View all text of Subchapter II [§ 1711 - § 1723]
§ 1721. Conveyances of public lands to States, local governments, etc.
(a) Unsurveyed islands; authorization and limitations on authority
(b) Omitted lands; authorization and limitations on authority
(1) The Secretary is authorized to convey to States and their political subdivisions under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act [43 U.S.C. 869 to 869–4], but without regard to the acreage limitations contained therein, lands other than islands determined by him after survey to be public lands of the United States erroneously or fraudulently omitted from the original surveys (hereinafter referred to as “omitted lands”). Any such conveyance shall not be made without a survey: Provided, That the prospective recipient may donate money or services to the Secretary for the surveying necessary prior to conveyance if the Secretary accepts such money or services, such services are conducted pursuant to criteria established by the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, and such survey is approved by the Secretary prior to the conveyance.
(2) The Secretary is authorized to convey to the occupant of any omitted lands which, after survey, are found to have been occupied and developed for a five-year period prior to January 1, 1975, if the Secretary determines that such conveyance is in the public interest and will serve objectives which outweigh all public objectives and values which would be served by retaining such lands in Federal ownership. Conveyance under this subparagraph shall be made at not less than the fair market value of the land, as determined by the Secretary, and upon payment in addition of administrative costs, including the cost of making the survey, the cost of appraisal, and the cost of making the conveyance.
(c) Conformity with land use plans and programs and coordination with State and local governments of conveyances
(1) No conveyance shall be made pursuant to this section until the relevant State government, local government, and areawide planning agency designated pursuant to section 204 of the Demonstration Cities and Metropolitan Development Act of 1966 (80 Stat. 1255, 1262) [42 U.S.C. 3334] and/or section 6506 of title 31 have notified the Secretary as to the consistency of such conveyance with applicable State and local government land use plans and programs.
(2) The provisions of section 1720 of this title shall be applicable to all conveyances under this section.
(d) Applicability of other statutory requirements for authorized use of conveyed lands
(e) Limitations on uses of conveyed lands
(f) Applicability to lands within National Forest System, National Park System, National Wildlife Refuge System, and National Wild and Scenic Rivers System
(g) Applicability to other statutory provisions authorizing sale of specific omitted lands
(Pub. L. 94–579, title II, § 211, Oct. 21, 1976, 90 Stat. 2758.)