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I 111TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 714 To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands in Virgin Islands National Park, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES JANUARY 27, 2009 Mrs. CHRISTENSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To authorize the Secretary of the Interior to lease certain lands in Virgin Islands National Park, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. CANEEL BAY LEASE AUTHORIZATION. 3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 4 (1) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the Virgin 5 Islands National Park. 6 (2) RESORT.—The term ‘‘resort’’ means the 7 Caneel Bay resort on the island of St. John in the 8 Park. 9 VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:21 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.IH H714 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS 2 •HR 714 IH (3) RETAINED USE ESTATE.—The term ‘‘re- 1 tained use estate’’ means the retained use estate for 2 the Caneel Bay property on the island of St. John 3 entered into between the Jackson Hole Preserve and 4 the United States on September 30, 1983. 5 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 6 the Secretary of the Interior. 7 (b) LEASE AUTHORIZATION.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines 9 that the long-term benefit to the Park would be 10 greater by entering into a lease with the owner of 11 the retained use estate than by authorizing a conces- 12 sion contract upon the termination of the retained 13 use estate, the Secretary may enter into a lease for 14 the operation and management of the resort. 15 (2) ACQUISITIONS.—The Secretary may— 16 (A) acquire associated property from the 17 owner of the retained use estate; and 18 (B) on the acquisition of property under 19 subparagraph (A), administer the property as 20 part of the Park. 21 (3) AUTHORITY.—Except as otherwise provided 22 by this section, a lease shall be in accordance with 23 subsection (k) of section 3 of Public Law 91–383 24 VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:21 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.IH H714 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS 3 •HR 714 IH (16 U.S.C. 1a–2(k)), notwithstanding paragraph (2) 1 of that subsection. 2 (4) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—A lease author- 3 ized under this section shall— 4 (A) be for the minimum number of years 5 practicable, taking into consideration the need 6 for the lessee to secure financing for necessary 7 capital improvements to the resort, but in no 8 event shall the term of the lease exceed 40 9 years; 10 (B) prohibit any transfer, assignment, or 11 sale of the lease or otherwise convey or pledge 12 any interest in the lease with prior written noti- 13 fication to, and approval by the Secretary; 14 (C) ensure that the general character of 15 the resort property remains unchanged, includ- 16 ing a prohibition against— 17 (i) any increase in the overall size of 18 the resort; or 19 (ii) any increase in the number of 20 guest accommodations available at the re- 21 sort; 22 (D) prohibit the sale of partial ownership 23 shares or timeshares in the resort; and 24 VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:21 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.IH H714 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS 4 •HR 714 IH (E) include any other provisions deter- 1 mined by the Secretary to be necessary to pro- 2 tect the Park and the public interest. 3 (5) RENTAL AMOUNTS.—In determining the 4 fair market value rental of the lease required under 5 section 3(k)(4) of Public Law 91–383 (16 U.S.C. 6 1a–2(k)(4)), the Secretary shall take into consider- 7 ation— 8 (A) the value of any associated property 9 conveyed to the United States; and 10 (B) the value, if any, of the relinquished 11 term of the retained use estate. 12 (6) USE OF PROCEEDS.—Rental amounts paid 13 to the United States under a lease shall be available 14 to the Secretary, without further appropriation, for 15 visitor services and resource protection within the 16 Park. 17 (7) CONGRESSIONAL NOTIFICATION.—The Sec- 18 retary shall submit a proposed lease under this sec- 19 tion to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re- 20 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 21 Resources of the House of Representatives at least 22 60 days before the effective date of the lease. 23 (8) RENEWAL.—A lease entered into under this 24 section may not be extended or renewed. 25 VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:21 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.IH H714 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS 5 •HR 714 IH (9) TERMINATION.—Upon the termination of a 1 lease entered into under this section, if the Secretary 2 determines the continuation of commercial services 3 at the resort to be appropriate, the services shall be 4 provided in accordance with the National Park Serv- 5 ice Concessions Management Improvement Act of 6 1998 (16 U.S.C. 5951 et seq.). 7 (c) RETAINED USE ESTATE.— 8 (1) IN GENERAL.—As a condition of the lease, 9 the owner of the retained use estate shall terminate, 10 extinguish, and relinquish to the Secretary all rights 11 under the retained use estate and shall transfer, 12 without consideration, ownership of improvements 13 on the retained use estate to the National Park 14 Service. 15 (2) APPRAISAL.— 16 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall re- 17 quire an appraisal by an independent, qualified 18 appraiser that is agreed to by the Secretary and 19 the owner of the retained use estate to deter- 20 mine the value, if any, of the relinquished term 21 of the retained use estate. 22 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—An appraisal under 23 paragraph (1) shall be conducted in accordance 24 with— 25 VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:21 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H714.IH H714 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS 6 •HR 714 IH (i) the Uniform Appraisal Standards 1 for Federal Land Acquisitions; and 2 (ii) the Uniform Standards of Profes- 3 sional Appraisal Practice. 4 Æ VerDate Nov 24 2008 03:21 Jan 29, 2009 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H714.IH H714 wwoods2 on PRODPC68 with BILLS