,,ib ,union ,calendar ,no4 #bdh #aadth ,,congress #ast ,session ,h4 ,r4 #bacj ,report ,no4 #aad-cbg ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of ,,representatives ,april #cj1 #bjae ,mr4 ,thornberry 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,carter of ,texas1 ,mr4 ,mc,caul1 and ,mr4 ,gohmert7 introduced the following bill2 which was referred to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources ,november #d1 #bjae;,additional sponsors3 ,mr4 ,sessions1 ,mr4 ,farenthold1 ,mr4 ,ratcliffe1 and ,mr4 ,sam ,johnson of ,texas ,november #d1 #bjae ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed ,strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic ,for text of introduced bill1 see copy of bill as introduced on ,april #cj1 #bjae ,a ,,bill ,to provide legal certainty to property owners along the ,red ,river in ,texas1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,red ,river ,private ,property ,protection ,act4 #b4 ,disclaimer and outdated surveys 7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary disclaims any right1 title1 and interest to the land located south of the ,south ,bank boundary line in the affected area4 7b7 ,clarification of prior surveys ,surveys conducted by the ,bureau of ,land ,management before the date of the enactment of this ,act shall have no force or effect in determining the ,south ,bank boundary line4 #c4 ,survey of ,south ,bank boundary line 7a7 ,survey required ,to identify the ,south ,bank boundary line in the affected area1 the ,secretary shall commission a survey4 ,the survey shall-- 7#a7 adhere to the gradient boundary survey method2 7#b7 span the entire length of the affected area2 7#c7 be conducted by ,licensed ,state ,land ,surveyors chosen by the ,texas ,general ,land ,office1 in consultation with the ,oklahoma ,commissioners of the ,land ,office2 7#d7 be completed not later than #b years after the date of the enactment of this ,act2 and 7#e7 not be submitted to the ,bureau of ,land ,management for approval4 7b7 ,approval of the survey ,after the survey is completed1 the ,secretary shall submit the survey to be approved by the ,texas ,general ,land ,office1 in consultation with the ,oklahoma ,commissioners of the ,land ,office4 7c7 ,surveys of individual parcels 7#a7 ,in general ,parcels surveyed as required by this section shall be surveyed and approved on an individual basis by the ,texas ,general ,land ,office1 in consultation with the ,oklahoma ,commissioners of the ,land ,office4 7#b7 ,surveys of individual parcels not submitted to the ,bureau of ,land ,management ,surveys of individual parcels shall not be submitted to the ,bureau of ,land ,management for approval4 7d7 ,notice 7#a7 ,notification to the ,secretary ,not later than #cj days after a survey for a parcel is approved by the ,texas ,general ,land ,office under subsection 7c71 such office shall provide to the ,secretary the following3 7,a7 ,notice of the approval of such survey4 7,b7 ,a copy of such survey and field notes relating to such parcel4 7#b7 ,notification to adjacent landowners ,not later than #cj days after the date on which the ,secretary receives notification relating to a parcel under paragraph 7#a71 the ,secretary shall provide to landowners adjacent to such parcel the following3 7,a7 ,notice of the approval of such survey4 7,b7 ,a copy of such survey and field notes relating to such parcel4 7,c7 ,notice that the landowner may file an appeal under section #d4 7,d7 ,notice that the landowner may apply for a patent under section #e4 7,e7 ,any additional information considered appropriate by the ,secretary4 #d4 ,appeal ,not later than #a year after the date on which a landowner receives notification under section #c7;d77#b71 a landowner who claims to hold right1 title1 or interest in the affected area may appeal the determination of the survey to an administrative law judge of the ,department of the ,interior4 #e4 ,red ,river surface rights 7a7 ,notification of application period for patents 7#a7 ,in general ,on the date that is #ah months after the date on which the ,secretary receives notification relating to a parcel under section #c7;d77#a71 the ,secretary shall determine whether such parcel is subject to appeal4 7#b7 ,parcel not subject