Sponsor
Eli Crane
Representative · R-AZ
Representative · R-AZ
The bill provides local counties low-cost land and quicker transfers to meet cemetery needs but shifts costs, environmental cleanup responsibility, and some legal risk from the federal government to local governments and nearby communities.
Residents of Navajo and Apache Counties (local governments and rural communities) gain permanent control of ~15–16 acres of National Forest land at no purchase price so counties can expand or establish local cemetery capacity.
The conveyances allow the Secretary to attach protective terms (including reversion if the land ceases to be used as a cemetery), preserving the public interest and keeping the parcels dedicated to cemetery use.
By exempting the conveyances from CERCLA §120(h) review, counties avoid some federal review delays, enabling faster transfer and earlier local use of the land for cemetery needs.
Local residents (including tribal-lands residents) could face health and environmental risks because exemptions/waivers of CERCLA §120(h) and conveyance by quitclaim deed may leave potential contamination less thoroughly addressed and transfer cleanup liability away from the federal government.
Navajo and Apache Counties must pay survey and environmental analysis costs, creating an immediate fiscal burden on local governments and taxpayers who must absorb those expenses.
Conveyance by quitclaim deed (no warranties) could expose counties and local taxpayers to undisclosed title claims or liabilities, shifting legal and financial risk to local governments.
Based on analysis of 3 sections of legislative text.
Conveys four specified National Forest System parcels to Apache and Navajo Counties for cemetery use, exempting those transfers from CERCLA §120(h) and requiring counties to pay conveyance costs.
Conveys four small parcels of National Forest System land in the Apache‑Sitgreaves National Forests to Navajo County and Apache County, Arizona, at no purchase price if each county requests the transfer within specified timeframes. The transfers are by quitclaim deed, are subject to existing rights and Secretary‑imposed protective terms, must be used as cemeteries, and automatically revert to the United States if used inconsistently. The counties must pay for surveys and required environmental or resource analyses, and the conveyances are expressly exempted from CERCLA §120(h) requirements.
Official title: To require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain lands within the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, and for other purposes.
Introduced March 4, 2025 by Eli Crane · Last progress March 4, 2026