[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 121 (Monday, September 14, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10315-S10318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  1999

  The Senate continued with the consideration of the bill.
  Mr. GORTON addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.


                Amendments Numbered 3582 to 3590 En Bloc

  Mr. GORTON. Madam President, I send a group of amendments to the desk 
and ask that they be reported en bloc and considered en bloc.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Washington (Mr. Gorton) proposes 
     amendments numbered 3582 to 3590 en bloc.

  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendments be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments en bloc are as follows:


                           amendment no. 3582

       Under the heading ``Bureau of Indian Affairs'', 
     ``Construction'' on page 33, strike the second proviso.


                           amendment no. 3583

       At the end of Title I, General Provisions, add the 
     following new section:
       Sec.   . Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the 
     Tribal Self-Governance Act (25 U.S.C. Sec. 458aa et seq.) is 
     amended at Sec. 458ff(c) by inserting ``450c(d),'' following 
     the word ``sections''.


                           amendment no. 3584

(Purpose: To adjust the boundaries of the Columbia River Gorge National 
                              Scenic Area)

       At the end of Title III, add the following new section:
       Sec.   . (a) In General.--To reflect the intent of Congress 
     set forth in Public Law 98-396, section 4(a)(2) of the 
     Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area Act (16 U.S.C. 
     544(a)(2)) is amended--
       (1) by striking ``(2) The boundaries'' and inserting the 
     following:
       ``(2) Boundaries.--
       ``(A) In general.--Except as provided in subparagraph (B), 
     the boundaries''; and (2) by adding at the end of the 
     following:
       ``(B) Exclusions.--The scenic area shall not include the 
     approximately 29 acres of land owned by the Port of Camas-
     Washougal in the South \1/2\ of Section 16, Township 1 North, 
     Range 4 East, and the North \1/2\ of Section 21, Township 1 
     North, Range 4 East, Willamete Meridian, Clark County, 
     Washington, that consists of--
       ``(i) the approximately 19 acres of Port land acquired from 
     the Corps of Engineers under the Second Supplemental 
     Appropriations Act, 1984 (Public Law 98-396); and
       ``(ii) the approximately 10 acres of adjacent Port land to 
     the west of the land described in clause (i).''
       (b) Intent.--The amendment made by the subsection (a)--
       (1) is intended to achieve the intent of Congress set forth 
     in Public law 98-396; and
       (2) is not intended to set a precedent regarding adjustment 
     or amendment of any boundaries of the Columbia River Gorge 
     National Scenic Area or any other provisions of the Columbia 
     River Gorge National Scenic Area Act.


                           Amendment no. 3585

 (Purpose: To delete funding for acquisition by the United States Fish 
            and Wildlife Service of the Texas Chenier Plain)

       On page 13, line 13, before the period at the end insert 
     the following: ``, and of which no amount shall be available 
     for acquisition of the Texas Chenier Plain''.


                           Amendment no. 3586

 (Purpose: To direct the Secretary of the Interior to make corrections 
       to a map relating to the Coastal Barrier Resources System)

       On page 74, after line 20, add the following:

     SEC. 1   . CORRECTION TO COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM 
                   MAP.

       (a) In General.--Not later than 30 days after the date of 
     enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall 
     make such

[[Page S10316]]

     corrections to the map described in subsection (b) as are 
     necessary to restore on that map the September 30, 1982, 
     boundary for Unit M09 on the portion of Edisto Island located 
     immediately to the south and west of the Jeremy Cay Causeway.
       (b) Map Described.--The map described in this subsection is 
     the map included in a set of maps entitled ``Coastal Barrier 
     Resources System'', dated October 24, 1990, that relates to 
     the unit of the Coastal Barrier Resources System entitled 
     ``Edisto Complex M09/M09P''.

