First Substitute H.B. 183

This document includes House Floor Amendments incorporated into the bill on Mon, Mar 10, 2014 at 4:01 PM by jeyring. -->

Representative Michael E. Noel proposes the following substitute bill:


             1     
FEDERAL LAND EXCHANGE AND SALE AMENDMENTS

             2     
2014 GENERAL SESSION

             3     
STATE OF UTAH

             4     
Chief Sponsor: Michael E. Noel

             5     
Senate Sponsor: Ralph Okerlund

             6     
             7      LONG TITLE
             8      General Description:
             9          This bill deals with the exchange of federal H. [ law ] land .H for state
             9a      H. [ law ] land .H .
             10      Highlighted Provisions:
             11          This bill:
             12          .    encourages the federal government to:
             13              .    move forward with the exchange of state and federal lands; and
             14              .    support, in good faith, congressional action to finalize the exchange of state and
             15      federal lands; and
             16          .    makes technical changes.
             17      Money Appropriated in this Bill:
             18          None
             19      Other Special Clauses:
             20          None
             21      Utah Code Sections Affected:
             22      AMENDS:
             23           63J-8-104 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2012, Chapter 369
             24           63L-2-201 , as last amended by Laws of Utah 2011, Chapter 247
             25     


             26      Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
             27          Section 1. Section 63J-8-104 is amended to read:
             28           63J-8-104. State land use planning and management program.
             29          (1) The BLM and Forest Service land use plans should produce planning documents
             30      consistent with state and local land use plans to the maximum extent consistent with federal
             31      law and FLPMA's purposes, by incorporating the state's land use planning and management
             32      program for the subject lands that is as follows:
             33          (a) preserve traditional multiple use and sustained yield management on the subject
             34      lands to:
             35          (i) achieve and maintain in perpetuity a high-level annual or regular periodic output of
             36      agricultural, mineral, and various other resources from the subject lands;
             37          (ii) support valid existing transportation, mineral, and grazing privileges in the subject
             38      lands at the highest reasonably sustainable levels;
             39          (iii) produce and maintain the desired vegetation for watersheds, timber, food, fiber,
             40      livestock forage, wildlife forage, and minerals that are necessary to meet present needs and
             41      future economic growth and community expansion in each county where the subject lands are
             42      situated without permanent impairment of the productivity of the land;
             43          (iv) meet the recreational needs and the personal and business-related transportation
             44      needs of the citizens of each county where the subject lands are situated by providing access
             45      throughout each such county;
             46          (v) meet the needs of wildlife, provided that the respective forage needs of wildlife and
             47      livestock are balanced according to the provisions of Subsection 63J-4-401 (6)(m);
             48          (vi) protect against adverse effects to historic properties, as defined by 36 C.F.R. Sec.
             49      800;
             50          (vii) meet the needs of community economic growth and development;
             51          (viii) provide for the protection of existing water rights and the reasonable
             52      development of additional water rights; and
             53          (ix) provide for reasonable and responsible development of electrical transmission and
             54      energy pipeline infrastructure on the subject lands;
             55          (b) (i) do not designate, establish, manage, or treat any of the subject lands as an area
             56      with management prescriptions that parallel, duplicate, or resemble the management


