Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1597 To provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 3, 2021 Ms. TITUS (for herself, Mr. HORSFORD, Mrs. LEE of Nevada, and Mr. AMODEI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources A BILL To provide for conservation and economic development in the State of Nevada, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conserva- 5 tion Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1597 IH TITLE I—MOAPA VALLEY TRIBAL EMPOWERMENT AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Sec. 101. Transfer of land to be held in trust for the Moapa Band of Paiutes. Sec. 102. Tribal fee land to be held in trust. TITLE II—CLARK COUNTY, NEVADA Sec. 201. Definition of public park under the Red Rock Canyon National Con- servation Area Protection and Enhancement Act of 2002. Sec. 202. Boundary adjustment to the Red Rock Canyon National Conservation Area. Sec. 203. Boundary adjustment to the Rainbow Gardens Area of Critical Envi- ronmental Concern. Sec. 204. Land disposal and public purpose conveyances. Sec. 205. Revocation of Ivanpah Area of Critical Environmental Concern and establishment of special management areas. Sec. 206. Relationship to the Clark County Multiple Species Habitat Conserva- tion Plan. Sec. 207. Designation of Maude Frazier Mountain. Sec. 208. Availability of special account. Sec. 209. Nevada Cancer Institute land conveyance. TITLE III—WILDERNESS Sec. 301. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System. TITLE IV—LOCAL GOVERNMENT CONVEYANCES IN THE STATE OF NEVADA FOR PUBLIC PURPOSES Sec. 401. City of Boulder City, Nevada, conveyance. Sec. 402. City of Mesquite, Nevada, conveyance for the protection of the Virgin River watershed. Sec. 403. Clark County, Nevada, conveyance to support public safety and wild- fire response. Sec. 404. Moapa Valley Water District, Nevada, conveyance to support access to rural water supply. Sec. 405. City of North Las Vegas, Nevada, conveyance for fire training facil- ity. TITLE V—IMPLEMENTATION OF LOWER VIRGIN RIVER WATERSHED PLAN Sec. 501. Implementation of Lower Virgin River watershed plan. TITLE VI—SOUTHERN NEVADA LIMITED TRANSITION AREA Sec. 601. Southern Nevada Limited Transition Area. TITLE VII—MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS Sec. 701. Off-highway vehicle recreation areas. Sec. 702. Water infrastructure conveyances for public purposes. Sec. 703. Lower Las Vegas Wash weirs. Sec. 704. Critical flood control facilities. Sec. 705. Maximizing education benefits. Sec. 706. Jurisdiction over fish and wildlife. VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1597 IH SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Clark 3 County, Nevada. 4 (2) FEDERAL INCIDENTAL TAKE PERMIT.—The 5 term ‘‘Federal incidental take permit’’ means an in- 6 cidental take permit issued under section 7 10(a)(1)(B) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 8 (16 U.S.C. 1539(a)(1)(B)) to— 9 (A) the Nevada Department of Transpor- 10 tation; 11 (B) the County; or 12 (C) any of the following cities in the State: 13 (i) Las Vegas. 14 (ii) North Las Vegas. 15 (iii) Henderson. 16 (iv) Boulder City. 17 (v) Mesquite. 18 (3) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 19 has the meaning given the term in section 4 of the 20 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 21 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 22 (4) REGIONAL GOVERNMENTAL ENTITY; SPE- 23 CIAL ACCOUNT; UNIT OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT.—The 24 terms ‘‘regional governmental entity’’, ‘‘special ac- 25 count’’, and ‘‘unit of local government’’ have the 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1597 IH meanings given the terms in section 3 of the South- 1 ern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 2 (Public Law 105–263; 112 Stat. 2344). 3 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 4 the Secretary of the Interior. 5 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 6 of Nevada. 7 (7) TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Tribe’’ means the 8 Moapa Band of Paiutes of the Moapa River Indian 9 Reservation, Nevada. 10 TITLE I—MOAPA VALLEY TRIBAL 11 EMPOWERMENT AND ECO- 12 NOMIC DEVELOPMENT 13 SEC. 101. TRANSFER OF LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST FOR 14 THE MOAPA BAND OF PAIUTES. