Title 48Territories and Insular PossessionsRelease 119-73

§1421f Title to property transferred

Title 48 › Chapter CHAPTER 8A— - GUAM › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER I— - GENERAL PROVISIONS › § 1421f

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Ownership of U.S. property in Guam that the naval government used for civilian matters must go to the government of Guam within ninety days after August 1, 1950. This covers things like vehicles, tools, water and sewer systems, bus lines and other utilities, hospitals, schools, and other buildings. Any other U.S. property in Guam that the President does not keep within that same ninety-day period is placed under Guam’s control to be managed for the people, and the Guam legislature may make laws about it as allowed by this law or later Acts of Congress. Any remaining U.S. property in Guam that is not transferred or put under Guam’s control goes to the Secretary of the Interior to supervise, unless the President says otherwise. The Secretary may lease or sell such property that is not needed for public purposes on terms he thinks are in the public interest.

Full Legal Text

Title 48, §1421f

Territories and Insular Possessions — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The title to all property, real and personal, owned by the United States and employed by the naval government of Guam in the administration of the civil affairs of the inhabitants of Guam, including automotive and other equipment, tools and machinery, water and sewerage facilities, bus lines and other utilities, hospitals, schools, and other buildings, shall be transferred to the government of Guam within ninety days after August 1, 1950.
(b)All other property, real and personal, owned by the United States in Guam, not reserved by the President of the United States within ninety days after August 1, 1950, is placed under the control of the government of Guam, to be administered for the benefit of the people of Guam, and the legislature shall have authority, subject to such limitations as may be imposed upon its acts by this chapter or subsequent Act of the Congress, to legislate with respect to such property, real and personal, in such manner as it may deem desirable.
(c)All property owned by the United States in Guam, the title to which is not transferred to the government of Guam by subsection (a) hereof, or which is not placed under the control of the government of Guam by subsection (b) hereof, is transferred to the administrative supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, except as the President may from time to time otherwise prescribe: Provided, That the Secretary of the Interior shall be authorized to lease or to sell, on such terms as he may deem in the public interest, any property, real and personal, of the United States under his administrative supervision in Guam not needed for public purposes.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1968—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 90–497 substituted “The Secretary of the Interior” for “the head of the department or agency designated by the President under section 1421a of this title” in text of subsec. (c) and “the Secretary of the Interior” for “the head of such department or agency” in proviso.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1968 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 90–497 necessary to authorize the holding of an election for Governor and Lieutenant Governor on Nov. 3, 1970, effective Jan. 1, 1970, and all other

Amendments

unless otherwise provided effective Jan. 4, 1971, see section 13 of Pub. L. 90–497, set out as a note under section 1422 of this title.

