Sec. 2. FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS

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## SEC. 2 FINDINGS AND DEFINITIONS ###

(a)Findings Congress finds the following— ####

(1)The only two domestic producers of ammonium perchlorate (“AP”), a principal component of solid rocket fuel essential to the Nation's defense and space programs, are Pacific Engineering and Production Company, Incorporated (“Pepcon)” and Kerr-McGee Chemical .Corporation (“Kerr-McGee”), which established production facilities near the city of Henderson in Clark County, Nevada (“the county”). On May 4, 1988, an explosion destroyed the Pepcon plant, thereby substantially reducing the Nation's capacity to produce solid rocket fuel. ####

(2)A commission subsequently appointed by the Governor of Nevada to examine the adequacy of existing policies and regulations pertaining to the manufacture and storage of certain industrial materials has recommended new policies which imply the desirability of relocating both some of Kerr-McGee's AP production and storage facilities and also other industries to a less densely populated part of Clark County, but within reasonable distance of the present work force. ####

(3)The Department of Defense and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration have identified an urgent need to replace the domestic ammonium perchlorate production capacity lost in the Pepcon accident and to firm up existing production capabilities in order to meet current shortages and long-term requirements. ####

(4)The county has identified as the preferred site for the relocation of Kerr-McGee's AP facilities approximately thirty-seven hundred acres of land (“Kerr-McGee Site”), which is part of approximately twenty-one thousand acres of Federal lands, identified by the county as the “Apex Site”, managed by the Bureau of Land Management (“BLM”). The county has advised the BLM it would like to purchase some or all of the lands comprising the Apex Site for development as a heavy-industry use zone, to locate potentially hazardous facilities. Orderly and appropriate development of such an industrial zone, in a manner consistent with public safety, protection of environmental and other values, and relevant State and Federal policies and programs (including the national defense) would be preferable to development of the lands comprising the Apex Site in an unplanned manner. ####

(5)The Federal lands comprising the Apex Site are presently classified for retention and multiple use by the applicable BLM land use plan. At the time the current land use plan was developed, disposal of large parcels of land immediately outside the Las Vegas Valley was not identified as a possibility. However, the expeditious transfer of the Kerr-McGee Site to Clark County for resale to Kerr-McGee, and transfer of necessary associated rights-of-way to the county, will serve an important national need which cannot be served as well on non-Federal land in Clark County and which outweighs other existing and potential public uses of the lands which would be sewed by maintaining them in Federal ownership. ####

(6)Kerr-McGee has prepared an environmental assessment on the proposed transfer of the Kerr-McGee Site and supporting utility and transportation rights-of-way, dated April 1989, entitled “Apex Nevada Land Transfer Proposal and Proposed Kerr-McGee Ammonium Perchlorate Facility”, which identifies certain environmental impacts likely to result from the transfer of the site and supporting rights-of-way to the county which would be mitigated with various control measures. Any transfer by the United States of lands within the Apex Site should be conditioned upon provision of all measures appropriate to prevent or mitigate adverse environmental impacts. ####

(7)Lands within the Apex Site provide habitat for the desert tortoise. The BLM, recognizing that the desert tortoise habitat found in Nevada, and elsewhere, is being significantly affected, especially within the Mojave Desert, by the rapid development associated with industrial growth and by other human activities, has prepared a rangewide plan for desert tortoise habitat management on the public lands. The goal of this plan is to ensure that viable desert tortoise populations will continue to exist through cooperative resource management aimed at protecting the species and its habitat. The BLM's implementation of this plan should be accelerated. ####

(8)Lands within the Apex Site are close to Nellis Air Force Base and to public lands withdrawn for use by the Air Force as part of the Nellis Air Force Range complex. Nellis Air Force Base is the most active military airfield in the United States (with many of the aircraft using the base carrying live ordnance) and, together with the Nellis Air Force Range, constitutes a unique facility that plays a vital role in maintaining the combat capability of the Air Force's tactical units. Maintaining the capability of Nellis Air Force Base to fulfill its mission must be a central part of any decisions concerning future use or disposition of the lands within the Apex Site. ###

(b)Definitions As used in this Act, the following terms shall have the following meanings— ####

(1)The term “Secretary” means the Secretary of the Interior. ####

(2)The term “lands” means lands and interests therein. ####

(3)The term “county” or “Clark County” means Clark County, Nevada. ####

(4)The term “Kerr-McGee” means the Kerr-McGee Chemical Corporation. ####

(5)The term “BLM's Desert Tortoise Plan” means the plan entitled “Desert Tortoise Habitat Management on the Public Lands: A Rangewide Plan”, approved November 14, 1988. ####

(6)The term “**Apex Industrial Park Owners Association**” has the meaning given such term by the charter document for the entity entitled “Apex Industrial Park Owners Association”, formed on April 9, 2001, and any successor documents to such charter document, on file with the Nevada Secretary of State. ####

(7)The term “**City of North Las Vegas**” means North Las Vegas, Nevada. ####

(8)All other terms shall have the same meaning as such terms have when used in the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976.