[Senate Report 115-226]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 374
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
2d Session } { 115-226
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GULF ISLANDS NATIONAL SEASHORE LAND EXCHANGE ACT
_______
April 11, 2018.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1260]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1260) to authorize the exchange of
certain Federal land located in Gulf Islands National Seashore
for certain non-Federal land in Jackson County, Mississippi,
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. 1260 is to authorize the exchange of
certain Federal land located in Gulf Islands National Seashore
for certain non-Federal land in Jackson County, Mississippi.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5699 (Post) is located in
Ocean Springs, Mississippi. The Post owns a 3.3-acre lot
adjacent to the Gulf Islands National Seashore's Davis Bayou
Area. National Park Service (NPS) property separates the Post
from the public road. The only access to the Post's property is
by way of a one-lane dirt access road across NPS land. The NPS
allowed the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) to construct and
maintain the access road under an informal agreement. However,
no right-of-way or special use permit was ever issued. As a
means of guaranteeing access to the driveway, the VFW is
seeking a mutually beneficial land exchange with the NPS, as
outlined on NPS Map Number 635/133309, dated June 2016. As
proposed, the 2.16 acres of VFW land would be exchanged for
1.54 acres of NPS land.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1260 was introduced by Senators Cochran and Wicker on
May 25, 2017. The Senate Subcommittee on National Parks
conducted a hearing on S. 1260 on February 14, 2018. Similar
language is included in section 7133 of S. 1460, the Energy and
Natural Resources Act of 2017 (Cal. 162).
A companion measure, H.R. 2615, was introduced in the House
of Representatives by Rep. Palazzo on May 23, 2017, and
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. H.R. 2615 was
reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources (H. Rept.
115-302) on September 11, 2017, and passed the House of
Representatives by voice vote on November 28, 2017.
In the 114th Congress, similar legislation, H.R. 4119 was
introduced in the House of Representatives on November 19,
2015, by Rep. Palazzo. H.R. 4119 was reported favorably by the
House Committee on Natural Resources on March 2, 2016, and
passed the House of Representatives on March 22, 2016, by voice
vote. The Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee's
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 4119 on
June 15, 2016. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
ordered H.R. 4119 favorably reported with amendments on July
13, 2016 (S. Rept. 114-340).
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 8, 2018, and ordered S. 1260 and H.R.
2615 favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 8, 2018, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
1260.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 contains the short title.
Section 2. Definitions
Section 2 contains key definitions.
Section 3. Gulf Islands National Seashore land exchange
Section 3(a) authorizes the Secretary of the Interior,
acting through the NPS Director, to convey to the Post
approximately 1.542 acres of Federal property located within
the Gulf Islands National Seashore in Jackson County,
Mississippi, in exchange for a 2.161 acre parcel of land owned
by the Post.
Subsection (b) requires the values of the Federal and non-
federal parcels to be exchanged to be equal, as determined by a
qualified and independent appraiser. If the values are not
found to be equal, this subsection directs the equalization of
such values through a cash payment or adjustments to the
acreage of the Federal or non-Federal land, as applicable.
Subsection (c)(1) requires the Post to pay the costs of
exchange incurred by the Secretary, or provide for the
Secretary's reimbursement, including costs associated with
surveys, environmental documentation, and any other
administrative costs relating to the land exchange.
Paragraph (2) directs the Secretary to provide the Post
with a refund if the amount collected by the Secretary from the
Post exceeds the costs actually incurred in carrying out the
land exchange.
Paragraph (3) specifies that amounts received by the
Secretary from the Post as reimbursement for costs incurred
shall be credited to the fund or account from which amounts
were used to pay the costs incurred by the Secretary in
carrying out the land exchange; merged with amounts in the fund
or account to which the amounts were credited; and available
for the same purposes, subject to the same conditions and
limitations.
Subsection (d) requires the exact acreage and legal
description of the Federal land and non-Federal land to be
exchanged to be determined by surveys that are satisfactory by
both the Secretary and the Post.
Subsection (e) directs the land exchange to be carried out
through a quitclaim deed or other legal instrument. This
subsection further specifies that the land exchange shall be
subject to such terms and conditions as are mutually
satisfactory to the Secretary and the Post, including
additional terms or conditions the Secretary considers to be
appropriate to protect the interests of the United States.
Subsection (f) subjects the land exchange to valid existing
rights.
Subsection (g) states that the title to the land to be
exchanged shall be in an acceptable form to the Secretary.