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing rights, 16 including rights-of-way for construction, maintenance, and 17 operation of the Moapa Valley Water District facilities, as 18 depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Moapa Valley Water Dis- 19 trict–Facilities and Land Conveyances’’ and dated Novem- 20 ber 13, 2019, and existing rights-of-way for electric gen- 21 eration, transmission, distribution, and supporting facili- 22 ties, all right, title, and interest of the United States in 23 and to the land described in subsection (b) shall be— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1597 IH (1) held in trust by the United States for the 1 benefit of the Tribe; and 2 (2) part of the reservation of the Tribe. 3 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred to in 4 subsection (a) is the approximately 41,055 acres of land 5 administered by the Bureau of Land Management and the 6 Bureau of Reclamation, as generally depicted on the map 7 entitled ‘‘Southern Nevada Land Management’’ and dated 8 February 22, 2021. 9 (c) SURVEY.—Not later than 60 days after the date 10 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a 11 survey of the boundary lines to establish the boundaries 12 of the land taken into trust under subsection (a). 13 (d) GAMING.—Land taken into trust under this sec- 14 tion shall not be eligible, or considered to have been taken 15 into trust, for class II gaming or class III gaming (as 16 those terms are defined in section 4 of the Indian Gaming 17 Regulatory Act (25 U.S.C. 2703)). 18 (e) WATER RIGHTS.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—There shall not be Federal 20 reserved rights to surface water or groundwater for 21 any land taken into trust by the United States for 22 the benefit of the Tribe under subsection (a). 23 (2) STATE WATER RIGHTS.—The Tribe shall re- 24 tain any right or claim to water under State law for 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1597 IH any land taken into trust by the United States for 1 the benefit of the Tribe under subsection (a). 2 SEC. 102. TRIBAL FEE LAND TO BE HELD IN TRUST. 3 (a) IN GENERAL.—All right, title, and interest of the 4 Tribe in and to the land described in subsection (b) shall 5 be— 6 (1) held in trust by the United States for the 7 benefit of the Tribe; and 8 (2) part of the reservation of the Tribe. 9 (b) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred to in 10 subsection (a) is the approximately 200 acres of land held 11 in fee by the Tribe as generally depicted on the map enti- 12 tled ‘‘General Land Status, Moapa Band of Paiutes’’ and 13 dated September 2012. 14 (c) SURVEY.—Not later than 180 days after the date 15 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete a 16 survey of the boundary lines to establish the boundaries 17 of the land taken into trust under subsection (a). 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1597 IH TITLE II—CLARK COUNTY, 1 NEVADA 2 SEC. 201. DEFINITION OF PUBLIC PARK UNDER THE RED 3 ROCK CANYON NATIONAL CONSERVATION 4 AREA PROTECTION AND ENHANCEMENT ACT 5 OF 2002. 6 Section 102 of the Red Rock Canyon National Con- 7 servation Area Protection and Enhancement Act of 2002 8 (16 U.S.C. 460ccc–4 note; Public Law 107–282) is 9 amended— 10 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (2), and 11 (3) as paragraphs (2), (4), and (5), respectively; 12 (2) by inserting before paragraph (2) (as so re- 13 designated) the following: 14 ‘‘(1) ASSOCIATED SUPPORTIVE USE.—The term 15 ‘associated supportive use’ means a use that sup- 16 ports the overall function and enjoyment of a public 17 park.’’; and 18 (3) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so re- 19 designated) the following: 20 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC PARK.—The term ‘public park’ in- 21 cludes land developed or managed by a partnership 22 between Clark County, Nevada, and a private entity 23 for recreational uses and associated supportive uses, 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1597 IH including uses that require a fee for admittance or 1 use of property within the public park.’’. 2 SEC. 202. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT TO THE RED ROCK CAN- 3 YON NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA. 4 Section 3(a) of the Red Rock Canyon National Con- 5 servation Area Establishment Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 6 460ccc–1(a)) is amended by striking paragraph (2) and 7 inserting the following: 8 ‘‘(2) The conservation area shall consist of ap- 9 proximately 246,990 acres of land, as generally de- 10 picted on the map entitled ‘Southern Nevada Land 11 Management’ and dated February 22, 2021.’’. 12 SEC. 203. BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT TO THE RAINBOW GAR- 13 DENS AREA OF CRITICAL ENVIRONMENTAL 14 CONCERN. 