§ 2684a — Agreements To Limit Encroachments And Other Constraints On Military Training, Testing, And Operations

(a) The Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department may enter into an agreement with an eligible entity or entities described in subsection (b) to address the use or development of real property in the vicinity of, or ecologically related to, a military installation, as well as a State-owned National Guard installation, or military airspace for purposes of— (1) limiting any development or use of the property that would be incompatible with the mission of the installation; (2) preserving habitat on the property in a manner that— (A) is compatible with environmental requirements; and (B) may eliminate or relieve current or anticipated environmental restrictions that would or might otherwise restrict, impede, or otherwise interfere, whether directly or indirectly, with current or anticipated military training, testing, or operations on the installation; (3) maintaining or improving military installation resilience; or (4) protecting Clear Zone Areas from use or encroachment that is incompatible with the mission of the installation. (b) For purposes of this section, an eligible entity is any of the following: (1) A State or political subdivision of a State. (2) A private entity that has as its stated principal organizational purpose or goal the conservation, restoration, or preservation of land and natural resources, or a similar purpose or goal, as determined by the Secretary concerned. (1) In entering into an agreement under subsection (a) or undertaking a project under such agreement, the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department, as the case may be, may coordinate with any other covered official with an interest in the activities proposed to be undertaken under such agreement. (2) In this subsection, the term “covered official” means a Secretary concerned, the Director of the Army National Guard, or the Director of the Air National Guard. (d) Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, an agreement under this section that is a cooperative agreement or a grant may be used to acquire property or services for the direct benefit or use of the United States Government. (1) An agreement with an eligible entity or entities under this section shall provide for— (A) the acquisition by an eligible entity or entities of all right, title, and interest in and to any real property, or any lesser interest in the property, as may be appropriate for purposes of this section; and (B) the sharing by the United States and an eligible entity or entities of the acquisition costs in accordance with paragraph (3). (2) Property or interests may not be acquired pursuant to the agreement unless the owner of the property or interests consents to the acquisition. (3) An agreement with an eligible entity under this section may provide for the management of natural resources on, and the monitoring and enforcement of any right, title, real property in which the Secretary concerned acquires any right, title, or interest in accordance with this subsection and for the payment by the United States of all or a portion of the costs of such natural resource management and monitoring and enforcement if the Secretary concerned determines that there is a demonstrated need to preserve or restore habitat for the purpose described in subsection (a)(2). Any such payment by the United States— (A) may be paid in a lump sum and include an amount intended to cover the future costs of natural resource management and monitoring and enforcement; and (B) may be placed by the eligible entity in an interest-bearing account, and any interest shall be applied for the same purposes as the principal. (A) The Secretary concerned shall determine the appropriate portion of the acquisition costs to be borne by the United States in the sharing of acquisition costs of real property, or an interest in real property, under paragraph (1)(B). (B) In lieu of or in addition to making a monetary contribution toward the cost of acquiring a parcel of real property, or an interest therein, pursuant to an agreement under this section, the Secretary concerned may convey, using the authority provided by section 2869 of this title, real property described in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of such section, subject to the limitation in paragraph (3) of such subsection. (C) The portion of acquisition costs borne by the United States under subparagraph (A), either through the contribution of funds or excess real property, or both, may not exceed an amount equal to, at the discretion of the Secretary concerned— (i) the fair market value of any property or interest in property to be transferred to the United States upon the request of the Secretary concerned under paragraph (5); or (ii) the cumulative fair market value of all properties or interests to be transferred to the United States under paragraph (5) pursuant to an agreement under subsection (a). (D) The portion of acquisition costs borne by the United States under subparagraph (A) may exceed the amount determined under subparagraph (C), but only if— (i) the Secretary concerned submits, in an electronic medium pursuant to section 480 of this title, a notice to the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives containing— (I) a certification by the Secretary that the military value to the United States of the property or interest to be acquired justifies a payment in excess of the fair market value of the property or interest; and (II) a description of the military value to be obtained; and (ii) the contribution toward the acquisition costs of the property or interest is not made until at least 10 days after the date on which the notice is submitted under clause (i). (E) The contribution of an entity or entities to the acquisition costs of real property, or an interest in real property, under paragraph (1)(B) may include, with the approval of the Secretary concerned, the following or any combination of the following: (i) The provision of funds, including funds received by such entity or entities from a Federal agency outside the Department of Defense or a State or local government in connection with a Federal, State, or local program. (ii) The provision of in-kind services, including services related to the acquisition or maintenance of such real property or interest in real property. (iii) The exchange or donation of real property or any interest in real property. (A) The agreement shall require the entity or entities to transfer to the United States, upon the request of the Secretary concerned, all or a portion of the property or interest acquired under the agreement or a lesser interest therein. No