[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 82 (Tuesday, June 11, 2013)]
[House]
[Pages H3266-H3267]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAIN PUBLIC ACCESS ACT
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 1157) to ensure public access to the summit of
Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument for
educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural, and other
purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 1157
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 ``Rattlesnake Mountain Public
Access Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) The Hanford Reach National Monument is public land that
belongs to the American people.
(2) The United States Fish and Wildlife Service's
Comprehensive Conservation Plan (CCP) for the Monument
restricts public access to large portions of the Monument,
including the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain.
(3) Public access to Rattlesnake Mountain is important for
educational, recreational, historical, scientific, and
cultural purposes.
(4) Rattlesnake Mountain reaches an elevation of 3,660 feet
above sea level--the highest elevation of the Monument, and
provides unparalleled scenic views over the Monument, the
Hanford Site, and the Columbia River.
(5) Public access to Rattlesnake Mountain will increase
tourism interest in the Monument and will provide economic
benefits to local governments.
SEC. 3. ENSURING PUBLIC ACCESS TO THE SUMMIT OF RATTLESNAKE
MOUNTAIN IN THE HANFORD REACH NATIONAL
MONUMENT.
(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
provide public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain
in the Hanford Reach National Monument for educational,
recreational, historical, scientific, cultural, and other
purposes, including--
(1) motor vehicle access; and
(2) pedestrian and other nonmotorized access.
(b) Cooperative Agreements.--The Secretary of the Interior
may enter into cooperative agreements to facilitate access to
the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain--
(1) with the Secretary of Energy, the State of Washington,
or any local government agency or other interested persons,
for guided tours, including guided motorized tours to the
summit of Rattlesnake Mountain; and
(2) with the Secretary of Energy, and with the State of
Washington or any local government agency or other interested
persons, to maintain the access road to the summit of
Rattlesnake Mountain.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from Arizona (Mr. Grijalva)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and
include extraneous material to the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Washington?
There was no objection.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. I yield myself as much time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1157 directs the Department of the Interior to
provide the public with motorized, nonmotorized, and pedestrian access
to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain, located in my district on the
Hanford Reach National Monument. This 195,000-acre monument, designated
by President Clinton in 2000, is near the Hanford Nuclear Site and is
the only one in the continental United States managed by the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
At 3,600 feet, Rattlesnake Mountain is the highest point in the
region, and it provides unparalleled views for miles around the
monument, the Hanford Site, the Snake River, the Columbia River, and,
of course, the Yakima River.
Unfortunately, it took the Fish and Wildlife Service 8 years to write
a management plan that effectively closed Rattlesnake Mountain to
public access, despite the public comments favoring just the opposite.
After I first introduced this bill in 2010, the Fish and Wildlife
Service offered two public tours for selected individuals and then
suddenly reneged on the offer just days before the tours were to occur.
During a 2011 committee hearing on the bill, the Interior
Department's testimony suggested that the Fish and Wildlife Service
supports tours of Rattlesnake, but very carefully didn't go the extra
step of ensuring the Service would allow public access to the summit.
Finally, last month, the Fish and Wildlife Service granted a few
dozen people the opportunity to tour Rattlesnake Mountain summit over
two tours. These were the first two public tours offered since the
monument was designated.
Mr. Speaker, this bill is necessary to ensure reasonable and regular
public access can be guaranteed by law to the citizens of that area.
The legislation is sponsored by the Tri-Cities Development Council,
TRIDEC; the Board of County Commissioners; Benton County Commissioners,
in which Rattlesnake Mountain is located; the Tri-City Regional Chamber
of Commerce; the Tri-Cities Visitor and Convention Bureau; and the Back
Country Horsemen of Washington.
The American people deserve to have access to public lands, including
Rattlesnake Mountain in my district. I ask that the House pass this
reasonable legislation today to make that possible.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
{time} 1720
Mr. GRIJALVA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 1157, which would require the
Fish and Wildlife Service to provide both motorized and non-motorized
access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain.
The bill would allow the Fish and Wildlife Service to enter into
cooperative agreements with the Department of Energy, the State of
Washington, local governments, and other interested persons to provide
guided tours to the summit of the mountain and to maintain the access
road to the mountain.
In 2008, the Fish and Wildlife Service completed its management plan
for this area and determined that service-sponsored or -led tours and a
hiking trail are appropriate and compatible uses of the area.
In October of 2011, at the hearing on H.R. 2719, the Fish and
Wildlife Service supported the bill's intent to provide
[[Page H3267]]
appropriate public access on Rattlesnake Mountain that gives due
consideration to all stakeholders, including the Yakima Tribe.
I commend Chairman Hastings for introducing the bill, and I support
it.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me explain a little bit about Rattlesnake Mountain
and where it's located. I mentioned it is on the Hanford Nuclear Site.
The Hanford Nuclear Site was part of the Manhattan Project, in which we
built and assembled weapons that won the Second World War. And then for
40 years after the Second World War, this was in a defense production
where we were producing fuel for our atomic weapons.
Now, Rattlesnake Mountain, as I mentioned in my opening remarks, is
3,600 feet. For obvious reasons, it was closed off to access because
you had a secret site there producing weapons of war and you didn't
want people to have access to look down at Hanford Site. That's totally
understandable, and for that reason nobody really objected to having
the top of Rattlesnake open. However, now that Hanford is no longer in
defense production--and it hasn't been for nearly 25 years; it's now in
a cleanup mode--things have really changed.
When I typically have townhall meetings or meetings with people in
the Tri-Cities area, I ask how many people have been on top of
Rattlesnake, and it's surprising how few have been up there. But when
you're on top of Rattlesnake--it's 3,600 feet, like I mentioned--there
are no trees, so you can see 360 degrees around you. On a clear day,
which we generally have in central Washington, you really can see the
Columbia River coming in from the north. You can see where the Snake
River--and, by the way, that's where Lewis and Clark encamped before
they made their trip down to the ocean--you can see where the Snake
River comes into the Columbia River. And you can see where the Yakima
River comes also into the Columbia River. So it is a really wonderful
site, and I think it deserves to have access to the people.
More and more people have had the opportunity in the past to go up
there. This simply ensures that the Department of Energy will come up
with a plan in which that area will really be accessed.
So I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield back the balance of my
time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Washington (Mr. Hastings) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1157.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas
and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further
proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
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