Summary#
This bill orders the U.S. Forest Service to transfer four small parcels of National Forest land in Arizona to Navajo County and Apache County. The transfers are to be made at no purchase price, and the land must be used as cemeteries or it will revert to the United States. The main goal is to give the counties land they can use to expand or create cemetery space.
- Main change: Requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convey specific National Forest System parcels to Navajo County and Apache County if each county requests the conveyance within set deadlines.
- Parcels involved: Navajo County: two parcels of about 2.5 acres each (existing cemetery and proposed expansion). Apache County: one parcel of about 2.56 acres (existing cemetery) and one of about 8.06 acres (called “Proposed Townsite Tract” on the map).
- Timing: Navajo County must request the conveyance within 180 days of the law taking effect; Apache County has 365 days.
- Conditions: Conveyances are by quitclaim deed (no warranty of title), made without payment, subject to valid existing rights, and must be used as cemeteries. If the county uses the land for other purposes, ownership reverts to the United States.
- Costs and paperwork: Each county must pay survey costs and any environmental analyses required by federal law. The Secretary may correct minor map errors and will determine exact acreage by survey.
What it means for you#
- Local residents near Navajo County and Apache County: The counties could gain small parcels for cemetery use. This could make more burial space or formalize existing cemetery land.
- Navajo County and Apache County governments: Each county must submit a written request within the deadline to get the land. Each county must pay for required surveys and any environmental studies, and must use the land as a cemetery or risk losing it back to the federal government.
- U.S. Forest Service / federal government: The Forest Service must carry out the transfers if counties request them. The federal government will give up ownership and most control over those parcels, except it keeps reversion rights if the cemetery requirement is violated.
- Developers, businesses, or nonlocal users: The parcels being transferred are small and limited to cemetery use, so they are unlikely to become commercial development sites under this bill.
- People interested in environmental cleanup and disclosure: The bill says the conveyances are not subject to section 120(h) of the federal Superfund law (CERCLA). That section normally deals with environmental review, disclosure, and certain assurances when federal land is transferred. The bill removes that specific statutory provision from applying to these transfers.
Expenses#
No public cost estimate is included in the bill text or accompanying material.
- Public cost statement: No publicly available information.
- County costs: Each county must pay for any surveys and any environmental analyses or resource surveys required by federal law.
- Federal costs: The bill does not give a fiscal note. The Forest Service will have administrative work to complete surveys, prepare deeds, and record the transfers. Those administrative costs are not estimated in the bill text.
- Lost federal asset value or revenue: The land is conveyed without payment. The bill does not provide an estimate of any lost value or foregone receipts from sale or lease.
Proponents' View#
The bill appears intended to solve a local land-need problem. Possible arguments in favor include:
- The bill appears intended to allow counties to expand existing cemeteries or establish needed burial space close to local communities.
- It could put small, local-use parcels under local control, which may make maintenance and use easier for county governments.
- Conveying small parcels relieves the Forest Service of managing these specific sites.
- Reversion language keeps a federal backstop if the land is used for something other than a cemetery.
Opponents' View#
The bill’s text suggests several reasonable concerns or questions:
- One concern is that the land is conveyed without payment. That transfers federal land value to local governments with no sale revenue to the federal government.
- The bill excludes application of CERCLA section 120(h). This may raise questions about the normal federal procedures for environmental disclosure or cleanup assurances when federal land is transferred.
- It is unclear how the reversion requirement will be enforced over time and who will monitor ongoing compliance with the cemetery-use requirement.
- The bill does not include a public fiscal estimate. It is unclear how much the Forest Service’s administrative work will cost or who will cover those costs beyond the surveys and studies the counties must pay for.
- The maps and parcel descriptions are approximate; the exact legal descriptions depend on surveys. That leaves some uncertainty about precise boundaries until the surveys are completed.