HR 5752119th CongressIn Committee

Upper Price River Watershed Project Act of 2025

Introduced: Oct 14, 2025

Sponsor: Rep. Kennedy, Mike [R-UT-3] (R-Utah)

Standard Summary

Comprehensive overview in 1-2 paragraphs

This bill, titled the Upper Price River Watershed Project Act of 2025, would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey roughly 124.23 acres of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land near Price, Utah to the City of Price. The transfer would occur at the City’s request and would be for “public purposes” as defined by the City, effectively turning federal land into municipal land for local use. The conveyance would bypass certain federal land management procedures in FLPMA (the Federal Land Policy and Management Act) but would be subject to any valid existing rights (e.g., easements or other encumbrances). A map showing the parcels to be conveyed would be filed and available for public inspection, and the Secretary could correct minor map errors. In short, the bill seeks a direct transfer of a specified block of BLM land to Price, Utah, to support what the bill describes as an Upper Price River watershed project, with the land to be used for the City’s public purposes and with the conveyance proceeding according to the terms set in the act and the accompanying map.

Key Points

1Short title: The Act may be cited as the “Upper Price River Watershed Project Act of 2025.”
2Land to be conveyed: Approximately 124.23 acres of BLM land in Utah, labeled “Proposed Conveyance Parcels” on a specific map.
3Conveyance mechanism and authority: The Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the BLM, must convey the land to the City of Price at the City’s request, and the conveyance would be “notwithstanding” FLPMA sections 202 and 203 (i.e., bypassing some standard FLPMA sale/conveyance procedures), but would be subject to valid existing rights.
4Map and notice: A map titled “Land Conveyance near Price, Utah” (dated May 8, 2025) would be on file for public inspection; the Secretary may correct minor errors on the map.
5Use and purpose: The land is to be used by the City for public purposes as defined by the City, presumably to support the Upper Price River watershed project as indicated by the bill’s title.

Impact Areas

Primary group/area affected: City of Price, Utah, and its residents. The transfer would give the city ownership of the land for planned public uses, potentially affecting local development, recreation, infrastructure, and watershed management.Secondary group/area affected: Bureau of Land Management/Interior Department oversight and administration, including handling of the conveyance and any rights related to the land (e.g., easements, leases, or other encumbrances that constitute valid existing rights).Additional impacts:- Environmental and watershed implications: While not detailed in the text, the bill’s title and stated purpose imply potential link to watershed management and flood/wloodwater control activities in the Upper Price River area.- Legal/land-use considerations: The conveyance bypasses certain FLPMA procedures, which could raise considerations about appraisal, compensation, and long-term land management versus local control. The transfer would also be subject to any valid existing rights, preserving those rights on the property.- Public transparency: The map being on file and available for public inspection provides transparency around which parcels are being conveyed.FLPMA (Federal Land Policy and Management Act): A 1976 law that governs how federal lands are managed, including procedures for land sales or conveyances. Sections 202 and 203 outline certain requirements for sales/conveyances; this bill would bypass those sections, expediting conveyance to the City.Valid existing rights: Any pre-existing rights or legal claims (such as easements, rights-of-way, leases, or mineral rights) that run with the land and must remain in effect after transfer.Public purposes: A broad term used in land-transfer statutes that allows the land to be used for activities that benefit the public (e.g., parks, infrastructure, flood control, water resources projects), as defined by the recipient government.

Generated by gpt-5-nano on Oct 23, 2025