[Senate Report 111-318]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 604
111th Congress Report
2d Session SENATE 111-318
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SLOAN HILLS WITHDRAWAL ACT
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September 27, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 3313]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 3313) to withdraw certain land located in
Clark County, Nevada, from location, entry, and patent under
the mining laws and disposition under all laws pertaining to
mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 2, line 6, strike ``May 5, 2010'' and insert ``June
24, 2010''.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 3313 is to withdraw approximately 640
acres in Clark County, Nevada, from the mining, mineral and
geothermal leasing, and mineral materials laws.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
In 2006 and 2007, two companies, Service Rock Products of
California and CEMEX (formally Rinker Materials) of Mexico,
submitted applications to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
to construct and operate an aggregate mine on 640 acres of
federal land near Henderson, Nevada. The approval of the
applications would result in two open pit dolomite and
limestone quarries to extract construction aggregate material
for the Southern Nevada area. Approximately 100 million tons of
mineral material would be mined from the site over the next 20
to 30 years. The proposed project, titled ``Sloan Hills
Competitive Mineral Material Sales,'' includes several
facilities and related buildings, storage space, and employee
parking.
The project has become controversial as many nearby
residents oppose the gravel quarry proposal because of concerns
over dirt and dust pollution and its potential impact on air
quality, as well as the noise from blasting, rock-crushing
operations, and truck activities. The proposed mine is located
about three miles from several Henderson neighborhoods, and
about five miles from the Sloan Canyon National Conservation
Area and North McCullough Wilderness. The BLM is currently
analyzing the potential environmental impacts of the
construction, operation, and maintenance of the site.
Legislation is necessary to stop the development of the
proposed gravel quarry by withdrawing the proposal's 640 acres
of federal land from mining purposes and associated uses.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 3313 was introduced by Senator Reid on May 5, 2010.
Senator Ensign is a cosponsor. The Subcommittee on Public Lands
and Forests held a hearing on the bill on June 16, 2010. At its
business meeting on July 21, 2010, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered S. 3313 favorably reported with an
amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on July 21, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 3313, if amended as
described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 3313, the Committee adopted
an amendment to update the map reference for the withdrawal
area.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Sloan Hills
Withdrawal Act.''
Section 2 withdraws the area depicted as ``Federal land''
on the referenced map from the mining, mineral and geothermal
leasing, and mineral materials laws.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 3313--Sloan Hills Withdrawal Act
Summary: S. 3313 would withdraw about 800 acres of federal
land in southern Nevada from disposal, mining, and mineral-
leasing activities. Based on information from the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM) and the mining industry, CBO estimates
that implementing the legislation would increase direct
spending by $11 million over the 2011-2020 period; therefore,
pay-as-you-go procedures apply.\1\ Enacting the legislation
would not affect revenues.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\Different time periods apply in the Senate for its pay-as-you-go
rule. CBO estimates that enacting S. 3313 would increase direct
spending by $1 million over the 2011-2014 period and by $9 million over
the 2011-2019 period.
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S. 3313 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of S. 3313 is shown in the following table.
The costs of this legislation fall within budget function 300
(natural resources and environment).
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2011-2015 2011-2020
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CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDINGEstimated Budget Authority.................................. 0 0 * 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 11
Estimated Outlays........................................... 0 0 * 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 11
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Note.--* = less than $500,000.
Basis of Estimate: S. 3313 would withdraw certain lands
near Henderson, Nevada, from disposal, mining, and mineral-
leasing activities. Currently, BLM is analyzing the
environmental impacts of two proposed mineral sales on the
affected lands. Upon conclusion of that analysis, the agency
will determine whether to sell the rights to extract those
materials to private mining companies.
Under current law, if BLM approved those sales, CBO expects
that mineral production would begin around 2013 and that the
federal government would begin receiving annual payments from
mining companies for those mineral materials at that time.
Under the bill, if firms could not extract minerals from the
lands near Henderson, CBO expects that the mining industry
would seek mineral materials on other BLM lands; however, based
on information from BLM and the mining industry, we expect that
production of those materials (and the corresponding payments
to the federal government) would begin several years after
2013. In addition, based on information from those entities,
CBO estimates that BLM would receive lower payments for
minerals extracted from alternative sites than for those
extracted from the lands that would be affected under the bill
because of differences in the quality of the materials and the
cost of transporting those materials.
Because production of mineral materials on BLM lands could
be delayed and proceeds from the sale of those materials could
be lower under S. 3313, CBO estimates that implementing the
legislation would increase direct spending by about $11 million
over the 2011-2020 period. That estimate includes an adjustment
for the possibility that mineral sales may not occur at the
site near Henderson under current law. It also includes an
adjustment for the possibility that mineral sales may not occur
at alternative BLM-managed sites under the bill. For this
estimate, CBO assumes that the legislation will be enacted in
calendar year 2010.
Pay-As-You-Go Considerations: The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go
Act of 2010 establishes budget-reporting and enforcement
procedures for legislation affecting direct spending or
revenues. S. 3313 would delay and reduce offsetting receipts
from the sale of mineral materials on federal land. The changes
in the deficit that are subject to those pay-as-you-go
procedures are shown in the following table.
