[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 106 (Tuesday, September 12, 2000)]
[House]
[Pages H7399-H7401]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST LAND CONVEYANCE
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 3657) to provide for the conveyance of a small
parcel of public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in
the State of California, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 3657
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. LAND CONVEYANCE AND SETTLEMENT, SAN BERNARDINO
NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA.
(a) Conveyance Required.--Subject to valid existing rights
and settlement of claims as provided in this section, the
Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to KATY 101.3 FM (in
this section referred to as ``KATY'') all right, title and
interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real
property consisting of approximately 1.06 acres within the
San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County,
California, generally located in the north \1/2\ of section
23, township 5 south, range 2 east, San Bernardino meridian.
(b) Legal Description.--The Secretary and KATY shall, by
mutual agreement, prepare the legal description of the parcel
of real property to be conveyed under subsection (a), which
is generally depicted as Exhibit A-2 in an appraisal report
of the subject property dated August 26, 1999, by Paul H.
Meiling.
(c) Consideration.--Consideration for the conveyance under
subsection (a) shall be equal to the appraised fair market
value of the parcel to be conveyed. Any appraisal to
determine the fair market value of the parcel shall be
prepared in conformity with the Uniform Appraisal Standards
for Federal Land Acquisitions and approved by the Secretary.
(d) Settlement.--In addition to the consideration referred
to in subsection (c), upon
[[Page H7400]]
the receipt of $16,600 paid by KATY to the Secretary, the
Secretary shall release KATY from any and all claims of the
United States arising from the occupancy and use of the San
Bernardino National Forest by KATY for communication site
purposes.
(e) Access Requirements.--Notwithstanding section 1323(a)
of the Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16
U.S.C. 3210(a)) or any other law, the Secretary is not
required to provide access over National Forest System lands
to the parcel of real property conveyed under subsection (a).
(f) Administrative Costs.--Any costs associated with the
creation of a subdivided parcel, recordation of a survey,
zoning, and planning approval, and similar expenses with
respect to the conveyance under this section, shall be borne
by KATY.
(g) Assumption of Liability.--By acceptance of the
conveyance of the parcel referred to in subsection (a), KATY,
and its successors and assigns, will indemnify and hold
harmless the United States for any and all liability to
General Telephone and Electronics Corporation (also known as
``GTE''), KATY, and any third party that is associated with
the parcel, including liability for any buildings or personal
property on the parcel belonging to GTE and any other third
parties.
(h) Treatment of Receipts.--All funds received pursuant to
this section shall be deposited in the fund established under
Public Law 90-171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known as the Sisk
Act), and the funds shall remain available to the Secretary,
until expended, for the acquisition of lands, waters, and
interests in land for the inclusion in the San Bernardino
National Forest.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Walden and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden).
General Leave
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend
their remarks on H.R. 3657.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Oregon?
There was no objection.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3657 was introduced by the gentlewoman from
California (Mrs. Bono). This legislation would convey a little over an
acre of Forest Service land to a radio station located in the San
Bernardino National Forest in California for fair market value.
During the subcommittee hearing on this bill, the administration
requested that the bill be amended to include language that would
require the radio station to prove that it had clear title to all
existing structures on the site. During the markup, the legislation was
amended to include that language. The bill is supported by the
administration.
I would urge Members to suspend the rules and pass H.R. 3657, as
amended.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank my good friend, the gentleman
from Oregon, for management of this legislation. I thank our Chairman
of the Committee on Resources, the gentleman from Alaska (Mr. Young),
and our ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Miller), for
their sponsorship and support of this bill as well.
Mr. Speaker, this bill resolves an ongoing dispute between the Forest
Service and a radio station, KATY, regarding the station's unauthorized
use of a Forest Service site. H.R. 3657 would require the Secretary of
Agriculture to convey for fair market value 1.06 acres within the San
Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County, California to KATY. The
bill requires KATY to pay $16,600 (representing rent for 1996-99
without interest) to the Secretary. It also provides that the Forest
Service is not required to provide access to the site as it would for
an official communications site. I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mrs. BONO. Mr. Speaker, H.R. 3657 would provide for the conveyance at
fair market value of a small tract of Forest Service land in the San
Bernardino National Forest to a locally-owned radio station that serves
mountain communities in my district. I would like to thank Chairman
Young and Chairman Chenoweth-Hage for their assistance in bringing this
bill to the floor.
In 1988, Cliff and Katy Gill began a search for an antenna site that
would allow them to obtain an FCC construction permit for a radio
station to serve Idyllwild, California, a community of about 3000
residents located at 5200 feet elevation in the San Jacinto Mountains.