             57      prescriptions established for wilderness areas or wilderness study areas, including the
             58      nonimpairment standard applicable to WSAs or anything that parallels, duplicates, or
             59      resembles that nonimpairment standard; and
             60          (ii) recognize, follow, and apply the agreement between the state and the Department
             61      of the Interior in the settlement agreement;
             62          (c) call upon the BLM to revoke and revise BLM Manuals H 6301, H 6302, and H
             63      6303, issued on or about February 25, 2011, in light of the settlement agreement and the
             64      following principles of this state plan:
             65          (i) BLM lacks congressional authority to manage subject lands, other than WSAs, as if
             66      they are or may become wilderness;
             67          (ii) BLM lacks authority to designate geographic areas as lands with wilderness
             68      characteristics or designate management prescriptions for such areas other than to use specific
             69      geographic-based tools and prescriptions expressly identified in FLPMA;
             70          (iii) BLM lacks authority to manage the subject lands in any manner other than to
             71      prevent unnecessary or undue degradation, unless the BLM uses geographic tools expressly
             72      identified in FLPMA and does so pursuant to a duly adopted provision of a resource
             73      management plan adopted under FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1712;
             74          (iv) BLM inventories for the presence of wilderness characteristics must be closely
             75      coordinated with inventories for those characteristics conducted by state and local
             76      governments, and should reflect a consensus among those governmental agencies about the
             77      existence of wilderness characteristics, as follows:
             78          (A) any inventory of wilderness characteristics should reflect all of the criteria
             79      identified in the Wilderness Act of 1964, including:
             80          (I) a size of 5,000 acres or more, containing no visible roads; and
             81          (II) the presence of naturalness, the opportunity for primitive and unconfined
             82      recreation, and the opportunity for solitude;
             83          (B) geographic areas found to contain the presence of naturalness must appear pristine
             84      to the average viewer, and not contain any of the implements, artifacts, or effects of human
             85      presence, including:
             86          (I) visible roads, whether maintained or not; and
             87          (II) human-made features such as vehicle bridges, fire breaks, fisheries, enhancement


             88      facilities, fire rings, historic mining and other properties, including tailings piles, commercial
             89      radio and communication repeater sites, fencing, spring developments, linear disturbances,
             90      stock ponds, visible drill pads, pipeline and transmission line rights-of-way, and other similar
             91      features;
             92          (C) factors, such as the following, though not necessarily conclusive, should weigh
             93      against a determination that a land area has the presence of naturalness:
             94          (I) the area is or once was the subject of mining and drilling activities;
             95          (II) mineral and hard rock mining leases exist in the area; and
             96          (III) the area is in a grazing district with active grazing allotments and visible range
             97      improvements;
             98          (D) geographic areas found to contain the presence of solitude should convey the sense
             99      of solitude within the entire geographic area identified, otherwise boundary adjustments should
             100      be performed in accordance with Subsection (1)(c)(iv)(F);
             101          (E) geographic areas found to contain the presence of an opportunity for primitive and
             102      unconfined recreation must find these features within the entire area and provide analysis about
             103      the effect of the number of visitors to the geographic area upon the presence of primitive or
             104      unconfined recreation, otherwise boundary adjustments should be performed in accordance
             105      with Subsection (1)(c)(iv)(F);
             106          (F) in addition to the actions required by the review for roads pursuant to the
             107      definitions of roads contained in BLM Manual H 6301, or any similar authority, the BLM
             108      should, pursuant to its authority to inventory, identify and list all roads or routes identified as
             109      part of a local or state governmental transportation system, and consider those routes or roads
             110      as qualifying as roads within the definition of the Wilderness Act of 1964; and
             111          (G) BLM should adjust the boundaries for a geographic area to exclude areas that do
             112      not meet the criteria of lacking roads, lacking solitude, and lacking primitive and unconfined
             113      recreation and the boundaries should be redrawn to reflect an area that clearly meets the criteria
             114      above, and which does not employ minor adjustments to simply exclude small areas with
             115      human intrusions, specifically:
             116          (I) the boundaries of a proposed geographic area containing lands with wilderness
             117      characteristics should not be drawn around roads, rights-of-way, and intrusions; and
             118          (II) lands located between individual human impacts that do not meet the requirements


