[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 34 (Monday, February 27, 2017)]
[House]
[Pages H1331-H1332]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
MOUNT HOOD COOPER SPUR LAND EXCHANGE CLARIFICATION ACT
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 699) to amend the Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009
to modify provisions relating to certain land exchanges in the Mt. Hood
Wilderness in the State of Oregon.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 699
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 ``Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land
Exchange Clarification Act''.
SEC. 2. COOPER SPUR LAND EXCHANGE CLARIFICATION AMENDMENTS.
Section 1206(a) of the Omnibus Public Land Management Act
of 2009 (Public Law 111-11; 123 Stat. 1018) is amended--
(1) in paragraph (1)--
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``120 acres'' and
inserting ``107 acres''; and
(B) in subparagraph (E)(ii), by inserting ``improvements,''
after ``buildings,''; and
(2) in paragraph (2)--
(A) in subparagraph (D)--
(i) in clause (i), by striking ``As soon as practicable
after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and
Mt. Hood Meadows shall select'' and inserting ``Not later
than 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Mount
Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange Clarification Act, the
Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows shall jointly select'';
(ii) in clause (ii), in the matter preceding subclause (I),
by striking ``An appraisal under clause (i) shall'' and
inserting ``Except as provided under clause (iii), an
appraisal under clause (i) shall assign a separate value to
each tax lot to allow for the equalization of values and'';
and
(iii) by adding at the end the following:
``(iii) Final appraised value.--
``(I) In general.--Subject to subclause (II), after the
final appraised value of the Federal land and the non-Federal
land are determined and approved by the Secretary, the
Secretary shall not be required to reappraise or update the
final appraised value for a period of up to 3 years,
beginning on the date of the approval by the Secretary of the
final appraised value.
``(II) Exception.--Subclause (I) shall not apply if the
condition of either the Federal land or the non-Federal land
referred to in subclause (I) is significantly and
substantially altered by fire, windstorm, or other events.
``(iv) Public review.--Before completing the land exchange
under this Act, the Secretary shall make available for public
review the complete appraisals of the land to be
exchanged.''; and
(B) by striking subparagraph (G) and inserting the
following:
``(G) Required conveyance conditions.--Prior to the
exchange of the Federal and non-Federal land--
``(i) the Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows may mutually agree
for the Secretary to reserve a conservation easement to
protect the identified wetland in accordance with applicable
law, subject to the requirements that--
``(I) the conservation easement shall be consistent with
the terms of the September 30, 2015, mediation between the
Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows; and
``(II) in order to take effect, the conservation easement
shall be finalized not later than 120 days after the date of
enactment of the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange
Clarification Act; and
``(ii) the Secretary shall reserve a 24-foot-wide
nonexclusive trail easement at the existing trail locations
on the Federal land that retains for the United States
existing rights to construct, reconstruct, maintain, and
permit nonmotorized use by the public of existing trails
subject to the right of the owner of the Federal land--
``(I) to cross the trails with roads, utilities, and
infrastructure facilities; and
``(II) to improve or relocate the trails to accommodate
development of the Federal land.
``(H) Equalization of values.--
``(i) In general.--Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), in
addition to or in lieu of monetary compensation, a lesser
area of Federal land or non-Federal land may be conveyed if
necessary to equalize appraised values of the exchange
properties, without limitation, consistent with the
requirements of this Act and subject to the approval of the
Secretary and Mt. Hood Meadows.
``(ii) Treatment of certain compensation or conveyances as
donation.--If, after payment of compensation or adjustment of
land area subject to exchange under this Act, the amount by
which the appraised value of the land and other property
conveyed by Mt. Hood Meadows under subparagraph (A) exceeds
the appraised value of the land conveyed by the Secretary
under subparagraph (A) shall be considered a donation by Mt.
Hood Meadows to the United States.''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
California (Mr. McClintock) and the gentlewoman from California (Mrs.
Torres) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.