  Mr. CHAFEE. Madam President, Senator Hollings, on July 31, 1997 
introduced a bill that makes a boundary change to Unit M09, Edisto 
Island, which was referred to the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works. It is my understanding that the amendment he is now offering is 
identical to your bill. Is that correct?
  Mr. HOLLINGS. The Chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public 
Works is correct. The amendment before us is identical to S. 1104.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Could the Senator please explain why the circumstances 
surrounding this issue are unique?
  Mr. HOLLINGS. Certainly, unit M09 has been part of the coastal 
barrier system since the passage of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act 
in 1982. In 1987, a portion of Edisto Island was annexed by Colleton 
County from Charleston County. In 1988, after public notice and 
comment, the Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that this unit be 
expanded to include additional areas on Edisto Island. The Fish and 
Wildlife Service was not advised that a jurisdictional transfer had 
occurred and provided maps relating to Edisto Island to Charleston 
County, rather than Colleton. Because Colleton County did not have the 
appropriate maps, they provided inaccurate maps to landowners at a time 
when significant economic development were being made.
  Mr. CHAFEE. Madam President, the Committee on Environment and Public 
works favorably reported out this bill last May. The area in question 
was correctly mapped as an undeveloped coastal barrier, but 
extraordinary miscommunication at the Federal, State and local levels 
failed to ensure that the appropriate maps were being provided to the 
public. As a result, when the landowner inquired from Colleton County 
about the status of his land with respect to the Coastal Barrier 
Resources System, he was given inaccurate information. The sole reason 
that we supported the changes made by Senator Hollings' bill was 
because of the unprecedented and unique procedural circumstances in 
this case, and we do not anticipate that there would be other instances 
that would warrant similar changes. The law only requires Coastal 
Barrier Resources System maps to be on file at the United States Fish 
and Wildlife Service, and reporting this bill does not imply that 
landowners should rely on maps filed at any other location to determine 
whether or not their property is located within the Coastal Barrier 
Resources System.


                           amendment no. 3587

       On page 74, after line 20, add the following:

     SEC. 1  . LAND EXCHANGE IN THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA AND 
                   PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND.

       Section 135 of the Department of the Interior and Related 
     Agencies Appropriations Act, 1998 is amended by adding at the 
     end the following:
       ``(g) Environmental Impact Statement, Compliance With 
     Law.--As a condition of the exchange of property under this 
     subsection, the Secretary shall--
       ``(1) prepare an environmental impact statement in 
     accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act, and
       ``(2) comply with all other applicable laws (including 
     regulations) and rules relating to property transfers.''.

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam President, I am pleased to join with my colleague 
Senator Mikulski in sponsoring this amendment to require the Secretary 
of the Interior to prepare an environmental impact statement and comply 
with all other applicable laws, rules and regulations related to 
property transfers before engaging in a land exchange near Oxon Creek 
in Prince Georges County and the District of Columbia.
  Section 135 of the Interior Appropriations Act of 1998 directs the 
Secretary of the Interior, to ``accept full title to approximately 84 
acres of land located in Prince Georges County, Maryland, adjacent to 
Oxon Cove Park, and * * * in exchange * * * convey to the Corrections 
Corporation of America all of the interest of the United States in 
approximately 42 acres of land located in Oxon Cove Park in the 
District of Columbia,'' ``notwithstanding any other provision of law.'' 
The language directing this exchange was inserted at the eleventh hour 
in the Conference Report on the Interior Appropriations bill with no 
prior hearings or consideration, no opportunity for debate, no input 
from the National Park Service or the area Congressional Delegation and 
no consultation with the affected communities. It circumvented every 
procedure and process by which land exchanges normally take place. The 
only conditions placed on the transaction were that the property would 
not have environment contamination and that it be a fair market value 
exchange or equalized in value by a cash payment from CCA.
  Since the enactment of the Interior Appropriations bill, the 
Corrections Corporation of America (CCA) has filed an application with 
the District of Columbia Zoning Commission to build a 2,200 bed prison 
on the 42 acre National Park site to house portions of the District of 
Columbia's inmate population. This facility is strongly opposed by 
local residents who have raised serious concerns about both the planned 
location of the prison and the propriety of bypassing National Park 
Service land exchange and environmental compliance guidelines which 
allow for public input. Department of the Interior officials have 
stated that ``absent public review, which NPS has been precluded to 
conduct by statute, it is not clear that the location of a prison on 
the current parcel of park land would be in the best interest of the 
public. Further, the legislated land exchange with CCA does not afford 
equal opportunity to all potential bidders to provide a nearby inmate 
facility for felons of the District of Columbia.''
  It is important to point out that the National Park Service's Oxon 
Cove property has been planned as the site of a public golf course and 
a hiker-biker trail--recreational facilities urgently needed in great 
demand by the local community. They are a key component of an overall 
effort to revitalize the area and enhance the quality of life for local 
residents. These public facilities would largely be displaced by the 
CCA prison. Moreover, development of a correctional facility on this 
site would likely have adverse environmental impacts on Oxon Cove and 
on the Potomac River which was recently designated as an American 
Heritage River. In addition, it is my understanding that the CCA owned 
property in Prince Georges County is mostly wetlands and has no access 
and consequently the land swap is hardly a ``fair market value'' 
exchange.
  The amendment which Senator Mikulski and I are offering will ensure 
that no legislated land exchange can be consummated unless and until 
the exchange has been reviewed in accordance with the procedures 
customary for such land exchange proposals including: an Environmental 
Impact Statement in accord with the National Environmental Policy Act; 
a determination by the Secretary of the Interior that the land is 
suitable for exchange under the criteria normally used for such 
exchanges; an evaluation of whether the land exchange is in the best 
interests of the public and the National Park Service; an opportunity 
for public hearings and input; a review of the NPS General Management 
Plan for the property and scrutiny by the National Capital Planning 
Commission. It is my firm conviction that this legislated land exchange 
should never have been enacted. We hold this property and all of our 
Nation's lands in public trust and it my hope that the amendment we are 
offering will help preserve that trust as well as citizens' rights to 
due process and having their concerns heard. I urge adoption of this 
amendment.