             119      for lands with wilderness characteristics should be excluded;
             120          (v) BLM should consider the responses of the Department of the Interior under cover
             121      of the letter dated May 20, 2009, clearly stating that BLM does not have the authority to apply
             122      the nonimpairment management standard to the subject lands, or to manage the subject lands in
             123      any manner to preserve their suitability for designation as wilderness, when considering the
             124      proper management principles for areas that meet the full definition of lands with wilderness
             125      characteristics; and
             126          (vi) even if the BLM were to properly inventory an area for the presence of wilderness
             127      characteristics, the BLM still lacks authority to make or alter project level decisions to
             128      automatically avoid impairment of any wilderness characteristics without express
             129      congressional authority to do so;
             130          (d) achieve and maintain at the highest reasonably sustainable levels a continuing yield
             131      of energy, hard rock, and nuclear resources in those subject lands with economically
             132      recoverable amounts of such resources as follows:
             133          (i) the development of the solid, fluid, and gaseous mineral resources in portions of the
             134      subject lands is an important part of the state's economy and the economies of the respective
             135      counties, and should be recognized that it is technically feasible to access mineral and energy
             136      resources in portions of the subject lands while preserving or, as necessary, restoring
             137      nonmineral and nonenergy resources;
             138          (ii) all available, recoverable solid, fluid, gaseous, and nuclear mineral resources in the
             139      subject lands should be seriously considered for contribution or potential contribution to the
             140      state's economy and the economies of the respective counties;
             141          (iii) those portions of the subject lands shown to have reasonable mineral, energy, and
             142      nuclear potential should be open to leasing, drilling, and other access with reasonable
             143      stipulations and conditions, including mitigation, reclamation, and bonding measures where
             144      necessary, that will protect the lands against unnecessary and undue damage to other significant
             145      resource values;
             146          (iv) federal oil and gas existing lease conditions and restrictions should not be
             147      modified, waived, or removed unless the lease conditions or restrictions are no longer
             148      necessary or effective;
             149          (v) any prior existing lease restrictions in the subject lands that are no longer necessary


             150      or effective should be modified, waived, or removed;
             151          (vi) restrictions against surface occupancy should be eliminated, modified, or waived,
             152      where reasonable;
             153          (vii) in the case of surface occupancy restrictions that cannot be reasonably eliminated,
             154      modified, or waived, directional drilling should be considered where the mineral and energy
             155      resources beneath the area can be reached employing available directional drilling technology;
             156          (viii) applications for permission to drill in the subject lands that meet standard
             157      qualifications, including reasonable and effective mitigation and reclamation requirements,
             158      should be expeditiously processed and granted; and
             159          (ix) any moratorium that may exist against the issuance of qualified mining patents and
             160      oil and gas leases in the subject lands, and any barriers that may exist against developing
             161      unpatented mining claims and filing for new claims, should be carefully evaluated for removal;
             162          (e) achieve and maintain livestock grazing in the subject lands at the highest reasonably
             163      sustainable levels by adhering to the policies, goals, and management practices set forth in
             164      Subsection 63J-4-401 (6)(m);
             165          (f) manage the watershed in the subject lands to achieve and maintain water resources
             166      at the highest reasonably sustainable levels as follows:
             167          (i) adhere to the policies, goals, and management practices set forth in Subsection
             168      63J-4-401 (6)(m);
             169          (ii) deter unauthorized cross-country OHV use in the subject lands by establishing a
             170      reasonable system of roads and trails in the subject lands for the use of an OHV, as closing the
             171      subject lands to all OHV use will only spur increased and unauthorized use; and
             172          (iii) keep open any road or trail in the subject lands that historically has been open to
             173      OHV use, as identified on respective county road maps;
             174          (g) achieve and maintain traditional access to outdoor recreational opportunities
             175      available in the subject lands as follows:
             176          (i) hunting, trapping, fishing, hiking, family and group parties, family and group
             177      campouts and campfires, rock hounding, OHV travel, geological exploring, pioneering,
             178      recreational vehicle parking, or just touring in personal vehicles are activities that are important
             179      to the traditions, customs, and character of the state and individual counties where the subject
             180      lands are located and should continue;


