[Senate Report 105-231]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 445
105th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE

 2d Session                                                     105-231
_______________________________________________________________________


 
           TAHOE NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA, LAND CONVEYANCE

                                _______
                                

                 June 26, 1998.--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 H.R. 1439]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 1439) to facilitate the sale of certain 
land in Tahoe National Forest in the State of California to 
Placer County, California, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act 
do pass.

                         purpose of the measure

    H.R. 1439, as ordered reported, would facilitate the sale 
of 35 acres of land, on the Tahoe National Forest, in Squaw 
Valley, California, to Placer County. In return, the county 
would pay an amount equal to the fair market value of the 
property.

                          background and need

    H.R. 1439 would allow Placer County to create a community 
park in Squaw Valley, California. There is substantial 
community support for this proposal. The Placer County Parks 
Commission has allocated $250,000 for acquisition and 
development of the park. Currently, there are no public parks 
in Squaw Valley and the nearest park facility is approximately 
ten miles away.

                          legislative history

    On June 3, 1997, H.R. 1439 passed the House of 
Representatives by a voice vote. The Subcommittee on Forests 
and Public Land Management held a hearing on March 25, 1998. At 
the Business Meeting on May 13, 1998, the Committee on Energy 
and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1439 favorably reported.

            committee recommendation and tabulation of votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on May 13, 1998, by unanimous vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1439 
without amendment.
    The rollcall vote on reporting the measure was 20 yeas, no 
nays as follows:
        YEAS                          NAYS
Mr. Murkowski
Mr. Domenici
Mr. Nickles
Mr. Craig
Mr. Campbell
Mr. Thomas
Mr. Kyl
Mr. Grams \1\
Mr. Smith
Mr. Gorton
Mr. Burns \1\
Mr. Bumpers
Mr. Ford
Mr. Bingaman
Mr. Akaka
Mr. Dorgan \1\
Mr. Graham \1\
Mr. Wyden
Mr. Johnson
Ms. Landrieu

    \1\ Indicates vote by proxy.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1(a) authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to 
sell to Placer County, California, all right, title, and 
interest of the United States in and to a parcel of real 
property. This section describes the parcel as approximately 35 
acres located on the Tahoe National Forest, California, to 
permit the County to create a community park in Squaw Valley.
    Subsection (b) further describes the parcel to be conveyed 
under subsection (a) as generally depicted on a map entitled 
Placer County Conveyance, dated April 1997 and contains 
standard language concerning the filing of maps.
    Subsection (c) states that, as consideration for the 
conveyance under subsection (a), the County shall pay to the 
United States an amount equal to the fair market value of the 
conveyed parcel in accordance with the document entitled 
``Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions 
(1992).'' This subsection further states that the proceeds from 
the sale and any expenditures of funds will be in accordance 
with the Public Law 90-171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known as 
the Sisk Act).
    Subsection (d) requires the county, as a condition of the 
conveyance, to provide for continuation of any existing non-
Federal improvements or uses.
    Subsection (e) states that the Secretary may require 
additional terms and conditions in connection with the 
conveyance under subsection (a) as appropriate.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The cost and budgetary considerations prepared by the 
Congressional Budget Office are as follows:

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                      Washington, DC, May 14, 1998.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, 
        Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1439, an act to 
facilitate the sale of certain land in Tahoe National Forest in 
the state of California to Placer County, California.
    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 A. Miller (for the state 
and local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                          June E. O'Neil, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1439--An Act To Facilitate the Sale of Certain Land in Tahoe 
        National Forest in the State of California to Placer County, 
        California

    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 1439 
would not affect direct spending or receipts relative to 
current law; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 
H.R. 1430 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.
    H.R. 1439 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 
sell about 35 acres of federal land in Tahoe National Forest to 
Placer County, California. The act would require Placer County 
to pay any survey costs incurred in the transaction.
    According to the Forest Service, the Secretary already has 
authority to sell this land under current law (7 U.S.C. 1012a 
and 16 U.S.C. 484a). Therefore, CBO estimates that this 
legislation would not result in any additional receipts to the 
federal government. H.R. 1439 provides that proceeds from the 
sale be deposited in an existing special fund in the Treasury, 
which is available to the Secretary of Agriculture, subject to 
appropriation, for land acquisition in the same state.
    The transaction authorized by this act would be voluntary 
on the part of Placer County. Should the county decide to 
purchase the land, it would pay fair market value for the land, 
probably about $350,000, and any survey costs. The survey costs 
would not be significant. The county has also budgeted about 
$250,000 for construction of a park on this property.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Victoria V. 
Heid (for federal costs), who can be reached at 226-2860, and 
Marjorie A. Miller (for the state and local impact), who can be 
reached at 225-3220. This estimate was approved by Robert A. 
Sunshine, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

    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 H.R. 1439.

