[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 144 (Monday, December 1, 2014)]
[House]
[Pages H8190-H8192]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM BOUNDARIES REVISION
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules
and pass the bill (H.R. 3572) to revise the boundaries of certain John
H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in North Carolina, as
amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 3572
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. REPLACEMENT OF JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER
RESOURCES SYSTEM MAPS.
(a) In General.--The maps subtitled ``Lea Island Complex
L07''; ``Wrightsville Beach Unit L08, Masonboro Island Unit
L09''; and ``Masonboro Island Unit L09'', included in the set
of maps entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources
System'' referred to in section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier
Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) and relating to certain
John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in
North Carolina, are hereby replaced by other maps relating to
the units entitled ``Lea Island Complex L07''; ``Wrightsville
Beach Unit L08, Masonboro Island Unit L09''; and ``Masonboro
Island Unit L09'', respectively, and dated March 12, 2014.
(b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep
the replacement maps referred to in subsection (a) on file
and available for inspection in accordance with section 4(b)
of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).
SEC. 2. REPLACEMENT OF JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER
RESOURCES SYSTEM MAP.
(a) In General.--The map subtitled ``Sachuest Point Unit
RI-04P, Easton Beach Unit RI-05P, Almy Pond Unit RI-06,
Hazards Beach Unit RI-07'', included in the set of maps
entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System''
referred to in section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier Resources
Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) and relating to certain John H.
Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System units in Rhode
Island, is hereby replaced by another map relating to the
units entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources
System Sachuest Point Unit RI-04P, Easton Beach Unit RI-05P,
Almy Pond Unit RI-06, and Hazards Beach Unit RI-07'' and
dated September 16, 2013.
(b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep
the replacement map referred to in subsection (a) on file and
available for inspection in accordance with the provisions of
section 4(b) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C.
3503(b)).
SEC. 3. JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM
GASPARILLA ISLAND UNIT, FLORIDA.
(a) In General.--The map subtitled ``Gasparilla Island Unit
FL-70P'' included in the set of maps entitled ``Coastal
Barrier Resources System'' referred to in section 4(a) of the
Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) and
relating to the Gasparilla Island Unit in Florida is hereby
replaced by another map relating to the same unit entitled
``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Gasparilla
Unit FL-70/FL-70P'', draft dated May 23, 2012.
(b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep
the replacement map referred to in subsection (a) on file and
available for inspection in accordance with section 4(b) of
the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).
SEC. 4. REMOVAL OF PROPERTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA FROM JOHN H.
CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--The map subtitled ``Long Pond Unit SC-01''
included in the sets of maps entitled ``Coastal Barrier
Resources System'' referred to in section 4(a) of the Coastal
Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) and relating to the
Long Pond Unit in South Carolina is hereby replaced by
another map relating to the same unit entitled ``John H.
Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Long Pond Unit SC-
01'' dated September 30, 2014.
(b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep
each map revised under subsection (a) on file and available
for inspection in accordance with section 4(b) of the Coastal
Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).
SEC. 5. REMOVAL OF PROPERTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA FROM JOHN H.
CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM.
(a) In General.--The map subtitled ``Huntington Beach Unit
SC-03'' included in the sets of maps entitled ``Coastal
Barrier Resources System'' referred to in section 4(a) of the
Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) and
relating to the Huntington Beach Unit in South Carolina is
hereby replaced by another map relating to the same unit
entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System
Huntington Beach Unit SC-03'' dated September 30, 2014.
(b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep
each map revised under subsection (a) on file and available
for inspection in accordance with section 4(b) of the Coastal
Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Washington (Mr. Hastings) and the gentleman from California (Mr.
Lowenthal) each will control 20 minutes.
[[Page H8191]]
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Washington.
General Leave
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that
all Members may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend
their remarks and include extraneous material on 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. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as
I may consume.
In 1982, Congress enacted the Coastal Barrier Resources Act and, 8
years later, significantly expanded the number of acres contained
within the Coastal Barrier Resources System.
The fundamental goal of this law was to discourage development along
fragile and shifting coastal barriers by prohibiting participation
within the National Flood Insurance Program and to deny certain Federal
development subsidies.
To qualify for inclusion within the system, coastal land had to be
undeveloped or conserved as part of a national wildlife refuge, Federal
or State park, a national seashore, a military installation, or
conservation land owned by private organizations.
Inclusion in the system is through maps which historically were hand-
drawn by individuals who used Magic Markers to distinguish property
lines--really, Magic Markers. As you might expect, mistakes were made,
and Congress has corrected those errors by providing legislative relief
to homeowners whose property was mistakenly incorporated within the
Coastal Barrier Resources System.
