[House Report 106-468]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    106-468

=======================================================================



 
 TO PROHIBIT OIL AND GAS DRILLING IN MOSQUITO CREEK LAKE IN CORTLAND, 
                                  OHIO

                                _______
                                

 November 15, 1999.--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. 2818]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2818) to prohibit oil and gas drilling in Mosquito Creek 
Lake in Cortland, Ohio, 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. 2818 is to prohibit oil and gas 
drilling on federal mineral rights beneath Mosquito Creek Lake 
in Cortland, Ohio.

                  background and need for legislation

    H.R. 2818 reflects the concerns of some of residents of 
Trumbull County, Ohio, regarding a proposal for oil and gas 
development of the mineral rights beneath a U.S. Army Corps of 
Engineers-administered project known as Mosquito Creek Lake. 
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM) field office in 
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, concurrently prepared a planning analysis 
and environmental analysis preparatory to a decision whether to 
lease approximately 11,100 acres of mineral estate acquired by 
the federal government when the Corps impounded this drainage 
basin, creating a reservoir about one-mile wide and nine miles 
long.
    The BLM, as the lessor of mineral rights on public domain 
and federal acquired mineral interests, has sought and obtained 
surface owner consent from the Corps with stipulations 
developed in the planning and environmental analyses, including 
a ``no surface occupancy'' clause. In other words, to access 
the federal minerals a successful bidder for the tract (should 
it be leased) would have to directionally drill from private 
lands nearby outside a buffer zone surrounding the lake. 
Standard regulatory requirements of the BLM (commonly known as 
``Onshore Oil and Gas Orders'') would be imposed, as well as 
site-specific requirements for abatement of environmental 
impacts examined in the planning and environmental analyses. 
BLM was aided by studies conducted by the U.S. Geological 
Survey and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. 
Furthermore, Youngstown State University researchers also 
studied possible impacts from oil and gas development, 
concluding that other factors affecting Mosquito Creek Lake 
water quality pose more serious concerns than the leasing 
proposal.
    Local opposition to the BLM proposal remains strong, 
primarily because of concerns about spills and contaminant 
discharges from drilling upon surface and groundwater 
resources. Nevertheless, the BLM is considering an oil and gas 
lease sale for these tracts as early as December, 1999. The 
need for the legislation stems from the Administration's 
unwillingness to publically announce that a lease sale will not 
occur for these lands.

                            committee action

    H.R. 2818 was introduced on September 8, 1999, by 
Congressman James A. Traficant, Jr. (D-OH). The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources. 
On October 21, 1999, the Subcommittee held a legislative 
hearing on the bill hearing testimony from Congressman 
Traficant; the Honorable Melissa Long, a member of the Cortland 
City Council, Cortland, Ohio; Ms. Gwen Mason, Associate State 
Director, Eastern States Office of the U.S. Bureau of Land 
Management; General Hans Van Winkle, Deputy Commander for Civil 
Works, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers; and Mr. Tom Stewart, 
Executive Vice President of the Ohio Oil and Gas Association. 
In addition, Mr. Samuel Speck,Director of the Ohio Department 
of Natural Resources submitted written testimony on H.R. 2818. Mr. 
Traficant and Ms. Long supported the legislation, while all other 
witnesses opposed the need for this bill. On October 27, 1999, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on 
Energy and Mineral Resources was discharged from further consideration 
of the measure by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and 
the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives 
by voice vote.

                      section-by-section analysis

    H.R. 2818 has but one section, which is a simple provision 
barring the commencement of drilling to extract oil or gas from 
lands beneath the impoundment. Additionally, the bill directs 
the Attorney General to enforce this prohibition.
    H.R. 2818 does not bar the BLM from its proposed lease sale 
of tracts beneath Mosquito Creek Lake, per se, and if the bill 
were to be enacted before BLM held such a sale, presumably 
whatever bidding interest now exists would be virtually 
extinguished. However, the Committee believes that if the bill 
were to become law subsequent to the issuance of oil and gas 
leases, serious questions as to a taking of private property 
would arise, given the contractual lease rights of lessees to 
develop that which they have successfully bid upon.

            committee oversight findings and recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII 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 this bill.

                    compliance with house rule xiii

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
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 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax 
expenditures. Enactment of this bill, according to the 
Congressional Budget Office, could reduce offsetting receipts.
    3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause 
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, November 10, 1999.
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. 2818, a bill to 
prohibit oil and gas drilling in Mosquito Creek Lake in 
Cortland, Ohio.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan 
Carroll (for federal costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state 
and local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2818--A bill to prohibit oil and gas drilling in Mosquito Creek 
        Lake in Cortland, Ohio

    CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 2818 would reduce 
offsetting receipts by about $125,000 over the 2000-2004 
period. Because the bill would affect offsetting receipts (a 
form of direct spending), pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. 
H.R. 2818 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 
Counties in Ohio would lose about $75,000 per year if this bill 
is enacted. The bill would impose no costs on other state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    H.R. 2818 would prohibit drilling to extract oil or gas 
from lands beneath waters under the jurisdiction of the United 
States in Mosquito Creek Lake in Cortland, Ohio. Under current 
law, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is likely to lease 
approximately 11,100 acres of the mineral estate under the lake 
for oil and gas development. Based on information from BLM, we 
estimate that leasing this land will generate annual receipts 
of about $100,000 starting in fiscal year 2000. State and local 
governments would receive 75 percent of such receipts. 
Therefore, we estimate that enacting H.R. 2818 would reduce net 
offsetting receipts to the government by about $25,000 a year 
starting in 2000.
    The CBO staff contacts are Megan Carroll (for federal 
costs), and Marjorie Miller (for the state and local impact). 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                preemption of state, local or tribal law

    This bill is not intended to preempt State, local or tribal 
law.

                        changes in existing law

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                

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