General Leave
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to
include any extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from California?
There was no objection.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 699, the Mount Hood Cooper Spur Land Exchange
Clarification Act, was introduced by Congressman Greg Walden and
cosponsored by Congressman Earl Blumenauer to address an ongoing land
exchange issue in the State of Oregon.
In 2009, the Omnibus Public Land Management Act authorized a land
exchange in Government Camp, Oregon. This land exchange was supposed to
be completed within 16 months of the enactment of the legislation;
however, this still has not occurred more than 7 years later. The long
delay, primarily due to disagreements surrounding easement terms, has
frustrated local communities such as Mt. Hood Meadows and other local
groups.
This legislation, along with the Senate companion, comes as a result
of a mediation session held by the Forest Service in September 2015 to
resolve longstanding issues between the agency and the local community.
Subsequently, the parties released a joint statement that they arrived
at mutually satisfactory terms during the mediation session.
H.R. 699 updates the details and process for the land exchange to
clarify issues relating to land appraisals and the parameters of a
wetland conservation easement on the Federal portion of the conveyance.
This legislation also includes several technical provisions, including
changes to conveyance conditions regarding wetland boundaries on the
Federal land, reservation of a nonexclusive trail easement, and
equalization of values of the exchange properties.
This bill was amended in committee last Congress to address concerns
raised by the Forest Service, including clarifying language for the
easement allowed in the bill and the length of time allowed for the
Forest Service to implement this legislation.
It is illustrative of the state of Federal Land Management that the
Forest Service has not already carried out the provisions of this bill.
This bill previously passed the House in September 2016, and it is my
hope that the Senate will see fit to act on the legislation during this
Congress.
I appreciate Congressman Walden's continuous efforts to see this
issue addressed once and for all, and I hope my colleagues will join me
in supporting this bill. I urge adoption of the measure.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mrs. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield 4 minutes to the gentleman from
Oregon (Mr. Blumenauer).
Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, it is a pleasure to be on the floor here
this afternoon with my friend and colleague, Congressman Walden, who is
going to talk at great length--maybe not, but he could.
This represents, hopefully, the culmination of over 12 years' work.
Congressman Walden and I spent a good deal of time with stakeholders
back in Oregon focusing on what needed to be done to protect the
treasure that is Mt. Hood and the surrounding wilderness area.
It culminated with a hike that we took around Mt. Hood--a 3-day
camping trip with Congressman Walden, his
[[Page H1332]]
family, our staff, having a series of meetings with people who cared
about the work. It was, for me, one of the most memorable experiences I
have had as a Member of the House, both in terms of the delightful
experience we had enjoying that wilderness area, but also being able to
focus on things that were concrete, that would make a difference.
This is the remaining piece. In fact, it was 8 years ago in the first
hours of the first Obama administration that the legislation that we
worked on as part of the Wilderness Act was signed into law. And as has
been referenced by our friend from California, we have been here before
trying to complete this last piece.
The land exchange is necessary to be able to fully realize the
benefits of the hard work of the stakeholders, to preserve the
recreational benefits, to preserve the water, to be able to have a true
win-win situation. All that remains is this little exchange.
I know my colleague is frustrated, as am I, that we have to be back
here again with a piece of legislation. I am hopeful, as it was in the
past, the House will approve, that our friends in the Senate will
follow through, and that, somehow, this time it won't be a casualty in
conference. It is important to be able to finish this land exchange to
realize the potential of the hard work that people back in Oregon have
done with us to be able to realize the benefit of this hard work.
I actually will just stop at this point. I look forward to hearing
from my friend. I look forward to making sure we get this across the
finish line so that this important, bipartisan piece of legislation is
finally enacted into law and that we have the Forest Service follow
through on the last elements of this critical land exchange.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, I am now pleased to yield such time as
he may consume to the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden), the author of
this measure, whose dogged determination has brought us within reach of
resolving this dispute.
