[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 19 (Wednesday, February 6, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Pages S740-S741]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. CANTWELL (for herself and Mrs. Murray):
  S. 2601. A bill to require the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to 
King and Kittitas Counties Fire District No. 51 a certain parcel of 
real property for use as a site for a new Snoqualmie Pass fire and 
rescue station; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
  Ms. CANTWELL. Mr. President, today I am introducing the Snoqualmie 
Pass Land Conveyance Act, together with Senator Murray. This bill would 
transfer an acre and a half of Forest Service land to the King and 
Kittitas Counties Fire District No. 51, also known as Snoqualmie Pass 
Fire and Rescue. This land would be conveyed at no cost, but would have 
to be used by the Fire District specifically for the construction of a 
new fire station or it would revert back to the Federal Government.
  Snoqualmie Pass Fire and Rescue serves a portion of two counties on 
both sides of the Cascade Mountains along Interstate 90, a community of 
350 full-time residents that peaks to 1,500 during the ski season. 
Additionally, the ski area estimates 20,000 patrons on a busy weekend, 
and the Department of Transportation estimates that up to 60,000 
vehicles travel through the fire district on a busy day making it the 
busiest mountain highway in the country.
  This area is also the major transportation corridor for goods and 
services between eastern and western Washington. The all-volunteer Fire 
Department averages over 300 calls a year with about a 10 percent 
annual increase in call volumes, which is more than triple the amount 
of calls a typical all-volunteer fire department would respond to in a 
year. Mr. Presdient, 84

[[Page S741]]

percent of those incidents are for non-tax paying residents. 
Consequently, the Fire Department has the characteristics of a large 
city with the limited resources of a small community.
  In recent years, this area has been the scene of major winter 
snowstorms, multi-vehicle accidents, and even avalanches. The Fire 
District is often the first responder to incidents in the area, which 
is prone to rock slides and avalanches and it is not uncommon for this 
community to be isolated for hours or even days at a time. Several 
thousand people can be stranded at the Pass during those periods when 
the Pass is closed and while the Department of Transportation works 
quickly to get the roads back open, it can be very taxing on local 
resources.
  For decades, the Fire District has been leasing its current site from 
the Forest Service. They operate out of an aging building that was not 
designed to be a fire station. Through their hard work and dedication, 
they have served their community ably despite this building's many 
shortcomings. However, with traffic on the rise and the need for 
emergency services in the area growing, the Fire District needs to move 
to a true fire station.
  The Fire District has identified a nearby site that would better 
serve the public safety needs at the Pass. This location would provide 
easy access to the interstate in either direction, reducing emergency 
response times. The parcel is on Forest Service property, immediately 
adjacent to a freeway interchange, between a frontage road and the 
interstate itself. The parcel was formerly a disposal site during 
construction of the freeway and is now a gravel lot.
  I recognize that the Forest Service does not normally support 
conveyances of land free of charge. However, I believe an exception 
should be made in this particular circumstance because of the important 
public service provided by the Fire District, the heavy traffic and 
emergency calls created by nonresidents in the area, the distance of 
Snoqualmie Pass from other communities with emergency services, and 
because of the high amount of federal land ownership in the area, which 
severely limits the local tax base. In fact, the Forest Service has 
acquired 20,000 acres in King and Kittitas counties at a cost of more 
than $52 million over just the last 10 years.
  Passage of this legislation would not guarantee that a new station 
would be built. The Fire District would have to work hard to gather the 
financing that would be required from State and local sources, as well 
as any applicable Federal grants or loans. However, the conveyance of 
this site at no cost would help this Fire District hold down the 
overall cost of this project.
  I am confident this can be done with little or no impact to the 
environment. Over the last year, following the introduction of this 
legislation in the House of Representatives, H.R. 1285, there were 
ongoing discussions in Washington State to address some lingering 
issues related to this conveyance. I am pleased those discussions 
reached resolution. I am also pleased that discussions with my staff, 
Senator Murray's staff, and staff of Energy and Natural Resources 
Committee led to an amendment to H.R. 1285 before it passed the House 
of Representatives that would better tailor the conveyance to both the 
environmental and the emergency response needs at the Pass by reducing 
the amount of land to be conveyed from 3 acres to 1.5 acres.
  It is my understanding that there are offers of support to construct 
a new fire station from state and local officials, and to mitigate any 
effects of construction, and I support those efforts. To offset any 
potential impacts from construction of a new fire station and to 
improve wildlife connectivity at the pass, I encourage the Forest 
Service to work in collaboration with state and local officials, the 
Cascade Land Conservancy, Snoqualmie Fire District, Sierra Club, and 
Conservation Northwest to identify opportunities for off-site habitat 
acquisition.
  I appreciate the efforts of Senator Murray and my colleagues on the 
Energy and Natural Resources Committee to review this issue and bring 
this bill forward. I look forward to continuing to work with the 
community at the Pass and my colleagues to improve public safety in the 
area.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the text of the bill was ordered to be 
placed in the Record, as follows:

                                S. 2601

       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 ``Snoqualmie Pass Land 
     Conveyance Act''.

     SEC. 2. LAND CONVEYANCE, NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND, 
                   KITTITAS COUNTY, WASHINGTON.

       (a) Conveyance Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture 
     (referred to in this section as the ``Secretary'') shall 
     convey, without consideration, to King and Kittitas Counties 
     Fire District No. 51 of King and Kittitas Counties, 
     Washington (referred to in this section as the ``District''), 
     all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to 
     a parcel of National Forest System land in Kittitas County, 
     Washington, consisting of approximately 1.5 acres within the 
     SW \1/4\ of the SE \1/4\ of sec. 4, T. 22 N., R. 11 E., 
     Willamette meridian, for the purpose of permitting the 
     District to use the parcel as a site for a new Snoqualmie 
     Pass fire and rescue station.
       (b) Reversionary Interest.--
       (1) In general.--If the Secretary determines at any time 
     that the real property conveyed under subsection (a) is not 
     being used in accordance with the purpose of the conveyance 
     specified in that subsection--
       (A) all right, title, and interest in and to the property 
     shall revert, at the option of the Secretary, to the United 
     States; and
       (B) the United States shall have the right of immediate 
     entry onto the property.
       (2) Determination requirements.--A determination of the 
     Secretary under this subsection shall be made on the record 
     after an opportunity for a hearing.
       (c) Survey.--
       (1) In general.--If necessary, the exact acreage and legal 
     description of the real property to be conveyed under 
     subsection (a) shall be determined by a survey satisfactory 
     to the Secretary.
       (2) Cost.--The cost of a survey under paragraph (1) shall 
     be paid by the District.
       (d) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The Secretary may 
     require such additional terms and conditions in connection 
     with the conveyance under subsection (a) as the Secretary 
     considers to be appropriate to protect the interests of the 
     United States.
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