[House Report 105-673]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



105th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 2d Session                                                     105-673
_______________________________________________________________________


 
                  SPANISH PEAKS WILDERNESS ACT OF 1997
_______________________________________________________________________


 August 4, 1998.--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. 1865]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 1865) to designate certain lands in the San Isabel 
National Forest, in Colorado, as the Spanish Peaks Wilderness, 
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. 1865 is to designate certain lands in 
the San Isabel National Forest, in Colorado, as the Spanish 
Peaks Wilderness.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    In the 1970s, the Spanish Peaks area was reviewed for 
possible wilderness designation, and the 1980 Colorado 
Wilderness Act provided for its continued management as a 
wilderness study area. In 1992, the House of Representatives 
passed a bill to designate the Spanish Peaks and other areas as 
wilderness. However, the final Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 
instead provided only for continued management of the Spanish 
Peaks as a wilderness study area for three years, and directed 
the Forest Service to report on the extent of non-federal 
holdings in the area and the likelihood of their acquisition by 
the United States with the owners' consent.
    H.R. 1865 would designate as wilderness about 18,000 acres 
of Spanish Peaks. The boundaries of the proposed wilderness 
have been drawn to exclude most of the remaining non-federal 
interests in the area. The proposed wilderness is entirely a 
headwaters area, as are all of the areas designated as 
wilderness by the 1993 Act. H.R. 1865 would simply amend the 
1993 Act to add Spanish Peaks to the list of areas designated 
as wilderness. Thus, all the provisions of the 1993 Act, 
including those related to water, would apply to the Spanish 
Peaks area in the same way as the other listed wilderness 
areas. H.R. 1865 would also repeal the section of the 1993 Act 
that provided for management of the Spanish Peaks as a 
wilderness study area.

                            Committee Action

    H.R. 1865 was introduced on June 11, 1997, by Congressman 
David E. Skaggs (D-CO) and cosponsor Congressman Scott McInnis 
(R-CO). The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, 
and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Forests and 
Forest Health. On April 28, 1998, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on H.R. 1865, where the Administration testified in 
support of H.R. 1865. On May 7, 1998, the Subcommittee met to 
mark up H.R. 1865. No amendments were offered and the bill was 
ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee by voice vote. 
On May 20, 1998, the Full Resources Committee met to consider 
H.R. 1865. No amendments were offered and the bill was 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 I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority 
to enact H.R. 1865.

                        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. 1865. 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. 
1865 does not contain any new budget authority, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in tax expenditures. 
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of H.R. 
1865 could affect direct spending as a result of foregone 
receipts, but any such effect would be insignificant.
    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. 1865.
    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. 
1865 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 29, 1998.
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. 1865, the Spanish 
Peaks Wilderness Act of 1997.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. 
Heid.
            Sincerely,
                                         June E. O'Neill, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1865--Spanish Peaks Wilderness Act of 1997

    H.R. 1865 would amend the Colorado Wilderness Act of 1993 
(Public Law 103-77) by designating about 18,000 acres of 
federal land within the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado 
as the Spanish Peaks Wilderness. The land is managed as a 
wilderness study area under current law.
    CBO estimates that enacting this bill would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Because H.R. 1865 
could affect direct spending as a result of potential forgone 
receipts, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply; however, we 
estimate that any such effect would be insignificant. This bill 
would impose no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no 
significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact is Victoria V. Heid. This estimate 
was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director 
for Budget Analysis.

         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 (existing law proposed 
to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 
printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed 
is shown in roman):

COLORADO WILDERNESS ACT OF 1993

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 2. ADDITIONS TO THE WILDERNESS PRESERVATION SYSTEM.

  (a) Additions.--The following lands in the State of Colorado 
are hereby designated as wilderness and, therefore, as 
components of the National Wilderness Preservation System:
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (20) Certain lands in the San Isabel National Forest 
        which comprise approximately 18,000 acres, as generally 
        depicted on a map entitled ``Proposed Spanish Peaks 
        Wilderness'', dated May 1997, and which shall be known 
        as the Spanish Peaks Wilderness.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


[SEC. 10. SPANISH PEAKS PLANNING AREA STUDY.

  [(a) Report.--Not later than three years from the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall report to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the United States House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the United States Senate on the status of private 
property interests located within the Spanish Peaks planning 
area of the San Isabel National Forest in Colorado, as 
generally depicted on a map entitled ``Spanish Peaks Further 
Planning Area Study'', dated January, 1993.
  [(b) Contents of Report.--The report required by this section 
shall identify the location of all private property situated 
within the exterior boundaries of the Spanish Peaks planning 
area; the nature of such property interests; the acreage of 
such private property interests; and the Secretary's views on 
whether the owners of said properties would be willing to enter 
into either a sale or exchange of these properties at fair 
market value if such a transaction became available in the near 
future.
  [(c) No Authorization of Eminent Domain.--Nothing contained 
in this Act authorizes, and nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to authorize, the acquisition of real property by 
eminent domain.
  [(d) Management.--Notwithstanding the provisions of section 
4(a) of this Act, for a period of three years from the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall manage the Spanish 
Peaks planning area as provided by section 105(c) of Public Law 
96-560.]

SEC. [11.] 10. PUMPING PLANT NAME CHANGE.

  The facility of the Bureau of Reclamation, Department of the 
Interior, known as the Granby Pumping Plant of the Colorado Big 
Thompson Project, in the State of Colorado, shall hereafter be 
known as the Farr Pumping Plant. Any reference to the Granby 
Pumping Plant in any law, regulation, map, document, record, or 
other paper of the United States shall be considered to be a 
reference to the Farr Pumping Plant.

                                
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