[House Report 105-166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 1st Session                                                    105-166
_______________________________________________________________________


 
     BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND CONVEYANCE, GRANTS PASS, OREGON

                                _______
                                

  July 8, 1997.--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. 1198]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1198) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
certain land to the City of Grants Pass, Oregon, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE OF BLM LAND TO GRANTS PASS, OREGON.

    (a) Conveyance Required.--The Secretary of the Interior shall 
promptly convey to the City of Grants Pass, Oregon (in this section 
referred to as the ``City''), without monetary compensation, all right, 
title, and interest of the United States in and to the real property 
described in subsection (b).
    (b) Property Described.--
          (1) In general.--The real property referred to in subsection 
        (a) is that parcel of land depicted on the map entitled 
        ``Merlin Landfill Map'' and dated June 20, 1997, consisting 
        of--
                  (A) approximately 200 acres of Bureau of Land 
                Management land on which the City has operated a 
                landfill under lease; and
                  (B) approximately 120 acres of Bureau of Land 
                Management land that are adjacent to the land described 
                in subparagraph (A).
          (2) Determination by secretary.--The Secretary of the 
        Interior may determine more particularly the real property 
        described in paragraph (1).
    (c) Consideration.--As consideration for the conveyance under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall require the City to agree to 
indemnify the Government of the United States for all liability of the 
Government that arises from the property.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 1198 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain land to the City of Grants Pass, 
Oregon.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 1198 directs the Secretary of Interior to convey 
certain land to the City of Grants Pass, Oregon. This bill 
would convey 320 acres of real property located in the county 
of Josephine, Oregon, and currently managed by the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) to the City of Grants Pass, Oregon. The 
320 acres has been leased by the City since 1968 as a solid 
waste landfill facility known as the Merlin Landfill. The BLM 
lease will expire on April 14, 2000, and will not be extended 
by the BLM.
    The Merlin Landfill has been shown to have released 
hazardous substances which have been detected in the 
groundwater beyond the boundary of the leasehold. Because the 
release of the chemicals occurred on federal lands, the 
Comprehensive Environmental Response Compensation and Liability 
Act required that this landfill site be evaluated for listing 
on the National Priorities List (NPL). The evaluation showed 
that the contamination of this site was not significant enough 
to be placed on the NPL; however, the site still must be 
cleaned up.
    This situation has caused some unique problems for the 
City. Since the site is on federal land it must be cleaned up 
by the BLM, if the City does not agree to perform this 
function. However, if the BLM were to complete the cleanup, the 
current landfill operation would be suspended, forcing the City 
to find an alternate landfill site. Furthermore, the 
substantial BLM cleanup costs would be passed on to each of the 
contributors to the landfill, including the local residents, 
businesses, and the City. The City cannot realistically afford 
the total costs of both cleanup and probable litigation with 
the BLM. These were the key reasons why the City agreed to 
clean up the landfill site and operate it in a manner that 
would generate the necessary funds to pay for the cleanup 
effort while working toward compliance of applicable law, 
including post-closure requirements.
    The City has been working with the BLM and the Oregon 
Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) to accomplish the 
cleanup since 1991. All of these entities have worked hard to 
achieve major changes at the landfill site and bring it into 
compliance with applicable law. In fact, the City has already 
spent over $1.7 million on the cleanup effort, including the 
installation of an alternate water supply for adjacent 
landowners, design and implementation of a groundwater recovery 
system, complete hydrological and geological assessments and 
evaluations of remedial alternatives. The City's cleanup effort 
has resulted in the ODEQ issuing a Consent Order for this 
landfill site with a finding that compliance of the provisions 
of the Consent Order constitute compliance with applicable law.
    A unique aspect of this land conveyance is that the City is 
willing to accept all future responsibility and liability for 
the release of the hazardous substances which may arise from 
the property. The bill specifically requires the City to 
indemnify and hold harmless the United States Government from 
any future liability after title is secured from the BLM.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1198 was introduced on March 20, 1997, by Congressman 
Robert Smith (R-OR). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
National Parks and Public Lands. On May 20, 1997, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 1198, where W. Hord Tipton, 
Assistant Director of Mines and Minerals for the Bureau of Land 
Management, testified in support of H.R. 1198. On June 19, 
1997, the Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 1198. No amendments 
were offered, and the bill was then ordered favorably reported 
to the Full Committee. On June 25, 1997, the Full Resources 
Committee met to consider H.R. 1198. A technical amendment was 
offered by Congressman Smith which provided the date and title 
of the map in the property description of the bill; the 
amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was 
then ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by voice vote.

            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.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article IV, section 3 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact H.R. 1198.

                        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. 1198. 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. 
1198 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. 1198.
    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. 
1198 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, July 3, 1997.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1198, a bill to 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land to 
the city of Grants Pass, Oregon.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Victoria V. 
Heid (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state 
and local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                          Paul Van de Water
                                   (For June E. O'Neill, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1198--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
        certain land to the city of Grants Pass, Oregon

    H.R. 1198 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey to the city of Grants Pass, Oregon, about 320 acres of 
federal land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). 
CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no significant 
impact on the federal budget. H.R. 1198 would not affect direct 
spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
not apply.
    The city currently leases the land to be conveyed and 
operates a solid waste landfill on about 200 acres of land. The 
city's lease is scheduled to expire in 2000, and BLM is 
unlikely to extend the lease. Because the city pays no fees for 
the lease, conveyance of the land would not result in a loss of 
receipts to the federal government.
    The landfill, which Grants Pass has leased from BLM since 
1968, has released contaminants that will require cleanup by 
the city. The bill provides that, as consideration for the 
conveyance, the city must indemnify the federal government for 
all liability that may arise from the property. Thus, enacting 
the bill would eliminate the possibility that the federal 
government would incur future costs for cleaning up the 
landfill. It is also unlikely that the federal government would 
incur any significant costs under current law because the city 
is already undertaking a cleanup effort. Thus, the bill might 
result in savings to the federal government, but any such 
savings are unlikely to be significant.
    H.R. 1198 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments. Enacting this bill would benefit the city of 
Grants Pass by allowing it to operate the landfill on this site 
after expiration of the lease and so generate additional 
revenue. According to city officials, the city needs this 
additional revenue to offset the cost of cleaning up hazardous 
substances released by the landfill. Because the city has 
already agreed to pay for cleaning up the site, the requirement 
that the city indemnify the federal government for all 
liability that may arise from the property would probably not 
result in additional spending. The city would not be required 
to offer any other compensation to the federal government.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Victoria V. 
Heid (for federal costs), and Majorie Miller (for the state and 
local impact). This estimate was approved by Robert A. 
Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

     H.R. 1198 contains no unfunded mandates.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, H.R. 1198 would make no changes in existing 
law.


                                APPENDIX

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