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U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 1277. Land acquisition
(a) Grant of authority to acquire; State and Indian lands; use of
appropriated funds; acquisition of tracts partially outside
component boundaries; disposition of lands
(1) The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of
Agriculture are each authorized to acquire lands and interests in
land within the authorized boundaries of any component of the
national wild and scenic rivers system designated in section 1274
of this title, or hereafter designated for inclusion in the system
by Act of Congress, which is administered by him, but he shall not
acquire fee title to an average of more than 100 acres per mile on
both sides of the river. Lands owned by a State may be acquired
only by donation or by exchange in accordance with subsection (d)
of this section. Lands owned by an Indian tribe or a political
subdivision of a State may not be acquired without the consent of
the appropriate governing body thereof as long as the Indian tribe
or political subdivision is following a plan for management and
protection of the lands which the Secretary finds protects the land
and assures its use for purposes consistent with this chapter.
Money appropriated for Federal purposes from the land and water
conservation fund shall, without prejudice to the use of
appropriations from other sources, be available to Federal
departments and agencies for the acquisition of property for the
purposes of this chapter.
(2) When a tract of land lies partially within and partially
outside the boundaries of a component of the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System, the appropriate Secretary may, with the
consent of the landowners for the portion outside the boundaries,
acquire the entire tract. The land or interest therein so acquired
outside the boundaries shall not be counted against the average
one-hundred-acre-per-mile fee title limitation of subsection (a)(1)
of this section. The lands or interests therein outside such
boundaries, shall be disposed of, consistent with existing
authorities of law, by sale, lease, or exchange.
(b) Curtailment of condemnation power in area 50 per centum or more
of which is owned in fee title by Federal or State government
If 50 per centum or more of the entire acreage outside the
ordinary high water mark on both sides of the river within a
federally administered wild, scenic or recreational river area is
owned in fee title by the United States, by the State or States
within which it lies, or by political subdivisions of those States,
neither Secretary shall acquire fee title to any lands by
condemnation under authority of this chapter. Nothing contained in
this section, however, shall preclude the use of condemnation when
necessary to clear title or to acquire scenic easements or such
other easements as are reasonably necessary to give the public
access to the river and to permit its members to traverse the
length of the area or of selected segments thereof.
(c) Curtailment of condemnation power in urban areas covered by
valid and satisfactory zoning ordinances
Neither the Secretary of the Interior nor the Secretary of
Agriculture may acquire lands by condemnation, for the purpose of
including such lands in any national wild, scenic or recreational
river area, if such lands are located within any incorporated city,
village, or borough which has in force and applicable to such lands
a duly adopted, valid zoning ordinance that conforms with the
purposes of this chapter. In order to carry out the provisions of
this subsection the appropriate Secretary shall issue guidelines,
specifying standards for local zoning ordinances, which are
consistent with the purposes of this chapter. The standards
specified in such guidelines shall have the object of (A)
prohibiting new commercial or industrial uses other than commercial
or industrial uses which are consistent with the purposes of this
chapter, and (B) the protection of the bank lands by means of
acreage, frontage, and setback requirements on development.
(d) Exchange of property
The appropriate Secretary is authorized to accept title to
non-Federal property within the authorized boundaries of any
federally administered component of the national wild and scenic
rivers system designated in section 1274 of this title or hereafter
designated for inclusion in the system by Act of Congress and, in
exchange therefor, convey to the grantor any federally owned
property which is under his jurisdiction within the State in which
the component lies and which he classifies as suitable for exchange
or other disposal. The values of the properties so exchanged either
shall be approximately equal or, if they are not approximately
equal, shall be equalized by the payment of cash to the grantor or
to the Secretary as the circumstances require.
(e) Transfer of jurisdiction over federally owned property to
appropriate Secretary
The head of any Federal department or agency having
administrative jurisdiction over any lands or interests in land
within the authorized boundaries of any federally administered
component of the national wild and scenic rivers system designated
in section 1274 of this title or hereafter designated for inclusion
in the system by Act of Congress is authorized to transfer to the
appropriate secretary jurisdiction over such lands for
administration in accordance with the provisions of this chapter.
Lands acquired by or transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture
for the purposes of this chapter within or adjacent to a national
forest shall upon such acquisition or transfer become national
forest lands.
(f) Acceptance of donated land, funds, and other property
The appropriate Secretary is authorized to accept donations of
lands and interests in land, funds, and other property for use in
connection with his administration of the national wild and scenic
rivers system.
(g) Retained right of use and occupancy; termination; fair market
value; "improved property" defined
(1) Any owner or owners (hereinafter in this subsection referred
to as "owner") of improved property on the date of its acquisition,
may retain for themselves and their successors or assigns a right
of use and occupancy of the improved property for noncommercial
residential purposes for a definite term not to exceed twenty-five
years or, in lieu thereof, for a term ending at the death of the
owner, or the death of his spouse, or the death of either or both
of them. The owner shall elect the term to be reserved. The
appropriate Secretary shall pay to the owner the fair market value
of the property on the date of such acquisition less the fair
market value on such date of the right retained by the owner.
(2) A right of use and occupancy retained pursuant to this
subsection shall be subject to termination whenever the appropriate
Secretary is given reasonable cause to find that such use and
occupancy is being exercised in a manner which conflicts with the
purposes of this chapter. In the event of such a finding, the
Secretary shall tender to the holder of that right an amount equal
to the fair market value of that portion of the right which remains
unexpired on the date of termination. Such right of use or
occupancy shall terminate by operation of law upon tender of the
fair market price.
(3) The term "improved property", as used in this chapter, means
a detached, one-family dwelling (hereinafter referred to as
"dwelling"), the construction of which was begun before January 1,
1967, (except where a different date is specifically provided by
law with respect to any particular river) together with so much of
the land on which the dwelling is situated, the said land being in
the same ownership as the dwelling, as the appropriate Secretary
shall designate to be reasonably necessary for the enjoyment of the
dwelling for the sole purpose of noncommercial residential use,
together with any structures accessory to the dwelling which are
situated on the land so designated.
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