Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range Transfer Act of 2013

Transfer required— The Secretary of the Interior shall transfer to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy certain public land administered by the Bureau of Land Management in Imperial and Riverside Counties, California, consisting of approximately 226,711 acres, as generally depicted on the map titled “Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range Proposed–Withdrawal” dated 1987 (revised July 1993), and identified as WESTDIV Drawing No. C–102370, which was prepared by the Naval Facilities Engineering Command of the Department of the Navy and is on file with the California State Office of the Bureau of Land Management.

Valid existing rights— The transfer of administrative jurisdiction under subsection (a) shall be subject to any valid existing rights, including any property, easements, or improvements held by the Bureau of Reclamation and appurtenant to the Coachella Canal. The Secretary of the Navy shall provide for reasonable access by the Bureau of Reclamation for inspection and maintenance purposes not inconsistent with military training.

Time for conveyance— The transfer of administrative jurisdiction under subsection (a) shall occur pursuant to a schedule agreed to by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy, but in no case later than the date of the completion of the boundary realignment required by section 4.

Use of transferred land— Upon the receipt of the land under section 2, the Secretary of the Navy shall administer the land as the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, California, and continue to authorize use of the land for military purposes.

Protection of desert tortoise— Nothing in the transfer required by section 2 shall affect the prior designation of certain lands within the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range as critical habitat for the desert tortoise (Gopherus Agassizii).

Withdrawal of Mineral Estate— Subject to valid existing rights, the mineral estate of the land to be transferred under section 2 are withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under the public land laws, including the mining laws and the mineral and geothermal leasing laws, for as long as the land is under the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy.

Integrated natural resources management plan— Not later than one year after the transfer of the land under section 2, the Secretary of the Navy, in cooperation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall prepare an integrated natural resources management plan pursuant to the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a et seq.) for the transferred land and for land that, as of the date of the enactment of this Act, is under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Navy underlying the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range.

Realignment; purpose— The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy shall realign the boundary of the Chocolate Mountain Aerial Gunnery Range, as in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, to improve public safety and management of the Range, consistent with the following:

Transfers related to realignment— The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy shall make such transfers of administrative jurisdiction as may be necessary to reflect the results of the boundary realignment carried out pursuant to subsection (a).

Applicability of national environmental policy act of 1969— The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall not apply to any transfer of land made under subsection (b) or any decontamination actions undertaken in connection with such a transfer.

Decontamination— The Secretary of the Navy shall maintain, to the extent funds are available for such purpose and consistent with applicable Federal and State law, a program of decontamination of any contamination caused by defense-related uses on land transferred under subsection (b). The Secretary of Defense shall include a description of such decontamination activities in the annual report required by section 2711 of title 10, United States Code.

Timeline— The delineation of the Bradshaw Trail under subsection (a) and any transfer of land under subsection (b) shall occur pursuant to a schedule agreed to by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Navy, but in no case later than two years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

Notice and effect— Upon a determination by the Secretary of the Navy that there is no longer a military need for all or portions of the land transferred under section 2, the Secretary of the Navy shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of such determination. Subject to subsections (b), (c), and (d), the Secretary of the Navy shall transfer the land subject to such a notice back to the administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.

Contamination— Before transmitting a notice under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall prepare a written determination concerning whether and to what extent the land to be transferred are contaminated with explosive, toxic, or other hazardous materials. A copy of the determination shall be transmitted with the notice. Copies of the notice and the determination shall be published in the Federal Register.

Decontamination— The Secretary of the Navy shall decontaminate any contaminated land that is the subject of a notice under subsection (a) if—

Alternative— The Secretary of the Interior is not required to accept land proposed for transfer under subsection (a) if the Secretary of the Interior is unable to make the determinations under subsection (c)(1) or if Congress does not appropriate a sufficient amount of funds for the decontamination of the land.

Water rights— Nothing in this Act shall be construed—

Effect on previously acquired or reserved water rights— This section shall not be construed to affect any water rights acquired or reserved by the United States before the date of the enactment of this Act.