to appeal ,not later than #cj days after the date on which the ,secretary determines a parcel is not subject to appeal1 the ,secretary shall-- 7,a7 notify landowners adjacent to such parcel that the ,secretary shall accept applications for patents for that parcel under subsection 7b7 for a period of #baj days2 and 7,b7 begin accepting applications for patents for that parcel under subsection 7b7 for a period of #baj days4 7#c7 ,parcel subject to appeal ,if the ,secretary determines a parcel is subject to appeal1 the ,secretary shall1 not less than once every #f months1 check the status of the appeals relating to such parcel1 until the ,secretary determines such parcel is not subject to appeal4 7b7 ,patents for lands in the affected area ,if the ,secretary receives an application for a patent for a parcel of identified ,federal lands during the period for applications for such parcel under subsection 7a77#b77;,b7 and determines that the parcel has been held in good faith and in peaceful adverse possession by an applicant1 or the ancestors or grantors of such applicant1 for more than #bj years under claim 7including through a ,state land grant or deed or color of title71 the ,secretary may issue a patent for the surface rights to such parcel to the applicant1 on the payment of #a4be per acre1 if the patent includes the following conditions3 7#a7 ,all minerals contained in the parcel are reserved to the ,united ,states and subject to sale or disposal by the ,united ,states under applicable leasing and mineral land laws4 7#b7 ,permittees1 lessees1 or grantees of the ,united ,states have the right to enter the parcel for the purpose of prospecting for and mining deposits4 7c7 ,pending requests for patents ,the ,secretary shall not offer a parcel of identified ,federal land for purchase under section #f if a patent request for that parcel is pending under this section4 #f4 ,right of refusal and competitive sale 7a7 ,right of refusal 7#a7 ,offers to purchase ,after the expiration of the period for applications under section #e7;a77#b77;,b71 the ,secretary shall offer for purchase for a period of #fj days for each right of refusal-- 7,a7 the surface rights to the remaining identified ,federal lands located north of the vegetation line of the ,south ,bank to-- 7i7 the adjacent owner of land located in ,oklahoma to the north with the first right of refusal2 7ii7 if applicable1 the adjacent owner of land located in ,texas to the south with the second right of refusal2 7iii7 if applicable1 the adjacent owner of land located to the east with the third right of refusal2 and 7iv7 if applicable1 the adjacent owner of land located to the west with the fourth right of refusal2 and 7,b7 the surface rights to the remaining identified ,federal lands located south of the vegetation line of the ,south ,bank to-- 7i7 the adjacent owner of land located in ,texas to the south with the first right of refusal2 7ii7 if applicable1 the adjacent owner of land located in ,oklahoma to the north with the second right of refusal2 7iii7 if applicable1 the adjacent owner of land located to the east with the third right of refusal2 and 7iv7 if applicable1 the adjacent owner of land located to the west with the fourth right of refusal4 7#b7 ,remaining identified ,federal lands defined ,in this subsection1 the term remaining identified ,federal lands means any parcel of identified ,federal lands-- 7,a7 not subject to appeal under section #d2 7,b7 not determined by an administrative law judge of the ,department of the ,interior or a ,federal court to be the property of an adjacent landowner2 and 7,c7 not patented or subject to a pending request for a patent under section #e4 7b7 ,disposal by competitive sale ,if a parcel offered under subsection 7a7 is not purchased1 the ,secretary shall offer the parcel for disposal by competitive sale for not less than fair market value as determined by an appraisal conducted in accordance with nationally recognized appraisal standards1 including the ,uniform ,appraisal ,standards for ,federal ,land ,acquisitions and the ,uniform ,standards of ,professional ,appraisal ,practice4 7c7 ,conditions of sale ,the sale of a parcel under this section shall be subject to-- 7#a7 the condition that all