43 U.S.C. § 1713 — Sales of public land tracts

Page 531 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1713 (e) Management decisions for implementation of developed or revised plans The Secretary may issue management deci- sions to implement land use plans developed or revised under this section in accordance with the following: (1) Such decisions, including but not limited to exclusions (that is, total elimination) of one or more of the principal or major uses made by a management decision shall remain subject to reconsideration, modification, and termination through revision by the Secretary or his delegate, under the provisions of this section, of the land use plan involved. (2) Any management decision or action pur- suant to a management decision that excludes (that is, totally eliminates) one or more of the principal or major uses for two or more years with respect to a tract of land of one hundred thousand acres or more shall be reported by the Secretary to the House of Representatives and the Senate. If within ninety days from the giving of such notice (exclusive of days on which either House has adjourned for more than three consecutive days), the Congress adopts a concurrent resolution of nonapproval of the management decision or action, then the management decision or action shall be promptly terminated by the Secretary. If the committee to which a resolution has been re- ferred during the said ninety day period, has not reported it at the end of thirty calendar days after its referral, it shall be in order to either discharge the committee from further consideration of such resolution or to dis- charge the committee from consideration of any other resolution with respect to the man- agement decision or action. A motion to dis- charge may be made only by an individual fa- voring the resolution, shall be highly privi- leged (except that it may not be made after the committee has reported such a resolution), and debate thereon shall be limited to not more than one hour, to be divided equally be- tween those favoring and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the mo- tion was agreed to or disagreed to. If the mo- tion to discharge is agreed to or disagreed to, the motion may not be made with respect to any other resolution with respect to the same management decision or action. When the committee has reprinted, or has been dis- charged from further consideration of a reso- lution, it shall at any time thereafter be in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. The motion shall be highly privileged and shall not be debatable. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to. (3) Withdrawals made pursuant to section 1714 of this title may be used in carrying out management decisions, but public lands shall be removed from or restored to the operation of the Mining Law of 1872, as amended (R.S. 2318–2352; 30 U.S.C. 21 et seq.) or transferred to another department, bureau, or agency only by withdrawal action pursuant to section 1714 of this title or other action pursuant to appli- cable law: Provided, That nothing in this sec- tion shall prevent a wholly owned Government corporation from acquiring and holding rights as a citizen under the Mining Law of 1872. (f) Procedures applicable to formulation of plans and programs for public land management The Secretary shall allow an opportunity for public involvement and by regulation shall es- tablish procedures, including public hearings where appropriate, to give Federal, State, and local governments and the public, adequate no- tice and opportunity to comment upon and par- ticipate in the formulation of plans and pro- grams relating to the management of the public lands. (Pub. L. 94–579, title II, § 202, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2747; Pub. L. 113–287, § 5(l)(6), Dec. 19, 2014, 128 Stat. 3271.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (c)(9), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, known as the Fed- eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For com- plete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. The Mining Law of 1872, as amended, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), is act May 10, 1872, ch. 152, 17 Stat. 91, which was incorporated into the Revised Statutes of 1878 as R.S. §§ 2319 to 2328, 2331, 2333 to 2337, and 2344, which are classified to sections 22 to 24, 26 to 28, 29, 30, 33 to 35, 37, 39 to 42, and 47 of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of R.S. §§ 2318–2352, see Tables. AMENDMENTS 2014—Subsec. (c)(9). Pub. L. 113–287 substituted ‘‘chap- ter 2003 of title 54’’ for ‘‘the Act of September 3, 1964 (78 Stat. 897), as amended’’. § 1713. Sales of public land tracts (a) Criteria for disposal; excepted lands A tract of the public lands (except land in units of the National Wilderness Preservation System, National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys- tems, and National System of Trails) may be sold under this Act where, as a result of land use planning required under section 1712 of this title, the Secretary determines that the sale of such tract meets the following disposal criteria: (1) such tract because of its location or other characteristics is difficult and uneconomic to manage as part of the public lands, and is not suitable for management by another Federal department or agency; or (2) such tract was acquired for a specific pur- pose and the tract is no longer required for that or any other Federal purpose; or (3) disposal of such tract will serve impor- tant public objectives, including but not lim- ited to, expansion of communities and eco- nomic development, which cannot be achieved prudently or feasibly on land other than pub- lic land and which outweigh other public ob- jectives and values, including, but not limited to, recreation and scenic values, which would be served by maintaining such tract in Federal ownership. Page 