                        executive communications

    On April 23, 1998, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested executive comment from the Department of 
Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget on H.R. 
1439. These legislative reports were not available at the time 
this report was filed. When the requested 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 Forest Service at the Subcommittee 
hearing follows:

     Statement of Eleanor Towns, Forest Service U.S. Department of 
                              Agriculture

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to present the Administration's view on these 
ten bills proposing the transfer, conveyance, exchange, 
boundary adjustment, sale of public lands and management of 
wilderness. I am Eleanor Towns, the Director of Lands for the 
Forest Service.
    Before I address each bill individually, let me summarize 
the Administration's position on all ten: The Administration 
supports: S. 1109, the Devil's Backbone Boundary Adjustment, S. 
1752, the Authority to Convey Administrative Sites in Arizona, 
and H.R. 1439, Conveyance of Lands to Placer County. The 
Administration would support with amendments: S. 890, Dutch 
John Conveyances; S. 1510, Conveyance of Lands and Improvements 
to Rio Arriba County; S. 1683, Land Transfer between Lake 
Chelan National Recreation Area and the Wenatchee National 
Forest; and S. 1719, Big Sky Land Exchange. The Administration 
objects to: S. 1468, Conveyance of Lands to Jemez Springs; and 
S. 1469, Expansion of El Rito Cemetery by Special Use 
Designation. The Administration opposes H.R. 1663, Operation 
and Maintenance of Structures in Emigrant Wilderness.
    Now, I will address the particulars of each bill.
    S. 1109, to make minor adjustment in the exterior boundary 
of the Devil's Backbone Wilderness in the Mark Twain National 
Forest, Missouri, to exclude a small parcel of land containing 
improvements.
    The Administration recommends enactment of S. 1109 to 
exclude approximately two acres in Ozark county, Missouri from 
the wilderness and to modify the exterior boundary of the 
Devil's Backbone Wilderness.
    S. 1109 would make a small adjustment to the exterior 
boundary of the Devil's Backbone Wilderness in the Mark Twain 
National Forest to exclude ``approximately two acres in Ozark 
County, Missouri.'' A 1995 property line survey revealed a 
survey error over 100 years old. The new survey indicated that 
a portion of the building and improvements of an adjacent 
landowner are in trespass on National Forest System lands 
within the Devil's Backbone Wilderness.
    This inadvertent trespass cannot be resolved because the 
Wilderness Act prohibits conveyances within Wilderness 
boundaries. A boundary adjustment will allow the landowner to 
acquire the encroached upon property at fair market value and 
clear title to their full property. It was not the intent of 
Congress or the Forest Service to include these privately 
owned, man-made improvements within the Wilderness. Had the 
survey been available prior to passage of the Act designating 
the Devil's Backbone Wilderness, the trespass would have been 
resolved and the two acres around these improvements (which 
predate the Wilderness) would have been excluded from the 
Wilderness.
    The Administration supports S. 1109.
    S. 1752, Convey certain administrative sites and use the 
proceeds for acquisition of office sites and the acquisition, 
construction, or improvement of offices and support buildings 
for the Coconino, Kaibab, Prescott and Tonto National Forests 
in the State of Arizona.
    S. 1752 would provide for the conveyance a total of six 
administrative sites, on four National Forests in Arizona. The 
fair market compensation received through sale or exchange 
transactions is authorized to be used for the acquisition of 
office sites and the acquisition, construction, or improvement 
of offices and support buildings for National Forests in 
Arizona consistent with all applicable laws.
    Several Administrative sites in the State of Arizona no 
longer provide effective public services. District offices that 
were once on the perimeter of communities are now in the middle 
of residential or commercial districts, not easily located by 
visitors. Other units have identified a need to collocated 
services and improve efficiencies. Our analysis indicates that 
six sites in the state of Arizona totaling approximately 560 
acres could be effectively used in the private sector.
    S. 1752 would allow the Forest Service to offer sites and 
existing improvements to the private sector in equal value 
exchange for replacement or improved facilities. These isolated 
parcels would be returned to private use and operations and 
costs could be streamlined.
    Mr. Chairman, we support this legislation without 
amendment. We want to recognize and express our appreciation to 
Senator Kyl and his staff who have worked with the local 
communities and National Forests to develop this legislation.
    H.R. 1439, The sale of 35 acres from the Tahoe National 
Forest to Placer County, California.
    H.R. 1439 authorizes the sale of 35 acres of the Tahoe 
National Forest to Placer County for a community park. The bill 
provides for compensation to the United States for the land at 
fair market value.
    The Administration supports this bill. This conveyance has 
been under discussion for a number of years, but the County was 
unable to acquire equal value lands appropriate for the Forest 
Service to acquire. The bill was amended in the House at our 
request to allow the funds generated by the sale of land to be 
available for future land acquisition in the State of 
California. Also, this bill is consistent with a negotiated 
agreement between the National Forest and Placer County for 
sale of these lands at fair market value under the authority of 
the Townsite Act.

                        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 H.S. 1439, as 
ordered reported.

                                
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