[105th Congress Public Law 335]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
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[DOCID: f:publ335.105]
[[Page 112 STAT. 3139]]
Public Law 105-335
105th Congress
An Act
To provide for the exchange of certain lands within the State of
Utah. <<NOTE: Oct. 31, 1998 - [H.R. 3830]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: Utah Schools and Lands
Exchange Act of 1998. 16 USC 431 note [table].>> assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Utah Schools and Lands Exchange Act
of 1998''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The State of Utah owns approximately 176,600 acres of
land, as well as approximately 24,165 acres of mineral
interests, administered by the Utah School and Institutional
Trust Lands Administration, within the exterior boundaries of
the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, established by
Presidential proclamation on September 18, 1996, pursuant to
section 2 of the Antiquities Act of 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431). The
State of Utah also owns approximately 200,000 acres of land, and
76,000 acres of mineral interests, administered by the Utah
School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, within the
exterior boundaries of several units of the National Park System
and the National Forest System, and within certain Indian
reservations in Utah. These lands were granted by Congress to
the State of Utah pursuant to the Utah Enabling Act (chap. 138,
28 Stat. 107 (1894)), to be held in trust for the benefit of the
State's public school system and other public institutions.
(2) Many of the State school trust lands within the monument
may contain significant economic quantities of mineral
resources, including coal, oil, and gas, tar sands, coalbed
methane, titanium, uranium, and other energy and metalliferous
minerals. Certain State school trust lands within the Monument,
like the Federal lands comprising the Monument, have substantial
noneconomic scientific, historic, cultural, scenic,
recreational, and natural resources, including ancient Native
American archeological sites and rare plant and animal
communities.
(3) Development of surface and mineral resources on State
school trust lands within the Monument could be incompatible
with the preservation of these scientific and historic resources
for which the Monument was established. Federal acquisition of
State school trust lands within the Monument would eliminate
this potential incompatibility, and would enhance management of
the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument.
[[Page 112 STAT. 3140]]
(4) The United States owns lands and interest in lands
outside of the Monument that can be transferred to the State of
Utah in exchange for the Monument inholdings without
jeopardizing Federal management objectives or needs.
(5) In 1993, Congress passed and the President signed Public
Law 103-93, which contained a process for exchanging State of
Utah school trust inholdings in the National Park System, the
National Forest System, and certain Indian reservations in Utah.
Among other things, it identified various Federal lands and
interests in land that were available to exchange for these
State inholdings.
(6) Although Public Law 103-93 offered the hope of a prompt,
orderly exchange of State inholdings for Federal lands
elsewhere, implementation of the legislation has been very slow.
Completion of this process is realistically estimated to be many
years away, at great expense to both the State and the United
States in the form of expert witnesses, lawyers, appraisers, and
other litigation costs.
(7) The State also owns approximately 2,560 acres of land in
or near the Alton coal field which has been declared an area
unsuitable for coal mining under the terms of the Surface Mining
Control and Reclamation Act. This land is also administered by
the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration,
but its use is limited given this declaration.
(8) The large presence of State school trust land inholdings
in the Monument, national parks, national forests, and Indian
reservations make land and resource management in these areas
difficult, costly, and controversial for both the State of Utah
and the United States.
(9) It is in the public interest to reach agreement on
exchange of inholdings, on terms fair to both the State and the
United States. Agreement saves much time and delay in meeting
the expectations of the State school and institutional trusts,
in simplifying management of Federal and Indian lands and
resources, and in avoiding expensive, protracted litigation
under Public Law 103-93.
(10) The State of Utah and the United States have reached an
agreement under which the State would exchange all its State
school trust lands within the Monument, and specified inholdings
in national parks, forests, and Indian reservations that are
subject to Public Law 103-93, for various Federal lands and
interests in lands located outside the Monument, including
Federal lands and interests identified as available for exchange
in Public Law 103-93 and additional Federal lands and interests
in lands.
(11) The State school trust lands to be conveyed to the
Federal Government include properties within units of the
National Park System, the National Forest System, and the Grand
Staircase-Escalante National Monument. The Federal assets made
available for exchange with the State were selected with a great
sensitivity to environmental concerns and a belief and
expectation by both parties that Federal assets to be conveyed
to the State would be unlikely to trigger significant
environmental controversy.
