[House Report 104-825]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



104th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     104-825
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                      CLARION RIVER, PENNSYLVANIA

                                _______
                                

 September 24, 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. 3568]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3568) to designate 51.7 miles of the Clarion River, 
located in Pennsylvania, as a component of the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of H.R. 3568 is to designate 51.7 miles of the 
Clarion River, located in Pennsylvania, as a component of the 
Wild and Scenic River System.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In 1992, Congress enacted Public Law 102-271 which 
designated portions of the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania 
under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and directed the U.S. 
Forest Service to study whether 92 miles of the Clarion River 
was appropriate for designation under that Act. In March 1996, 
the Forest Service completed the first step of the report. It 
found that 51.7 miles of the Clarion River met the criteria 
under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act for designation. 
Basically, this determination means that the river is free 
flowing and has at least one ``outstandingly remarkable'' 
feature as specified in the Act. In this case, the eligibility 
report found that the River had remarkable recreation and 
scenic values.
    About 60 percent of the River courses through Forest 
Service and State game lands and the balance is abutted by 
private property. The Forest Service found strong support for 
the designation as attested to by the proclamation issued by 
Pennsylvania Governor Tom Ridge designating June 1996 as 
``Clarion River Month.''
    H.R. 3155 designates those portions of the Clarion River as 
recreational or scenic under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 
accordance with the Forest Service report.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 3568 was introduced by Congressman William F. Clinger, 
Jr. (R-PA) on June 4, 1996. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands. The 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill on July 9, 1996, where 
the Administration testified in support. On September 18, 1996, 
after discharging the Subcommittee from further consideration 
of the bill, the Full Resources Committee met to mark up H.R. 
3568. No amendments were offered and the bill was ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by voice 
vote.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 3 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 
1274) is amended by adding a new paragraph at the end. The 
paragraph designates a 51.7 mile segment of the Clarion River, 
Pennsylvania, as a component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
system to be managed by the Secretary of the Interior.
    More specifically, the bill designates as a recreational 
river the 8.6 mile segment from the Allegheny National Forest/
State Game Lands Number 44 boundary to Portland Mills, and the 
26 mile segment from the Allegheny National Forest boundary 
located approximately .8 miles downstream from Irwin Run to 
Game Lands 283 boundary located approximately .9 miles 
downstream from the Cooksburg bridge. Designated as scenic 
rivers are the 8 mile segment from Portland Mills to the 
Allegheny National Forest boundary located approximately .8 
miles downstream from Irwin Run, and the 9.1 mile segment from 
the State Game Lands 283 boundary located approximately .9 
miles downstream from the Cooksburg bridge to an unnamed 
tributary at the backwaters of Piney Dam located approximately 
.6 miles downstream from Blyson Run.

            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)(l) 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. 3568 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. 3568. 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. 
3568 does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or 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. 3568.
    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. 
3568 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 20, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed H.R. 3568, a bill to designate 51.7 miles of the 
Clarion River, located in Pennsylvania, as a component of the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, as ordered reported by 
the House Committee in Resources on September 18, 1996. 
Enacting H.R. 3568 would not affect direct spending or 
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply 
to the bill.
    H.R. 3568 would amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 
include a 51.7 mile segment of the Clarion River in 
Pennsylvania, and would classify various portions of that 
segment as recreational or scenic rivers. The segment would be 
managed by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Based on 
information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates that 
administering the segment could increase the agency's 
discretionary spending for soil erosion control planning in 
advance of timber sales and other land uses potentially 
affecting water quality in the river, but that any such 
increase would be insignificant.
    H.R. 3568 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4) and would impose no significant costs on 
state, local, or tribal governments.
    If you wish further details on this statement, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state and 
local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    H.R. 3568 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, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

              SECTION 3 OF THE WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT

          * * * * * * *
    Sec. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent 
thereto are hereby designated as components of the national 
wild and scenic rivers system:
    (1) * * *
          * * * * * * *
    (  ) Clarion River, Pennsylvania.--The 51.7-mile segment of 
the main stem of the Clarion River from the Allegheny National 
Forest/State Game Lands Number 44 boundary, located 
approximately 0.7 miles downstream from the Ridgway Borough 
limit, to an unnamed tributary in the backwaters of Piney Dam 
approximately 0.6 miles downstream from Blyson Run, to be 
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in the following 
classifications:
          (A) The approximately 8.6-mile segment of the main 
        stem from the Allegheny National Forest/State Game 
        Lands Number 44 boundary, located approximately 0.7 
        miles downstream from the Ridgway Borough limit, to 
        Portland Mills, as a recreational river.
          (B) The approximately 8-mile segment of the main stem 
        from Portland Mills to the Allegheny National Forest 
        boundary, located approximately 0.8 miles downstream 
        from Irwin Run, as a scenic river.
          (c) The approximately 26-mile segment of the main 
        stem from the Allegheny National Forest boundary, 
        located approximately 0.8 miles downstream from Irwin 
        Run, to the State Game Lands 283 boundary, located 
        approximately 0.9 miles downstream from the Cooksburg 
        bridge, as a recreational river.
          (D) The approximately 9.1-mile segment of the main 
        stem from the State Game Lands 283 boundary, located 
        approximately 0.9 miles downstream from the Cooksburg 
        bridge, to an unnamed tributary at the backwaters of 
        Piney Dam, located approximately 0.6 miles downstream 
        from Blyson Run, as a scenic river.
          * * * * * * *