[House Report 104-709]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
104th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 104-709
_______________________________________________________________________
TO PROVIDE FOR DISPOSAL OF PUBLIC LANDS IN SUPPORT OF THE MANZANAR
HISTORIC SITE IN THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA
_______
July 26, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3006]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3006) to provide for disposal of public lands in support
of the Manzanar Historic Site in the State of California, and
for other purposes), having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendments (stated in terms of the page and line
numbers of the introduced bill) are as follows:
On page 7, line 17, strike ``(a)'' and insert ``(b)''.
On page 7, after line 21 add the following new section:
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL AREA.
Section 101 of Public Law 102-248 is amended by inserting
in subsection (b) after the second sentence ``The site shall
also include an additional area of approximately 300 acres as
demarcated as the new proposed boundaries in the map dated
March 8, 1996, entitled `Manzanar National Historic Site
Archaeological Base Map'.''
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to provide for disposal of public lands in support
of the Manzanar National Historic Site in the State of
California, and for other purposes.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 3006 is to dispose of 5,000 acres of
surplus Bureau of Land Management lands in California. The
surplusing of these lands will serve as a basis for an exchange
with Los Angeles Water and Power to facilitate the
establishment of Manzanar National Historic Site, and to
provide Inyo and Mono Counties with much needed development
opportunities.
Background and Need for Legislation
On March 4, 1931, the President signed Public Law 864,
Chapter 517, withdrawing certain public lands from settlement,
location, filing or disposal for the purposes of protecting the
watershed of the City of Los Angeles and other cities in
California. In its planning for the area, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) has identified about 5,000 acres which are
surplus to agency needs, and which the agency is proposing to
transfer to the counties of Inyo and Mono.
However, Section 204 of the Federal Land Management Policy
Act of 1976 prohibits the Secretary of the Interior from
modifying any withdrawal established pursuant to an Act of
Congress. Therefore, legislation is required to effect this
withdrawal.
In 1992, Congress authorized the establishment of Manzanar
National Historic Site. This new unit of the National Park
System was established to protect cultural resources associated
with the World War II era Japanese-American relocation camp
located in Inyo County. That Act specified that lands owned by
the State of California or any other political subdivision
could only be acquired by donation. All lands within the
historic site were owned by either the County of Inyo or Los
Angeles Water and Power, a subdivision of the State. Further,
Los Angeles Water and Power believes they have no authority to
donate lands to the Federal Government.
Therefore, the BLM has developed this legislative proposal
to dispose of surplus lands which could at the same time be
used for an exchange of lands within Manzanar National Historic
Site. Lands not used for exchange purposes would be available
for development in counties where a very high percentage of the
land is Federally owned.
Committee Action
H.R. 3006 was introduced on March 5, 1996, by Congressman
Jerry Lewis (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks, Forests and Lands. On May 9, 1996, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 3006. On June 13, 1996, the
Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 3006. The bill was adopted by
voice vote and then ordered favorably reported to the Full
Committee. On June 26, 1996, the Full Resources Committee met
to consider H.R. 3006. A technical amendment offered by
Congressman James V. Hansen (R-UT) was adopted by unanimous
consent. An amendment to add 300 acres to Manzanar was offered
by Congressman George Miller (D-CA) and adopted by voice vote.
The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported to
the House of Representatives by voice vote.
Section-by-Section Analysis
section 1. termination of withdrawals
Section 1(a) simply states the background of the current
situation as it relates to the establishment of Manzanar
National Historic Site. Manzanar National Historic Site,
created by Public Law 102-248, established a new unit of the
National Park System to provide for the preservation of the
site of the Manzanar relocation camp, one of the camps to which
Japanese-Americans were relocated during World War II. Public
Law 102-248 includes the standard language that any land owned
by the State of California, or any political subdivision
thereof, may only be acquired by donation or exchange. The
Bureau of Land Management has identified about 5000 acres of
land within the Bishop Resource Area which are appropriate for
exchange, but that exchange cannot be consummated except
pursuant to an Act of Congress. The 1931 Act of Congress
setting these lands aside for the protection of the City of Los
Angeles watershed must be repealed to make the lands available
for exchange.
Section 1(b) identities the specific lands on which the
withdrawal would be revoked.
Section 1(c) states that the lands identified in subsection
(b) would be open to the operation of the public land laws
after the Secretary of the Interior publishes a notice in the
Federal Register.
Section 2. Additional Area
Section 2 provides for an expansion of the existing park by
300 acres.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of Rule
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Inflationary Impact Statement
Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the
enactment of H.R. 3006 will have no significant inflationary
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national
economy.
Cost of the Legislation
Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out
H.R. 3006. However, clause 7(d) of that Rule provides that this
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
Compliance With House Rule XI
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R.
3006 does not contain any new budget authority, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3006.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R.
