[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2179 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2179

  To provide for the management as open space of certain lands at the 
  Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Colorado, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 10, 1999

Mr. Udall of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred 
  to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on 
Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in 
   each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the 
                jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To provide for the management as open space of certain lands at the 
  Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Colorado, and for other 
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Rocky Flats Open Space Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Federal Government, through the Atomic Energy 
        Commission, acquired the Rocky Flats site in 1951 and began 
        operations there in 1952. Since 1992, the mission of the Rocky 
        Flats site has changed from the production of nuclear weapons 
        components to managing wastes and materials and cleaning up and 
        converting the site to beneficial uses in a manner that is 
        safe, environmentally and socially responsible, physically 
        secure, and cost-effective.
            (2) The buffer zone has generally remained undisturbed 
        since the acquisition of the Rocky Flats site. The buffer zone 
        possesses an impressive diversity of plant and animal species 
        and provides important wildlife habitat for a number of 
        threatened and endangered species.
            (3) The State of Colorado is experiencing increasing growth 
        and development, especially in the metropolitan Denver Front 
        Range area in the vicinity of the Rocky Flats site. This growth 
        and development reduces the amount of open space and thereby 
        diminishes for many metropolitan Denver communities the vistas 
        of the striking Front Range mountain backdrop.
            (4) The national interest requires that the ongoing cleanup 
        and closure of the Rocky Flats site be completed without 
        unnecessary delay and that the site thereafter be retained by 
        the United States and managed so as to preserve its value for 
        open space and wildlife habitat.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for the 
management of the buffer zone at the Rocky Flats site as open space and 
to establish a process for determining and implementing appropriate 
policies for the management of the Rocky Flats site after the ongoing 
cleanup and closure is completed.

SEC. 3. FUTURE OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT.

    (a) Federal Ownership.--Unless Congress provides otherwise in an 
Act enacted after the date of the enactment of this Act, all right, 
title, and interest of the United States, held on or acquired after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, to lands within the boundaries of 
the Rocky Flats site shall be retained by the United States.
    (b) Open Space Management of Buffer Zone.--(1) Except as provided 
in paragraph (2), the buffer zone shall be managed as open space.
    (2) The structures that comprise the former Lindsay Ranch homestead 
site within the Rock Creek Reserve area of the buffer zone shall be 
preserved and maintained to protect their historic significance and 
provide appropriate enjoyment for visitors.
    (c) Management of Industrial Area.--Subsection (b) shall not be 
construed to affect the management of the industrial area or to 
preclude the management of the industrial area as open space after 
cleanup and closure is completed.

SEC. 4. ROCKY FLATS OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment.--Not later than 90 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy shall establish a 
council to be known as the Rocky Flats Open Space Advisory Council.
    (b) Purpose.--The purpose of the Council shall be to examine the 
options for long-term oversight and management of the Rocky Flats site 
and to make recommendations for such oversight and management.
    (c) Duties.--The Council shall--
            (1) identify the Federal, State, and local agencies and 
        other entities that could effectively manage the buffer zone to 
        protect its wildlife, wildlife habitat, and open space 
        resources;
            (2) identify, with respect to the various portions of the 
        buffer zone, the management policies that would be most 
        appropriate, consistent with the protection of the wildlife, 
        wildlife habitat, and open space resources;
            (3) make recommendations regarding the management of the 
        buffer zone after completion of the cleanup and closure, 
        including the appropriate entity or entities to carry out the 
        management, the appropriate management policies, any 
        appropriate implementing legislation, and any other 
        recommendations that the Council considers appropriate; and
            (4) make any recommendations regarding the management of 
        the industrial area that the Council considers appropriate.
    (d) Composition.--The Secretary shall ensure that the membership of 
the Council includes representatives of appropriate Federal, State, and 
local entities, including the following:
            (1) The offices of the Governor and the Attorney General of 
        the State of Colorado.
            (2) The counties in Colorado of Jefferson and Boulder.
            (3) The cities in Colorado of Arvada, Boulder, Broomfield, 
        Westminster, Superior, Thornton, Golden, and Northglenn.
            (4) The Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Board and the Rocky 
        Flats Coalition of Local Governments.
            (5) The Department of Public Health and Environment and the 
        Department of Natural Resources of the State of Colorado.
            (6) The Department of Energy.
            (7) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
            (8) The Environmental Protection Agency.
    (e) Chairperson.--The Chairperson of the Council shall be appointed 
by the Secretary and shall be a member of the Council who is a 
representative of the Department of Energy.
    (f) Public Involvement.--The Council shall be subject to the 
Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.). The Council's 
deliberations shall be open to the public, and the Council shall 
endeavor to seek out and provide opportunities for public input.
    (g) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the establishment of the 
Council, the Council shall submit a report to the Secretary, the 
Governor of the State of Colorado, and the Congress. The report shall 
contain the identifications and recommendations of the Council under 
subsection (c).
    (h) Implementation of Council Recommendations.--Subject to section 
5(a) and any other provision of Federal law, the Secretary may, after 
the submission of the report by the Council under subsection (g), 
provide for the management of the buffer zone in accordance with the 
recommendations in that report.

SEC. 5. CONTINUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP AND CLOSURE.

    (a) Ongoing Cleanup and Closure.--The Secretary shall continue to 
carry out to completion the cleanup and closure activities at the Rocky 
Flats site, including any such actions within the buffer zone that are 
necessary under applicable requirements of Federal or State laws and 
regulations.
    (b) Rules of Construction.--(1) Nothing in this Act, and no action 
taken under this Act, shall relieve the Secretary or any other person 
from any obligation or other liability with respect to the Rocky Flats 
site under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and 
Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Solid Waste 
Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), the Colorado Hazardous Waste Act 
(Colo. Rev. Stat. 25-15-301 et seq.), or any other applicable Federal 
or State law or regulation.
    (2) This Act shall not be construed to restrict or lessen the 
degree of cleanup at the Rocky Flats site, including the buffer zone, 
required under the 1996 Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement or any other 
applicable requirements.
    (3) The level of cleanup at the Rocky Flats site shall not be 
affected by the requirements of this Act for open space management of 
the buffer zone, but rather shall be based on considerations of public 
health and safety.

SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

    For purposes of this Act:
            (1) The term ``Rocky Flats'' or ``Rocky Flats site'' means 
        the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, Colorado.
            (2) The term ``Rocky Flats map'' means the map of the Rocky 
        Flats site titled ``Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site, 
        Colorado'' and dated June 1999.
            (3) The term ``open space'' means an area free of new 
        structures that is managed for its open space characteristics 
        and for its wildlife, wildlife habitat, and potential 
        recreational opportunities.
            (4) The term ``buffer zone'' means the land within the 
        Rocky Flats site between the industrial area and the boundary 
        of Federal land at the Rocky Flats site, comprising 
        approximately 6,000 acres, as generally depicted on the Rocky 
        Flats map.
            (5) The term ``industrial area'' means the facilities and 
        structures on the Rocky Flats site that comprise the former 
        nuclear weapons production activities, comprising approximately 
        385 acres, as generally depicted on the Rocky Flats map.
            (6) The term ``cleanup and closure'' means the remedial 
        actions and decommissioning activities being undertaken at the 
        Rocky Flats site by the Department of Energy under the 1996 
        Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement, the closure plans and baselines, 
        and any other relevant documents.
            (7) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of Energy.
            (8) The term ``Council'' means the Rocky Flats Open Space 
        Advisory Council.
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