[House Report 115-833]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-833
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TO AUTHORIZE THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TO MAINTAIN OR REPLACE
CERTAIN FACILITIES AND STRUCTURES FOR COMMERCIAL RECREATION SERVICES AT
SMITH GULCH IN IDAHO, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
July 17, 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. 1482]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1482) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture
to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for
commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, 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. 1482 is to authorize the Secretary of
Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and
structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in
Idaho.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Smith Gulch is a ravine located along the Salmon River
corridor in the Frank Church-River of No Return Wilderness in
Idaho. The Central Idaho Wilderness Act of 1979\1\ designated
2.4 million acres of land in the area surrounding Smith Gulch
as the River of No Return Wilderness to be managed in
accordance with the Wilderness Act.\2\ The legislation also
designated 79 miles of the Salmon River as a wild river to be
managed in accordance with the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.\3\
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\1\Public Law 96-312.
\2\16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.
\3\16 U.S.C. 1271 et seq.
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In 2004, Congress amended the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to
authorize the continued established use and occupancy of three
commercial recreation facilities and related services at Smith
Gulch.\4\ However, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) does not
interpret current law as authorizing the improvements or
replacements to the facilities and structures at Smith Gulch
that require the use of certain mechanized equipment.\5\
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\4\Public Law 108-447.
\5\Based on information provided to the Committee on Natural
Resources by the bill's sponsor.
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H.R. 1482 would authorize USFS to make improvements to the
commercial recreation facilities and structures at Smith Gulch,
including hydroelectric generators, water pumps, electric
lights, solar energy systems, battery power and other similarly
appropriate improvements.
In the 113th Congress, Congressman Simpson sponsored
similar legislation (H.R. 4283), which passed the House of
Representatives by a vote of 398 to 1.\6\
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\6\http://www.lis.gov/cgi-lis/query/D?r113:2:./temp/ r113rpIHMQ:
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1482 was introduced on March 9, 2017, by Congressman
Michael K. Simpson (R-ID). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On July 11, 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, July 13, 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. 1482, a bill to
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace
certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation
services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley
(For Keith Hall, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 1482--A bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain
or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial
recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other
purposes
H.R. 1482 would authorize the Forest Service to allow three
providers of commercial recreation services in the Salmon-
Challis National Forest in Idaho to construct or improve
certain facilities. Those recreation services currently operate
under special use permits that do not allow those types of
projects. Under the bill, if the operators of those recreation
services request authorization to undertake those projects, the
agency would be required to conduct environmental reviews. Any
costs to carry out those reviews would be covered by cost-
recovery fees assessed on the recreation services.
Using information provided by the Forest Service, CBO
estimates that enacting the bill would increase offsetting
receipts from cost-recovery fees and associated direct
spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However,
CBO estimates that any net effect on direct spending would be
negligible. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1482 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 1482 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
590, a bill to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for
commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for
other purposes, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources on March 30, 2017. The two bills
are similar, and CBO's estimates of the budgetary effects are
the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was reviewed 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 authorize the Secretary of
Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and
structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in
Idaho.
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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