[Senate Report 112-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 141
112th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 112-61
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CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO THE TOWN OF ALTA, UTAH
_______
August 30 (legislative day, August 2), 2011.--Ordered to be printed
Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of August 2, 2011
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 684]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 684) to provide for the conveyance of
certain parcels of land to the town of Alta, Utah, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments
and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 2, strike line 15 and insert the following:
(b) Conveyance.--On the request of the Town submitted to
the Secretary by the date that is not later than 1 year after
the
2. On page 2, strike line 20 and insert the following:
(c) Survey; Costs.--
3. On page 3, strike lines 4 and 5 and insert the following:
(3) Costs.--The Town shall pay the reasonable survey
and other administrative costs associated with the
conveyance.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 684 is to provide for the conveyance of
up to two acres of National Forest System land to the town of
Alta, Utah, for continued use by the town for certain public
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The town of Alta, Utah, (hereinafter ``Town'') is home to a
permanent population of 370 people and a popular ski area. The
Town does not own any land within its municipality, and much of
its municipal infrastructure is located on National Forest
System land in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest pursuant to--
as the Department of Agriculture describes it--``a complex
suite of existing special use permits.''
The Town's administration building and public service
building were constructed pursuant to a non-assignable special
use permit (SLC102708) authorizing buildings for the Town's
emergency operations center, marshal's office, central
dispatch, community center, emergency equipment storage, and
library, for example. A water service building was constructed
pursuant to another non-assignable special use permit
(SLC102707) to house municipal water infrastructure. S. 684
would provide for the conveyance of the Federal land under
three municipal buildings to the Town to provide it with
greater certainty and flexibility in the maintenance and
continued use of those buildings for the purposes specified in
the special use permits.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 684 was introduced by Senator Lee on March 30, 2011. The
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on S.
684 on May 18, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112-39). At its business meeting
on July 14, 2011, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
ordered S. 684 favorably reported with amendments. The
Committee reported a similar bill, S. 1719, in the 111th
Congress (S. Rept. 111-259).
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on July 14, 2011, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 684, if amended as
described herein.
COMMITTEEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 684, the Committee adopted
amendments that clarify that the direction to the Secretary to
convey the Federal land is contingent on the Town submitting a
prior request for the conveyance, that require the town to pay
the administrative costs associated with the conveyance, and
that make a conforming change to the bill.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1(a) defines a number of terms used in the bill,
including ``Federal land'', which includes references to the
three parcels of National Forest System land to be conveyed to
the Town and the applicable special use permit authorization
identification numbers for each.
Subsection (b) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey the Federal land to the Town for no consideration if the
Town requests the conveyance.
Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to survey each of the
parcels to be conveyed and requires the Town to pay the
administrative costs associated with the exchange. The bill
leaves the determination of the exact boundaries of each of the
parcels to be conveyed under and immediately around the three
buildings to the Secretary's discretion, except that they may
not exceed a total of two acres.
Subsection (d) conditions the exchange on a requirement
that the Town use each parcel of land only for public purposes
consistent with those listed in the applicable special use
permit, and subsection (e) provides for the land to revert to
the United States if the Town uses a parcel for some other
purpose.
Subsection (f) provides that the conveyance shall be
subject to any additional terms and conditions that the
Secretary may require.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 684--A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land
to the town of Alta, Utah
S. 684 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey,
without consideration, certain lands in Utah to the town of
Alta. Based on information from the Forest Service, CBO
estimates that enacting the legislation would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. CBO expects that
enacting the legislation would increase direct spending;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. We estimate,
however, that such effects would be negligible. Enacting the
legislation would not affect revenues.
Under current law, the Forest Service receives payments
totaling less than $20,000 per year for easements on the
affected lands. Under the bill, those lands would be conveyed
to Alta, Utah. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting the
legislation would reduce offsetting receipts (a credit against
direct spending) by less than $200,000 over the 2012-2021
period. Because the bill would require the town to pay the
administrative costs associated with the land conveyance, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would not have a
significant impact on spending subject to appropriation.
S. 684 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 684.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 684, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 684, as ordered reported, does not contain any
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits,
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the
Standing Rules of the Senate.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The testimony provided by the Forest Service at the May 18,
2011, hearing on S. 684 follows.
Statement of Mary Wagner, Associate Chief, Forest Service, Department
of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I am Mary
Wagner, Associate Chief of the United States Forest Service.
Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today
and provide the Department of Agriculture's views regarding S.
684, to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land
to the town of Alta, Utah. S. 684 would direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to convey, without consideration, certain parcels
of National Forest System (NFS) land comprising approximately
two acres located in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest to
the Town of Alta, Utah, for public purposes. While supportive
of the Town's desire to consolidate its municipal resources,
the Department does not support S. 684.
The Forest Service can convey the parcel under current
authorities through the Townsite Act of July 31, 1958 (16
U.S.C. 478a). The Townsite Act authorizes communities to
acquire up to 640 acres of NFS land in order to serve community
objectives, and requires payment to the United States of the
market value of the federal land. Similarly, the lands could be
made available by exchange for equal value consideration.
It is long standing policy that the United States receive
market value for the sale, exchange, or use of NFS land. This
policy is well established in law, including the Independent
Offices Appropriation Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), section 102(9) of
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701), as
well as numerous land exchange authorities. Based on recent
land sales in the Alta area, we estimate the value of the lands
proposed to be conveyed under S. 684 to be approximately
$500,000 per acre.
Finally, S. 684 would require the Town of Alta to cover the
Federal land survey costs associated with the proposed
conveyance. It also should provide that the Town should bear
other administrative costs associated with the conveyance.
Although the Department does not support S. 684 as written,
we are willing to work with the bill sponsors, the Town of
Alta, and the Committee, in hopes of assisting the Town in
achieving its desired consolidation of municipal resources.
The Department of Justice also advises that the bill raises
a constitutional concerns. In order to address this concern the
Department of Justice recommends that the bill be revised to
make absolutely clear that the town would have to agree to the
proposed conveyance, which is what we understand Congress
intends. This change might be accomplished by adding ``and
subject to the Town's agreement'' after ``the Secretary shall
convey to the Town,'' in section 2(b) of the bill.
This concludes my statement and I would be happy to answer
any questions you might have.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 684, as ordered
reported.