Sponsors
The bill grants two rural counties small parcels of federal land for cemetery use and speeds conveyances—providing local control and modest federal savings—while shifting survey/cleanup costs and legal/environmental risks onto the counties and nearby communities.
Navajo and Apache Counties (local governments) receive small parcels (~15+ acres combined) at no purchase cost to expand local cemeteries, enabling local burial capacity and control over the land.
The conveyances include procedural protections and transparency—map/survey requirements, the ability for the Secretary to attach protective terms (including reversion if not used as a cemetery), and an exemption that speeds transfers—reducing federal delay and clarifying responsibilities.
The counties bear conveyance costs (surveys, environmental analyses), which reduces immediate federal spending on these transfers.
Both counties must pay surveying and environmental-analysis costs, creating an immediate financial burden on small local budgets and local taxpayers.
The conveyances are exempted/waived from CERCLA §120(h) and are by quitclaim deed, potentially reducing federal cleanup obligations and transferring pollution liability or leaving contamination less thoroughly addressed—posing health and safety risks to nearby communities.
Conveyance by quitclaim deed (no warranties) can leave counties exposed to undisclosed claims or liabilities arising from the land.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Conveys four small National Forest parcels (~15.6 acres) to Apache and Navajo Counties for cemetery use, exempts the transfers from CERCLA §120(h), and requires reversion if used otherwise.
Conveys four small parcels of National Forest System land in the Apache‑Sitgreaves National Forests to Navajo County and Apache County, Arizona, for use as cemeteries. Each transfer is by quitclaim deed, conveyed without consideration if the relevant county requests the conveyance within a specified window, and includes a reversion back to the United States if the land is used for anything other than a cemetery. The counties must pay conveyance-related costs (surveys, environmental/resource analyses), the conveyances are subject to valid existing rights and any Secretary‑imposed protective terms, and each transfer is explicitly exempted from the CERCLA section 120(h) requirement (42 U.S.C. §9620(h)). A dated map and Secretary‑approved survey determine exact boundaries and acreage, and the Secretary may correct minor map errors and impose other protective terms as needed.
Introduced March 4, 2025 by Eli Crane · Last progress March 4, 2026