[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 164 (Thursday, November 18, 1999)]
[House]
[Page H12844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DIRECTING SECRETARY OF INTERIOR TO MAKE TECHNICAL CORRECTIONS TO MAP 
              RELATING TO COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM

  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that the Committee 
on Resources be discharged from further consideration of the bill (H.R. 
34) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to make technical 
corrections to a map relating to the Coastal Barrier Resources System, 
and ask for its immediate consideration in the House.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.

                              {time}  1930

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Pease). Is there objection to the 
request of the gentleman from New Jersey?
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, reserving the right to 
object, I do so for the purpose of asking the gentleman from New Jersey 
to explain his unanimous consent request.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Saxton).
  Mr. SAXTON. Mr. Speaker, coastal barriers are dynamic ecosystems and 
are prone to frequent moving and shifting as the result of storms and 
other natural processes. Despite their vulnerability, these areas are 
attractive locations to live in and are popular for vacation 
destinations.
  Congress approved the Coastal Barriers Resources Act of 1982 to 
protect these areas by establishing a system of barrier units that are 
precluded from receiving Federal development assistance, including 
Federal flood insurance. The System is administered by the Fish and 
Wildlife Service.
  Maps depicting the various units are adopted by Congress, and any 
changes to the boundaries of System units require legislative action. 
The System includes 274 otherwise protected areas. Otherwise protected 
areas include lands that are held for conservation purposes by the 
Federal, State, and local governments or private conservation groups.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 34 adopts maps drawn by the Fish and Wildlife 
Service that correctly portray the boundaries of the Cayo Costa State 
Park in Florida, and this is supported by the Fish and Wildlife Service 
and the Committee on Resources majority and minority.
  H.R. 34 passed the House of Representatives as part of H.R. 1431 on 
September 21, 1999.
  Mr. Speaker, I believe H.R. 34 corrects a true mapping error, and I 
strongly urge the passage of this legislation.
  (Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California asked and was given permission to 
revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GEORGE MILLER of California. Mr. Speaker, further reserving my 
right to object, this bill would authorize a minor map correction to 
change the boundaries of an otherwise protected area (OPA) to make 
these boundaries coterminous with the boundaries of a State park. This 
correction would exclude 14 acres of private land from the OPA.

  The Committee on Resources has thoroughly reviewed the underlying 
justification for this map correction and has worked closely with the 
Fish and Wildlife Service throughout. The Committee has found nothing 
to prove conclusively that Congress intended to include private lands 
abutting the boundaries of the State park when it created this OPA in 
1990. Also, there is reasonable doubt that these private lands would 
have qualified for inclusion under the Fish and Wildlife Service's 
designation criteria for otherwise protected areas or undeveloped 
coastal barriers.
  This bill will rectify a previous mapping error by the Fish and 
Wildlife Service and bring this OPA into conformance with congressional 
intent to use existing park boundaries as the basis for OPA boundaries. 
The Administration supports this legislation and I urge that the House 
pass the bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I withdraw my reservation of objection.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from New Jersey?
  There was no objection.
  The Clerk read the bill, as follows:

                                H.R. 34

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

     SECTION 1. CORRECTIONS TO MAPS.

       (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall, 
     before the end of the 30-day period beginning on the date of 
     the enactment of this Act, make such corrections to the map 
     described in subsection (b) as are necessary to ensure that 
     depictions of areas on that map are consistent with the 
     depictions of areas appearing on the map entitled 
     ``Amendments to the Coastal Barrier Resources System'', dated 
     ____________, and on file with the Committee on Resources of 
     the House of Representatives.
       (b) Map Described.--The map described in this subsection is 
     the map that--
       (1) is included in a set of maps entitled ``Coastal Barrier 
     Resources System'', dated November 2, 1994; and
       (2) relates to unit P19-P of the Coastal Barrier Resources 
     System.

  The bill was ordered to be engrossed and read a third time, was read 
the third time, and passed, and a motion to reconsider was laid on the 
table.

                          ____________________