Pershing County Economic Development and Conservation Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 2804 To promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, Nevada, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES NOVEMBER 6, 2019 Ms. CORTEZ MASTO (for herself and Ms. ROSEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Nat- ural Resources A BILL To promote conservation, improve public land management, and provide for sensible development in Pershing County, 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 ‘‘Pershing County Economic Development and Conserva- 5 tion Act’’. 6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 7 this Act is as follows: 8 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. Sec. 2. Definitions. VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 2804 IS TITLE I—CHECKERBOARD LAND RESOLUTION Sec. 101. Findings. Sec. 102. Definitions. Sec. 103. Sale or exchange of eligible land. Sec. 104. Sale of encumbered land. Sec. 105. Disposition of proceeds. Sec. 106. Conveyance of land for use as a public cemetery. TITLE II—WILDERNESS AREAS Sec. 201. Additions to the National Wilderness Preservation System. Sec. 202. Administration. Sec. 203. Wildlife management. Sec. 204. Release of wilderness study areas. Sec. 205. Native American cultural and religious uses. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) COUNTY.—The term ‘‘County’’ means Per- 3 shing County, Nevada. 4 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 5 the Secretary of the Interior. 6 (3) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 7 of Nevada. 8 (4) WILDERNESS AREA.—The term ‘‘wilderness 9 area’’ means a wilderness area designated by section 10 201(a). 11 TITLE I—CHECKERBOARD LAND 12 RESOLUTION 13 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 14 Congress finds that— 15 (1) since the passage of the Act of July 1, 1862 16 (12 Stat. 489, chapter 120) (commonly known as 17 the ‘‘Pacific Railway Act of 1862’’), under which 18 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 2804 IS railroad land grants along the Union Pacific Rail- 1 road right-of-way created a checkerboard land pat- 2 tern of alternating public land and privately owned 3 land, management of the land in the checkerboard 4 area has been a constant source of frustration for 5 the County government, private landholders in the 6 County, and the Federal Government; 7 (2) management of Federal land in the checker- 8 board area has been costly and difficult for the Fed- 9 eral land management agencies, creating a disincen- 10 tive to manage the land effectively; 11 (3) parcels of land within the checkerboard area 12 in the County will not vary significantly in appraised 13 value by acre due to the similarity of highest and 14 best use in the County; and 15 (4) consolidation of appropriate land within the 16 checkerboard area through sales and exchanges for 17 development and Federal management will— 18 (A) help improve the tax base of the Coun- 19 ty; and 20 (B) simplify management for the Federal 21 Government. 22 SEC. 102. DEFINITIONS. 23 In this title: 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 2804 IS (1) ELIGIBLE LAND.—The term ‘‘eligible land’’ 1 means any land administered by the Director of the 2 Bureau of Land Management— 3 (A) that is within the area identified on 4 the Map as ‘‘Checkerboard Lands Resolution 5 Area’’ that is designated for disposal by the 6 Secretary through— 7 (i) the Winnemucca Consolidated Re- 8 source Management Plan; or 9 (ii) any subsequent amendment or re- 10 vision to the management plan that is un- 11 dertaken with full public involvement; and 12 (B) that is not encumbered land. 13 (2) ENCUMBERED LAND.—The term ‘‘encum- 14 bered land’’ means any land administered by the Di- 15 rector of the Bureau of Land Management within 16 the area identified on the Map as ‘‘Checkerboard 17 Lands Resolution Area’’ that is encumbered by min- 18 ing claims, millsites, or tunnel sites. 19 (3) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map 20 prepared under section 103(b)(1). 21 (4) QUALIFIED ENTITY.—The term ‘‘qualified 22 entity’’ means, with respect to a portion of encum- 23 bered land— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 2804 IS (A) the owner of a mining claim, millsite, 1 or tunnel site located on a portion of the en- 2 cumbered land on the date of enactment of this 3 Act; and 4 (B) a successor in interest of an owner de- 5 scribed in subparagraph (A). 6 SEC. 103. SALE OR EXCHANGE OF ELIGIBLE LAND. 7 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CONVEYANCE.