Swain County Settlement Act of 2004 - Requires the Secretary of the Treasury to: (1) offer to compensate Swain County, North Carolina, for a road along the north shore of the Fontana Resevoir not being built in an amount determined by the parties to a specified agreement dated July 30, 1943, taking into consideration the estimated cost of the proposed road; and (2) pay to the County the amount of compensation determined.
Declares that acceptance by the County of such payment by the Secretary constitutes full settlement of the claims of the County against the United States, the Department of the Interior, and the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) under the agreement.
[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3017 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3017
To provide for the settlement of the claims of Swain County, North
Carolina, against the United States under the agreement dated July 30,
1943.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
November 19, 2004
Mr. Edwards introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide for the settlement of the claims of Swain County, North
Carolina, against the United States under the agreement dated July 30,
1943.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Swain County Settlement Act of
2004''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) an agreement dated July 30, 1943, between the Secretary
of the Interior, the State of North Carolina, the Tennessee
Valley Authority, and Swain County, North Carolina, provided
that the Department of the Interior would construct a road
along the north shore of the Fontana Reservoir to replace a
road flooded by the construction of Fontana Dam and the filling
of the Reservoir;
(2) as of the date of enactment of this Act, the road has
not been completed;
(3) a 1962 National Park Service study of the proposed road
found that the construction of the road would result in severe
``damage to the landscape and natural park values'';
(4) there are additional environmental concerns relating to
the road construction, including concerns relating to the
exposure of Anakeesta rock that produces acids and metals that
leach into streams and kill aquatic life;
(5) the proposed road would cut through the Great Smoky
Mountains National Park, the most visited park in the National
Park system;
(6) in 2000, the National Park Service estimated that the
cost of building the proposed road would be $150,000,000,
excluding planning, design, and environmental compliance costs;
(7) as of June 2004, the public review process conducted by
the National Park Service found that 88 percent of respondents
favored a cash settlement over constructing the road; and
(8) on February 11, 2003, the Swain County Board of
Commissioners passed a resolution supporting a settlement as a
substitute for the construction of the road.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to settle and quiet all
claims arising out of the agreement referred to in subsection (a)(1).
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Agreement.--The term ``agreement'' means the agreement
of July 30, 1943, between the Secretary, the State, the
Tennessee Valley Authority, and the County relating to the
replacement of a road in the County flooded by the construction
of Fontana Dam and the filling of Fontana Reservoir.
(2) County.--The term ``County'' means Swain County, North
Carolina.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Treasury.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of North
Carolina.
SEC. 4. SETTLEMENT OF CLAIMS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary shall offer to compensate the County for the
road not being built in an amount determined by the parties to the
agreement, taking into consideration the estimated cost of the proposed
road.
(b) Payment.--Not later than 60 days after the date on which the
County accepts the offer under subsection (a), the Secretary shall,
using amounts made available under section 5, pay to the County the
amount of compensation determined under subsection (a).
(c) Deposit.--Amounts paid to the County under subsection (b) shall
be deposited in an account in accordance with any rules and regulations
established by the North Carolina Local Government Commission.
(d) Use.--
(1) Principal.--The principal of amounts deposited under
subsection (c) shall be expended by the County only as
authorized under a resolution approved by \2/3\ of the
registered voters of the County.
(2) Interest.--Any interest accrued on amounts deposited
under subsection (c) shall be expended only for purposes
approved by a majority vote of the governing body of the
County.
(3) Limitation.--No amounts made available under this Act
shall be used to make payments to an agent or attorney for
services rendered with respect to the claims settled by this
Act.
(e) Satisfaction of Claims.--Acceptance by the County of the
payment by the Secretary under subsection (b) constitutes full
settlement of the claims of the County (including any person or entity
making a claim by, through, or under the County) against the United
States, the Department of the Interior, and the Tennessee Valley
Authority under the agreement.
SEC. 5. FUNDING.
(a) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be
appropriated such sums as are necessary to carry out this Act.
(b) Transfer of Funds.--There is transferred to the Secretary to
carry out this Act any unobligated balance of the $16,000,000
originally made available for the construction of and improvements to
North Shore Road in the County under section 378 of the Department of
Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriation Act, 2001 (114 Stat.
1356A-40).
<all>
Introduced in Senate
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
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