                           Amendment No. 3588

  (Purpose: To modify Section 121 of the bill regarding wildland fire 
                         management in Alaska)

       On page 59, line 25, insert between the words ``Alaska'' 
     and ``prior'' the following: ``for assignment to a Type I hot 
     shot crew that previously has been certified and listed in 
     the Bureau of Land Management 1998 Interagency National 
     Mobilization Guide,''.


                           Amendment No. 3589

       S. 2237 is hereby amended as follows:
       At page 19, line 20, add the following after the word 
     ``program'': ``and of which $4,400,000 shall be available for 
     the Katmai National Park Land Exchange''.
       At the appropriate place insert the following new section:

[[Page S10317]]

     SEC. XXX. KATMAI NATIONAL PARK LAND EXCHANGE.

       (a) Ratification of Agreement.--
       (1) Ratification.--
       (A) In general.--The terms, conditions, procedures, 
     covenants, reservations, and other provisions set forth in 
     the document entitled ``Agreement for the Sale, Purchase and 
     Conveyance of Lands between the Heirs, Designees and/or 
     Assigns of the Palakia Melgenak and the United State of 
     America'' (hereinafter referred to in this section at the 
     ``Agreement''), executed by its signatories, including the 
     heirs, designees and/or assigns of Palakia Melgenak 
     (hereinafter referred to in this section as the ``Heirs'') 
     effective on September 1, 1998 are authorized, ratified and 
     confirmed, and set forth the obligations and commitments of 
     the United States and all other signatories, as a matter of 
     federal law.
       (B) Native allotment.--Notwithstanding any provision of law 
     to the contrary, all lands described in seciton 2(c) of the 
     Agreement for conveyance to the Heirs shall be deemed a 
     replacement transaction under ``An Act to relieve restricted 
     Indians in the Five Civilized Tribes whose nontaxable lands 
     are required for State, county or municipal improvements or 
     sold to other persons or for other purposes'' (25 U.S.C. 
     409a, 46 Stat. 1471), as amended, and the Secretary shall 
     convey such lands by a patent consistent with the terms of 
     the Agreement and subject to the same restraints on 
     alienation and tax-exempt status as provided for native 
     allotments pursuant to ``An Act authorizing the Secretary of 
     the Interior to allot homesteads to the natives of Alaska'' 
     (34 Stat. 197), as amended, repealed by section 18(a) the 
     Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act (85 Stat. 710), with a 
     savings clause for applications pending on December 18, 1971.
       (C)Land acquisition.--Lands and interests in land acquired 
     by the United States pursuant to the Agreement shall be 
     administered by the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter 
     referred to as the ``Secretary'' ) as part of the Katmai 
     National Park, subject to the laws and regulations applicable 
     thereto.
       (2) Maps and deeds.--The maps and deeds set forth in the 
     Agreement generally depict the lands subject to the 
     conveyances, the retention of consultation rights, the 
     conservation easement, the access rights, Alaska Native 
     Allotment Act status, and the use and transfer restrictions.
       (b) Katmai National Park and Preserve Wilderness.--Upon the 
     date of closing of the conveyance of the approximately 10 
     acres of Katmai National Park Wilderness lands to be conveyed 
     to the Heirs under the Agreement, the following lands shall 
     hereby be designated part of the Katmai Wilderness as 
     designated by section 701(4) of the Alaska National Interest 
     Lands Conservation (16 U.S.C. 1132 note; 94 Stat. 2417):