—Notwith- 8 standing sections 202, 203, 206, and 209 of the Federal 9 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 10 1712, 1713, 1716, 1719), as soon as practicable after the 11 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in accordance 12 with this Act and any other applicable law and subject 13 to valid existing rights, shall conduct sales or exchanges 14 of the eligible land. 15 (b) MAP.— 16 (1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after 17 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 18 shall prepare a map that depicts the boundaries of 19 the land identified for disposal under this title, to be 20 identified as the ‘‘Checkerboard Lands Resolution 21 Area’’ on the Map. 22 (2) MINOR CORRECTIONS.—The Secretary, in 23 consultation with the County, may correct minor er- 24 rors in the Map. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 2804 IS (c) JOINT SELECTION REQUIRED.—After providing 1 public notice, the Secretary and the County shall jointly 2 select parcels of eligible land to be offered for sale or ex- 3 change under subsection (a). 4 (d) METHOD OF SALE.—A sale of eligible land under 5 subsection (a) shall be— 6 (1) consistent with subsections (d) and (f) of 7 section 203 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage- 8 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1713); 9 (2) conducted through a competitive bidding 10 process, under which adjoining landowners are of- 11 fered the first option, unless the Secretary deter- 12 mines there are suitable and qualified buyers that 13 are not adjoining landowners; and 14 (3) for not less than fair market value, based 15 on an appraisal in accordance with the Uniform 16 Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice and 17 this Act. 18 (e) LAND EXCHANGES.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 20 the date of enactment of this Act and subject to the 21 joint selection requirements under subsection (c), the 22 Secretary shall offer to exchange all eligible land 23 under this section for private land. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 2804 IS (2) ADJACENT LAND.—To the extent prac- 1 ticable, the Secretary shall seek to enter into agree- 2 ments with one or more owners of private land adja- 3 cent to the eligible land for the exchange of the pri- 4 vate land for the eligible land, if the Secretary deter- 5 mines that the exchange would consolidate Federal 6 land ownership and facilitate improved Federal land 7 management. 8 (3) PRIORITY LAND EXCHANGES.—In acquiring 9 private land under this subsection, the Secretary 10 shall give priority to the acquisition of private land 11 in higher-value natural resource areas in the County. 12 (f) MASS APPRAISALS.— 13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 14 the date of enactment of this Act, and every 5 years 15 thereafter, the Secretary shall— 16 (A) conduct a mass appraisal of eligible 17 land to be sold or exchanged under this section; 18 (B) prepare an evaluation analysis for each 19 land transaction under this section; and 20 (C) make available to the public the results 21 of the mass appraisals conducted under sub- 22 paragraph (A). 23 (2) USE.—The Secretary may use mass ap- 24 praisals and evaluation analyses conducted under 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 2804 IS paragraph (1) to facilitate exchanges of eligible land 1 for private land. 2 (g) DEADLINE FOR SALE OR EXCHANGE; EXCLU- 3 SIONS.— 4 (1) DEADLINE.—Not later than 90 days after 5 the date on which the eligible land is jointly selected 6 under subsection (c), the Secretary shall offer for 7 sale or exchange the parcels of eligible land jointly 8 selected under that subsection. 9 (2) POSTPONEMENT OR EXCLUSION.—The Sec- 10 retary or the County may postpone, or exclude from, 11 a sale or exchange of all or a portion of the eligible 12 land jointly selected under subsection (c) for emer- 13 gency ecological or safety reasons. 14 (h) WITHDRAWAL.— 15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to valid existing 16 rights and mining claims, millsites, and tunnel sites, 17 effective on the date on which a parcel of eligible 18 land is jointly selected under subsection (c) for sale 19 or exchange, that parcel is withdrawn from— 20 (A) all forms of entry and appropriation 21 under the public land laws, including the min- 22 ing laws; 23 (B) location, entry, and patent under the 24 mining laws; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 2804 IS (C) operation of the mineral leasing and 1 geothermal leasing laws. 2 (2) TERMINATION.