What we have before us today is a bill that corrects mistakes in
certain coastal barrier units in Florida, North Carolina, Rhode Island,
and South Carolina. This affects both Republican and Democrat
districts.
In total, the legislation affects maps in 10 of the 857 units of the
system. Upon enactment, 156 acres of the 3.1 million acres would be
removed from the system; however, because digital technology is now
being used, 4,737 new qualifying acres will be added to the system for
a net gain of 4,580 acres.
Each of these changes have been exhaustively reviewed. There is no
dispute that these lands were mistakenly included within the Coastal
Barrier Resources System, there are no objections to correcting these
mistakes, and the Congressional Budget Office has in each case
stipulated that ``enacting the bill would not affect revenues.''
Mr. Speaker, I urge an ``aye'' vote on this bipartisan
noncontroversial collection of changes to the Coastal Barrier Resources
System, and I compliment the sponsors for their work on the
legislation.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, or CBRA, requires the
identification of hazardous areas on the Atlantic and gulf coasts and
makes Federal subsidies off-limits to people who choose to develop
those lands. Particularly in this time of rising sea levels and
increased storm surge brought on by global warming, CBRA is critical to
helping protect American taxpayers and sensitive coastal ecosystems.
H.R. 3572 would adjust the boundaries of several Coastal Barrier
Resources System units in North Carolina, South Carolina, Rhode Island,
and Florida. I am particularly pleased that long overdue remedies for
the constituents of my friends, the gentleman from Rhode Island (Mr.
Cicilline) and the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. McIntyre), are
included in this package.
These changes have been carefully mapped by the Fish and Wildlife
Service and reflect improvements in technology that have allowed us to
show with great accuracy which parcels of land do and do not constitute
``coastal barrier resources'' under the law.
As a result, numerous properties that were originally included by
mistake will be removed, and other properties that have been identified
as at-risk will be included. These changes to the Coastal Barrier
Resources System are protective of private property rights, the
environment, and the taxpayers. I support passage of this bill.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my
time.
Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from
Rhode Island (Mr. Cicilline).
Mr. CICILLINE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in strong support of H.R. 3572, which
includes a provision I introduced as H.R. 277, to revise the boundaries
of Coastal Barrier Resources System units in Rhode Island. I want to
begin by thanking Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio for
working with me to bring this important fix to the floor today.
I want to extend a personal thank you to Chairman Hastings for his
ongoing cooperation in helping to advance legislation to make the
Blackstone River Valley, the birthplace of America's industrial
revolution, a national park.
I want to say, Mr. Speaker, this legislation represents the
culmination of several years of evaluation, research, study, public
input, and review regarding the existing map of the Coastal Barrier
Resources System in my State.
All four units in Rhode Island that would be replaced with a
modernized, revised map under this legislation were included within the
CBRS, according to the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. It has
been discovered that various private lands were inappropriately
included in otherwise protected areas within the CBRS and that there
were other technical inaccuracies.
The proposed revisions in my bill were approved by local cities and
towns and other stakeholders, including the Norman Bird Sanctuary and
the Audubon Society, who would be impacted; furthermore, including
identified wetland and upland areas of both Almy Pond and Lily Pond is
essential for protecting local habitat.
Importantly, the revisions would also remove eight privately-owned
structures that were inappropriately included within the Coastal
Barrier Resources System.
The changes in this bill will positively impact my district and my
constituents, particularly the ones whose private property was
inadvertently included in the original map. The passage of this
legislation will also benefit the surrounding communities that have
long anticipated a more coherent, comprehensive system that protects
critical aquatic habitat and coastal lands while protecting access to
areas used for recreational purposes.
I want to highlight the case of one constituent in particular. Philip
Howell cannot obtain Federal flood insurance for his property that was
incorrectly included in the CBRA map. As a result, his coastal property
has gone without flood insurance during serious weather events like
Superstorm Sandy.
An inability to purchase flood insurance has also caused Mr. Howell
to take on serious financial risks related to damages that he would
potentially be unable to cover out of his own pocket; moreover, without
flood insurance coverage, he has found it difficult to purchase regular
homeowner's insurance from competing brokers at affordable rates.
While Mr. Howell and most of my constituents support the intent of
the Coastal Barrier Resources System to protect neighboring habitat and
recreation, they also have been overly burdened by innocent mapping
mistakes that were made more than two decades ago.
As such, I urge my colleagues to support passage of H.R. 3572 to
ensure that coastal barrier mapping irregularities are rectified and
the system works as it was intended.
I, again, thank Chairman Hastings and Ranking Member DeFazio for
their assistance.
Mr. LOWENTHAL. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. HASTINGS of Washington. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill.
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. 3572, as amended.
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.
[[Page H8192]]
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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