     A strip of land approximately one half mile long and 165 feet 
     wide lying within Section 1, Township 24 South, Range 33 
     West, Seward Meridian, Alaska, the center line of which is 
     the center of the unnamed stream from its mouth at Geographic 
     Harbor to the north line of said Section 1. Said unnamed 
     stream flows from the unnamed lake located in Sections 25 and 
     26, Township 23 South, Range 33 West, Seward Meridian. This 
     strip of land contains approximately 10 acres.
       (c) Availability of Appropriation.--None of the funds 
     appropriated in this Act or any other Act hereafter enacted 
     for the implementation of the Agreement may be expended until 
     the Secretary determines that the Heirs have signed a valid 
     and full relinquishment and release of any and all claims 
     described in section 2(d) of the Agreement.
       (d) General Provisions.--
       (1) All of the lands designated as Wilderness pursuant to 
     this section shall be subject to any valid existing rights.
       (2) Subject to the provisions of the Alaska National 
     Interest Lands Conservation Act, the Secretary shall ensure 
     that the lands in the Geographic Harbor area not directly 
     affected by the Agreement remain accessible for the public, 
     including its mooring and mechanized transportation needs.
       (3) The Agreement shall be placed on file and available for 
     public inspection at the Alaska Regional Office of the 
     National Park Service, at the office of the Katmai National 
     Park and Preserve in King Salmon, Alaska, and at least one 
     public facility managed by the federal, state or local 
     government located in each of Homer, Alaska, and Kodiak, 
     Alaska and such other public facilities which the Secretary 
     determines are suitable and accessible for such public 
     inspections. In addition, as soon as practicable after 
     enactment of this provision, the Secretary shall make 
     available for public inspection in those same offices, copies 
     of all maps and legal descriptions of lands prepared in 
     implementing either the Agreement or this section. Such legal 
     descriptions shall be published in the Federal Register and 
     filed with the Speaker of the House of Representatives and 
     the President of the Senate.


                           amendment no. 3590

 Purpose: To provide that the Bureau of Land Management may enter into 
watershed restoration and enhancement agreements with the same entities 
and for the same purposes as is provided in section 323 of the bill for 
                       Forest Service agreements.

       On page 74, after line 20, add the following:

     SEC. 1  . WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT AGREEMENTS.

       Section 124(a) of the Department of the Interior and 
     Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1997 (16 U.S.C. 1011(a)) 
     is amended by striking ``with willing private landowners for 
     restoration and enhancement of fish, wildlife, and other 
     biotic resources on public or private land or both'' and 
     inserting ``with the heads of other Federal agencies, tribal, 
     State, and local governments, private and nonprofit entities, 
     and landowners for the protection, restoration, and 
     enhancement of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources 
     on public or private land and the reduction of risk from 
     natural disaster where public safety is threatened''.

  Mr. GORTON. Madam President, it was a week ago tomorrow early in the 
afternoon that the Senate began consideration of the Interior 
appropriations bill. The distinguished Senator from West Virginia, Mr. 
Byrd, and I made our opening statements. We passed a handful of agreed 
amendments, and since then the entire subject matter has dealt with 
matters totally extraneous to that Interior appropriations bill. 
According to the minority leader's action, we will have another such 
extraneous amendment tomorrow. But in the closing of this evening, I do 
have this set of amendments, all of which relate to the subject of the 
bill.
  The first is by Senator Campbell on behalf of the Bureau of Indian 
Affairs, which strikes certain language in the bill on the subject of 
the use of highway trust funds.
  The second, of which I am a sponsor, also on behalf of the Bureau of 
Indian Affairs, is an amendment to the Tribal Self-Governance Act to 
require the repayment of misused Federal funds by self-governance 
tribes.
  The third one of mine is a minor boundary modification at the 
Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area.
  The fourth also is one of mine for the Fish and Wildlife Service 
which prohibits the use of funds for land acquisition at Texas Chenier 
Plain.
  The fifth, by Senator Hollings, to which the colloquy applies, makes 
amendments to the Coastal Barrier Resource System maps in South 
Carolina.
  The sixth, by the two Senators from Maryland, is a modification of 
section 135 of the fiscal year 1998 Interior appropriations bill on the 
subject of the Oxon Cove land exchange.
  The next is by Senator Stevens which clarifies section 121, re: 
``hotshot'' crews--that is to say, forest firefighting crews--in 
Alaska.
  The next, also by Senator Stevens, provides for exchange of lands in 
Katmai National Park.
  And, the last by Senator Wyden of Oregon gives the Bureau of Land 
Management authority to enter into the watershed restoration and 
enhancement agreements to the same extent that the Forest Service can 
do so.
  With that, Madam President, I ask unanimous consent that the 
amendments be agreed to.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendments (Nos. 3582 to 3590) were agreed to.
  Mr. GORTON. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote, and I move 
to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.


