USE AND DISPOSITION OF RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY

GRANTS

THURSDAY, JUNE 29, 1961

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,

SUBCOMMITTEE ON PUBLIC LANDS,

COMMITTEE ON INTERIOR AND INSULAR AFFAIRS,

Washington, D.C.

The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:55 a.m., in the committee room, New House Office Building, Hon. Gracie Pfost (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding.

Mrs. PrOST. The Subcommittee on Public Lands will be in order for the consideration of several bills which are before us this morning concerning the use of railroad rights of way across public lands; Without objection, H.R. 3346 by Congressman Saylor, H.R. 6630, by Congressman Johnson, H.R. 6161, by Congressman Saund, H.R. 7436, by Congressman McFall, and H.R. 7550, by Congressman Moss, will be printed in the record at this point, with appropriate references to H.R. 3229 by Congressman Aspinall, H.R. 5745 by Congressman George Miller and H.R. 6945 by Congressman Cunningham, bills which fall within the categories of those which I have just asked unanimous consent to have printed.

We have also a report from the Department of the Interior dated June 28, which recommends the H.R. 3229 group if amended, and that the other bills be not enacted.

Without objection, the bills, together with the report, will be printed in the record at this point.

Is there objection?

Mr. ASPINALL. Reserving the right to object, and I shall not object, but the 3229 group, to which the gentlewoman has made reference, will be known under these circumstances as the 3346 group because the gentleman from Pennsylvania, Mr. Saylor, put in the time on the original preparation of these bills and it is his bill that is being considered.

I withdraw my reservation.

Mrs. Prost. The gentleman is correct and they will be printed in the record.

(The items referred to follow :)

[H.R. 3346, 87th Cong., 1st sess.]

(Identical with H.R. 3229 and H.R. 5745)

A BILL To provide for the disposition by the Secretary of the Interior of lands within abandoned and forfeited railroad rights-of-way, and for other purposes

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) a conveyance or purported conveyance by a railroad company of its interest in any land within a right-of

way granted to it or a predecessor in interest by the United States for railroad purposes shall, unless it be limited to the same purposes as those for which the grant was made or result in an abandonment of the whole or a portion of a line of railroad or of the operation thereof contrary to the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act, be deemed an abandonment and forfeiture of the grant insofar as the lands described in the instrument of conveyance or purported conveyance are concerned, but the person to whom the conveyance or purported conveyance of an interest so forfeited has been made may, within three months from the date thereof apply to the Secretary of the Interior for the sale to him of the United States right, title, and interest in and to said lands or for a lease thereof and the Secretary shall, subject to the provisions of section 4 of this Act, sell or lease the same to the applicant: Provided, That if the conveyance or purported conveyance has heretofore been effected, the conveyee or his successor in interest may make his application to the Secretary within one year from the effective date of this Act.

(b) If timely application be not made for sale or lease as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall require the occupant of the land to show cause why he should not be dispossessed and, unless cause be shown or unless the Secretary finds that possession of the land by the United States is in the public interest, he shall advertise the same for sale or lease, whichever he finds proper, and shall sell or lease the same to the highest qualified bidder.

SEC. 2. (a) Any person who has not accepted a conveyance as described in section 1 of this Act but who, with the permission or acquiescence of a railroad company, has for a period of six years occupied lands within a right-of-way granted to it or a predecessor in interest by the United States for railroad purposes may, after serving notice on the company to show cause before the Secretary of the Interior why the said Secretary should not declare its interest in the lands forfeited to the United States, apply to the Secretary for the sale to him of the United States' right, title, and interest in and to the lands occupied by him or for a lease thereof, and the Secretary shall, unless cause be shown why forfeiture should not be declared and subject, in any event to the provision of section 4 of this Act, sell or lease the same to the applicant. Said application shall be made within three months after completion of the aforesaid period of occupancy or, if said period has heretofore been completed, within one year from the date of this Act.

