[Senate Report 113-25]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 56
113th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 113-25
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NATCHEZ TRACE PARKWAY LAND CONVEYANCE
_______
April 22, 2013.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Wyden, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 304]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 304) to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi 2 parcels of
surplus land within the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway,
and for other purposes, having considered the same, reports
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the
bill do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 304 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi by quitclaim
deed all right, title, and interest of the United States in two
parcels of land in the city of Natchez, Mississippi, consisting
of a total of approximately 67 acres, and to adjust the
boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Natchez Trace Parkway extends 444 miles from Nashville,
Tennessee, through the northwestern corner of Alabama, to
Natchez, Mississippi. The path was originally made by bison and
other game, and was later ``traced'' by Native Americans. In
the late 18th century, the Native American trail became the
principal link between the old Southwest Territory (now
Tennessee) and the ports of Natchez and New Orleans on the
lower Mississippi River. In the early 19th century, it served
as a post road for the delivery of mail, the return route for
the boatmen who floated their goods down the Ohio and
Mississippi Rivers, and the route used by General Andrew
Jackson's forces on their way to the Battle of New Orleans.
Congress authorized construction of the Natchez Trace Parkway
and designated it as a unit of the National Park System in
1938. Much of it was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps
during the Great Depression.
The southern terminus in Natchez, Mississippi, was the
final section of the Parkway constructed and completed in 2005.
For years prior to its completion, it was uncertain where the
Parkway would terminate. The State of Mississippi acquired and
donated two different parcels of land to the National Park
Service to accommodate a variety of possible construction
alternatives. After the Parkway's completion, the land acquired
for those alternate termination points remained unused by the
National Park Service.
The unused property includes two parcels: the Bean field
and the Feltus property, 38 and 29 acres respectively. The City
of Natchez wishes to develop the Bean field parcel as a
recreational complex. In 2000, Public Law 106-527 authorized
the National Park Service to lease the property to Natchez.
Rather than enter in a lease, the National Park Service seeks
to return the unused parcels back to the State.
S. 304 would authorize the transfer of 67 acres of
identified unused Federal land back to the State and adjust the
boundary of the Parkway to exclude the conveyed land and
include 10 acres of lands already managed by the National Park
Service.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 304 was introduced by Senators Cochran and Wicker on
February 13, 2013. At its business meeting on March 14, 2013,
the Committee ordered S. 304 favorably reported.
During the 112th Congress similar legislation, S. 264, was
introduced by Senators Cochran and Wicker, on February 3, 2011.
The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 264 on
July 28, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112-214). At its business meeting on
November 10, 2011, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources ordered S. 264 favorably reported with an amendment
(S. Rpt. 112-106).
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on March 14, 2013, by majority voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 264.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Natchez Trace
Parkway Land Conveyance Act of 2013.''
Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the State by quitclaim deed all right, title, and
interest to two parcels totaling approximately 67 acres while
reserving an easement on the parcel known as the ``bean field
property.'' The easement restricts the use of that parcel to
that which is compatible with the Parkway.
Subsection (b) describes two parcels depicted on the map.
Subsection (c) directs that the map describing the
conveyance be available for public inspection in the
appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
Section 4(a) provides that the boundary of the Parkway
shall be adjusted to exclude the two parcels upon completion of
the conveyance to the State.
Subsection (b) adjusts the boundary of the Parkway to
include approximately 10 acres of land managed by the National
Park Service which was inadvertently excluded on previous
boundary maps for the Parkway.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
S. 304--Natchez Trace Parkway Land Conveyance Act of 2013
S. 304 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to
convey about 67 acres of property in the Natchez Trace Parkway
to the state of Mississippi. The legislation also would adjust
the boundaries of the parkway to include 10 additional acres.
Based on information provided by NPS, CBO estimates that
implementing the bill would have no significant impact on the
federal budget. Enacting S. 304 would not affect direct
spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do
not apply.
S. 304 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 Martin von
Gnechten. 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. 304.
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. 304, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 304, 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
Executive Communications were not requested by the
Committee in the 113th Congress. The following Administration
testimony references similar legislation introduced in the
112th Congress.
The testimony provided by the National Park Service at the
July 28, 2011, Subcommittee on National Parks hearing on S. 264
follows.
