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“REINTRODUCTION OF BILL TO FACILITATE ACQUISITION OF MINERAL RIGHTS AT ROCKY FLATS” mentioning the Department of Interior was published in the Extensions of Remarks section on pages E870-E871 on May 4, 2005.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
REINTRODUCTION OF BILL TO FACILITATE ACQUISITION OF MINERAL RIGHTS AT
ROCKY FLATS
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HON. MARK UDALL
of colorado
in the house of representatives
Wednesday, May 4, 2005
Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I am today reintroducing a bill to facilitate the acquisition by the federal government of mineral rights or other non-Federal interests in lands that are located within the boundaries of the Rocky Flats site in Colorado.
The bill is cosponsored by my Colorado colleague, Representative Beauprez. It is identical to a bill we cosponsored in the 108th Congress.
background
In the 1950s, the Federal Government bought land at Rocky Flats for use as a production facility for nuclear-weapon components. However, the purchase did not include all the mineral rights, some of which remained in private ownership.
Production at Rocky Flats ended more than a decade ago. Since then, the Department of Energy, through its contractors, has been working to have the site cleaned up and closed.
rocky flats wildlife refuge act
In 2001, Congress passed legislation I sponsored with Senator Wayne Allard to guide the future of Rocky Flats. Under that legislation--the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act of 2001--once the cleanup and closure are accomplished, most of the land at Rocky Flats will be transferred from the Department of Energy to the Department of the Interior and will be managed as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System.
The refuge act includes some provisions related to the non-Federal minerals--primarily sand and gravel--at Rocky Flats. It says ``nothing in this [law] limits any valid, existing . . . mineral right'' except for ``such reasonable conditions on access . . . as are appropriate for the cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats and for the management of the refuge.'' And it says that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between DOE and Interior is to ``address the impacts'' mineral rights ``may have on the management of the refuge, and provide strategies for resolving or mitigating these impacts.''
These provisions were included in the refuge act in order to make clear that while these mineral rights are to be respected as private property, future development of the minerals could have adverse effects on the land, wildlife habitat, and other values of the future wildlife refuge. That is why Congress directed the agencies to consider these potential future effects and work to find ways to mitigate those impacts.
So far, however, the Energy and Interior Departments have not been able to agree on what to do about the minerals.
I think the best way to handle this would be for the federal government to acquire the minerals. However, neither DOE nor Interior has made this a priority, and the current budgetary situation places constraints on such acquisitions.
purpose of the bill
The Udall-Beauprez bill is intended to make it more feasible for the Interior Department to acquire some or all of the minerals. It would do that by giving the Secretary of the Interior two additional methods
(either instead of or in addition to purchase for cash) for completing such acquisitions--
(1) by giving ``credits'' that could be used instead of cash to pay for oil and gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf; and
(2) by allowing federal lands or minerals anywhere in the country to be exchanged for the Rocky Flats minerals (under current law, such exchanges can only occur within the same state--Colorado lands/minerals for other Colorado lands/minerals).
The bill has no compulsory provisions. It would not require that any of the non-Federal interests at Rocky Flats be acquired by the government. It also would not require anyone to accept anything other than cash for any interests that the government may acquire--any transaction involving the new ``credits'' or any exchange could take place only with the concurrence of the party selling minerals to the United States. It would merely provide the Interior Department with new tools--in addition to those it already has--for such acquisitions.
In addition, the bill includes a provision to make clear that the Federal government cannot expand the Rocky Flats site by obtaining any non-Federal lands or interests in lands that are outside the site's boundaries except with the consent of the owners of those lands or interests.
In developing the original bill, I sought and obtained technical assistance from the Interior Department, gave careful consideration to comments from local governments and others in Colorado, and made revisions to earlier drafts of the legislation in response to points raised in those comments.
Mr. Speaker, this bill--the ``Rocky Flats Minerals Acquisition Act''--is narrow in scope. However, I think it can assist in successful implementation of something that is very important for all Coloradans--
the establishment of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge. I think it deserves the support of every Member of the House.
For the information of our colleagues, here is a short outline of the revised bill:
Outline of Rocky Flats Minerals Acquisition Bill
background
When the ongoing cleanup of the Rocky Flats site is completed, it will be closed and most of the site will be transferred to the Interior Department for management as a National Wildlife Refuge. Within the site's boundaries there are some privately-owned mineral rights (primarily sand and gravel). Federal acquisition of at least some of these mineral rights would further sound management of the site as a wildlife refuge. However, the current budgetary situation makes it difficult to complete such acquisition.
The purpose of the bill is to provide the Interior Department with two additional tools to assist in the acquisition of mineral rights or other non-Federal property at Rocky Flats: authority to provide ``credits'' (instead of or in addition to cash) that could be used for bonus bids or royalties for mineral leases on the Outer Continental Shelf; and authority to provide eligible BLM lands (or interests) anywhere in the country in exchange for the interests acquired at Rocky Flats
(waiving the current requirement that exchanges must be within the same state).
SECTION-BY-SECTION OUTLINE
Section 1--
(1) provides a short title: ``Rocky Flats Minerals Acquisition Act.''
(2) includes findings regarding the status of Rocky Flats and the desirability of federal acquisition of mineral interests within its boundaries
(3) states the bill's purpose as being to facilitate acquisition of non-Federal interests at Rocky Flats by authorizing the Interior Department to use credits or interests in certain public lands--provided that the owners of the acquired lands or interests concur--instead of or in addition to cash.
Section 2--
(1) authorizes the Interior Department to use appropriated funds, credits (with the concurrence of the party transferring lands or interests to the United States), exchanged lands or interests therein, or any combination of these, to acquire mineral interests or other non-Federal interests at Rocky Flats,
(2) defines ``credits,'' making clear that they can only be used for bonus bids or royalty payments for oil or gas leases on the Outer Continental Shelf, can be transferred, and must be used within 10 years of their issuance;
(3) specifies that while exchanges can involve BLM lands or interests in any State, only lands or interests identified as suitable for disposal under current law can be transferred to private ownership through such an exchange;
(4) specifies that no lands or interests therein outside the exterior boundaries of Rocky Flats can be acquired by the United States for the purposes of the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge Act except with the consent of the owners of such lands or interests.
(5) provides that interests acquired by the United States under the bill will be managed as part of the wildlife refuge and cannot be developed or transferred out of Federal ownership; and
(6) specifies that the bill adds to the Interior Department's existing authority and does not reduce any authority the Department already has.
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