Forest Service Transfers 0.81 Acres to Perry County, Arkansas: County Must Pay Costs and Waive Environmental Protections

This bill is essentially a real estate transaction, but with the federal government as the seller. It directs the Secretary of Agriculture to transfer a specific 0.81-acre parcel of Forest Service land in Perry County, Arkansas, to the County. The main purpose is to give this small piece of property, located at 1069 Fourche Avenue, back to the local government for community use. The transfer is only triggered if Perry County submits a written request within 180 days of the law being enacted.

The Catch: Pay-to-Play Land Transfer

While the land itself is transferred "at no cost" to the County, there’s a significant financial asterisk. The bill makes it clear that Perry County must foot the bill for every cost associated with the transfer. This includes the required land survey to finalize the boundaries and any environmental analysis or resource surveys mandated under federal law. For a busy county government, this means they need to budget for potentially thousands of dollars in upfront costs just to take ownership of the land. It’s a good deal for the U.S. taxpayer, as the federal government offloads the property without spending a dime on the process, but it’s a direct cost for the local community.

Public Use or Lose It: The Reversion Clause

The core condition of this transfer is that the property must be used exclusively for “public purposes,” specifically citing support for education and youth development. This isn’t a blank check for the County; they can’t sell it off for commercial development or use it for just anything. If the County stops using the property for these mandated public purposes, the bill includes a “reversion clause.” This means the Secretary of Agriculture has the discretion to take the land back, and ownership would revert to the United States. This keeps the property available for community benefit, but also means the County’s investment in surveys and improvements could be lost if the use changes down the line.

Shifting the Environmental Risk

One of the most notable provisions in this small land transfer is the explicit waiver of certain environmental protections. Typically, when the federal government transfers property, it must provide certain environmental covenants or warranties under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA). This bill, however, explicitly states that the Secretary is not required to provide these assurances. For Perry County, this means they are accepting the land "as is," potentially taking on the risk of unknown environmental contamination without the standard federal guarantee. If, for example, the property was previously used in a way that left behind toxic materials, the County would be responsible for the cleanup costs. It’s a detail that shifts potential liability away from the federal government and onto the local community.