such requirement need be included in the agreement if the property or interest is being transferred to a State or another Federal agency, or the agreement requires it to be subsequently transferred to a State or another Federal agency, and the Secretary concerned determines that the laws and regulations applicable to the future use of such property or interest provide adequate assurance that the property concerned will be developed and used in a manner appropriate for purposes of this section. The Secretary shall limit such transfer request to the minimum property or interests necessary to ensure that the property concerned is developed and used in a manner appropriate for purposes of this section. (B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), if all or a portion of the property or interest acquired under the agreement is initially or subsequently transferred to a State or another Federal agency, before that State or other Federal agency may declare the property or interest in excess to its needs or propose to exchange the property or interest, the State or other Federal agency shall give the Secretary concerned reasonable advance notice of its intent. If the Secretary concerned determines it necessary to preserve the purposes of this section, the Secretary concerned may request that administrative jurisdiction over the property be transferred to the Secretary concerned at no cost, and, upon such a request being made, the administrative jurisdiction over the property shall be transferred accordingly. If the Secretary concerned does not make such a request within a reasonable time period, all such rights of the Secretary concerned to request transfer of the property or interest shall remain available to the Secretary concerned with respect to future transfers or exchanges of the property or interest and shall bind all subsequent transferees. (6) The Secretary concerned may accept on behalf of the United States any property or interest to be transferred to the United States under the agreement. (7) For purposes of the acceptance of property or interests under the agreement, the Secretary concerned may accept an appraisal or title documents prepared or adopted by a non-Federal entity as satisfying the applicable requirements of section 301 of the Uniform Relocation Assistance and Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970 (42 U.S.C. 4651) or section 3111 of title 40, if the Secretary concerned finds that the appraisal or title documents substantially comply with the requirements. (f) The authority of the Secretary concerned to enter into an agreement under this section for the acquisition of real property (or an interest therein) includes the authority to support the purchase of water rights from any available source when necessary to support or protect the mission of a military installation. (g) The Secretary concerned may require such additional terms and conditions in an agreement under this section as the Secretary considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United States. (1) Not later than March 1 each year, the Secretary of Defense shall, in coordination with the Secretaries of the military departments and the Director of the Department of Defense Test Resource Management Center, submit to the Committees on Armed Services of the Senate and the House of Representatives a report on the projects undertaken under agreements under this section. (2) Each report under paragraph (1) shall include the following: (A) A description of the status of the projects undertaken under agreements under this section. (B) An assessment of the effectiveness of such projects, and other actions taken pursuant to this section, as part of a long-term strategy to ensure the sustainability of military test and training ranges, military installations, and associated airspace. (C) An evaluation of the methodology and criteria used to select, and to establish priorities, for projects undertaken under agreements under this section. (D) A description of any sharing of costs by the United States and eligible entities under subsection (e) during the preceding year, including a description of each agreement under this section providing for the sharing of such costs and a statement of the eligible entity or entities with which the United States is sharing such costs. (E) Information concerning the activities undertaken pursuant to the Sentinel Landscapes Partnership under section 2693 of this title. (F) Such recommendations as the Secretary of Defense considers appropriate for legislative or administrative action in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of actions taken pursuant to agreements under this section. (i) In order to facilitate interagency cooperation and enhance the effectiveness of actions that will protect the environment, military installation resilience, and military readiness, the recipient of funds provided pursuant to an agreement under this section or under the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670 et seq.) may, with regard to the lands and waters within the scope of the agreement, use such funds to satisfy any matching funds or cost-sharing requirement of any conservation or resilience program of any Federal agency notwithstanding any limitation of such program on the source of matching or cost-sharing funds. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), funds authorized to be appropriated for operation and maintenance of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, or Defense-wide activities may be used to enter into agreements under this section. (2) In the case of a military installation operated primarily with funds authorized to be appropriated for research, development, test, and evaluation, funds authorized to be appropriated for the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Space Force, or Defense-wide activities for research, development, test, and evaluation may be used to enter into agreements under this section with respect to the installation. (3) Funds obligated to carry out an agreement under this section shall be available for use with regard to any property in the geographic scope specified in the agreement— (A) at the time the funds are obligated; and (B) in any subsequent modification to the agreement. (k) In this section: (1) The term “Secretary concerned” means the Secretary of Defense or the Secretary of a military department. (2) The term “State” includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, and the territories and possessions of the United States. (3) The term “Clear Zone Area” means an area immediately beyond the end of the runway of an airfield that is needed to ensure the safe and unrestricted passage of aircraft in and over the area.