minerals contained in the parcel are reserved to the ,united ,states and subject to sale or disposal by the ,united ,states under applicable leasing and mineral land laws2 7#b7 the condition that permittees1 lessees1 or grantees of the ,united ,states have the right to enter the parcel for the purpose of prospecting for and mining deposits2 and 7#c7 valid existing ,state1 tribal1 and local rights4 7d7 ,report ,not later than #e years after the date on which the survey is approved1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,natural ,resources of the ,house of ,representatives and the ,committee on ,energy and ,natural ,resources of the ,senate a list of the parcels of identified ,federal lands that have not been sold under subsection 7b7 and a description of the reasons such parcels were not sold4 #g4 ,resource management plan ,the ,secretary may not treat a parcel of identified ,federal lands as ,federal land for the purposes of a resource management plan if the treatment of such parcel does not comply with the provisions of this ,act4 #h4 ,construction 7a7 ,lands located north of the ,south ,bank boundary line ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to modify the interest of ,texas or ,oklahoma or sovereignty rights of any federally recognized ,indian tribe over lands located to the north of the ,south ,bank boundary line as established by the survey4 7b7 ,patents under the ,color of ,title ,act ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to modify land patented under the ,act of ,december #bb1 #aibh 7,public ,law #gj-fde2 #de ,stat4 #ajfi2 #dc ,u4,s4,c4 #ajfh2 commonly known as the ,color of ,title ,act71 before the date of the enactment of this ,act4 7c7 ,red ,river ,boundary ,compact ,nothing in this ,act shall be construed to modify the ,red ,river ,boundary ,compact as enacted by the ,states of ,texas and ,oklahoma and consented to by the ,united ,states ,congress by ,public ,law #ajf-bhh 7#aad ,stat4 #iai74 #i4 ,definitions ,in this ,act3 7#a7 ,affected area ,the term affected area means lands along the approximately #aaf-mile stretch of the ,red ,river from its confluence with the ,north ,fork of the ,red ,river on the west to the #ihth meridian on the east between the ,states of ,texas and ,oklahoma4 7#b7 ,gradient boundary survey method ,the term gradient boundary survey method means the measurement technique used to locate the ,south ,bank boundary line under the methodology established in ,oklahoma v4 ,texas1 #bfa ,u4,s4 #cdj 7#aibc7 7recognizing that the boundary line between the ,states of ,texas and ,oklahoma along the ,red ,river is subject to change due to erosion and accretion74 7#c7 ,identified ,federal lands ,the term identified ,federal lands means the lands in the affected area from the ,south ,bank boundary line north to the medial line of the ,red ,river as identified pursuant to this ,act4 7#d7 ,secretary ,the term ,secretary means the ,secretary of the ,interior1 acting through the ,director of the ,bureau of ,land ,management4 7#e7 ,south ,bank ,the term ,south ,bank means the water-washed and relatively permanent elevation or acclivity1 commonly called a cut bank1 along the southerly or right side of the ,red ,river which separates its bed from the adjacent upland1 whether valley or hill1 and usually serves to confine the waters within the bed and to preserve the course of the river 7as specified in the fifth paragraph of ,oklahoma v4 ,texas1 #bfa ,u4,s4 #cdj 7#aibc774 7#f7 ,south bank boundary line ,the term ,south ,bank boundary line means the boundary between ,texas and ,oklahoma identified through the gradient boundary survey method 7as specified in the sixth and seventh paragraphs of ,oklahoma v4 ,texas1 #bfa ,u4,s4 #cdj 7#aibc774 7#g7 ,survey ,the term survey means the survey required by section #c7;a74 7#h7 ,vegetation line ,the term vegetation line means the visually identifiable continuous line of vegetation that is adjacent to the portion of the riverbed kept practically bare of vegetation by the natural flow of the river and is continuous with the vegetation beyond the riverbed4 ,november #d1 #bjae ,reported with an amendment1 committed to the ,committee of the ,whole ,house on the ,state of the ,union1 and ordered to be printed