             181          (ii) wildlife hunting, trapping, and fishing should continue at levels determined by the
             182      Wildlife Board and the Division of Wildlife Resources and traditional levels of group camping,
             183      group day use, and other traditional forms of outdoor recreation, both motorized and
             184      nonmotorized, should continue; and
             185          (iii) the broad spectrum of outdoor recreational activities available on the subject lands
             186      should be available to citizens for whom a primitive, nonmotorized, outdoor experience is not
             187      preferred, affordable, or physically achievable;
             188          (h) (i) keep open to motorized travel, any road in the subject lands that is part of the
             189      respective counties' duly adopted transportation plan;
             190          (ii) provide that R.S. 2477 rights-of-way should be recognized by the BLM;
             191          (iii) provide that a county road may be temporarily closed or permanently abandoned
             192      only by statutorily authorized action of the county or state;
             193          (iv) provide that the BLM and the Forest Service must recognize and not unduly
             194      interfere with a county's ability to maintain and repair roads and, where reasonably necessary,
             195      make improvements to the roads; and
             196          (v) recognize that additional roads and trails may be needed in the subject lands from
             197      time to time to facilitate reasonable access to a broad range of resources and opportunities
             198      throughout the subject lands, including livestock operations and improvements, solid, fluid,
             199      and gaseous mineral operations, recreational opportunities and operations, search and rescue
             200      needs, other public safety needs, access to public lands for people with disabilities and the
             201      elderly, and access to Utah school and institutional trust lands for the accomplishment of the
             202      purposes of those lands;
             203          (i) manage the subject lands so as to protect prehistoric rock art, three dimensional
             204      structures, and other artifacts and sites recognized as culturally important and significant by the
             205      state historic preservation officer or each respective county by imposing reasonable and
             206      effective stipulations and conditions reached by agreement between the federal agency and the
             207      state authorized officer pursuant to the authority granted by the National Historic Preservation
             208      Act, 16 U.S.C. Sec. 470 et seq.;
             209          (j) manage the subject lands so as to not interfere with the property rights of private
             210      landowners as follows:
             211          (i) the state recognizes that there are parcels of private fee land throughout the subject


             212      lands;
             213          (ii) land management policies and standards in the subject lands should not interfere
             214      with the property rights of any private landowner to enjoy and engage in uses and activities on
             215      an individual's private property consistent with controlling county zoning and land use laws;
             216      and
             217          (iii) a private landowner or a guest or client of a private landowner should not be
             218      denied the right of motorized access to the private landowner's property consistent with past
             219      uses of the private property;
             220          (k) manage the subject lands in a manner that supports the fiduciary agreement made
             221      between the state and the federal government concerning the school and institutional trust
             222      lands, as managed according to state law, by:
             223          (i) formally recognizing, by duly authorized federal proclamation, the duty of the
             224      federal government to support the purposes of the school and institutional trust lands owned by
             225      the state and administered by SITLA in trust for the benefit of public schools and other
             226      institutions as mandated in the Utah Constitution and the Utah Enabling Act of 1894, 28 Stat.
             227      107;
             228          (ii) actively seeking to support SITLA's fiduciary responsibility to manage the school
             229      trust lands to optimize revenue by making the school trust lands available for sale and private
             230      development and for other multiple and consumptive use activities such as mineral
             231      development, grazing, recreation, timber, and agriculture;
             232          (iii) not interfering with SITLA's ability to carry out its fiduciary responsibilities by the
             233      creation of geographical areas burdened with management restrictions that prohibit or
             234      discourage the optimization of revenue, without just compensation;
             235          (iv) recognizing SITLA's right of economic access to the school trust lands to enable
             236      SITLA to put those sections to use in its fiduciary responsibilities; [and]
             237          (v) recognizing any management plan enacted by SITLA pursuant to Section
             238      53C-2-201 ; and
             239          (vi) acting responsibly as the owner of land parcels with potential for exchange for
             240      state land parcels by:
             241          (A) moving forward with the process for identifying federal land parcels suitable and
             242      desirable for exchange for state land parcels;


