[House Report 115-624]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-624
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WEST FORK FIRE STATION ACT OF 2017
_______
April 9, 2018.--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. 4609]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4609) to provide for the conveyance of a Forest
Service site in Dolores County, Colorado, to be used for a fire
station, 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. 4609 is to provide for the conveyance
of a Forest Service site in Dolores County, Colorado, to be
used for a fire station.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Dolores County, located in southwestern Colorado, is home
to part of the 1.8 million-acre San Juan National Forest. As a
neighbor to the San Juan National Forest, Dolores County plays
an active role in fire suppression efforts on both private and
public lands.
Two attempts to acquire an appropriate site for a fire
station in Dolores County on either County-owned or private
land failed due to insufficient space or accessibility
constraints. The Dolores County Board of County Commissioners
then began working with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the
Colorado Congressional delegation, and local stakeholders to
identify a suitable piece of property for fire station
construction. H.R. 4609 is the result of those local efforts.
The bill authorizes the conveyance of 3.61 acres of USFS land
to Dolores County for the purposes of constructing the West
Fork Fire Station.
According to information provided by the County, the West
Fork Fire Station will serve as a volunteer station and its
construction will help to address insurability issues currently
facing home and land owners in the West Fork area of Dolores
County.\1\ West Fork residents have had trouble obtaining
insurance for their homes and land due to the lack of emergency
response services in the area. Currently, area residents must
rely on the Dolores Fire Protection District located 26 miles
away in Montezuma County in an emergency. The new fire station
will allow the community improved access to emergency services
and allow residents to address their current insurability
issues.
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\1\Dolores County Board of County Commissioners (DCBCC), Letter
dated November 13, 2017.
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Dolores County will pay all necessary conveyance costs as
well as the costs associated with site preparation,
construction of the new fire station and the long-term costs of
equipping and manning the station. The building of the new fire
station has been covered by a private $100,000 donation.
Dolores County will provide heavy equipment and operators to
prepare the building site and construct a new driveway with
culverts and signage.\2\
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\2\Id.
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On February 7, 2018, USFS testified on identical companion
legislation, S. 2218, before the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and
Mining. Its testimony noted that USFS ``supports Dolores County
in their efforts to provide improved emergency services to
county residents and visitors.'' USFS ``agrees that the parcel
of land in question is in a practical location to provide''
emergency management services and ``there are not similarly
situated non-federal lands of limited acreage available that
provide the same locational benefits.''\3\
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\3\Statement of Glen Casamassa, Associate Deputy Chief, USFS, U.S.
Department of Agriculture before the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining on
February, 7, 2018 https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/
serve?File-id=904436BC-6120-49C9-9AE6-0F2ABFF6603D.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4609 was introduced on December 11, 2017, by
Congressman Scott R. Tipton (R-CO). The bill was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources and within the Committee to
the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. The Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill on February 15, 2018. On March 14, 2018,
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.
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, March 22, 2018.
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. 4609, the West
Fork Fire Station Act of 2017.
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. 4609--West Fork Fire Station Act of 2017
H.R. 4609 would require the Forest Service to convey
roughly four acres of federal land to Dolores County, Colorado,
at that county's request and without consideration.
Because H.R. 4609 would require the county to pay any
administrative costs associated with the conveyance,
implementing the bill would not affect spending subject to
appropriation.
Using information provided by the Forest Service, CBO
estimates that enacting the bill also would not affect direct
spending because the affected lands are not expected to
generate any income over the next 10 years and it would not
affect revenues. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not
apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4609 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 4609 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave.
This 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 provide for the conveyance of a
Forest Service site in Dolores County, Colorado, to be used for
a fire station.
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 to existing
law.
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