Title 43 — Public LandsRelease 119-73not60
§983 Lists and Plats of Lands, for Governors of States
Title 43 › Chapter 23— GRANTS OF SWAMP AND OVERFLOWED LANDS › § 983
Summary
Secretary of the Interior must make clear lists and maps of swampy or overflowed lands and send them to the governor of each state where the land lies. If a governor asks, the Secretary must transfer full ownership to the state. Any money or materials from those lands must be used only to reclaim the land by building levees and drains.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §983
Public Lands — Source: USLM XML via OLRC
It shall be the duty of the Secretary of the Interior, to make accurate lists and plats of all such lands, and transmit the same to the governors of the several States in which such lands may lie, and at the request of the governor of any State in which said swamp and overflowed lands may be, to cause patents to be issued to said State therefor, conveying to said State the fee simple of said land. The proceeds of said lands, whether from sale or by direct appropriation in kind, shall be applied exclusively, as far as necessary, to the reclaiming said lands, by means of levees and drains.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification R.S. § 2480 derived from act Sept. 28, 1850, ch. 84, § 2, 9 Stat. 519.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 983
Title 43 — Public Lands
Last Updated
Apr 5, 2026
Release point: 119-73not60