Sponsors (2)
The bill transfers title and mineral interests in a small Tennessee forest parcel to the State at minimal cost, simplifying local management and enabling potential local use, but it does so by waiving reviews and issuing a quitclaim that shifts environmental, legal, and financial risks onto the State and nearby residents.
State of Tennessee receives clear title to the 0.62-acre Chickasaw State Forest parcel, simplifying local land management and resolving a long-standing federal encumbrance on that property.
State of Tennessee (and nearby communities) receives the United States' mineral interest, removing federal encumbrances that could have impeded local projects, land use decisions, or economic development on the parcel.
State of Tennessee resolves the title issue at minimal cost because the State reimburses only administrative expenses rather than paying a full purchase price, reducing immediate fiscal outlay for the State.
Residents of surrounding and rural communities face increased environmental risk because mineral interests are released without appraisal or environmental review, potentially enabling future mineral development without safeguards.
State and local governments (and the public) lose procedural protections because the bill waives statutorily required reviews and appraisals, creating a precedent that can weaken environmental and public‑interest safeguards for future federal land transfers.
State of Tennessee inherits legal and financial risk because the quitclaim deed conveys property interests without warranty, potentially leaving the State responsible for latent title defects or contamination liabilities.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Introduced January 28, 2025 by Marsha Blackburn · Last progress January 28, 2025
Transfers the United States’ reversionary interest and federal mineral interest in a roughly 0.62-acre parcel of Chickasaw State Forest in Chester County, Tennessee, to the State of Tennessee. The transfer is done by release and quitclaim deed without consideration, appraisal, or environmental review; Tennessee must reimburse the federal government for administrative costs. The measure requires the Secretary of Agriculture to execute the releases and conveyances and explicitly waives certain statutory and regulatory requirements that would normally apply to such transfers (including appraisal and environmental review), while reserving administrative-cost reimbursement as a condition of the transfers.