15 (a) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the Rainbow 16 Gardens Area of Critical Environmental Concern, as 17 amended under the Las Vegas Resource Management 18 Plan of 1998, is modified to exclude approximately 390 19 acres of land, as generally depicted on the map entitled 20 ‘‘Rainbow Gardens ACEC Boundary Adjustment’’ and 21 dated November 13, 2019. 22 (b) AVAILABILITY OF MAP.—The map described in 23 subsection (a) shall be on file and available for inspection 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1597 IH in the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Manage- 1 ment. 2 SEC. 204. LAND DISPOSAL AND PUBLIC PURPOSE CONVEY- 3 ANCES. 4 (a) LAND DISPOSAL.— 5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(a) of the Southern 6 Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 7 (Public Law 105–263; 112 Stat. 2344; 116 Stat. 8 2007; 127 Stat. 3872) is amended, in the first sen- 9 tence, by striking ‘‘September 17, 2012’’ and insert- 10 ing ‘‘November 23, 2020’’. 11 (2) MINERAL INTERESTS.—The following shall 12 not constitute the unauthorized use of sand or gravel 13 for purposes of the Southern Nevada Public Land 14 Management Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–263; 15 112 Stat. 2343) or the Clark County Conservation 16 of Public Land and Natural Resources Act of 2002 17 (Public Law 107–282; 116 Stat. 1994): 18 (A) The movement of common varieties of 19 sand and gravel on a surface estate acquired 20 under the Southern Nevada Public Land Man- 21 agement Act of 1998 (Public Law 105–263; 22 112 Stat. 2343) or the Clark County Conserva- 23 tion of Public Land and Natural Resources Act 24 of 2002 (Public Law 107–282; 116 Stat. 1994) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1597 IH by the owner of the surface estate for purposes 1 including recontouring or balancing the surface 2 estate or filling utility trenches on the surface 3 estate. 4 (B) The disposal of sand or gravel de- 5 scribed in subparagraph (A) at an off-site land- 6 fill. 7 (b) PUBLIC PURPOSE CONVEYANCES.— 8 (1) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 9 (A) ELIGIBLE ENTITY.—The term ‘‘eligible 10 entity’’ means the State, a political subdivision 11 of the State, a unit of local government, or a 12 regional governmental entity in the County. 13 (B) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal 14 land’’ means any Federal land in the County— 15 (i) that is leased, patented, authorized 16 as a right-of-way, or otherwise approved 17 for use pursuant to the Act of June 14, 18 1926 (commonly known as the ‘‘Recreation 19 and Public Purposes Act’’) (44 Stat. 741, 20 chapter 578; 43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.), the 21 Federal Land Policy and Management Act 22 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), the Na- 23 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1597 IH (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), or any other ap- 1 plicable Federal law; 2 (ii) on which a permanent public facil- 3 ity has been or may be constructed; and 4 (iii) that is not— 5 (I) under the jurisdiction of the 6 National Park Service or the Depart- 7 ment of Defense; or 8 (II) managed as— 9 (aa) a unit of the National 10 Wildlife Refuge System; 11 (bb) a component of the Na- 12 tional Wilderness Preservation 13 System; or 14 (cc) a component of the Na- 15 tional Landscape Conservation 16 System. 17 (2) AUTHORIZATION FOR CONVEYANCE.—Sub- 18 ject to valid existing rights and paragraph (4), on 19 request by an eligible entity for the conveyance of a 20 parcel of Federal land, the Secretary shall convey to 21 the eligible entity by quitclaim deed, without consid- 22 eration, terms, conditions, reservations, or stipula- 23 tions, all right, title, and interest of the United 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Apr 29, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1597.IH H1597 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1597 IH States in and to the parcel of Federal land for any 1 public purpose. 2 (3) MAP AND LEGAL DESCRIPTION.— 3 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 4 days after the date of a request by an eligible 5 entity for a conveyance of Federal land under 6 paragraph (2), the Secretary shall file a map 7 and legal description of the parcel of Federal 8 land to be conveyed under that paragraph. 9 (B) EFFECT; AVAILABILITY.—Each map 10 and legal description filed under subparagraph 11 (A) shall— 12 (i) have the same force and effect as 13 if included in this Act; and 14 (ii) be on file and available for public 15 inspection in the Las Vegas Field Office of 16 the Bureau of Land Management. 17 ( [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]