                           goose depredation

  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Mr. President, the wintering Canada goose 
population has increased ten times in the last twenty years, to 250,000 
geese in the Lower Columbia River and Willamette Valley regions. The 
result has been large numbers of geese grazing on private agricultural 
fields of wheat, corn, grass seed, and many other crops, leading to 
huge financial losses for farmers. Farmers have been meeting since the 
early 1980s with local wildlife officials to create coordinated 
resource management plans to relieve depredation, but with no results. 
In 1997, the first Pacific Flyway Council plan was assembled to deal 
with agricultural depredation by migratory Canada geese. Farmers met 
with state and federal wildlife officials and other interested parties 
from Oregon, Washington, Alaska, and California to create a plan that 
all parties could agree to--as a first step. This funding will 
implement some of the priorities of that plan.
  Mr. WYDEN. I thanked the Chairman for helping us in the Northwest to 
address a serious, growing problem with a tremendous overpopulation of 
geese in the Pacific Northwest. During the course of the past year the 
Oregon and Washington Farm Bureaus, the Alaska Waterfowl Conservation 
Committee, and state and federal wildlife agencies have worked together 
on a plan to address this growing problem, and I appreciate the 
Chairman's help in funding this proposal. Mr. President, the

[[Page S10318]]

Oregon and Washington Farm Bureaus have provided critical leadership in 
helping us obtain these funds, and I wonder if the Chairman of the 
Subcommittee would engage in a colloquy about how these funds are to be 
spent.
  Mr. GORTON. Of course, as the senior Senator from Oregon mentioned, 
this issue is a serious concern of many of my constituents in the 
southwestern part of my state. I am delighted to have been able to 
provide funds from this year's U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service budget to 
develop a solution to this problem affecting both of our states.
  Mr. WYDEN. Is it the Chairman's understanding that at least $152,000 
would be directed to fund a study of the economic impact of goose 
grazing and to develop the most effective methods for reducing damage 
by Canada Geese; and that the remaining funds will be used to assess, 
monitor, and reduce depredation by Canadian Geese of agricultural crops 
in Washington State and Oregon?
  Mr. GORTON. The gentleman from Oregon is correct. The $152,000 of 
study money will be used to continue ongoing studies at Oregon State 
University and has strong support among farmers in both our states.
  Mr. SMITH of Oregon. Further, is it the Chairman's understanding that 
the Committee directs the monies be allocated by and based upon the 
consensus of the Canada Goose Agricultural Depredation Working Group, 
comprised of, but not limited to, one person from each of the 
following: Washington and Oregon Departments of Fish and Wildlife; U.S. 
Fish and Wildlife Service; USDA/APHIS Wildlife Services; and an 
agricultural representative each from Washington and Oregon?
  Mr. GORTON. Yes. I understand that this group, which is composed of a 
diverse array of impacted interests, recently received approval for the 
NW Oregon/SW Washington Canada Goose Agricultural Depredation Control 
Plan which provides a foundation for many depredation reduction 
programs. I am very impressed by the work of this group and am 
delighted that it will have sufficient flexibility to develop solutions 
to this problem.


                   civil war battlefield preservation

  Mr. TORRICELLI. Mr. President, I would like to thank the many 
Senators who have demonstrated a commitment to historic Civil War 
battlefield preservation which culminated in this amendment to the 
Interior Appropriations Bill that directs $10 million be made available 
for matching grants to States and local communities for Civil War 
Battlefield preservation. I especially want to thank Senators Lott and 
Gorton for their efforts over the past several months as well as my 
long time ally in this issue, Senator Jeffords.
  Battlefield preservation is essential to allow current and future 
generations to experience the powerful lessons these places convey 
about the past, present, and future of the United States. A 
battlefield's landscape speaks beyond written accounts and motion 
picture and television recreations. The remarkable story of our 
country's struggle for independence cannot be compellingly told or 
wholly understood without these sites. The need to protect these sites 
of heroism and sacrifice has never been more acute. Today, residential, 
commercial, and industrial development threaten significant battle 
sites in many states.
  A Congressional study of the nation's Civil War sites completed in 
1993, found that 20% of the most important sites had already been lost 
and an additional 50% would be lost in the next ten years without 
concerted action. The report specifically recommended that $70 million 
be made available over a 7 year period for matching grants to aid land 
acquisition efforts. This amendment would for the first time provide a 
$10 million installment for this purpose.
  The premise behind this amendment is simple: Congress must provide 
funds to leverage nonfederal resources to preserve endangered 
battlefields. These funds are an investment in our national heritage, 
an investment that will pay dividends not just for our towns and 
states, but for the entire country and for generations to come.

                          ____________________