43 U.S.C. § 992 : US Code - Section 992: Sale of erroneously designated water-covered areas in Arkansas

Search 43 U.S.C. § 992 : US Code - Section 992: Sale of erroneously designated water-covered areas in Arkansas

The Secretary of the Interior, in his judgment and discretion, is
authorized to sell, in the manner hereinafter provided in this
section, any of those public lands situated in the State of
Arkansas which were originally erroneously meandered and shown upon
the official plats as water-covered areas, and which are not
lawfully appropriated by a qualified settler or entryman claiming
under the public land laws.
Any citizen of the United States who in good faith under color of
title or claiming as a riparian owner, prior to September 21, 1922,
placed valuable improvements upon or reduced to cultivation any of
the lands subject to the operation of this section, shall have a
preferred right to file in the office of the officer, as the
Secretary of the Interior may designate, of the United States land
office of the district in which the lands are situated, an
application to purchase the lands thus improved by them at any time
within ninety days from September 21, 1922, if the lands have been
surveyed and plats filed in the United States land office;
otherwise within ninety days from the filing of such plats. Every
such application must be accompanied with satisfactory proof that
the applicant is entitled to such preference right and that the
lands which he applies to purchase are not in the legal possession
of an adverse claimant.
Upon the filing of an application to purchase any lands subject
to the operation of this section, together with the required proof,
the Secretary of the Interior shall cause the lands described in
said application to be appraised, said appraisal to be on the basis
of the value of such lands at the date of appraisal, exclusive of
any increased value resulting from the development or improvement
thereof for agricultural purposes by the applicant or his
predecessor in interest, but inclusive of the stumpage value of any
timber cut or removed by the applicant or his predecessor in
interest.
An applicant who applies to purchase lands under the provisions
of this section, in order to be entitled to receive a patent must
within thirty days from receipt of notice of appraisal by the
Secretary of the Interior pay to the officer, as the Secretary of
the Interior may designate, of the United States land office of the
district in which the lands are situated the appraised price of the
lands, and thereupon a patent shall issue to said applicant for
such lands as the Secretary of the Interior shall determine that
such applicant is entitled to purchase under this section. The
proceeds derived by the Government from the sale of lands hereunder
shall be covered into the United States Treasury and applied as
provided by law for the disposal of the proceeds from the sale of
public lands.
The Secretary of the Interior is authorized to prescribe all
necessary rules and regulations for administering the provisions of
this section and determining conflicting claims arising hereunder.