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