§ 283b. — Establishment; notice in Federal Register; property rights.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 16USC283b]
TITLE 16--CONSERVATION
CHAPTER 1--NATIONAL PARKS, MILITARY PARKS, MONUMENTS, AND SEASHORES
SUBCHAPTER XXXIV--GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK
Sec. 283b. Establishment; notice in Federal Register; property
rights
(a) Federal title to property, donation of State and other non-Federal
mineral rights and interests, and establishment; notice in
Federal Register; acquisition of remaining property; purchase
options pending establishment of park; contingent purchase
contracts
When the title to all privately owned land within the boundary of
the park, subject to such outstanding interests, rights, and easements
as the Secretary determines are not objectionable, with the exception of
approximately 4,574 acres which are planned to be acquired by exchange,
is vested in the United States and after the State of Texas has donated
or agreed to donate to the United States whatever rights and interests
in minerals underlying the lands within the boundaries of the park it
may have and other owners of such rights and interests have donated or
agreed to donate the same to the United States, notice thereof and
notice of the establishment of the Guadalupe Mountains National Park
shall be published in the Federal Register. Thereafter, the Secretary
may continue to acquire the remaining land and interests in land within
the boundaries of the park. The Secretary is authorized, pending
establishment of the park, to negotiate and acquire options for the
purchase of lands and interests in land within the boundaries of the
park. He is further authorized to execute contracts for the purchase of
such lands and interests, but the liability of the United States under
any such contract shall be contingent on the availability of
appropriated or donated funds to fulfill the same.
(b) Preferential right to reconveyance of mineral rights and interests
upon nonuser of lands for national park purposes; notice; period
for exercise; beneficiaries
In the event said lands or any part thereof cease to be used for
national park purposes, the persons (including the State of Texas) who
donated to the United States rights and interests in minerals in the
lands within the park shall be given notice, in accordance with
regulations to be prescribed by the Secretary, of their preferential
right to a reconveyance, without consideration, of the respective rights
and interests in minerals which they donated to the United States. Such
notice shall be in a form reasonably calculated to give actual notice to
those entitled to such preferential right, and shall provide for a
period of not less than one hundred and eighty days within which to
exercise such preferential right. The preferential right to such
reconveyance shall inure to the benefit of the successors, heirs,
devisees, or assigns of such persons having such preferential right to a
reconveyance, and such successors, heirs, devisees, or assigns shall be
given the notice provided for in this subsection.
(c) Leases of mineral rights and interests: withdrawal from leasing;
mineral leasing, sale of surplus property, and sale provisions
inapplicable; subsection (c) inapplicable upon failure or
refusal to exercise preferential right to reconveyance
Such rights and interests in minerals, including all minerals of
whatever nature, in and underlying the lands within the boundaries of
the park and which are acquired by the United States under the
provisions of this subchapter are hereby withdrawn from leasing and are
hereby excluded from the application of the present or future provisions
of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands [30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.] or
other Act in lieu thereof having the same purpose, and the same are
hereby also excluded from the provisions of all present and future laws
affecting the sale of surplus property or of said mineral interests
acquired pursuant to this subchapter the United States or any department
or agency thereof, except that, if such person having such preferential
right to a reconveyance fails or refuses to exercise such preferential
right to a reconveyance as provided in subsection (b) of this section
then this subsection (c) shall not be applicable to the rights and
interests in such minerals in the identical lands of such person so
failing or refusing to exercise such preferential right to a
reconveyance from and after the one hundred and eighty-day period
referred to in subsection (b) of this section.
(d) Preferential right to lease mineral rights and interests necessary
for national welfare or emergency: notice, terms and conditions,
beneficiaries; other leases upon failure or refusal to exercise
right: terms and conditions
If at any time in the future an Act of Congress provides that the
national welfare or an emergency requires the development and production
of the minerals underlying the lands within the boundaries of the
national park, or any portion thereof, and such Act of Congress,
notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (c) of this section or any
other Act, authorizes the Secretary to lease said land for the purpose
of drilling, mining, developing, and producing said minerals, the
Secretary shall give the persons (including the State of Texas) who
donated such minerals to the United States notice of their preferential
right to lease, without consideration, all or any part of the respective
rights and interests in minerals which they donated to the United
States, subject to such terms and conditions as the Secretary may
prescribe. Such preferential right shall inure to the benefit of the
successors or assigns, and of the heirs or devisees of such persons
having such preferential right in the premises. The persons entitled to
a preferential right under this subsection shall be given the same
notice thereof as persons entitled to preferential rights under
subsection (b) of this section. If such person having such preferential
right fails or refuses to exercise such right within the time specified
in the above notice, the Secretary may thereafter lease the minerals
involved to any other person under such terms and conditions as he may
prescribe.
(e) Proceeds from communitization agreement or protective action;
beneficiaries
If at any time oil, gas, or other minerals should be discovered and
produced in commercial quantities from lands outside of the boundaries
of the park, thereby causing drainage of oil, gas, or other minerals
from lands within the boundaries of the park, and if the Secretary
participates in a communitization agreement or takes other action to
protect the rights of the United States, the proceeds, if any, derived
from such agreement or action shall inure to the benefit of the donors
of the oil, gas, or other minerals, or their successors, heirs,
devisees, or assigns.
(Pub. L. 89-667, Sec. 3, Oct. 15, 1966, 80 Stat. 920.)
References in Text
The Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands, referred to in subsec.
(c), is act Aug. 7, 1947, ch. 513, 61 Stat. 913, as amended, which is
classified generally to chapter 7 (Sec. 351 et seq.) of Title 30,
Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of this Act to the
Code, see Short Title note set out under section 351 of Title 30 and
Tables.
