[Senate Report 104-198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 302
104th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 1st Session                                                    104-198
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                          GRAND LAKE CEMETERY

                                _______


               December 22, 1995.--Ordered to be printed

_______________________________________________________________________


  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 509]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 509) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to enter into an appropriate form of agreement with 
the town of Grand Lake, Colorado, authorizing the town to 
maintain permanently a cemetery in the Rocky Mountain National 
Park, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon 
without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 509 is to authorize an agreement between 
the Secretary of the Interior and the Town of Grand Lake, 
Colorado, to authorize the town to maintain permanently a 
cemetery in Rocky Mountain National Park.

                          background and need

    When Rocky Mountain National Park was established in 1915, 
certain lands were withdrawn from the Arapaho National Forest. 
Included with these lands now within the park boundary is Grand 
Lake Cemetery. This cemetery has been in use since 1892. In 
1905, a Homestead application was submitted to the General Land 
Office for a tract of land that included the cemetery but the 
application was canceled in 1913 and never acted upon.
    There is no statutory authority conferring an explicit 
authorization for the cemetery's continued use and existence. 
Implied use has evolved from the date of the park's 
establishment to the present. The Bureau of Reclamation 
transferred twelve graves to the Grand Lake Cemetery as part of 
the Colorado-Big Thompson trans-mountain water diversion 
project in 1944 and the park has acknowledged this use through 
a series of agreements and special use permits over the years. 
However, a strict interpretation of National Park Service 
guidelines on special park uses states that a special use 
permit must not be granted unless the authority for allowing 
the action can be cited.
    The residents of Grand Lake maintain strong emotional and 
personal attachments to the cemetery and are concerned about 
its continued existence. The community has expressed a 
willingness to assume responsibility for permanent management 
of the cemetery. The current permit is due to expire in 1996. 
All parties have agreed that a more permanent solution is 
necessary in order to meet park resource preservation 
requirements and community needs. The provisions in S. 509 
represent the work of the National Park Service and Grand Lake 
representatives to permanently resolve the issue.
    If enacted, S. 509 would direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to enter into an agreement with the town of Grand Lake 
authorizing the town to maintain the cemetery on a permanent 
basis. It also establishes the boundaries of the cemetery, 
which will be slightly expanded to encompass a total of 
approximately 5 acres. Title to the cemetery will not be 
conveyed to the town of Grand Lake, but will remain with the 
National Park Service.

                          legislative history

    S. 509 was introduced by Senators Campbell and Brown on 
March 2, 1995. The Subcommittee on Parks, Historic 
Preservation, and Recreation held a hearing on S. 509 on 
November 9, 1995.
    At the business meeting on December 6, 1995, the Committee 
on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 509 favorably 
reported.

           committee recommendations and tabulation of votes

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on December 6, 1995, by a unanimous voice vote 
of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 509 
without amendment.

                           summary of s. 509

    Subsection 1(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior (the 
``Secretary''), within 6 months of enactment of this Act, to 
enter into an agreement with the town of Grand Lake to 
authorize the town to maintain permanently a cemetery within 
the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park.
    Subsection (b) states that the cemetery shall be 
approximately 5 acres in size and provides a map reference.
    Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to make the map 
available for public inspection.
    Subsection (d) states that the cemetery shall not be 
extended beyond the boundaries shown on the map described in 
subsection (b).

