Arizona Counties Get Free Federal Land for Cemeteries, But Who Pays for the Cleanup?

The aptly named Apache County and Navajo County Conveyance Act of 2025 is a straightforward piece of legislation: it authorizes the transfer of specific parcels of federal land from the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests to two Arizona counties for use as cemeteries.

The Land Deal: Free Property, Mandatory Use

This bill is essentially a mandate for the Secretary of Agriculture to hand over the deeds. Navajo County gets about 5 acres near Pinedale, and Apache County gets roughly 10.62 acres, including land for the existing Alpine Cemetery and a proposed townsite tract. The catch? The land is free, transferred “without consideration,” but the counties have to formally request it within a tight timeframe (180 days for Navajo, 365 days for Apache). For locals, this means the necessary space for public cemeteries—a critical, long-term public service—is secured and expanded using federal assets.

But here’s the fine print that always matters: The transfer comes with a strict condition. If either county ever stops using the land exclusively as a cemetery, ownership automatically reverts back to the U.S. government. Think of it as a permanent public use easement. This reversionary clause ensures that the land, once removed from the National Forest system, can’t suddenly be sold off for commercial development down the line. It must remain dedicated to public burial needs.

Who Pays the Tab for the Paperwork?

While the land itself is free, the counties are on the hook for all the administrative costs. This is standard in these types of transfers. Apache and Navajo Counties must cover the full cost of any required surveys, legal descriptions, and, critically, any environmental reviews required by federal law. So, while the federal government is giving away the land, the counties are paying the processing fee to get the deal done.

The Environmental Liability Loophole

This is where the policy analyst alarm bells start ringing. Both Section 2 and Section 3 of the bill explicitly state that the land transfer is not subject to Section 120(h) of CERCLA. In plain English, CERCLA is the federal Superfund law, and Section 120(h) is the part that typically requires federal agencies to notify the buyer (in this case, the county) of any known hazardous substance contamination on the land before the transfer. Waiving this section means the federal government is essentially transferring the land without the usual environmental cleanup liability protection.

For the average taxpayer in Apache or Navajo County, this is a gamble. If those 15 acres of former National Forest land turn out to have some buried hazardous material—maybe from historical Forest Service operations or previous uses—the county, and by extension, the local taxpayers, could be left holding the bag for the cleanup costs. While the local benefit of getting the cemetery land is clear, removing this environmental safeguard is a significant risk that could lead to unexpected, expensive headaches down the road.