Executive Documents

Ex. Ord. No. 10178. Reservation of Property in Guam for Use of United States Ex. Ord. No. 10178, eff. Oct. 30, 1950, 15 F.R. 7313, provided: NOW, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the said section 28 of the Organic Act of Guam [this section] and as President of the United States, it is ordered as follows: 1. The following-described real and personal property of the United States in Guam is hereby reserved to the United States and placed under the control and jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy: Provided, That the Secretary of the Navy shall transfer such portions of such property to the Department of the Army, the Department of the Air Force, and the Coast Guard as may be required for their respective purposes: (a) All of that real property in Guam situated within the perimeter areas defined in the following-designated condemnation proceedings in the Superior Court of Guam, being the same property quitclaimed by the Naval Government of Guam to the United States of America by deed dated
July 31, 1950, and filed for record with the Land Registrar of Guam on
August 4, 1950 (Presentation No. 22063): Condemnation proceedings Civil No.Perimeter areaFacility .................Acres 2–484,566.757North Field. 5–489.372Mt. Santa Rosa Water Reservoir and Supply Lines. 6–485.99Mt. Santa Rosa-Marbo Water Lines. 7–485.99Tumon Maui Well Site. 2–494,803.000Naval Ammunition Depot. 3–4944.651Primary Transmission Line. 4–4912.169Mt. Santa Rosa-Marbo Water Line Easement. 5–496,332.000Apra Harbor Reservation. 2–506.45Aceorp Tunnel. 3–5035.391Camp Dealy. 4–500.637Tumon Bay Recreation Area Utility Lines. 5–5024.914Agana Springs. 6–5041.36Asan Point Tank Farm. 7–5085.032Asan Point Housing. 8–50137.393Medical Center. 9–5045.63Agafo Gumas. 10–504,798.682Naval Communication Station. 11–5011.726Nimitz Beach. 12–50800.443Command Center. 13–504,901.100Tarague Natural Wells. 14–505.945Agana Diesel Electric Generating plant. 15–5023.708Mt. Santa Rosa Haul Road, Water Reservoir and Supply Lines, VHF Relay Station, Mt. Santa Rosa-Marbo Water Line. 16–504,562.107Northwest Air Force Base. 18–5060.48Marbo Base Command Area—Sewage Disposal. 19–5021.695Loran Station, Cocos Island. 20–5015.322Av-Gas Tank Farm #12. 21–501,820.148Proposed Boundary of NAS Agana, Housing Area #7. 22–5037.519C. A. A. Site (Area #90). 23–503.575Tumon Maui Well (Water Tunnel). 24–5049.277Tumon Bay Recreation Area (Road and AV-Gas Fuel Line Parcel #1). 25–500.208Utility Easement from Rt. #1 to Rt. #6 (Coontz Junction). 26–5065.3Tumon Bay Recreation Area (Area #78). 27–502,497.400Marbo Base Command. 28–500.918Mt. Tenjo VHF Station Site. 29–50285.237Sasa Valley Tank Farm (Area #26). 30–5017.793Sub Transmission System Piti Steam Plant to Command Center. 31–5028.888Route #1 (Marine Drive) (Portion). 32–5094Sub Transmission System (34 KV Line) Piti Steam Plant to Agana Diesel Plant and POL System Sasa Valley Tank Farm to NAS Agana. 33–50953Harmon Air Force Base. 34–502,922.000Radio Barrigada. 35–5025AACS Radio Range (Area #30). 36–5037Water Line Apra Heights Reservoir to Fena Pump Station and Av-Gas Fuel System. 37–502,185.000Fena River Reservoir. (b) The road system and utilities systems described in the said deed between the Naval Government of Guam and the United States of America dated
July 31, 1950. (c) The following-described areas: Mount Lam Lam Light; Rear Range Light; Mount Aluton Light; Area Number 35 Culverts; Mount Santa Rosa Light; 36 acres of Camp Witek; Adelup Reservoir; Tripartite Seismograph Station Site, Land Unit M, section 2, Land Square 20; the Power Sub-station located on Lot 266, Municipality of Agat adjacent to Erskine Drive, City of Agat. (d) Lots 2285–5 and 2306–1 in Barrigada. (e) All personal property relating to or used in connection with any of the above-described real property. 2. The following-described real property of the United States in Guam is hereby reserved to the United States and transferred to the administrative supervision of the Secretary of the Interior, and shall be available for disposition by the Secretary of the Interior in his discretion under section 28(c) of the said Organic Act of Guam [subsection (c) of this section]: All of those lands which have been selected by the Secretary of the Navy for transfer or sale pursuant to the act of
November 15, 1945, 59 Stat. 584, to persons in replacement of lands acquired for military or naval purposes in Guam, a list and description of such lands being on file in the Department of the Navy. 3. In addition to the personal property described in paragraph 1(e) hereof, there is hereby reserved to the United States all personal property of the United States in Guam, except that which is transferred to the government of Guam by or pursuant to section 28 (a) of the Organic Act of Guam, which on the date of this order is in the custody or control of the Department of the Army, the Department of the Navy, the Department of the Air Force, the Coast Guard, or any other department or agency of the United States; and all such personal property shall remain in the custody and control of the department or agency having custody and control thereof on the date of this order. Harry S Truman.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

48 U.S.C. § 1421f

Title 48Territories and Insular Possessions

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73