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, December 12, 1995.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
reviewed S. 509, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to enter into an appropriate form of agreement with 
the town of Grand Lake, Colorado, authorizing the town to 
maintain permanently a cemetery in the Rocky Mountain National 
Park. S. 509 was ordered reported by the Senate Committee on 
Energy and Natural Resources on December 6, 1995. CBO estimates 
that implementing the bill would have no significant impact on 
the budgets of federal, state, or local agencies. Enacting S. 
509 would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
    S. 509 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
execute (within six months of the bill's enactment) an 
agreement authorizing the town of Grand Lake, Colorado to 
maintain permanently a five-acre cemetery within the boundaries 
of Rocky Mountain National Park.
    At present, the Grand Lake Cemetery is operated and 
maintained by the town under a special use permit issued by the 
National Park Service (NPS), which is scheduled to expire in 
1996. Once an agreement is executed pursuant to S. 509, Grand 
Lake would continue to maintain the cemetery and would also 
assume responsibility for maintenance of certain roads within 
the site, an activity that currently costs the NPS less than 
$5,000 annually.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah S. 
Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 509. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 509, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources has requested 
legislative reports from the Department of the Interior and the 
Office of Management and Budget setting forth Executive agency 
recommendations on S. 509. These reports had not been received 
at the time of the report on S. 509 was filed. When these 
reports become available, the Chairman will request that they 
be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the 
Senate. The testimony provided by the Department of the 
Interior at the November 9, 1995 hearing follows:

   Testimony of Denis P. Galvin, Associate Director for Professional 
       Service, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, it is a pleasure to be here today to discuss 
several bills that will benefit Rocky Mountain National Park 
and Walnut Canyon National Monument. I also am pleased to be 
here to testify on a bill that would create the New Bedford 
Whaling National Historical Park in New Bedford, Massachusetts.
    The Administration supports S. 364, S. 509, S231, H.R. 562, 
and S. 608. Although we believe that S. 342 may have merit, we 
prefer this legislation be deferred until further study has 
been completed.
    I will address each bill separately beginning with the 
three bills affecting Rocky Mountain National Park.
          * * * * *


      s. 509, rocky mountain national park grand lake cemetery act


    The National Park Service strongly supports this bill. This 
bill would address a need that Rocky Mountain National Park and 
citizens of Grand Lake, Colorado, have been working on for more 
than forty years. During the last two years, officials of the 
NPS and Grand Lake and local citizens have negotiated in good 
faith to resolve this issue and all parties are supporting S. 
509.
    This bill would allow the National Park Service to enter 
into an agreement with the Town of Grand Lake to authorize the 
continued use of an existing cemetery that is located within 
the boundary of the park, on lands zoned by Grand County for 
such use.
    The Grand Lake cemetery has been in existence since 1892. 
It predates the establishment of Rock Mountain National Park in 
1915. The current cemetery contains 4.24 acres, and its 
continued use has been authorized by Special Use Permit. The 
current Special Use Permit will expire in 1996. In order to 
avoid future uncertainty and time-consuming negotiations, park 
staff and local officials are anxious to achieve a permanent 
solution to this matter.
    A draft agreement between the NPS and local officials would 
stipulate that the maximum size of the cemetery will be 
approximately 5 acres. The park will agree to allow the 
cemetery to expand slightly within the existing loop road in 
return for less land available for burials outside the road.
    The permit also would contain provisions that would be 
designed to protect natural resources and the visitor 
experience within the park, and will transfer the 
responsibility for on-going maintenance of the cemetery and the 
access road to the Town of Grand Lake. The land will continue 
to be the property of the United States, and the agreement will 
only grant the authorization for cemetery use and access.
    Benefits to Rocky Mountain National Park include reduced 
maintenance costs, final resolution to this sensitive issue, 
continued cooperation and goodwill with the community of Grand 
Lake, and recognition of the cemetery's historic and emotional 
significance to area residents.
    The primary benefits to the Town of Grand Lake include a 
certain future for the cemetery, a substantial cost saving for 
land, and final resolution of a vexing concern.
    The agreement also would require the Town of Grand Lake to 
acquire a second cemetery outside the boundaries of Rocky 
Mountain National Park within ten years to preclude enlargement 
of the existing cemetery beyond the boundaries of the 
agreement. The establishment of a second cemetery will protect 
the resources of Rocky Mountain National Park.
          * * * * *

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the Act S. 509, as ordered 
reported.