Statement of Peggy O'Dell, Deputy Director, National Park Service,
Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the
Interior on S. 264, a bill to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey to the State of Mississippi two parcels of
surplus land within the boundary of the Natchez Trace Parkway,
and for other purposes.
The Department supports S. 264 with an amendment described
later in this statement. This legislation would authorize the
conveyance of 67 acres of unused federal land to the State of
Mississippi. This land was originally donated by the state to
the National Park Service to help complete construction of the
Natchez Trace Parkway (Parkway), but it was never used for that
purpose. The bill would also adjust the boundary of the Parkway
to include approximately 10 acres of land that the National
Park Service owns around the current southern terminus, which
were inadvertently excluded from the boundary previously.
The Natchez Trace was the main overland link between the
old southwest territory and the Ohio River Valley in the 18th
and 19th centuries. In 1938, Congress established the Natchez
Trace Parkway as a unit of the National Park System. The
Parkway was constructed between 1938 and 2005 at a cost of
nearly $500 million. During the construction period, the states
of Mississippi, Alabama, and Tennessee helped acquire and
donate over 50,000 acres of land to facilitate Parkway
construction and protect the scenic, natural, cultural, and
historic resources within the Natchez Trace corridor. Today,
the completed Parkway spans 444 miles from Nashville,
Tennessee, to Natchez, Mississippi, and is enjoyed by over 13
million travelers each year.
The southern terminus in Natchez was the final section of
Parkway constructed and was completed in 2005. Decades prior to
this section being planned and designed, it was uncertain where
the Parkway would terminate. In order to prepare, the State of
Mississippi acquired and donated to the National Park Service
two different sections of land to accommodate two possible
construction alternatives.
The National Park Service began planning the final section
of Parkway in the mid-1990s. After completing an environmental
impact statement in 1998, which included significant public
input, the Park Service selected the Liberty Road alternative.
This decision left land acquired for the alternative terminus
unused. The 67 acres identified in S. 264 are the unused land.
The 67 acres are subdivided into two parcels, both within
the city limits of Natchez. One parcel, commonly known as the
bean field property, is approximately 38 acres and is adjacent
to Natchez High School. The other parcel, commonly known as the
Feltus property, is approximately 29 acres and is located in
the new business district of Natchez. The Feltus property
includes a structure that has been used by the city since 1999
under a cooperative agreement with the National Park Service.
In 2000, the city approached the National Park Service with
a request to lease the bean field parcel to facilitate
construction of a public recreational complex for the city,
including soccer fields and other amenities. Public Law 106-
527, enacted that year, authorized the National Park Service to
lease land within its boundary to the city ``for any purpose
compatible with the Parkway.'' This legislation provided
authority for the National Park Service to accommodate the
city's request to use the bean field property for public
recreational uses.
The National Park Service then entered into a 25-year
memorandum of agreement with the city to help facilitate the
recreational project. In 2001, as part of the agreement, an
extensive archeological investigation was performed to
determine if any significant cultural or historical resources
existed on the bean field property. None were found. This
investigation was in addition to the assessments undertaken for
the 1998 environmental impact statement, which covered all 67
acres.
The city is planning to invest up to $5 million to build
the recreational complex on the bean field property. With such
a large local investment planned, we believe this is an
appropriate time to end the National Park Service's role as the
property's lessor by conveying the property back to the state.
Both the state and the city are highly supportive of the
proposed conveyance and have discussed the best way to proceed
should this legislation pass. The state has indicated that in
the short term, the state would continue honoring the existing
``any purpose compatible with the Parkway'' lease authority and
may consider conveying the parcel to the city to allow for fee
simple ownership. The Feltus property would be retained by the
state for purposes deemed appropriate, and the state would
collaborate with the city on any future plans for this property
as well.
While we support the proposed conveyance, we are concerned
about how the bean field property might be used in the future,
beyond the planned use for recreational purposes. We recommend
that S. 264 be amended to provide for reversion of the 38-acre
bean field property to the United States, for administration by
the National Park Service, in the event that the land is not
used for purposes compatible with the Parkway. The bean field,
unlike the Feltus property, is visible from the Parkway. A
reversionary clause would help protect against the future
possibility of incompatible development detracting from the
Parkway's scenic values. We would be happy to work with the
committee on language for such an amendment, as well as a
technical amendment needed for 10-acre boundary adjustment
provision.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. I would
be pleased to answer any questions you or any members of the
subcommittee may 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. 304, as ordered
reported.