Forest Service Land Transfer to Arkansas County Comes with Zero Cost—And Zero Environmental Guarantees

This bill is a hyper-local administrative move that requires the Secretary of Agriculture to hand over a specific 0.81-acre parcel of Forest Service land to Perry County, Arkansas. Think of it as the federal government cleaning out its garage and giving a local jurisdiction a small piece of property, provided the county asks for it within 180 days of the bill becoming law. The main purpose is clearly defined: to get this land, currently located at 1069 Fourche Avenue in Perryville, into local hands for public use, specifically for things like education or youth development programs.

The Free Land, Not-So-Free Catch

While the land itself is transferred for free—meaning no purchase price for the county—it’s not exactly a zero-cost transaction. The bill clearly states that Perry County must foot the bill for the entire transfer process. This includes paying for the survey needed to nail down the exact legal boundaries and covering the costs of any required environmental checks under federal law. Essentially, the county gets the property, but they handle all the administrative and due diligence expenses up front. This is a common arrangement, but it means the county’s budget immediately takes a hit for these administrative costs, even if the land itself is free.

Public Use Only: The Reversion Clause

The most important restriction on this land is the use requirement. Perry County is only allowed to use this 0.81-acre lot for “public purposes,” such as supporting local education or youth programs. This restriction is backed up by a serious safeguard: a “reversion clause.” If the county ever stops using the land for these approved public purposes, the U.S. government can, at the Secretary’s discretion, take the property right back. For local officials, this means they can’t decide three years down the road to sell the land to a developer or use it for a non-public commercial venture; the land is tethered to community benefit.

The Environmental Risk Transfer

Here’s where the fine print gets interesting—and potentially risky for local taxpayers. The transfer uses a quitclaim deed, which means the federal government transfers whatever rights it has, but makes zero guarantees about the quality of the title. More significantly, the bill explicitly waives the standard federal requirement (under CERCLA) to provide warranties about environmental contamination. Why does this matter? If the county takes ownership and later discovers the land is contaminated—say, from historical use that left behind hazardous materials—the financial responsibility for cleanup shifts entirely onto Perry County. This waiver is a significant detail because it means the county is accepting a potential, unknown environmental liability along with the free parcel of land. While the county pays for initial environmental checks, those checks aren’t always comprehensive, and the federal government is washing its hands of future liability. If a costly cleanup is needed down the road, local taxpayers would be the ones paying the bill.