[House Report 106-699]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-699

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



 
         CONVEYANCE OF LANDS TO THE GREATER YUMA PORT AUTHORITY

                                _______
                                

 June 26, 2000.--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. 3023]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 3023) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
through the Bureau of Reclamation, to convey property to the 
Greater Yuma Port Authority of Yuma County, Arizona, for use as 
an international port of entry, 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 LANDS TO THE GREATER YUMA PORT AUTHORITY.

  (a) Authority To Convey.--
          (1) In general.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting 
        through the Bureau of Reclamation, may, in the 5-year period 
        beginning on the date of the enactment of this Act and in 
        accordance with the conditions specified in subsection (b) 
        convey to the Greater Yuma Port Authority the interests 
        described in paragraph (2).
          (2) Interests described.--The interests referred to in 
        paragraph (1) are the following:
                  (A) All right, title, and interest of the United 
                States in and to the lands comprising Section 23, 
                Township 11 South, Range 24 West, G&SRBM, Lots 1-4, 
                NE\1/4\, N\1/2\ NW\1/4\, excluding lands located within 
                the 60-foot border strip, in Yuma County, Arizona.
                  (B) All right, title, and interest of the United 
                States in and to the lands comprising Section 22, 
                Township 11 South, Range 24 West, G&SRBM, East 300 feet 
                of Lot 1, excluding lands located within the 60-foot 
                border strip, in Yuma County, Arizona.
                  (C) All right, title, and interest of the United 
                States in and to the lands comprising Section 24, 
                Township 11 South, Range 24 West, G&SRBM, West 300 
                feet, excluding lands in the 60-foot border strip, in 
                Yuma County, Arizona.
                  (D) All right, title, and interest of the United 
                States in and to the lands comprising the East 300 feet 
                of the Southeast Quarter of Section 15, Township 11 
                South, Range 24 West, G&SRBM, in Yuma County, Arizona.
                  (E) The right to use lands in the 60-foot border 
                strip excluded under subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C), 
                for ingress to and egress from the international 
                boundary between the United States and Mexico.
  (b) Deed Covenants and Conditions.--Any conveyance under subsection 
(a) shall be subject to the following covenants and conditions:
          (1) A reservation of rights-of-way for ditches and canals 
        constructed or to be constructed by the authority of the United 
        States, this reservation being of the same character and scope 
        as that created with respect to certain public lands by the Act 
        of August 30, 1890 (26 Stat. 391; 43 U.S.C. 945), as it has 
        been, or may hereafter be amended.
          (2) A leasehold interest in Lot 1, and the west 100 feet of 
        Lot 2 in Section 23 for the operation of a Cattle Crossing 
        Facility, currently being operated by the Yuma-Sonora 
        Commercial Company, Incorporated. The lease as currently held 
        contains 24.68 acres, more or less. Any renewal or termination 
        of the lease shall be by the Greater Yuma Port Authority.
          (3) Reservation by the United States of a 245-foot perpetual 
        easement for operation and maintenance of the 242 Lateral Canal 
        and Well Field along the northern boundary of the East 300 feet 
        of Section 22, Section 23, and the West 300 feet of Section 24 
        as shown on Reclamation Drawing Nos. 1292-303-3624, 1292-303-
        3625, and 1292-303-3626.
          (4) A reservation by the United States of all rights to the 
        ground water in the East 300 feet of Section 15, the East 300 
        feet of Section 22, Section 23, and the West 300 feet of 
        Section 24, and the right to remove, sell, transfer, or 
        exchange the water to meet the obligations of the Treaty of 
        1944 with the Republic of Mexico, and Minute Order No. 242 for 
        the delivery of salinity controlled water to Mexico.
          (5) A reservation of all rights-of-way and easements existing 
        or of record in favor of the public or third parties.
          (6) A right-of-way reservation in favor of the United States 
        and its contractors, and the State of Arizona, and its 
        contractors, to utilize a 33-foot easement along all section 
        lines to freely give ingress to, passage over, and egress from 
        areas in the exercise of official duties of the United States 
        and the State of Arizona.
          (7) Reservation of a right-of-way to the United States for a 
        100-foot by 100-foot parcel for each of the Reclamation 
        monitoring wells, together with unrestricted ingress and egress 
        to both sites. One monitoring well is located in Lot 1 of 
        Section 23 just north of the Boundary Reserve and just west of 
        the Cattle Crossing Facility, and the other is located in the 
        southeast corner of Lot 3 just north of the Boundary Reserve.
          (8) An easement comprising a 50-foot strip lying North of the 
        60-foot International Boundary Reserve for drilling and 
        operation of, and access to, wells.
          (9) A reservation by the United States of \15/16\ of all gas, 
        oil, metals, and mineral rights.
          (10) A reservation of \1/16\ of all gas, oil, metals, and 
        mineral rights retained by the State of Arizona.
          (11) Such additional terms and conditions as the Secretary 
        considers appropriate to protect the interests of the United 
        States.
  (c) Consideration.--
          (1) In general.--As consideration for the conveyance under 
        subsection (a), the Greater Yuma Port Authority shall pay the 
        United States consideration equal to the fair market value on 
        the date of the enactment of this Act of the interest conveyed.
          (2) Determination.--For purposes of paragraph (1), the fair 
        market value of any interest in land shall be determined--
                  (A) taking into account that the land is undeveloped, 
                that 80 acres of the land is intended to be dedicated 
                to use by the Federal Government for Federal 
                governmental purposes, and that an additional 
                substantial portion of the land is dedicated to public 
                right-of-way, highway, and transportation purposes; and
                  (B) deducting the cost of compliance with applicable 
                Federal laws pursuant to subsection (e).
  (d) Use.--The Greater Yuma Port Authority and its successors shall 
use the interests conveyed solely for the purpose of the construction 
and operation of an international port of entry and related activities.
  (e) Compliance With Laws.--Before the date of the conveyance, actions 
required with respect to the conveyance under the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the National 
Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.), and other applicable 
Federal laws must be completed at no cost to the United States.
  (f) Use of 60-Foot Border Strip.--Any use of the 60-foot border strip 
shall be made in coordination with Federal agencies having authority 
with respect to the 60-foot border strip.
  (g) Description of Property.--The exact acreage and legal description 
of property conveyed under this section, and of any right-of-way that 
is subject to a right of use conveyed pursuant to subsection (a)(2)(E), 
shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. The cost 
of the survey shall be borne by the Greater Yuma Port Authority.
  (h) Definitions.--
          (1) 60-foot border strip.--The term ``60-foot border strip'' 
        means lands in any of the Sections of land referred to in this 
        Act located within 60 feet of the international boundary 
        between the United States and Mexico.
          (2) Greater yuma port authority.--The term ``Greater Yuma 
        Port Authority'' means Trust No. 84-184, Yuma Title & Trust 
        Company, an Arizona Corporation, a trust for the benefit of the 
        Cocopah Tribe, a Sovereign Nation, the County of Yuma, Arizona, 
        the City of Somerton, and the City of San Luis, Arizona, or 
        such other successor joint powers agency or public purpose 
        entity as unanimously designated by those governmental units.
          (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3023 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior, acting through the Bureau of Reclamation, to 
convey property to the Greater Yuma Port Authority of Yuma 
County, Arizona, for use as an international port of entry.