             243          (B) removing barriers to the exchange of federal land parcels for state land parcels;
             244          (C) expediting the procedures and processes necessary to execute the exchange of
             245      federal land parcels for state land parcels; and
             246          (D) lobbying and supporting in good faith any congressional legislation to enact and
             247      finalize the exchange of federal land parcels for state land parcels;
             248          (l) oppose the designation of BLM lands as areas of critical environmental concern
             249      (ACEC), as the BLM lands are generally not compatible with the state's plan and policy for
             250      managing the subject lands, but special cases may exist where such a designation is appropriate
             251      if compliance with FLPMA, 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1702(a) is clearly demonstrated and where the
             252      proposed designation and protection:
             253          (i) is limited to the geographic size to the minimum necessary to meet the standards
             254      required by Section 63J-4-401 ;
             255          (ii) is necessary to protect not just a temporary change in ground conditions or visual
             256      resources that can be reclaimed or reversed naturally, but is clearly shown as necessary to
             257      protect against visible damage on the ground that will persist on a time scale beyond that which
             258      would effectively disqualify the land for a later inventory of wilderness characteristics;
             259          (iii) will not be applied in a geographic area already protected by other protective
             260      designations available pursuant to law; and
             261          (iv) is not a substitute for the nonimpairment management requirements of wilderness
             262      study areas; and
             263          (m) recognize that a BLM visual resource management class I or II rating is generally
             264      not compatible with the state's plan and policy for managing the subject lands, but special cases
             265      may exist where such a rating is appropriate if jointly considered and created by state, local,
             266      and federal authorities as part of an economic development plan for a region of the state, with
             267      due regard for school trust lands and private lands within the area.
             268          (2) All BLM and Forest Service decision documents should be accompanied with an
             269      analysis of the social and economic impact of the decision. Such analysis should:
             270          (a) consider all facets of the decision in light of valuation techniques for the potential
             271      costs and benefits of the decision;
             272          (b) clarify whether the costs and benefits employ monetized or nonmonetized
             273      techniques;


             274          (c) compare the accuracy, completeness, and viability of monetized and nonmonetized
             275      valuation techniques used as part of the analysis, including all caveats on use of the techniques;
             276      and
             277          (d) compare the valuation techniques employed in the analysis to the federal standards
             278      for valuation employed by the U.S. Department of Justice in court actions.
             279          Section 2. Section 63L-2-201 is amended to read:
             280           63L-2-201. Federal government acquisition of real property in the state.
             281          (1) As used in this [section] chapter:
             282          (a) "Agency" is defined in Section 63G-10-102 .
             283          (b) "Agency" includes:
             284          (i) the School and Institutional Trust Lands Administration created in Section
             285      53C-1-201 ; and
             286          (ii) the School and Institutional Trust Lands Board of Trustees created in Section
             287      53C-1-202 .
             288          (2) (a) Before legally binding the state by executing an agreement to sell or transfer to
             289      the United States government 10,000 or more acres of any state lands or school and
             290      institutional trust lands, an agency shall submit the agreement or proposal:
             291          (i) to the Legislature for its approval or rejection; or
             292          (ii) in the interim, to the Legislative Management Committee for review of the
             293      agreement or proposal.
             294          (b) The Legislative Management Committee may:
             295          (i) recommend that the agency execute the agreement or proposal;
             296          (ii) recommend that the agency reject the agreement or proposal; or
             297          (iii) recommend to the governor that the governor call a special session of the
             298      Legislature to review and approve or reject the agreement or proposal.
             299          (3) Before legally binding the state by executing an agreement to sell or transfer to the
             300      United States government less than 10,000 acres of any state lands or school and institutional
             301      trust lands, an agency shall notify the Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Interim
             302      Committee.
             303          (4) Notwithstanding Subsections (2) and (3), the Legislature approves all conveyances
             304      of school trust lands to the United States government made for the purpose of completing the


             305      Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in Washington County.


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