Enrolled Bill

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 972 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.972

                     One Hundred Nineteenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America

                          AT THE SECOND SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Saturday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty-six

                                 An Act

 To amend the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area Act to adjust the
 boundary of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area, and for other
                                purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Sloan Canyon Conservation and
Lateral Pipeline Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
    In this Act:
        (1) Conservation area.--The term ``Conservation Area'' means
    the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area.
        (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
    the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land
    Management.

SEC. 3. SLOAN CANYON NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.

SEC. 3. SLOAN CANYON NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT.
    (a) Boundary Adjustment.--
        (1) Map.--Section 603(4) of the Sloan Canyon National
    Conservation Area Act (16 U.S.C. 460qqq-1(4)) is amended by
    striking ``map entitled `Southern Nevada Public Land Management
    Act' and dated October 1, 2002'' and inserting ``map entitled
    `Proposed Sloan Canyon Expansion' and dated May 20, 2024''.
        (2) Acreage.--Section 604(b) of the Sloan Canyon National
    Conservation Area Act (16 U.S.C. 460qqq-2(b)) is amended by
    striking ``48,438'' and inserting ``57,728''.
    (b) Right-of-Way.--Section 605 of the Sloan Canyon National
Conservation Area Act (16 U.S.C. 460qqq-3) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
    ``(h) Horizon Lateral Pipeline Right-of-Way.--
        ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding sections 202 and 503 of the
    Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712,
    1763) and subject to valid existing rights and paragraph (3), the
    Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the
    Bureau of Land Management (referred to in this subsection as the
    `Secretary'), shall, not later than 1 year after the date of
    enactment of this subsection, grant to the Southern Nevada Water
    Authority (referred to in this subsection as the `Authority'), not
    subject to the payment of rents or other charges, the temporary and
    permanent water pipeline infrastructure, and outside the boundaries
    of the Conservation Area, powerline, facility, and access road
    rights-of-way depicted on the map for the purposes of--
            ``(A) performing geotechnical investigations within the
        rights-of-way; and
            ``(B) constructing and operating water transmission and
        related facilities.
        ``(2) Excavation and disposal.--
            ``(A) In general.--The Authority may, without
        consideration, excavate and use or dispose of sand, gravel,
        minerals, or other materials from the tunneling of the water
        pipeline necessary to fulfill the purpose of the rights-of-way
        granted under paragraph (1).
            ``(B) Memorandum of understanding.--Not later than 30 days
        after the date on which the rights-of-way are granted under
        paragraph (1), the Secretary and the Authority shall enter into
        a memorandum of understanding identifying Federal land on which
        the Authority may dispose of materials under subparagraph (A)
        to further the interests of the Bureau of Land Management.
        ``(3) Requirements.--A right-of-way issued under this
    subsection shall be subject to the following requirements:
            ``(A) The Secretary may include reasonable terms and
        conditions, consistent with section 505 of the Federal Land
        Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1765), as are
        necessary to protect Conservation Area resources.
            ``(B) Construction of the water pipeline shall not
        permanently adversely affect conservation area surface
        resources.
            ``(C) The right-of-way shall not be located through or
        under any area designated as wilderness.''.
    (c) Preservation of Transmission and Utility Corridors and Rights-
of-Way.--The expansion of the Conservation Area boundary under the
amendment made by subsection (a)--
        (1) shall be subject to valid existing rights, including land
    within a designated utility transmission corridor or a transmission
    line right-of-way grant approved by the Secretary in a record of
    decision issued before the date of the enactment of this Act;
        (2) shall not preclude--
            (A) any activity authorized in accordance with a designated
        corridor or right-of-way referred to in paragraph (1),
        including the operation, maintenance, repair, or replacement of
        any authorized utility facility within the corridor or right-
        of-way; or
            (B) the Secretary from authorizing the establishment of a
        new utility facility right-of-way within an existing designated
        transportation and utility corridor referred to in paragraph
        (1)--
                (i) in accordance with the National Environmental
            Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and other
            applicable laws; and
                (ii) subject to such terms and conditions as the
            Secretary determines to be appropriate.
    (d) Management of the Conservation Area.--Except as provided in the
amendment made by subsection (b), nothing in this Act or the amendments
made by this Act shall modify the management of the Conservation Area
pursuant to section 605 of the Sloan Canyon National Conservation Area
Act (16 U.S.C. 460qqq-3).

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and
                                               President of the Senate.