of Realty ACTION: Direct (Non-Competitive) Sale of Public 
Land and Opening Order in Humboldt County, Nevada

AGENCY: Bureau of Land Management, Interior.

ACTION: Notice of Realty Action.

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SUMMARY: One parcel of public land (Parcel N-66141), located southwest 
of Winnemucca, Nevada and approximately 177.31 acres, has been examined 
and found suitable for disposal utilizing direct sale procedures. The 
authority for the sale is found under Sections 203 and 209 of the 
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (FLPMA), (43 U.S.C. 1713 
and 1719).
    A prior Notice of Realty Action (Notice) was published in the 
Federal Register on July 13, 2007, Volume 72, Number 134, Page 38612. 
That Notice contained an error in the legal description of the lands 
proposed for sale. This Notice serves to correct that error in the 
appropriate legal description to be offered for sale under N-66141.

DATES: Interested parties may submit comments to the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) regarding the proposed sale of the land until February 
4, 2008.

ADDRESSES: Mail written comments to the BLM Field Manager, Winnemucca 
Field Office, 5100 East Winnemucca Blvd., Winnemucca, NV 89445.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lewis Trout, (775) 623-1500.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:  Parcel N-66141 is located approximately six 
miles west of the city of Winnemucca, Nevada, west of Airport Road, 
south of and adjacent to the Union Pacific

[[Page 71942]]

Railroad tracks, and is described as follows:

Mount Diablo Meridian, Nevada.

T. 35 N., R. 37 E.,
    sec. 16, lots 3, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 22, and 23.
    The area described contains 177.31 acres, more or less.

    This parcel of public land is proposed for sale to the City of 
Winnemucca, Nevada, at no less than the appraised fair market value 
(FMV) of $180,000, as determined by the authorized officer. An 
appraisal report has been prepared by a State-certified appraiser for 
the purposes of establishing FMV.
    Consistent with section 203 of FLPMA, a tract of the public land 
may be sold where, as a result of approved land use planning, the sale 
of the tract meets the disposal criteria of that section. The lands 
described above are identified as suitable for disposal in the BLM 
Sonoma-Gerlach Management Framework Plan (MFP), signed on July 9, 1982, 
and in the BLM Paradise-Denio and Sonoma-Gerlach Management Framework 
Plan Lands Amendment (Amendment), signed on January 15, 1999. The 
proposed disposal action is consistent with the objectives, goals, and 
decisions of the MFP and Amendment. MFP objective and decision L2.2 
provides that the Winnemucca Field Office should dispose of this 
property to local governmental entities as identified by a local 
government, consistent with community plans.
    This sale meets the criteria found in 43 CFR 2710.0-3(a)(2) which 
states: ``Disposal of such tract shall serve important public 
objectives, including but not limited to, expansion of communities and 
economic development, which cannot be achieved prudently or feasibly on 
lands other than public lands and which outweigh other public 
objectives and values, including, but not limited to, recreation and 
scenic values, which would be served by maintaining such tract in 
Federal ownership.'' The City of Winnemucca needs these lands to 
provide rail transportation to the city-developed industrial park and 
for proposed airport expansion.
    The disposal (sale) of Parcel N-66141 also meets the criteria found 
under 43 CFR 2710.0-3(a)(3), which authorizes disposal where, ``Such 
tract, because of its location or other characteristics is difficult 
and uneconomic to manage as part of the public lands and is not 
suitable for management by another Federal department or agency.'' The 
lands are isolated, surrounded by private lands, or are intermingled 
with private lands as to make them difficult to manage for any Federal 
purpose. Parcel N-66141 is bordered on the north by the Union Pacific 
Railroad, on the east and south by city-owned property, and on the west 
by private property. There is no existing legal access to the subject 
lands.
    Regulation 43 CFR 2711.3-3(a) provides that, ``Direct sales 
(without competition) may be utilized, when in the opinion of the 
authorized officer, a competitive sale is not appropriate and the 
public interest would best be served by a direct sale. Examples 
include, but are not limited to: (1) A tract identified for transfer to 
State or local government * * * '' As noted above, these lands were 
identified in the MFP as to be disposed of to only a local governmental 
entity.
    The Winnemucca Field Office prepared a preliminary Environmental 
Assessment (EA). All comments received have been considered and 
incorporated into the EA and Decision Record. As previously stated the 
Notice regarding this proposed sale was published in the Federal 
Register on July 13, 2007. The BLM received no comments from the public 
regarding this Realty Action. The EA Number NV-020-06-EA-08, Decision 
Record, Environmental Site Assessment, maps, and approved appraisal 
report covering the proposed sale, are available for review at the BLM, 
Winnemucca Field Office, in Winnemucca, Nevada, at the address listed 
above.

Termination of Exchange Segregation

    Lands described in this Notice were previously segregated under 
Exchange file N-80983, but a decision has been made not to proceed with 
this exchange. This Notice officially terminates that Exchange 
Segregation of the described lands. Pursuant to 43 CFR 2201.1-2(c)(2), 
this Notice will also serve as an opening order to restore the above 
described lands to operation of the sale provisions of Sections 203 and 
209 of the FLPMA, (43 U.S.C. 1713 and 1719), and not the general mining 
laws, as of 7:30 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) on December 19, 2007.

Sales Segregation

    Publication of this Notice in the Federal Register segregates the 
subject land from all forms of appropriations under the public land 
laws, including the general mining and mineral leasing laws, except 
sale under Sections 203 and 209 of FLPMA. The segregation will 
terminate upon issuance of the patent, upon publication in the Federal 
Register of a termination of the segregation, or on December 21, 2009, 
whichever occurs first.

