[House Report 115-922]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-922
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WALNUT GROVE LAND EXCHANGE ACT
_______
September 7, 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. 5923]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5923) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
exchange certain public lands in Ouachita National Forest, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Church.--The term ``Church'' means the Walnut Grove
Church in Garland County, Arkansas.
(2) Offered tract.--The term ``Offered Tract'' means all
right, title, and interest of the Church in and to
approximately 6.3 acres of non-Federal land identified as
``Offered Tract 5742''on the Detail Map of the Walnut Grove
Exchange, Ouachita National Forest map (printed date May 11,
2017).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(4) Selected tract.--The term ``Selected Tract'' means all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to
approximately 4 acres identified as ``Selected Tract 5743'' on
the Detail Map of the Walnut Grove Exchange, Ouachita National
Forest map (printed date May 11, 2017), subject to the
reservation of a road easement by the Secretary.
SEC. 3. EXCHANGE OF LAND; EQUALIZATION OF VALUE.
(a) Exchange Authorized.--Subject to the provisions of this Act, not
later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of this Act, if the
Church offers to convey the Offered Tract to the United States, the
Secretary shall--
(1) convey to the Church all right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to the Selected Tract; and
(2) accept from the Church a conveyance of all right, title,
and interest of the Church in and to the Offered Tract.
(b) Requirements.--The exchange under subsection (a) shall be--
(1) subject to valid existing rights;
(2) conditioned on an equalization payment made by the Church
in accordance with subsection (c); and
(3) conditioned on the payment of the costs described in
subsection (g).
(c) Equal Value and Cash Equalization.--
(1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the
exchange under subsection (a) shall be for equal value or the
values shall be equalized by a cash payment.
(2) Exception.--If the value of the Offered Tract exceeds the
Selected Tract, an equalization payment shall not be required.
(d) Appraisals.--
(1) In general.--The value of the land to be exchanged under
this Act shall be determined by appraisals conducted by one or
more independent and qualified appraisers.
(2) Appraisal standards.--The Secretary shall complete an
appraisal of the land to be exchanged under this Act in
accordance with--
(A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions; and
(B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.
(e) Format.--Title and valuation to the land to be exchanged under
this Act shall be in a format acceptable to the Secretary and the
Church.
(f) Map and Legal Descriptions.----
(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall finalize a map and
legal descriptions of all land to be conveyed under this Act.
(2) Corrections.--The Secretary may correct any minor errors
in the map or in the legal descriptions.
(3) Map on file.--The map and legal descriptions shall be on
file and available for public inspection in appropriate offices
of the United States Forest Service.
(g) Costs of Conveyance.--As a condition of conveyance, any costs
related to the conveyance under this section shall be paid by the
Church.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 5923 is to direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to exchange certain public lands in the Ouachita
National Forest.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Walnut Grove Community Church is located in the
unincorporated community of Jessieville, Arkansas. Originally
built in 1938, the congregation moved the Church to its current
location to be closer to its historic cemetery.\1\ The Church
building, community center, and cemetery sit on approximately
four acres of land owned by the U.S. Forest Service (USFS). The
Church was originally constructed on federal land at a time
when oversight of these issues was far less stringent than it
is today. The tract also contains part of a USFS road
connecting the parcel to additional USFS land to the South.
Although the Church owns the facilities, because USFS owns the
underlying land, the Church has faced significant challenges as
it seeks to maintain, improve and expand its facilities to meet
the needs of its growing congregation.\2\ The Church has
operated under a special use permit from the USFS which has
been renewed by USFS every year since 2002.\3\
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\1\Testimony of George Joseph Bassett III before the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands on July 17, 2018.
\2\Ibid.
\3\Ibid.
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The Church owns approximately six acres of woodland
inholdings within the Ouachita National Forest and has offered
to exchange this six-acre tract for the four acres of land on
which the Church's buildings and cemetery sit. The Church has
been unsuccessfully seeking an administrative exchange of land
with USFS for over 20 years.\4\
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\4\Ibid.
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The legislation would authorize the land exchange between
the Church and USFS. The bill requires the Church to pay any
appraisal, survey, and any other conveyance costs of the
exchange. If the Church's offered parcel is determined to be of
lower value than the selected tract currently owned by USFS,
the Church will be required to make an equalization payment to
the government. The USFS would not be required to make an
equalization payment if the offered tract is determined to be
of higher value than the selected USFS land.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5923 was introduced on May 22, 2018, by Congressman
Bruce Westerman (R-AR). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On July 17, 2018, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the legislation. On July 18,
2018, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill.
The Subcommittee was discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Westerman offered an amendment designated #1; it
was adopted by unanimous consent. No further amendments were
offered and the bill, as amended, 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, August 29, 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. 5923, the Walnut
Grove Land Exchange Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Jeff LaFave
and Sophie Godfrey-McKee.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall.
Enclosure.
H.R. 5923--Walnut Grove Land Exchange Act
H.R. 5923 would require the Forest Service to exchange, at
the request of a private entity, four acres of federal land in
the Ouachita National Forest in Arkansas, for six acres of
private land in that forest.
Using information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates
that under current law the land that would be conveyed by the
agency will generate receipts from a special-use permit
totaling about $4,000 over the 2019-2028 period. Because those
receipts would not be collected under the bill, CBO estimates
that enacting H.R. 5923 would increase direct spending by that
amount.
If appraisals indicate that the value of the federal parcel
exceeds the value of the nonfederal parcel, the bill would
require the private entity to provide a cash equalization
payment to the Forest Service. Such payments are recorded as
offsetting receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct
spending. However, because CBO expects that the parcels would
have a similar value, any such payment would not exceed
$100,000, CBO estimates.
H.R. 5923 would require the private entity to cover all
administrative costs associated with the land exchange. Any
land received by the Forest Service would be managed in
accordance with existing authority to manage National Forest
land.
Because enacting H.R. 5923 would affect direct spending,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that any
such effects would not be significant in any year. Enacting
H.R. 5923 would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5923 would not
significantly affect net direct spending or on-budget deficits
in any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in
2029.
H.R. 5923 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeff LaFave
and Sophie Godfrey-McKee. 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 direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to exchange certain public lands in the Ouachita
National Forest.
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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