Mr. WALDEN. Mr. Speaker and Ranking Member Torres, thank you for
bringing this legislation to the floor once again.
I want to elaborate a little bit on what my friend and colleague from
Portland talked about. It was more than just a camping trip. It was 3
nights with backpacks, 4 days, 41 miles, and 9,000 feet of gain and
loss in elevation. We went all the way around Mt. Hood, which is an
extraordinary piece of Oregon, and we had a wonderful time.
Along the way, we had our ornithologist there; we had geologists
there; we had biologists; we had advocates for wilderness and advocates
for recreation. We were met by, I think it was, the Mazamas with
watermelons. One afternoon, they hiked them up I don't know how many
thousand feet to share with us. It was really a kind of Oregon-way
experience, because we all care deeply about the watersheds, the jobs,
the recreation, the beauty, the incredible piece of the world we live
in around Mt. Hood.
It is my home area. I grew up around the Hood River. This land
exchange has been a battle since the 1970s, in a sense, in that my
community long ago said: We don't want a lot of development up in this
Crystal Springs watershed and in this very pristine area around the
Hood River upper valley. It really belongs around the corner of Mt.
Hood, up in Government Camp where there already is development.
This fight has gone on for years; and all sides came together, as we
did in our legislation, and said: We agree. And so we said: Fine, we
will put that in the bill. They worked it out with the Forest Service
and everybody else, and then we said: Okay. They have done the heavy
lift for the last, I don't know, 30 years. Forest Service, you just
make this transfer and do it in 16 months. That is what the law said.
We are nearly 8 years later and this is still languishing; and,
unfortunately, we are back trying again, because we are never going to
quit until we are done. We are getting much closer.
In fact, the law we passed back in 2009, Public Law 111-11, deals
with this Public Lands Act. It said: ``Deadline for completion of land
exchange. It is the intent of the Congress that the land exchange under
this subsection shall be completed not later than 16 months after the
date of enactment of this Act.''
Again, that was back in 2009. It is important to protect this
watershed. It is important that where development occurs, it occurs in
the right places. We have always felt that way in Oregon. And, indeed,
facilitating this exchange resolves a decades-long controversy and puts
development where it belongs, protects a special area in the upper Hood
River Valley that needs protection, and finally brings certainty and
resolution.
I hope you all will come out and see it, or you can come over to the
Energy and Commerce Mt. Hood Room which soon will have a beautiful
photograph there of Mt. Hood at Lost Lake, and I encourage you to come
over. When you are tired of that, you can come over to the new Crater
Lake room in the Energy and Commerce Committee suites as well. I have
discovered being chairman of the full committee, you get to name
rooms--at least briefly during your tenure--and show off some of the
best aspects of your State.
With that, Mr. Speaker, thank you for bringing this to the floor. I
look forward to House passage, Senate passage, and getting this puppy
signed into law.
Mrs. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 699 clarifies the terms of the land exchange
between the Forest Service and Mt. Hood Meadows, a privately held ski
resort. The exchange was authorized by Congress in 2009, but due to
lack of clarity, here we are 7 years later and the exchange still has
not been executed.
Last year, the Forest Service and Mt. Hood Meadows engaged in
mediation to resolve the issues that have held up the exchange. This
bill is a result of that mediation, and its passage will ensure that,
after 7 long years, the exchange will finally move forward.
I want to thank the sponsors, Representative Walden and
Representative Blumenauer from Oregon, for their hard work and
commitment to resolving this issue.
Last year, this bill passed the House and Senate as part of S. 2012.
Given all the positive momentum this legislation has seen in recent
years, I hope that we can get this bill across the finish line as soon
as possible and finally complete the land exchange. I urge my
colleagues to support this bill.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. McCLINTOCK. Mr. Speaker, we have no further speakers and yet
another show of bipartisan comity.
Mr. Speaker, I ask for adoption of this measure.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from California (Mr. McClintock) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 699.
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. McCLINTOCK. 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.
____________________