—The withdrawal of a parcel 3 of eligible land under paragraph (1) shall termi- 4 nate— 5 (A) on the date of sale or, in the case of 6 exchange, the conveyance of title of the parcel 7 of eligible land under this section; or 8 (B) with respect to any parcel of eligible 9 land selected for sale or exchange under sub- 10 section (c) that is not sold or exchanged, not 11 later than 2 years after the date on which the 12 parcel was offered for sale or exchange under 13 this section. 14 SEC. 104. SALE OF ENCUMBERED LAND. 15 (a) AUTHORIZATION OF CONVEYANCE.—Notwith- 16 standing sections 202, 203, 206, and 209 of the Federal 17 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 18 1712, 1713, 1716, 1719), not later than 90 days after 19 the date of enactment of this Act and subject to valid ex- 20 isting rights held by third parties, the Secretary shall offer 21 to convey to qualified entities, for fair market value, the 22 remaining right, title, and interest of the United States, 23 in and to the encumbered land. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 2804 IS (b) COSTS OF SALES TO QUALIFIED ENTITIES.—As 1 a condition of each conveyance of encumbered land under 2 this section, the qualified entity shall pay all costs related 3 to the conveyance of the encumbered land, including the 4 costs of surveys and other administrative costs associated 5 with the conveyance. 6 (c) OFFER TO CONVEY.— 7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 8 after the date on which the Secretary receives a fair 9 market offer from a qualified entity for the convey- 10 ance of encumbered land, the Secretary shall accept 11 the fair market value offer. 12 (2) APPRAISAL.—Fair market value of the in- 13 terest of the United States in and to encumbered 14 land shall be determined by an appraisal conducted 15 in accordance with the Uniform Standards of Pro- 16 fessional Appraisal Practice. 17 (d) CONVEYANCE.—Not later than 180 days after the 18 date of acceptance by the Secretary of an offer from a 19 qualified entity under subsection (c)(1) and completion of 20 a sale for all or part of the applicable portion of encum- 21 bered land to the qualified entity, the Secretary, by deliv- 22 ery of an appropriate deed, patent, or other valid instru- 23 ment of conveyance, shall convey to the qualified entity 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 2804 IS all remaining right, title, and interest of the United States 1 in and to the applicable portion of the encumbered land. 2 (e) MERGER.—Subject to valid existing rights held 3 by third parties, on delivery of the instrument of convey- 4 ance to the qualified entity under subsection (d), the prior 5 interests in the locatable minerals and the right to use 6 the surface for mineral purposes held by the qualified enti- 7 ty under a mining claim, millsite, tunnel site, or any other 8 Federal land use authorization applicable to the encum- 9 bered land included in the instrument of conveyance, shall 10 merge with all right, title, and interest conveyed to the 11 qualified entity by the United States under this section 12 to ensure that the qualified entity receives fee simple title 13 to the purchased encumbered land. 14 SEC. 105. DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS. 15 (a) DISPOSITION OF PROCEEDS.—Of the proceeds 16 from the sale of land under this title— 17 (1) 5 percent shall be disbursed to the State for 18 use in the general education program of the State; 19 (2) 10 percent shall be disbursed to the County 20 for use as determined through normal County budg- 21 eting procedures; and 22 (3) the remainder shall be deposited in a special 23 account in the Treasury of the United States, to be 24 known as the ‘‘Pershing County Special Account’’, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:27 Nov 14, 2019 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2804.IS S2804 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 2804 IS which shall be available to the Secretary, in con- 1 sultation with the County, for— 2 (A) the acquisition of land from willing 3 sellers (including interests in land) in the Coun- 4 ty— 5 (i) within a wilderness area; 6 (ii) that protects other environ- 7 mentally significant land; 8 (iii) that secures public access to Fed- 9 eral land for hunting, fishing, and other 10 recreational purposes; or 11 (iv) that improves management of 12 Federal land within the area identified on 13 the Map as ‘‘Checkerboard Lands Resolu- 14 tion Area’’; and 15 (B) the reimbursement of costs incurred by 16 the Secretary in preparing for the sale or ex- 17 change of land [Text truncated for display. 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