Terms and Conditions of Sale

    The patent issued would contain the following numbered 
reservations, covenants, terms, and conditions:
    1. A right-of-way thereon for ditches or canals constructed by 
authority of the United States, Act of August 30, 1890 (43 U.S.C. 945);
    2. Oil, gas, and geothermal resources are reserved from the land 
sold. Permittees, licensees, and lessees retain the right to prospect 
for, mine, and remove the oil, gas, and geothermal resources owned by 
the United States under applicable law and any regulations that the 
Secretary of the Interior may prescribe, including all necessary access 
and exit rights;
    3. All valid existing rights;
    4. Right-of-way Nev-042767 for aerial transmission line purposes 
authorized granted to Sierra Pacific Power Company, its successors or 
assigns, pursuant to the Act of March 4, 1911, (43 U.S.C. 961);
    5. Right-of-way N-41642 for aerial transmission line purposes 
authorized granted to Sierra Pacific Power Company, its successors or 
assigns, pursuant to the Act of October 21, 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761);
    6. The patentee, by accepting patent, agrees to indemnify, defend, 
and hold the United States harmless from any costs, damages, claims, 
causes of action, penalties, fines, liabilities, and judgments of any 
kind arising from the past, present, or future acts or omissions of the 
patentee, its employees, agents, contractors, lessees, or any third-
party arising out of or in connection with the patentee's use, 
occupancy, or operations on the patented real property resulting in: 
(1) Violations of Federal, State, and local laws and regulations that 
are now, or in the future become, applicable to the real property; (2) 
Judgments, claims, or demands of any kind assessed against the United 
States; (3) Costs, expenses, or damages of any kind incurred by the 
United States; (4) Releases or threatened releases of solid or 
hazardous waste(s) and/or hazardous substance(s), pollutant(s) or 
contaminants(s), and/or petroleum product(s) or derivative(s) of a 
petroleum product, as defined by Federal and State environmental laws, 
off, on, into, or under land, property, and other interests of the 
United States; (5) Other activities by which solid or hazardous 
substance(s), pollutant(s) or contaminants(s), and/or petroleum 
product(s) or derivative(s) of a petroleum product, or waste(s), as 
defined by Federal and State environmental laws, are generated,

[[Page 71943]]

released, stored, used, or otherwise disposed of on the patented real 
property, and any cleanup response, remedial action, or other actions 
related in any manner to said solid or hazardous substance(s) or 
waste(s), pollutant(s) or contaminants(s), and/or petroleum product(s) 
or derivative(s) of a petroleum product; or (6) natural resource 
damages as defined by Federal and State law. This covenant shall be 
construed as running with the patented real property and may be 
enforced by the United States in a court of competent jurisdiction; 
and,
    7. Pursuant to the requirements established by section 120(h) of 
the Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability Act 
(CERCLA) (43 U.S.C. 9620(h)), as amended by the Superfund Amendments 
and Reauthorization Act of 1988 (100 Stat. 1670), notice is hereby 
given that the above-described lands have been examined and no evidence 
was found to indicate that any hazardous substances have been stored 
for one year or more, nor have any hazardous substances been disposed 
of or released on the subject property.
    No warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, is given by the 
United States as to the title, physical condition, or potential uses of 
the parcel of land proposed for sale, and the conveyance of any such 
parcel will not be on a contingency basis. It is the buyer's 
responsibility to be aware of all applicable Federal, State, and local 
government policies and regulations that would affect the subject 
lands. It is also the buyer's responsibility to be aware of existing or 
prospective uses of nearby properties. Any land lacking access from a 
public road or highway will be conveyed as such, and future access 
acquisition will be the responsibility of the buyer.
    In the event of a sale, the unreserved mineral interests will be 
conveyed simultaneously with the sale of the land. These unreserved 
mineral interests have been determined to have no known mineral value 
pursuant to 43 CFR 2720.0-6, 43 CFR 2720.2(a), and 43 CFR 2720.2(b). 
Acceptance of the sale offer will constitute an application for 
conveyance of those unreserved mineral interests. The purchaser will be 
required to pay a $50 non-refundable filing fee for conveyance of 
mineral interests. The purchaser will have 30 days from the date of 
receiving the sale offer to accept the offer and to submit a deposit of 
20 percent of the purchase price, and the $50 filing fee for conveyance 
of mineral interests. The purchaser must remit the remainder of the 
purchase price within 180 days from the date of the sale. Payments must 
be by certified check, postal money order, bank draft, or cashier's 
check payable to the U.S. Department of the Interior--BLM. Failure to 
meet conditions established for this sale will void the sale and any 
monies received will be forfeited.

Public Comments

    The subject parcel of land will not be offered for sale prior to 
the 60-day publication of this Notice of Realty Action. For a period 
until February 4, 2008, interested persons may submit written comments 
to the BLM Winnemucca Field Office at the address listed above. 
Facsimiles, telephone calls, and electronic mail are unacceptable means 
of notification. Only written comments received by postal service or 
overnight mail to the Field Manager, BLM Winnemucca Field Office will 
be considered properly filed.
    Before including your address, phone number, e-mail address, or 
other personal identifying information in your comment, you should be 
aware that your entire comment, including your personal identifying 
information, may be made publicly available at any time. While you may 
ask us in your comment to withhold your personal identifying 
information from public review, we cannot guarantee that we will be 
able to do so.
    Any adverse comments will be reviewed by the Nevada State Director, 
who may sustain, vacate, or modify this realty action and issue a final 
determination.

    (Authority: 43 CFR 2711.1-2(a))

    Dated: December 12, 2007.
Gail G. Givens,
Field Manager, Winnemucca.
 [FR Doc. E7-24524 Filed 12-18-07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4310-HC-P