532 TITLE 43—PUBLIC LANDS § 1714 (b) Conveyance of land of agricultural value and desert in character Where the Secretary determines that land to be conveyed under clause (3) of subsection (a) of this section is of agricultural value and is desert in character, such land shall be conveyed either under the sale authority of this section or in ac- cordance with other existing law. (c) Congressional approval procedures applica- ble to tracts in excess of two thousand five hundred acres Where a tract of the public lands in excess of two thousand five hundred acres has been des- ignated for sale, such sale may be made only after the end of the ninety days (not counting days on which the House of Representatives or the Senate has adjourned for more than three consecutive days) beginning on the day the Sec- retary has submitted notice of such designation to the Senate and the House of Representatives, and then only if the Congress has not adopted a concurrent resolution stating that such House does not approve of such designation. If the committee to which a resolution has been re- ferred during the said ninety day period, has not reported it at the end of thirty calendar days after its referral, it shall be in order to either discharge the committee from further consider- ation of such resolution or to discharge the com- mittee from consideration of any other resolu- tion with respect to the designation. A motion to discharge may be made only by an individual favoring the resolution, shall be highly privi- leged (except that it may not be made after the committee has reported such a resolution), and debate thereon shall be limited to not more than one hour, to be divided equally between those fa- voring and those opposing the resolution. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to recon- sider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to. If the motion to discharge is agreed to or disagreed to, the motion may not be made with respect to any other resolution with respect to the same designation. When the committee has reprinted, or has been discharged from further consideration of a resolution, it shall at any time thereafter be in order (even though a previous motion to the same effect has been disagreed to) to move to proceed to the consideration of the resolution. The motion shall be highly privileged and shall not be debat- able. An amendment to the motion shall not be in order, and it shall not be in order to move to reconsider the vote by which the motion was agreed to or disagreed to. (d) Sale price Sales of public lands shall be made at a price not less than their fair market value as deter- mined by the Secretary. (e) Maximum size of tracts The Secretary shall determine and establish the size of tracts of public lands to be sold on the basis of the land use capabilities and devel- opment requirements of the lands; and, where any such tract which is judged by the Secretary to be chiefly valuable for agriculture is sold, its size shall be no larger than necessary to support a family-sized farm. (f) Competitive bidding requirements Sales of public lands under this section shall be conducted under competitive bidding proce- dures to be established by the Secretary. How- ever, where the Secretary determines it nec- essary and proper in order (1) to assure equitable distribution among purchasers of lands, or (2) to recognize equitable considerations or public policies, including but not limited to, a pref- erence to users, he may sell those lands with modified competitive bidding or without com- petitive bidding. In recognizing public policies, the Secretary shall give consideration to the fol- lowing potential purchasers: (1) the State in which the land is located; (2) the local government entities in such State which are in the vicinity of the land; (3) adjoining landowners; (4) individuals; and (5) any other person. (g) Acceptance or rejection of offers to purchase The Secretary shall accept or reject, in writ- ing, any offer to purchase made through com- petitive bidding at his invitation no later than thirty days after the receipt of such offer or, in the case of a tract in excess of two thousand five hundred acres, at the end of thirty days after the end of the ninety-day period provided in sub- section (c) of this section, whichever is later, unless the offeror waives his right to a decision within such thirty-day period. Prior to the expi- ration of such periods the Secretary may refuse to accept any offer or may withdraw any land or interest in land from sale under this section when he determines that consummation of the sale would not be consistent with this Act or other applicable law. (Pub. L. 94–579, title II, § 203, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2750.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT This Act, referred to in subsecs. (a) and (g), is Pub. L. 94–579, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2743, known as the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Tables. § 1714. Withdrawals of lands (a) Authorization and limitation; delegation of authority On and after the effective date of this Act the Secretary is authorized to make, modify, ex- tend, or revoke withdrawals but only in accord- ance with the provisions and limitations of this section. The Secretary may delegate this with- drawal authority only to individuals in the Of- fice of the Secretary who have been appointed by the President, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate. (b) Application and procedures applicable subse- quent to submission of application (1) Within thirty days of receipt of an applica- tion for withdrawal, and whenever he proposes a withdrawal on his own motion, the Secretary shall publish a notice in the Federal Register stating that the application has been submitted for filing or the proposal has been made and the extent to which the land is to be segregated