[House Report 113-99]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-99
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RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAIN PUBLIC ACCESS ACT
_______
June 6, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1157]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1157) to ensure public access to the summit of
Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument for
educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural,
and other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 1157 is to ensure public access to the
summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National
Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific,
cultural, and other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Rattlesnake Mountain is a 3,527-foot, windswept, treeless,
sub-alpine ridge overlooking the Hanford nuclear site in Benton
County, Washington. The highest winds recorded on Rattlesnake
were around 150 mph. While parts of the western slope of the
mountain are privately-owned ranch land, the eastern slope has
been under federal ownership for the past several decades. In
1943, Rattlesnake Mountain was seized by the United States
government using its condemnation authority and it became a
buffer zone for the Manhattan nuclear project at the Hanford
site. In 1956, the Army installed a Nike Ajax missile base on
the southeastern end of the ridge and maintained the site until
1960, when it was closed.
On June 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton issued Presidential
Proclamation 7319 to establish the 195,000-acre Hanford Reach
National Monument, managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service
(FWS) and the Department of Energy (DOE). The monument became
the first to be administered by FWS in the United States. Eight
years after the designation of the monument, in 2008, FWS
published its Hanford Reach National Monument Final
Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact
Statement.
Public comments submitted to FWS in the development of the
15-year management plan were in favor of increasing public
access to specific areas of the Monument, and specifically, to
Rattlesnake Mountain and its summit. A paved road leading to
the summit already exists and is maintained by DOE due to the
presence of communication towers located on the mountain. The
summit of Rattlesnake Mountain provides some of the most
panoramic views of the region, the Monument and the entire
Hanford site. Other areas of Rattlesnake Mountain are also of
historic, ecological and scenic interest that should be
accessible to the public.
FWS, however, made a determination in the management plan
that the entire Rattlesnake Mountain Unit should be kept closed
to the public ``due to resource concerns.'' The only exceptions
to the ban were individuals who obtain a Special Use Permit,
limited to approved ecological research and ``environmental
education activities.'' Such permits have been extremely
limited and do not afford proper public access.
H.R. 1157 would ensure reasonable access to lands owned by
the American people, access that has been essentially non-
existent in the over one dozen years since the Monument was
designated, despite recent indications that FWS supports such
access.
H. R. 1157 instructs the Secretary of the Interior to
provide public access to Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford
Reach National Monument for educational, recreational,
historical, scientific, cultural and other purposes. It allows
the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the
Secretary of Energy, the State of Washington, any local
governmental agency or interested parties to maintain the
access road and facilitate guided tours to the summit of
Rattlesnake Mountain. The legislation does not dictate how and
when public access occurs, but does mandate that some access
will be permitted, including motorized access.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1157 was introduced on March 14, 2013, by Congressman
Doc Hastings (R-WA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs. On April
24, 2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider
the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and
Insular Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent. No
amendments were offered, and the bill was then adopted and
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1157--Rattlesnake Mountain Public Access Act
H.R. 1157 would require the Secretary of the Interior to
provide access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the
Hanford Reach National Monument in the state of Washington. The
legislation would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of Energy,
the state of Washington, and other entities to maintain an
access road and to provide guided tours to the summit.
H.R. 1157 does not specifically authorize appropriations,
but it may affect when a public access road to the summit
opens. Rattlesnake Mountain is eligible for inclusion in the
National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, public access
to the site is currently being evaluated by the Fish and
Wildlife Service (FWS) in compliance with section 106 of the
National Historic Preservation Act.
The cost to provide public access to the mountain summit
under current law will depend on the outcome of that evaluation
and other ongoing FWS studies. There is an existing road to the
summit; however, providing public access to it may require road
improvements that would cost a few million dollars according to
the agency. The legislation could influence the magnitude and
timing of such expenditures; however, CBO expects that any
change in costs relative to those expected under current law
would be minimal. Furthermore, any such costs would be subject
to the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 1157 would not
affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1157 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, Assistant
Deputy Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. The cost to
provide public access to the Rattlesnake Mountain summit under
current law will depend on the outcome of a Fish and Wildlife
Service (FWS) evaluation and other ongoing FWS studies. There
is an existing road to the summit; however, providing public
access to it may require road improvements that would cost a
few million dollars according to the agency. The legislation
could influence the magnitude and timing of such expenditures;
however, CBO expects that any change in costs relative to those
expected under current law would be minimal.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to ensure public access to the summit
of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument
for educational, recreational, historical, scientific,
cultural, and other purposes.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.