Subsection (h) specifies that any land acquired under this
section by the United States shall be administered by the
Secretary as part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
Subsection (i) directs the Secretary to modify the
boundaries of the Gulf Islands National Seashore upon
completion of the land exchange to reflect the exchange.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1260 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS) to
exchange about 2 acres of land within the Gulf Islands National
Seashore in Mississippi with the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
Post 5699. The exchange would provide the VFW with an access
road.
If appraisals indicate that the value of the parcels to be
exchanged are different, the bill would require that the party
receiving the more valuable land provide a cash equalization
payment or adjust the acreage of the land exchange. If the NPS
were to acquire land of a higher value than the federal land
exchanged, the NPS could make a cash payment to the VFW. Using
information from the NPS, CBO expects that the properties to be
exchanged are of roughly equal value and that any such payment
would not exceed $500,000; such spending would be subject to
the availability of appropriated funds. S. 1260 would require
the VFW to cover all administrative costs associated with the
land exchange.
Enacting S. 1260 could affect direct spending; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. If the NPS were to acquire land
of a lower value than the federal land exchanged, the NPS could
receive a cash payment to equalize the values; any such
payments would be recorded as offsetting receipts, which are
treated as reductions in direct spending. However, CBO
estimates that any such payment would not exceed $500,000.
Enacting S. 1260 would not affect revenues. CBO estimates
that enacting S. 1260 would not increase net direct spending or
on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 10-year
periods beginning in 2028.
S. 1260 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The bill would authorize a land exchange between the federal
government and a private entity, and that exchange would have a
small incidental effect on property taxes collected by local
governments in Mississippi. That effect, however, would not
result from an intergovernmental mandate as defined in UMRA.
On September 8, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 2615, the Gulf Islands National Seashore Land Exchange Act
of 2017, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on July 26, 2017. On March 20, 2018, CBO transmitted
a cost estimate for H.R. 2615, the Gulf Islands National
Seashore Land Exchange Act, as ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 8, 2018. All
of the pieces of legislation are similar, and CBO's estimates
of their budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
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. 1260. 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. 1260, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1260, 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 Department of the Interior at
the February 14, 2018, hearing on S. 1260 follows:
Statement of P. Daniel Smith, Deputy Director, Exercising the Authority
of the Director of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior, Before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee
on National Parks, Concerning H.R. 2615 and S. 1260, Bills To Authorize
a Land Exchange Between Gulf Islands National Seashore and the Veterans
of Foreign Wars Post 5699
Chairman Daines, Ranking Member King, and members of the
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Department of the Interior's views on H.R. 2615 and S. 1260,
bills to authorize a land exchange between Gulf Islands
National Seashore and the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 5699.
The Department supports H.R. 2615 and S. 1260. The two
bills, which would resolve an access issue at Gulf Islands
National Seashore in Mississippi, are drafted differently but
contain substantially the same provisions. Either version is
acceptable to the Department.
The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) Post 5699 owns a parcel
that is bordered on two sides by land that is under the
administrative jurisdiction of the National Park Service (NPS)
and managed as part of Gulf Islands National Seashore. The VFW
property is not connected to a public road, and its only access
is across NPS lands.
Under a previous informal agreement with the National
Seashore, the VFW created and maintained a one-lane dirt access
road across NPS property from the public road to its building.
The VFW also removed vegetation and mowed NPS property adjacent
to that access road. No right-of-way or special use permit was
ever issued.
In 2015, the VFW approached the National Seashore with a
proposal to exchange 2.16 acres of undeveloped land, adjacent
to NPS land, at the south end of its property for 1.54 acres of
NPS land in order to connect its property to the public road.
This land exchange would formalize the existing land use,
providing the VFW with ownership and permanent access, and
providing the National Seashore undeveloped acreage adjacent to
other undeveloped, NPS-managed lands. These parcels are
delineated on the map referenced in both bills.
H.R. 2615 and S. 1260 would authorize this land exchange.
The bills would require the values of the parcels to be
exchanged to be determined through an appraisal conducted by a
qualified and independent appraiser and in accordance with
nationally recognized appraisal standards. If the values are
not equal, they would be required to be equalized through cash
payments or adjustments to the acreage of the parcels. In
addition, the bills would require the VFW to pay for the costs
associated with the exchange, including any required costs for
environmental compliance. Finally, the bills would modify the
boundary of the National Seashore to reflect the land exchange
upon its completion.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be
pleased to answer any questions you or other 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 as ordered
reported.
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