[House Report 108-344]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 108-344
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BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON BOUNDARY REVISION ACT OF 2003
_______
November 4, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 677]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S.
677) to revise the boundary of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison
National Park and Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area in
the State of Colorado, 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 S. 677 is to revise the boundary of the
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park and Gunnison Gorge
National Conservation Area in the State of Colorado.
Background and Need for Legislation
Property owners adjacent to the Black Canyon of the
Gunnison National Park and National Conservation Area have
experienced pressure to sell their lands to developers. Instead
of selling to developers, three property owners have negotiated
with the National Park Service (NPS) to sell their land
willingly or exchange it for other federal land. S. 677 would
direct the Secretary of the Interior to exchange and/or
purchase not more than 2,500 acres and adjust the boundary of
the Park and the Conservation Area accordingly. In addition, S.
677 would authorize the Secretary to transfer land under the
jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management to the
administration of the NPS to be placed within the boundary of
the National Park. The bill would also ensure that any grazing
rights involved in the land transfer would be continued.
Finally, Section 5 of the bill clarifies that the Commissioner
of the Bureau of Reclamation shall have access to and retain
jurisdiction over certain roads and areas in the park, in
addition to roads and facilities in the East Portal and Crystal
Dam areas, for the maintenance, repair, construction,
replacement, and operation of any facilities relating to the
delivery of water and power.
Committee Action
S. 677 was introduced on March 20, 2003, by Senator Ben
Nighthorse Campbell (R-CO). The Senate passed the bill with an
amendment on July 17, 2003, by unanimous consent. Within the
House of Representatives, the bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources. Within the Committee, the bill was
referred to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and
Public Lands and the Subcommittee on Water and Power. On
October 21, 2003, the Subcommittee on National Parks,
Recreation and Public Lands met to mark up the bill. No
amendments were offered and the bill was forwarded to the Full
Resources Committee by unanimous consent. On October 29, 2003,
the Full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on Water and Power was discharged from further
consideration of the bill 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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grants Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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)(3)(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.
2. 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.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. 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:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, October 31, 2003.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 677, the Black
Canyon of the Gunnison Boundary Revision Act of 2003.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah
Reis and Megan Carroll.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
S. 677--Black Canyon of the Gunnison Boundary Revision Act of 2003
CBO estimates that implementing S. 677 would not
significantly affect the federal budget. Enacting the
legislation would not affect direct spending or revenues. S.
677 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no
significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
S. 677 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
revise the boundaries of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison
National Park in Colorado to include three parcels of privately
owned land. The Secretary would exchange federal lands in order
to acquire two of those parcels. According to the Department of
the Interior (DOI), the federal lands to be exchanged currently
generate no significant receipts and are not expected to do so
in the near future; hence, CBO estimates that exchanging them
would not significantly affect the federal budget. The
Secretary would acquire, by purchase or donation, a
conservation easement on the third parcel of land. According to
DOI, sufficient funding already has been appropriated for that
purpose; thus, CBO estimates that completing the transaction
would not significantly increase federal spending.
S. 677 also would authorize the Secretary to expand the
boundaries of the Gunnison Gorge National Conservation Area to
include 7,100 acres of federal lands administered by the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM). Based on information from BLM, we
estimate that adding those lands to the conservation area would
not affect offsetting receipts or the agency's costs to manage
them.
On June 27, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
677 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources on June 25, 2003. The two versions of the
legislation are identical, as are the CBO cost estimates.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis
and Megan Carroll. This estimate was approved by Peter H.
Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK AND GUNNISON GORGE NATIONAL
CONSERVATION AREA ACT OF 1999
* * * * * * *
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK.
(a) Establishment.--(1) There is hereby established the Black
Canyon of the Gunnison National Park in the State of Colorado
as generally depicted on the map identified in section 3. The
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument is hereby
abolished as such, the lands and interests therein are
incorporated within and made part of the new Black Canyon of
the Gunnison National Park, and any funds available for
purposes of the monument shall be available for purposes of the
park.
(2) The boundary of the Park is revised to include the
addition of approximately 2,530 acres, as generally depicted on
the map entitled ``Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
and Gunnison Gorge NCA Boundary Modifications'' and dated April
2, 2003.
* * * * * * *
(e) Grazing.--(1)(A) * * *
* * * * * * *
(D) If land within the Park on which the grazing of livestock
is authorized under permits or leases under subparagraph (A) is
exchanged for private land under section 5(a), the Secretary
shall transfer any grazing privileges to the land acquired in
the exchange.
* * * * * * *
(3) With respect to the grazing permits and leases referenced
in this subsection, the Secretary shall allow grazing to
continue, subject to periodic renewal--
(A) with respect to a permit or lease issued to an
individual, for the lifetime of the individual who was
the holder of the permit or lease on the date of the
enactment of this Act; [and]
(B) with respect to the permit or lease issued to
LeValley Ranch Ltd., for the lifetime of the last
surviving limited partner as of October 21, 1999;
(C) with respect to the permit or lease issued to
Sanburg Herefords, L.L.P., for the lifetime of the last
surviving general partner as of October 21, 1999; and
[(B)] (D) with respect to a permit or lease issued to
a [partnership, corporation, or] corporation or other
legal entity, for a period which shall terminate on the
same date that the last permit or lease held under
[subparagraph (A)] subparagraph (A), (B), or (C)
terminates, unless the [partnership, corporation, or]
corporation or legal entity dissolves or terminates
before such time, in which case the permit or lease
shall terminate with the [partnership, corporation, or]
corporation or legal entity.
SEC. 5. ACQUISITION OF PROPERTY AND MINOR BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENTS.
(a) Additional Acquisitions.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire land or
interests in land depicted on the Map or the map
described in section 4(a)(2) as proposed additions.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 7. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE GUNNISON GORGE NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA.
(a) In General.--(1) There is established the Gunnison Gorge
National Conservation Area, consisting of approximately 57,725
acres as generally depicted on the Map.
(2) The boundary of the Conservation Area is revised to
include the addition of approximately 7,100 acres, as generally
depicted on the map entitled ``Black Canyon of the Gunnison
National Park and Gunnison Gorge NCA Boundary Modifications'',
and dated April 2, 2003.
* * * * * * *