CBO ESTIMATE OF PAY-AS-YOU-GO EFFECTS FOR S. 3313, THE SLOAN HILLS WITHDRAWAL ACT, AS ORDERED REPORTED BY THE SENATE COMMITTEE ON ENERGY AND NATURAL
RESOURCES ON JULY 21, 2010
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
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2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2010-2015 2010-2020
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NET INCREASE OR DECREASE (-) IN THE DEFICITStatutory Pay-As-You-Go Impact....................... 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 11
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Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 3313
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Jeff LaFave; Impact on
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Melissa Merrell; Impact
on the Private Sector: Amy Petz.
Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine, 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. 3313.
The Act 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. 3313, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 3313, 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 Bureau of Land Management at
the subcommittee hearing on S. 3313 on June 16, 2010 follows:
Statement of Carl Rountree, Director, National Landscape Conservation
System, Bureau of Land Management, Department of the Interior
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 3313, the
Sloan Hills Withdrawal Act. S. 3313 would withdraw
approximately 640 acres of BLM-administered public land in
Clark County, Nevada, from all forms of location, entry, and
patent under the mining laws, and from disposition under all
laws pertaining to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral
material sales, subject to valid existing rights. The BLM is
presently preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for
two proposed competitive mineral material sales which would
result in two open pit limestone quarries in this area, as
required by settlement agreements between the BLM and two
mining companies. Since the BLM is still in the process of
analyzing the proposed sales, we defer taking a position on
this legislation. However, if this area is legislatively
withdrawn, the BLM would recommend a boundary adjustment to
include additional acreage to the withdrawal area.
background
The Sloan Hills area is located approximately 15 miles
south of the City of Las Vegas, and consists of approximately
800 acres of BLM-administered public lands. The area is
surrounded by public lands that are within the Southern Nevada
Public Land Management Act (SNPLMA) boundary. The SNPLMA allows
the BLM to sell land within this disposal boundary and use the
sale proceeds to acquire lands elsewhere in Nevada that possess
higher natural resource values. When Congress expanded the
SNPLMA disposal boundary in 2002 (through PL 107-282), the
Sloan Hills area was not included.
The Sloan Hills area has an extensive mineral development
history. Separate, but overlapping mining claims were filed on
the site almost thirty years ago, with little development
occurring until the early 1990s. The two mining claimants in
the area subleased their claims to CEMEX (formerly Rinker
Materials West, LLC) and Service Rock Products Corp. (Service
Rock). CEMEX subsequently filed a mining plan of operations.
When the BLM receives a plan of operations for materials that
may be common variety minerals and the mining claims were
located on or after July 23, 1955, mining operations may not
begin until the bureau completes a ``common variety
determination'' to determine whether the materials are
locatable under the Mining Law of 1872 (43 CFR 3809.101).
Since the two mining claims overlapped, the BLM completed a
common variety determination in 2004 for both sets of claims.
The BLM concluded that the claimed materials (limestone and
dolomite) were not locatable under the Mining Law of 1872. As a
result, the BLM contested the mining claims. The contests were
eventually settled, resulting in the BLM agreeing to analyze
two competitive mineral materials sales. The settlement
agreements do not restrict the BLM's discretion in approving or
denying the proposed sales and the sales must comply with all
applicable statutes and regulations (43 CFR 3600).
In 2007, the BLM initiated an EIS to analyze the impacts of
the two proposed competitive mineral materials sales. If
approved, the projects would consist of two open pit limestone
quarries that would operate for approximately 20 to 30 years,
eventually merging into one open pit. The Draft EIS is planned
for release in the summer of 2010, at which time the BLM will
solicit public comments on whether it should authorize the
proposed sales. The Draft EIS will address potential impacts
to: air quality, noise, water resources, and socio-economic
conditions. The area surrounding Sloan Hills (located within
the SNPLMA disposal boundary) is likely to be developed for
housing, commercial, and/or industrial uses during the lifetime
of the potential sales contracts. During the Draft EIS scoping
process, a number of Henderson, Nevada residents expressed
their concerns with the proposed sales.
s. 3313
S. 3313 would withdraw approximately 640 acres of BLM-
administered public land in Clark County, Nevada, from all
forms of location, entry, and patent under the mining laws, and
of disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and
geothermal leasing or mineral material sale subject to valid
existing rights.
A withdrawal from the mineral materials laws would prohibit
the BLM from selling mineral materials in the Sloan Hills area,
and would prohibit any future mineral use of the withdrawn
lands, subject to valid existing rights.
The BLM understands the concerns of Senator Reid, the
Nevada Congressional delegation, Clark County and the City of
Henderson regarding the proposed mineral materials sales and
potential operations and associated air quality and noise
impacts that would occur in close proximity to many
neighborhoods. These and other issues will be considered in the
Draft EIS. If this area is legislatively withdrawn, the BLM
would recommend expanding the boundary to the entire 800 acres
of BLM-administered public lands remaining within the Sloan
Hills area that are excluded from the SNPLMA disposal boundary.
conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to testify. In accordance
with the terms of the settlement agreement, the BLM is in the
process of analyzing the proposed sales. Consequently, the BLM
defers taking a position on the legislation at this time. The
Bureau will continue to actively engage the public through an
open and transparent EIS process to analyze the potential
environmental impacts of the proposed mineral materials sales
unless Congress chooses to legislate this withdrawal.
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 S. 3313, as ordered
reported.