(12) The parties agreed at the outset of negotiations to
avoid identifying Federal assets for conveyance to the State
where any of the following was known to exist or likely to
[[Page 112 STAT. 3141]]
be an issue as a result of foreseeable future uses of the land:
significant wildlife resources, endangered species habitat,
significant archaeological resources, areas of critical
environmental concern, coal resources requiring surface mining
to extract the mineral deposits, wilderness study areas,
significant recreational areas, or any other lands known to
raise significant environmental concerns of any kind.
(13) The parties further agreed that the use of any mineral
interests obtained by the State of Utah where the Federal
Government retains surface and other interest, will not conflict
with established Federal land and environmental management
objectives, and shall be fully subject to all environmental
regulations applicable to development of non-Federal mineral
interest on Federal lands.
(14) Because the inholdings to be acquired by the Federal
Government include properties within the boundaries of some of
the most renowned conservation land units in the United States,
and because a mission of the Utah School and Institutional Trust
Lands Administration is to produce economic benefits for Utah's
public schools and other beneficiary institutions, the exchange
of lands called for in this agreement will resolve many
longstanding environmental conflicts and further the interest of
the State trust lands, the school children of Utah, and these
conservation resources.
(15) The Congress finds that, under this Agreement taken as
a whole, the State interests to be conveyed to the United States
by the State of Utah, and the Federal interests and payments to
be conveyed to the State of Utah by the United States, are
approximately equal in value.
(16) The purpose of this legislation is to enact into law
and direct prompt implementation of this historic agreement.
SEC. 3. RATIFICATION OF AGREED EXCHANGE BETWEEN THE STATE OF UTAH AND
THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR.
(a) Agreement.--The State of Utah and the Department of the Interior
have agreed to exchange certain Federal lands, Federal mineral
interests, and payment of money for lands and mineral interests managed
by the Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration, lands
and mineral interests of approximately equal value inheld within the
Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument the Goshute and Navajo
Indian Reservations, units of the National Park System, the National
Forest System, and the Alton coal fields.
(b) Ratification.--All terms, conditions, procedures, covenants,
reservations, and other provisions set forth in the document entitled
``Agreement to Exchange Utah School Trust Lands Between the State of
Utah and the United States of America'' (herein referred to as ``the
Agreement'') are hereby incorporated in this title, are ratified and
confirmed, and set forth the obligations and commitments of the United
States, the State of Utah, and Utah School and Institutional Trust Lands
Administration (herein referred to as ``SITLA''), as a matter of Federal
law.
SEC. 4. LEGAL DESCRIPTIONS.
(a) In General.--The maps and legal descriptions referred to in the
Agreement depict the lands subject to the conveyances.
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(b) Public Availability.--The maps and descriptions referred to in
the Agreement shall be on file and available for public inspection in
the offices of the Secretary of the Interior and the Utah State Director
of the Bureau of Land Management.
(c) Conflict.--In case of conflict between the maps and the legal
descriptions, the legal descriptions shall control.
SEC. 5. COSTS.
The United States and the State of Utah shall each bear its own
respective costs incurred in the implementation of this Act.
SEC. 6. REPEAL OF PUBLIC LAW 103-93 AND PUBLIC LAW 104-211.
The provisions of Public Law 103-93 (107 Stat. 995), other than
section 7(b)(1), section 7(b)(3), and section 10(b) thereof, are hereby
repealed. Public Law 104-211 (110 Stat. 3013) is hereby repealed.
SEC. 7. CASH PAYMENT PREVIOUSLY AUTHORIZED.
As previously authorized and made available by section 7(b)(1) and
(b)(3) of Public Law 103-93, upon completion of all conveyances
described in the Agreement, the United States shall pay $50,000,000 to
the State of Utah from funds not otherwise appropriated from the
Treasury.
SEC. 8. SCHEDULE FOR CONVEYANCES.
All conveyances under sections 2 and 3 of the agreement shall be
completed within 70 days after the enactment of this Act.
Approved October 31, 1998.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 3830:
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HOUSE REPORTS: No. 105-598 (Comm. on Resources).
SENATE REPORTS: No. 105-331 (Comm. on Energy and Natural Resources).
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 144 (1998):
June 24, considered and passed House.
Oct. 9, considered and passed Senate.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 34 (1998):
Oct. 31, Presidential statement.
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