[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8310-8311]
[From the U.S. 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.

[[Page 8311]]

  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 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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