The community is nestled in mountainous terrain and surrounded by the
San Bernardino National Forest and other State and local park land. The
Gills discovered that the rugged terrain sharply limited the sites that
could host an antenna capable of reaching the residents of Idyllwild,
the neighboring mountain communities, and the highway that connects
them to the valley below. Wanting to start up their station, the Gills
ultimately went on the air in December 1989 from a temporary antenna on
a time-share private campground. Mr. Gill named this new radio station,
KATY-FM, for his wife Katy.
However, because the original site for the antenna drastically
limited KATY's coverage, the Gills kept looking. The Gills first
searched for sites on private land. But with the private land
constituting only a small island--only a few hundred acres--within the
sea of public land, it soon became apparent that the only workable
sites would be found on public land. Six years later, they thought they
had found the perfect site. GTE had operated a small wooden
communications tower in the San Bernardino National Forest for 30 years
under a Forest Service special use permit. GTE offered to sublease to
KATY space on their tower and in their small equipment shed. In 1995,
after seven years of searching for an antenna site, the Gills moved
onto the GTE tower and gained the coverage they had long sought for
their station.
Unfortunately, they were soon informed by the District Ranger that
they must strip their antenna from the GTE tower and vacate the site.
Petitions signed by almost half the residents of Idyllwild, its Chamber
of Commerce, and others did not budge the agency. The Forest Service
maintained that subleasing of tower space could only occur on sites
that had been formally designated as communications sites in the forest
plans and that this site had not received such a designation in the San
Bernardino plan. The agency argued that, even though it had allowed
this site to be used as a communications site for three decades and was
continuing to permit such use by GTE, KATY was in trespass and GTE had
violated its special use authorization. The Forest Service continued to
insist that KATY leave even as the station was proving how critically
important it is to the communities it serves.
Because of their location in rugged country, Idyllwild and
neighboring mountain communities are vulnerable to extreme weather and
other adverse natural events. In recognition of this and in its effort
to provide the best possible public service, KATY signed an agreement
with the local 10-watt emergency broadcast station, WNKI, which has
very limited coverage, to broadcast WNKI's emergency bulletins. Shortly
thereafter, the Federal Communications Commission and the California
State Office of Emergency Services selected KATY as the Local Primary
Station to broadcast information in the event of disaster.
KATY's dedication to providing emergency service paid off for the
mountain communities in 1996 when the Bee Canyon fire raged through
9000 acres in their vicinity. KATY broadcast the mandatory evacuation
orders and the announcement that it was safe to return home. In all,
KATY aired nearly 200 announcements that were closely monitored not
only by the residents but also by the firefighters and other emergency
service personnel. Again, in 1998 KATY broadcast the mandatory order to
evacuate the community of Juniper Flats also threatened by fire during
severe thunderstorms.
My late husband took up the cause of KATY. In August 1996, he and
Chairman Young wrote a letter to the Secretary of Agriculture
requesting his assistance in permitting KATY to retain its antenna
site. This was followed by letters from the chairman and ranking
minority member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee
and the chairman of the Interior subcommittee of the Senate
Appropriations Committee. Finally, a House-Senate conference committee
added to the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 a
provision requiring the Secretary of Agriculture to consider whether
maintaining the KATY antenna site was in the public interest and to
report his conclusions to Congress.
That report was never delivered to Congress. A draft of the report
would have offered a new site for KATY's antenna on a neighboring
mountain in the San Bernardino National Forest. When the Forest Service
learned from KATY that placing the antenna on that site would be
prohibited by three FCC regulations, the agency approached Cliff and
Katy Gill and asked if they would entertain purchasing the antenna
site. I am happy to say that H.R. 3657 is the product of subsequent
amicable negotiations between the Gills and the agency.
[[Page H7401]]
I want to assure my colleagues that this purchase will have no
discernible impact on the National Forest or the environment. The tract
to be purchased is only approximately 1.06 acres in size. It is on the
very edge of the National Forest, directly adjacent to a residential
development. The station has purchased the neighboring residential lot
to assure access to the antenna site. The tower and equipment shed are
shielded by tall evergreen trees and large rocks and are not visible
above Inspiration Point where the site is located.
The bill would require that KATY pay fair market value for the tract
and an additional sum of $16,600 to settle any claims the government
might have for the unauthorized occupation of national forest land.
That sum represents the rent that the Gills should have paid to the
Forest Service for use of the site. Although the Gills paid more than
twice that amount in rent to GTE under the sublease, they believe this
is a fair resolution. I appreciate the efforts of the Forest Service to
design a good solution to a difficult problem.
Cliff Gill passed away last year before he saw enactment of this bill
and fulfillment of his dream. We can ensure that his widow, Katy, will
be able to continue KATY's service to the community by enacting H.R.
3657. I urge passage of this bill.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALDEN of Oregon. 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 Oregon (Mr. Walden) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 3657, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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