§2694a — Title 10 Armed Forces | U.S. Code

Summary

Allows the head of a military department to give away surplus government land to a State (or a local part of a State) or to a nonprofit whose main job is conserving land. The land must be under the military department’s control, good for conservation, offered publicly for a long enough time, and not already being claimed by another federal agency or qualified recipient. The transfer must keep the land in conservation forever. If the new owner stops protecting it, the government can take it back. The owner may later transfer the land to another eligible recipient with the Secretary’s approval and the same rules. Small money-making activities that fit with conservation are allowed. The Secretary, with the Interior Department’s agreement, can release the conservation requirement if the owner pays the land’s fair market value, possibly reduced to reflect conservation benefits already given. The Secretary must notify the appropriate congressional committees electronically and wait 14 days before approving a reconveyance or covenant release. Transfers can’t be used to get permits for military activities. Base closure rules and Guam’s right to be offered property first must be followed. The law also defines three terms: “appropriate committees of Congress” (the listed congressional committees), “Secretary concerned” (the Secretary of a military department), and “State” (includes DC and U.S. territories).

Title 10, §2694a

Armed Forces — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The Secretary of a military department may convey to an eligible entity described in subsection (b) any surplus real property that—

(1)is under the administrative control of the Secretary;

(2)is suitable and desirable for conservation purposes;

(3)has been made available for public benefit transfer for a sufficient period of time to potential claimants; and

(4)is not subject to a pending request for transfer to another Federal agency or for conveyance to any other qualified recipient for public benefit transfer under the real property disposal processes and authorities under subtitle I of title 40.

(b)The conveyance of surplus real property under this section may be made to any of the following:

(1)A State or political subdivision of a State.

(2)A nonprofit organization that exists for the primary purpose of conservation of natural resources on real property.

(c)(1)The deed of conveyance of any surplus real property conveyed under this section shall require the property to be used and maintained for the conservation of natural resources in perpetuity. If the Secretary concerned determines at any time that the property is not being used or maintained for such purpose, then, at the option of the Secretary, all or any portion of the property shall revert to the United States.

(2)The deed of conveyance may permit the recipient of the property—

(A)to convey the property to another eligible entity, subject to the approval of the Secretary concerned and subject to the same covenants and terms and conditions as provided in the deed from the United States; and

(B)to conduct incidental revenue-producing activities on the property that are compatible with the use of the property for conservation purposes.

(3)The deed of conveyance may contain such additional terms, reservations, restrictions, and conditions as the Secretary concerned considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United States.

(d)With the concurrence of the Secretary of Interior, the Secretary concerned may grant a release from a covenant included in the deed of conveyance of real property conveyed under this section, subject to the condition that the recipient of the property pay the fair market value, as determined by the Secretary concerned, of the property at the time of the release of the covenant. The Secretary concerned may reduce the amount required to be paid under this subsection to account for the value of the natural resource conservation benefit that has accrued to the United States during the period the covenant was in effect, if the benefit was not taken into account in determining the original consideration for the conveyance.

(e)The Secretary concerned may not approve of the reconveyance of real property under subsection (c) or grant the release of a covenant under subsection (d) until after the end of the 14-day period beginning on the date on which the Secretary submits, in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title, to the appropriate committees of Congress a notice of the proposed reconveyance or release.

(f)The conveyance of real property under this section shall not be used as a condition of allowing any defense activity under any Federal, State, or local permitting or review process. The Secretary concerned may make the conveyance, with the restrictions specified in subsection (c), to establish a mitigation bank, but only if the establishment of the mitigation bank does not occur in order to satisfy any condition for permitting military activity under a Federal, State, or local permitting or review process.

(g)In fixing the consideration for the conveyance of real property under this section, or in determining the amount of any reduction of the amount to be paid for the release of a covenant under subsection (d), the Secretary concerned shall take into consideration any benefit that has accrued or may accrue to the United States from the use of such property for the conservation of natural resources.

(h)(1)The Secretary concerned may not make a conveyance under this section of any real property to be disposed of under a base closure law in a manner that is inconsistent with the requirements and conditions of the base closure law.

(2)In the case of real property on Guam, the Secretary concerned may not make a conveyance under this section unless the Government of Guam has been first afforded the opportunity to acquire the real property as authorized by section 1 of Public Law 106–504 (114 Stat. 2309).

(i)In this section:

(1)The term “appropriate committees of Congress” has the meaning given such term in section 2801 of this title.

(2)The term “Secretary concerned” means the Secretary of a military department.

(3)The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

section 1 of Public Law 106–504 (114 Stat. 2309), referred to in subsec. (h)(2), is set out as a note under section 521 of Title 40, Public Buildings, Property, and Works.

Amendments

2017—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–91 added subsec. (e) and struck out former subsec. (e). Prior to amendment, text read as follows: “The Secretary concerned may not approve of the reconveyance of real property under subsection (c) or grant the release of a covenant under subsection (d) until the Secretary notifies the appropriate committees of Congress of the proposed reconveyance or release and a period of 21 days elapses from the date the notification is received by the committees or, if earlier, a period of 14 days has elapsed from the date on which a copy of the notification is provided in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title.” 2011—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 111–383 inserted before period at end “or, if earlier, a period of 14 days has elapsed from the date on which a copy of the notification is provided in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title”. 2006—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 109–364 substituted “Reversionary” for “Revisionary” in heading. Subsec. (i)(2) to (4). Pub. L. 109–163 struck out par. (2), which defined “base closure law”, redesignated pars. (3) and (4) as (2) and (3), respectively, and, in par. (3), substituted “Guam, the Virgin Islands, and American Samoa” for “and the territories and possessions of the United States”.

§2694a Conveyance of surplus real property for natural resource conservation