[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 89 (Tuesday, July 12, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: July 12, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                 TWIN FALLS COUNTY LANDFILL ACT OF 1994

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
Senate bill (S. 1402) to convey a certain parcel of public land to the 
county of Twin Falls, ID, for use as a landfill, and for other 
purposes.
  The Clerk read as follows:

                                S. 1402

       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 ``Twin Falls County Landfill 
     Act of 1994''.

     SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE.

       (a) Effective on the tender by the County of Twin Falls, 
     Idaho, of the fair market value for the lands described in 
     subsection (b) to the Secretary of the Interior, all right, 
     title, and interest in and to such lands, except for 
     subsurface minerals which are reserved to the United States, 
     is transferred by operation of law to the County of Twin 
     Falls. The Secretary shall evidence such conveyance as soon 
     as possible thereafter by appropriate quitclaim deed.
       (b) Description of Land.--The lands to be conveyed pursuant 
     to section 2 of this Act comprise approximately 1083.77 acres 
     of Federal lands described as the SE\1/4\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\, S\1/
     4\SE\1/4\SE\1/4\ of section 31; W\1/2\, SW\1/4\SW\1/4\SE\1/4\ 
     of section 32; Township 11 South, Range 17 East, Boise 
     Meridian and the West Half of Lot 2, Lot 3, Lot 4, W\1/
     2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, S\1/2\NW\1/4\, SW\1/4\ and the W\1/2\W\1/
     2\SE\1/4\ of section 5; Lot 1, East Half of Lot 2, E\1/
     2\SW\1/4\NE\1/4\, SE\1/4\NE\1/4\, E\1/2\W\1/2\SE\1/4\, and 
     the E\1/2\SE\1/4\ of section 6; N\1/2\NE\1/4\NE\1/4\, NE\1/
     4\NW\1/4\NE\1/4\ of section 7; NW\1/4\NW\1/4\NE\1/4\, N\1/
     2\N\1/2\NW\1/4\ of section 8; of Township 12 South, Range 17 
     East, Boise Meridian.
       (c) Subject to valid existing rights, the lands referred to 
     in subsection (b) are withdrawn from location, entry, and 
     patent under the United States mining laws and from 
     disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and 
     geothermal leasing, and mineral materials, and all amendments 
     thereto.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Minnesota [Mr. Vento] will be recognized for 20 minutes, and the 
gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] will be recognized for 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento].


                             General Leave

  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks on 
the measure now being considered.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Minnesota?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, S. 1402 is a Senate-passed bill providing for conveyance 
by operation of law of the surface estate in certain BLM-managed public 
lands to Twin Falls County, ID, for use as a disposal site.
  The county's previous disposal facility has been closed, and the 
county is anxious to complete acquisition of a new site as soon as 
possible.
  The public lands involved here have been identified for disposal, so 
this bill is not required in order for BLM to make this conveyance--in 
fact, BLM has been working with the county for some time on the matter.
  However, enactment of the bill evidently will somewhat speed up the 
process once the county has paid the United States for the lands. The 
bill would not affect the price, so that the county will still be 
required to pay the fair market value of the lands.
  Only the surface estate will be sold. The United States will retain 
the mineral interests.
  The gentleman from Idaho [Mr. Crapo] has introduced a similar but not 
identical bill. At our hearing, the administration indicated that it 
preferred the Senate version, and Mr. Crapo agreed that we should act 
on the Senate version.
  I know of no controversy concerning this bill, and I urge its 
approval by the House.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 1402. This legislation is 
desperately needed for Twin Falls County to build a subtitle D landfill 
pursuant to the Safe Drinking Water Act. I am pleased to see that in 
one isolated case Congress will be assisting a rural area with an 
unfunded mandate. However, it is embarrassing to note that in order for 
Twin Falls County to comply with the unfunded mandates of the Safe 
Drinking Water Act that an act of Congress is necessary because it has 
taken too long to accomplish this sale administratively.
  If Congress insists on driving our counties into bankruptcy through 
unfunded mandates, the least the bureaucracy could do is cooperate in 
the process.
  I thank my colleague, the gentleman from Idaho [Mr. Crapo], for his 
diligence and urge my colleagues support for S. 1402.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Idaho [Mr. Crapo].
  Mr. CRAPO. Mr. Speaker, as the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen] has 
indicated, Twin Falls County needs a new location upon which to build a 
landfill in order to comply with Federal and State mandates imposed by 
RCRA subtitle D. They began the process to comply with this Federal 
requirement in 1988. After several attempts to join with other regional 
landfills, the Twin Falls County Landfill Siting Committee conducted a 
search for an appropriate site. After several months, the committee 
located four sites that met Federal and State criteria. However, 
because Twin Falls County is approximately two-thirds owned by the 
Federal Government, all potential sites were on Bureau of Land 
Management land.
  The official site chosen was the Hub Butte located south of the city 
of Twin Falls. It met all Federal subtitle B requirements, State of 
Idaho requirements, including those regarding critical habitat, setback 
requirements, scenic and national lands, and perennial streams and 
lakes.
  Twin Falls County worked diligently with the BLM under the Recreation 
and Public Purposes Act to obtain the land before the deadline. By 
August of 1993, Twin Falls County citizens had passed a bond by 77 
percent, a landfill design had been approved, and a construction bill 
accepted. Although there appeared to be no opposition to the Hub Butte 
site, under Federal law an environmental impact statement was required 
which would delay the process even further.
  I think it is important to thank the gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. 
Vento], the gentleman from Utah [Mr. Hansen], and all of those involved 
for the bipartisan support given in trying to find a solution to this 
difficult problem. I think this bill is not only an example of good 
bipartisan effort here in this Congress, but it is an example of how 
Congress can take action when necessary to solve some of the specific 
problems that our mandates cause when they do not exactly fit the 
situation on the ground.
  I would encourage the affirmative support for this bill by Congress.
  Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. VENTO. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Minnesota [Mr. Vento] that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the Senate bill, S. 1402.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________