[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.

[[Page 112 STAT. 3142]]

    (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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