(b) If timely application be not made for sale or lease as provided in subsection (a) of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall require the railroad company to show cause why its grant should not be declared forfeited and the occupant of the land to show cause why he should not be dispossessed and, unless cause be shown or unless the Secretary finds that ownership and possession of the land by the United States is in the public interest, he shall advertise the same for sale or lease, whichever he finds proper, and shall sell or lease the same to the highest qualified bidder.

SEC. 3. If the forfeiture otherwise declared in section 1 of this Act would result in an abandonment of the whole or a portion of a line of railroad or of the operation thereof contrary to the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act or if cause be shown why forfeiture should not be declared under section 2 of this Act, the Secretary shall promptly notify the railroad company to repossess or to reacquire the land in question and to cause the occupant thereof to remove therefrom and, if the company fails so to do within a reasonable period, shall notify the Attorney General of the failure, and the Attorney General shall thereupon institute action for such relief as is proper in the circumstances.

SEC. 4. (a) No sale or lease under sections 1 or 2 of this Act shall be consummated except upon payment of not less than the fair market value of the United States interests in the land involved or agreement to pay the fair rental value thereof, as the case may be, unless (and then only in the case of a sale or lease under subsection (a) of said sections) —

(1) the land is within a legal subdivision the whole of which was granted by the United States to the railroad company or its precedessor in interest in fee simple and the railroad's conveyance of its interest in the land within the right-of-way was effected prior to May 18, 1914; or

(2) the applicant has been in quiet, peaceable, and undisturbed possession of the land for twenty-five years preceding the date of this Act; or

(3) the applicant is a State or a municipality or other political subdivision of a State and the land is utilized for a public highway,

in which cases the Secretary may sell or lease the land to the applicant on such terms and conditions as appear to him to be fair and reasonable in the circumstances.

(b) The term of any lease issued under this Act shall not exceed ten years.

(e) Every sale or lease under this Act shall be subject to reservations in favor of the United States of all oil, gas, and other minerals in the land involved with the right to prospect for, mine and remove the same.

(d) Every sale or lease under this Act shall be made subject to valid existing rights of third parties.

SEC. 5. Any determination by the Secretary of the Interior not to sell or lease land on the ground that it would result in an abandonment of the whole or any portion of a line of railroad or of the operation thereof contrary to the provisions of the Interstate Commerce Act shall be made only after he has been so advised by the Interstate Commerce Commission, and any such determination or any determination by the Secretary that cause has been shown for nonforfeiture or that timely application was not made shall be subject to review under section 10 of the Administrative Procedure Act (60 Stat. 243, 5 U.S.C. 1009).

SEC. 6. (a) Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed as a waiver by the United States of its right to recover rents, profits, or damages heretofore accrued or hereafter accruing from, or to seek and secure other appropriate relief against, any person who does not make timely application for sale or lease as hereinbefore provided or to whom the sale or lease is not made. Nor shall anything contained in this Act be construed as a waiver by the United States of its right to recover from any railroad company the consideration which it has received for land conveyed, leased, or otherwise disposed of by it.

(b) Nothing contained in this Act shall affect any conveyance heretofore made by a railroad company which has heretofore been validated and confirmed by or pursuant to any Act of Congress.

(c) The Act of March 8, 1922 (42 Stat. 414, 43 U.S.C. 912), is hereby repealed.

[H.R. 6630, 87th Cong., 1st sess.]

