H.R. 3839 — Introduced in House

I 114th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 3839 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES October 27, 2015 Mrs. Noem introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain Bureau of Land Management land from the Secretary of the Interior to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for inclusion in the Black Hills National Cemetery, and for other purposes. 1. Short title The Act may be cited as the Black Hills National Cemetery Boundary Expansion Act. 2. Withdrawal and transfer of public land for cemetery use (a) Withdrawal and transfer Subject to valid existing rights, the public lands described in subsection (b) are hereby— (1) withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining laws, the mineral leasing laws, and the geothermal leasing laws, for as long as the lands remain under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; (2) deemed property as defined in section 102(9) of title 40, United States Code, for as long as the lands remain under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs; and (3) transferred to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs for use as national cemeteries under chapter 24 of title 38, United States Code. (b) Land description The public lands withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred under subsection (a) are the approximately 200 acres of land adjacent to Black Hills National Cemetery, South Dakota, generally depicted as Proposed National Cemetery Expansion on the map entitled Proposed Expansion of Black Hills National Cemetery – South Dakota and dated September 28, 2015. (c) Boundary modification The boundary of the Black Hills National Cemetery is hereby modified to include the public lands identified in subsection (b). (d) Modification of public land order Public Land Order 2112, dated June 6, 1960 (25 Fed. Reg. 5243), is modified to exclude the lands identified in subsection (b). 3. Legal descriptions (a) Preparation of legal descriptions As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall publish in the Federal Register a notice containing the legal descriptions of the public lands withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred under section 2(a). (b) Legal effect The legal descriptions prepared under subsection (a) shall have the same force and effect as if the legal descriptions were included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the Interior may correct any clerical and typographical errors in the legal descriptions. (c) Conflict between map and legal description In the case of a conflict between the map referred to in section 1(b) and the legal descriptions prepared under subsection (a), the map shall control. (d) Availability Copies of the map referred to in section 2(b) and the legal descriptions prepared under subsection (a) shall be available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of— (1) the Bureau of Land Management; and (2) the National Cemetery Administration. (e) Costs The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall reimburse the Secretary of the Interior for reasonable costs incurred by the Secretary of the Interior in implementing this section, including the costs of any surveys. 4. Restoration to public lands for non-cemetery use (a) Notice and effect Upon a determination by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs that all or a portion of the lands withdrawn, deemed property, and transferred under section 2 shall not be used for cemetery purposes, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of such determination. Subject to subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall transfer administrative jurisdiction of the lands subject to such notice to the Secretary of the Interior. (b) Decontamination The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall be responsible for costs of any decontamination of the lands subject to a notice under subsection (a) determined by the Secretary of the Interior to be necessary for the lands to be restored to the public lands. (c) Restoration to the public lands The lands subject to a notice under subsection (a) shall only be restored to the public lands upon acceptance by the Secretary of the Interior and a determination by the Secretary of the Interior that such lands are suitable for restoration to the public lands and operation of one or more of the public land laws. (d) Opening order If the Secretary of the Interior accepts the lands subject to such a notice and determines that the lands are suitable for restoration, in whole or in part, the Secretary of the Interior may open the lands to operation of one or more of the public land laws and may issue an order to that effect.