[House Report 115-209]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 115-209
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CLEAR CREEK NATIONAL RECREATION AREA AND CONSERVATION ACT
_______
July 11, 2017.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1913]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1913) to establish the Clear Creek National
Recreation Area in San Benito and Fresno Counties, California,
to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in such counties, and
for 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. 1913 is to establish the Clear Creek
National Recreation Area in San Benito and Fresno Counties,
California, and to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in
such counties.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
In 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found
that naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) in the Clear Creak
Management Area's (CCMA) serpentine soils posed a significant
public health risk, particularly to off-highway vehicle (OHV)
users.\1\ Later that year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
temporarily closed the CCMA and initiated a process to develop
a long-term Resource Management Plan (RMP) governing
recreational uses in the area. In 2010, the State of
California's Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division
commissioned an independent risk assessment of NOA exposure
within the Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern
(ACEC) of the CCMA. This report, completed by the International
Environmental Research Foundation, found a minimal health risk
to OHV users from exposure to NOA in the CCMA.\2\ Citing this
report, local communities and OHV groups urged BLM to re-open
the area to recreational use and develop a management strategy
to properly mitigate the exposure of higher than acceptable
levels of NOA and resultant risks to human health. Despite
these findings, the BLM issued a Record of Decision for an RMP
in 2014 that closed the 30,000-acre Serpentine ACEC, once
considered a premiere OHV recreational site within the CCMA, to
all OHV use.\3\
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\1\United States Environmental Protection Agency, ``U.S. EPA Risk
Assessment: Clear Creek Management Area Asbestos Increases Long-Term
Cancer Risk'', 04/30/2008, https://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/
1ef7cd36224b565785257359003f533f/8fa475ab3f99c22a8525743b0
07d88d1!OpenDocument.
\2\International Environmental Research Foundation, ``Preliminary
Analysis of the Asbestos Exposures Associated with Motorcycle Riding
and Hiking in the Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) San Benito County,
California'', March 8, 2011, http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/ files/
ierf_ccma_final_3_8_11-web.pdf.
\3\Bureau of Land Management, ``Clear Creek Management Area
Proposed RMP/Final EIS'', 02/12/2014, https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-
front-office/eplanning/legacyProjectSite.do?methodName
=renderLegacyProjectSite&projectId=68803.
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H.R. 1913 requires BLM to re-open and re-designate the CCMA
as the Clear Creek National Recreation Area (CCNRA). The bill
also mandates the development of a permanent RMP, in
consultation with appropriate stakeholders, that specifically
includes a hazards education program to inform visitors about
NOA exposure and its associated health risks; creates a user
fee program for motorized vehicle use and guidelines for the
use of funds collected for the management and improvement of
the CCNRA; designates trails, roads, and other areas for OHV
use to provide a substantially-similar recreational experience
prior to the closure of the CCMA; incorporates appropriate
decisions from prior applicable management, activity, or
wildlife habitat management plans; uses information gathered
under studies of land within the CCNRA; and allows the
Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements
with State or local government agencies to manage all or a
portion of the recreational activities within the CCNRA. In
addition, the bill also designates approximately 21,000 acres
of adjacent land as the ``Joaquin Rocks Wilderness Area'' and
releases approximately 1,500 acres known as the San Benito
Wilderness Study Area back into multiple-use.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1913 was introduced on April 5, 2017, by Congressman
Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On June 22, 2017, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered,
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by unanimous consent on June 27, 2017.
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 AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 10, 2017.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1913, the Clear
Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall, Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1913--Clear Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation Act
H.R. 1913 would designate about 75,000 acres of land in
California as the Clear Creek National Recreation Area and
21,000 area of adjacent land as part of the National Wilderness
Preservation System. Under the bill, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) would be required to complete a new land use
plan for the recreation area within two years of enactment.
Based on information from BLM regarding the costs of carrying
out similar activities, CBO estimates that completing the land
use plan would cost less than $500,000 over the 2018-2019
period.
CBO expects that, under the bill, the new recreation area
would see a significant increase in use by the public and that
BLM would need to hire additional personnel to manage the area.
Based on an analysis of information provided by the agency, CBO
estimates that operating the recreation area would require 10
to 15 new employees to carry out administrative and law
enforcement functions and that the cost of employing those
individuals would total roughly $1 million a year; such
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated
funds. Because the lands being designated as wilderness are
already being managed for conservation purposes, CBO estimates
that so designating those lands would have no effect on the
federal budget.
In addition, the bill would require BLM to establish a user
fee program for operators of motorized vehicles to offset
certain costs of administering the recreation area; we expect
that those funds would be used primarily to construct trails
and facilities for off-highway vehicles. Based on information
regarding the amount of user fees collected at similar
recreation areas, CBO estimates that fee collections and the
associated spending would total less than $500,000 a year.
Because enacting H.R. 1913 would increase user fees, which
are treated as reductions in direct spending, and the
associated spending of those fees, pay-as-you-go procedures
apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effects on direct
spending would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not
affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting the bill would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1913 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 tins estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. 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 establish the Clear Creek National
Recreation Area in San Benito and Fresno Counties, California,
and to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in such counties.
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. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
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.
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