3006 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 23, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources, House of Representatives, Washington,
DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed H.R. 3006, a bill to provide for disposal of public
lands in support of the Manzanar National Historic Site in the
state of California, and for other purposes, as ordered
reported by the House Committee on Resources on June 26, 1996.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, we estimate
that the administrative costs of carrying out a land exchange
and a change in the Manzanar site's boundary, as required by
this bill, would total less than $100,000 over the next one or
two years. Other spending totaling over $5 million may occur as
a result of the bill's enactment, but some or all of this
spending might occur under current law and it would be subject
to appropriations action.
Enacting H.R. 3006 could affect direct spending by allowing
the sale of certain federal property in California. However,
any resulting offsetting receipts--estimated to be around $1
million over the next five years--would be considered
nonroutine asset sales. Because asset sales proceeds are not
counted in determining compliance with pay-as-you-go procedures
set forth in the Balanced Budget Act, those procedures would
not apply to the bill.
H.R. 3006 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in Public Law 104-4 and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
Bill purpose: H.R. 3006 would remove existing legal
restrictions on the use of over 5,600 acres of federal land in
California that had previously been withdrawn from settlement,
filing, or disposal. Such lands were withdrawn under
legislation enacted in 1931. Under H.R. 3006, this land--which
is managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)--would be
open to mining, mineral leasing, and disposal in accordance
with existing laws regarding the use of public lands. In
addition, the bill would add about 300 acres to the Manzanar
National Historic Site, which was established in 1992 by Public
Law 102-248 and is located on aboute 555 acres of land in Inyo
County, California.
Federal budgetary impact: Based on information provide by
federal and local officials, we expect that most of the 5,600
acres--which BLM has identified as surplus lands--would be
sold, used for exchange transactions, or conveyed to
surrounding counties for environmental projects. The Department
of the Interior would probably use some of the acreage to
complete a three-way land exchange among BLM, the National Park
Service (NPS), and the Los Angeles Department of Water and
Power (LADWP), which owns most of the land within the existing
boundary of the Manzanar National Historic Site as well as the
300 acres to be added by this bill. This exchange would enable
the NPS to acquire the historic site, which it is authorized to
do (by exchange or donation) under existing law but has not yet
been able to accomplish despite extensive negotiations. The
agency has conducted archaeological, environmental, and other
planning studies at the site under a cooperative agreement with
the LADWP but cannot further preserve or develop the property
while it remains in nonfederal ownership.
The costs of developing the historic site, including
expenses related to restoring or replacing historic buildings,
providing visitor facilities, and crating interpretive programs
and materials, would probably exceed $5 million, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts. However, some or all of
this spending might occur even in the absence of this
legislation (but at a much later date) if the NPS were to
eventually acquire the original 555-acre site through some
other exchange transaction or to interpret the site under
cooperative agreements.
As a result, CBO cannot estimate the likelihood or timing
of any change in federal costs for developing the historic
site. CBO estimates that initial costs related to carrying out
the land exchange and adding the 300 acres to the Manzanar
boundary would total less than $100,000 over the next one or
two years. The costs of developing and operating the added
acreage are not likely to be significant.
Most of acreage remaining in federal ownership after
completion of the Manzanar exchange probably would be held by
BLM for future land exchanges or conveyed to local government
agencies. Because of environmental and other local conditions,
CBO expects that only a small portion of the acreage would be
sold over the next five years. We estimate that such asset
sales would increase federal offsetting receipts by about $1
million over this period.
For purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 3006
will be enacted within the next few months and that any amounts
necessary to implement the bill would be appropriated as
needed. This estimate is based on information provided by BLM,
the NPS, the LADWP, and Inyo and Mono Counties, California.
If you with further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Victoria V.
Heid and Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
H.R. 3006 contains no unfunded mandates.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3 of rule XIII of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by the
bill, as reported, are shown as follows (new matter is printed
in italic and existing law in which no change is proposed is
shown in roman):
THE ACT OF MARCH 3, 1992
AN ACT To establish the Manzanar National Historic Site in the State of
California, and for other purposes.
TITLE I--MANZANAR NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE
SECTION 101. ESTABLISHMENT.
(a) * * *
(b) Area Included.--The site shall consist of approximately
500 acres of land as generally depicted on a map entitled ``Map
3--Alternative Plans--Manzanar Internment Camp'' numbered
80,002 and dated February 1989. Such map shall be on file and
available for public inspection in the appropriate offices of
the National Park Service, Department of the Interior. The site
shall also include an additional area of approximately 300
acres as demarcated as the new proposed boundaries in the map
dated March 8, 1996, entitled ``Manzanar National Historic Site
Archaeological Base Map''. The Secretary may from time to time
make minor revisions in the site boundaries.
* * * * * * *