STATUS:

• April 17, 2013.--Introduced.
• May 14, 2014.--Reported with an amendment.  S. Rept. No. 113-159.
• May 14, 2014.--Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar [Calendar No. 376].

To provide for national security benefits for White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss. (Introduced in Senate - IS)

S 753 IS

To provide for national security benefits for White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss.

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. UDALL of New Mexico, and Mr. CORNYN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

To provide for national security benefits for White Sands Missile Range and Fort Bliss.

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

SECTION 1. WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE AND FORT BLISS.

(a) Withdrawal-

(1) IN GENERAL- Subject to valid existing rights and paragraph (3), the Federal land described in paragraph (2) is withdrawn from--

(A) entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws;

(B) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and

(C) operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws.

(2) DESCRIPTION OF FEDERAL LAND- The Federal land referred to in paragraph (1) consists of--

(A) the approximately 5,100 acres of land depicted as `Parcel 1' on the map entitled `White Sands Missile Range/Fort Bliss/BLM Land Transfer and Withdrawal' and dated April 3, 2012 (referred to in this section as the `map');

(B) the approximately 37,600 acres of land depicted as `Parcel 2', `Parcel 3', and `Parcel 4' on the map; and

(C) any land or interest in land that is acquired by the United States within the boundaries of the parcels described in subparagraph (B).

(3) LIMITATION- Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the land depicted as `Parcel 4' on the map is not withdrawn for purposes of the issuance of oil and gas pipeline rights-of-way.

(b) Reservation- The Federal land described in subsection (a)(2)(A) is reserved for use by the Secretary of the Army for military purposes in accordance with Public Land Order 833, dated May 21, 1952 (17 Fed. Reg. 4822).

(c) Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction- Effective on the date of enactment of this Act, administrative jurisdiction over the approximately 2,050 acres of land generally depicted as `Parcel 2' on the map--

(1) is transferred from the Secretary of the Army to the Secretary of the Interior (acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management); and

(2) shall be managed in accordance with--

(A) the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); and

(B) any other applicable laws.

(d) Legal Description-

(1) IN GENERAL- As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a legal description of the Federal land withdrawn by subsection (a).

(2) FORCE OF LAW- The legal description published under paragraph (1) shall have the same force and effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Interior may correct errors in the legal description.

(3) REIMBURSEMENT OF COSTS- The Secretary of the Army shall reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for any costs incurred by the Secretary of the Interior in implementing this subsection with regard to the Federal land described in subsection (a)(2)(A).