[Pages H8710-H8711]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

TRANSFERRING CERTAIN LANDS IN UTAH TO THE UNITED STATES

Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 4721) to provide for all right, title, and interest in and
to certain property in Washington County, Utah, to be vested in the
United States, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:

H.R. 4721

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN WASHINGTON
COUNTY, UTAH.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, effective 30 days after the date of the enactment of
this Act, all right, title, and interest in and to, and the
right to immediate possession of, the 1,516 acres of real
property owned by the Environmental Land Technology, Ltd.
(ELT) within the Red Cliffs Reserve in Washington County,
Utah, and the 34 acres of real property owned by ELT which is
adjacent to the land within the Reserve but is landlocked as
a result of the creation of the Reserve, is hereby vested in
the United States.
(b) Compensation for Property.--Subject to section 309(f)
of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996
(Public Law 104-333), the United States shall pay just
compensation to the owner of any real property taken pursuant
to this section, determined as of the date of the enactment
of this Act. An initial payment of $15,000,000 shall be made
to the owner of such real property not later than 30 days
after the date of taking. The full faith and credit of the
United States is hereby pledged to the payment of any
judgment entered against the United States with respect to
the taking of such property. Payment shall be in the amount
of--
(1) the appraised value of such real property as agreed to
by the land owner and the United States, plus interest from
the date of the enactment of this Act; or
(2) the valuation of such real property awarded by
judgment, plus interest from the date of the enactment of
this Act, reasonable costs and expenses of holding such
property from February 1990 to the date of final payment,
including damages, if any, and reasonable costs and attorneys
fees, as determined by the court. Payment shall be made from
the permanent judgment appropriation established pursuant to
section 1304 of title 31, United States Code, or from another
appropriate Federal Government fund.
Interest under this subsection shall be compounded in the
same manner as provided for in section 1(b)(2)(B) of the Act
of April 17, 1954, (Chapter 153; 16 U.S.C. 429b(b)(2)(B))
except that the reference in that provision to ``the date of
the enactment of the Manassas National Battlefield Park
Amendments of 1988'' shall be deemed to be a reference to the
date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Determination by Court in Lieu of Negotiated
Settlement.--In the absence of a negotiated settlement, or an
action by the owner,

[[Page H8711]]

the Secretary of the Interior shall initiate within 90 days
after the date of the enactment of this section a proceeding
in the United States Federal District Court for the District
of Utah, seeking a determination, subject to section 309(f)
of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996
(Public Law 104-333), of the value of the real property,
reasonable costs and expenses of holding such property from
February 1990 to the date of final payment, including
damages, if any, and reasonable costs and attorneys fees.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen).
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, this bill was brought about by the 1973 Endangered
Species Act. When that was passed, they found in southern Utah the
desert tortoise. Out of finding the desert tortoise, we then had to
find a place for the habitat for the desert tortoise, which basically
really is not endangered, but I will not get into that.
Finding it there, they found a situation where 33 different people
had to give up ground to get it. We have taken care of all of those
people for a critical habitat because they had that ground and they
could not put their foot on it, all they could do was pay taxes.
We have one person left, the biggest one. We are trying to get it
resolved in this particular bill.
During the hearing on this bill, several concerns were raised by the
administration and the minority. At committee, my amendment in the
nature of a substitute was adopted which addressed those concerns.
This amendment accomplishes the following four things:
First, the acreage will be vested in the United States 30 days after
enactment.
Second, just compensation shall be paid, with an initial payment of
$15 million, which will prevent the property from reverting to
creditors during litigation. According to the BLM's lowest estimate,
the property is worth at least $35 million.
Third, the court may consider the damages, costs, and attorneys'
fees, as the court determines appropriate.
Lastly, the values as determined by the court, not Congress or the
BLM, will be paid out of the permanent judgment fund.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I want to commend the gentleman from
Utah (Mr. Hansen), the chief sponsor of this legislation.
We have no opposition to this legislation, Mr. Speaker, but there are
some concerns on this side of the aisle concerning the provisions of
the bill.
Mr. Speaker, this is an extraordinary procedure taken on this bill.
It is an authorization, it is an appropriation, and also an
implementation of condemnation of land rolled into one. Only a few
times in the past quarter century has a legislative taking been used by
the Congress. Furthermore, the language of this legislation is
substantially different from that used in other cases.
There is also considerable controversy associated with the land
identified by this legislation. Several news articles from the State of
Utah have called into question actions by the landowner with regard to
this property. Title has been clouded to this land, and it is unclear
what interests the landowner has and what interests other parties have
to the property in question.
Mr. Speaker, the BLM has attempted to negotiate with the landowner.
These negotiations have been hampered by the landowner's insistence on
using appraisal assumptions that are not consistent with Federal
standards and that were not used in other transactions, including those
done previously with the landowner.
The bill also seeks to open the door to payments to the landowner
dating back to February, 1990. This raises several issues. First, the
Desert Tortoise Reserve was not even established until 1996. It was
only after this that attempts were made to acquire the property. Even
until 1996, the landowner was involved in litigation on the property
and could not present clear title. Settlement of the litigation and
other subsequent actions have made other unnamed parties a beneficiary
of this legislation.
Like I said, Mr. Speaker, I do not oppose this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Utah (Mr. Hansen) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 4721, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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