(Identical with H.R. 6945)

A BILL To amend the Act of May 25, 1920, relating to conveyances of certain parts of rights-of-way by railroad companies

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the Act of May 25, 1920 (ch. 197, 41 Stat. 621; 43 U.S.C. 913), is amended by the addition of the following new section:

"SEC. 2. Any railroad company to which a grant for a right-of-way through the public lands has been made by Congress, or its successor in interest or assign, is authorized to convey any portion of that right-of-way, except any right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the oil, gas, and other minerals underlying such right-of-way, which traverses or occupies a legal subdivision of the public land surveys, title to which is no longer in the United States except for a reversionary interest in the right-of-way, to the party holding title to the lands adjoining that portion or to the State or to the county, municipality, or other political subdivision containing that legal subdivision: Provided, That no conveyance under this section shall have the effect of decreasing the width of of any right-of-way to less than fifty feet on each side of the centerilne of the main track or tracks of railroad as established and maintained upon the date of approval of this section: Provided further, That any conveyance made under this section shall be subject to any right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the oil, gas, and other minerals in the land conveyed, with the right to prospect for, mine, and remove those minerals."

[H.R. 6161, 87th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To validate a certain conveyance of land in Riverside County, California, made on September 28, 1885, by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and others

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, except as provided in section 2 of this Act, the conveyance by deed dated September 28, 1885, to William Smith by the Southern Pacific Railroad Company and D. O. Mills and Gerrit L. Lansing, trustees, of lands in the north half of section 11, township 3 south, range 1 west, San Bernardino base and meridian, which were and are within the right-of-way granted to said company by section 2 of the Act of July 27, 1866 (14 Stat. 292), which deed was recorded August 27, 1886, in book 51, page 11, of the book of deeds of San Bernardino County, California, is hereby legalized, validated, and confirmed insofar as the lands involved lie within lot 1, block 8, of said north half of section 11, and said conveyance shall, to this extent, have the same force and effect as if said lands had been held at the time of their conveyance by the company and the trustees aforesaid in fee simple absolute.

SEC. 2. Nothing contained in section 1 of this Act shall operate to diminish the right-of-way therein identified or any part of it to a width of less than fifty feet on either side of the center of the main track or tracks of said Southern Pacific Railroad Company as now established and maintained or to legalize, validate, or confirm any right, title, or interest based upon or arising out of adverse possession, prescription, or abandonment. There is hereby reserved to the United States all oil, coal, or other minerals in the land to which this Act is applicable and the right to prospect for, mine, and remove the same under such rules and regulations as the Secretary of the Interior may prescribe.

[H.R. 7436, 87th Cong., 1st sess.]

A BILL To validate the conveyance of certain land in the State of California by the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Company

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That, subject to section 3 of this Act, the conveyances executed by the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Company, and described in section 2 of this Act, involving certain land in the county of San Joaquin, State of California, forming a part of the right-of-way granted by the United States to the Central Pacific Railway Company under the Act of Congress approved July 1, 1862 (12 Stat. 489), as amended by the Act of Congress approved July 2, 1864 (13 Stat. 356), are hereby legalized, validated, and confirmed, as far as the interest of the United States is concerned, with the same force and effect as if the land involved therein had been held by the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Company at the time of such conveyances under absolute fee simple title.

SEC. 2 The conveyances referred to in the first section of this Act are as follows:

(1) The conveyance entered into between the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Company, grantors, and the Tri-Valley Packing Association, grantee, on September 13, 1957, and recorded on November 13, 1957, in book 2016, page 149, official records of San Joaquin County, California.

(2) The conveyance entered into between the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Company, grantors, and the estate of Aron Hershel (by Bank of America acting as trustee), grantee, on September 27, 1945. The land described in such conveyance is now vested in the Tri-Valley Packing Association by virtue of a quitclaim deed from the Bank of America, trustee under the last will and testament of Aron Hershel, deceased, recorded April 14, 1959, in official records book 2165, page 494.

SEC. 3. (a) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

(1) diminish the right-of-way referred to in the first section of this Act to a width less than fifty feet on either side of the center of the main track or tracks of the Central Pacific Railway Company and the Southern Pacific Company as established and maintained on the date of enactment of this Act; nor

(2) legalize, validate, or confirm any right, title, or interest in and to the land referred to in the first section of this Act arising out of adverse possession, prescription, or abandonment, and not confirmed by conveyance