                               BACKGROUND

    Since the early 1990s, automobile and truck traffic at the 
United States Port of Entry in Yuma County, Arizona, began to 
experience serious delays, particularly with commercial 
traffic. The current Port is located directly in the heart of 
the City of San Luis, just south of downtown Yuma. With the 
passage of the North American Free Trade Agreement, traffic has 
become a more serious problem in the area.
    On April 3, 2000, the Arizona Department of Transportation 
wrote the Subcommittee on Water and Power of the Committee on 
Resources expressing need for legislation. The following is an 
excerpt of the letter:

          At present, the volume of commercial and private 
        vehicles crossing the border at San Luis--a crossing 
        between the United States and Mexico is exceeding the 
        capacity of the existing port of entry. The solution 
        developed among local governments and affected state 
        and federal agencies is to move the commercial vehicle 
        crossing to an undeveloped area five miles east of San 
        Luis. The solution will enhance efficiency, health and 
        safety by pulling heavy truck traffic out of the 
        downtown areas of the twin cities of San Luis, Mexico, 
        Rio Colorado and San Luis, Arizona.
          To construct this new commercial port of entry, the 
        Greater Yuma Port authority was formed. The Port 
        Authority identified 328 acres of undeveloped desert 
        land currently owned by the Bureau of Reclamation, 
        which has been declared as surplus by the agency.

    H.R. 3023 would convey the Bureau of Reclamation land 
referred to in the above letter to the Greater Yuma Port 
Authority at fair market value to construct the new commercial 
Port of Entry.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3023 was introduced on October 5, 1999, by Congressman 
Ed Pastor (D-AZ). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Water and Power. On May 11, 2000, the Subcommittee met to 
consider the bill. Congressman Calvin Dooley (D-CA) offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to clarify certain land 
boundaries. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, 
as amended, was then ordered to be reported to the Full 
Committee by voice vote. On May 24, 2000, the Full Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. No additional amendments 
were offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the 
House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Conveyance of lands to the Greater Yuma Port Authority

    This section designates the location of each parcel of land 
to be transferred from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Greater 
Yuma Port Authority.

            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. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
sale of this land would bring approximately $300,000 to the 
federal treasury.
    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, June 23, 2000.
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. 3023, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the 
Bureau of Reclamation, to convey property to the Greater Yuma 
Port Authority of Yuma County, Arizona, for use as an 
international port of entry.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Rachel 
Applebaum (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the 
state and local impact).
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 3023--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior, acting 
        through the Bureau of Reclamation, to convey property to the 
        Greater Yuma Port Authority of Yuma County, Arizona, for use as 
        an international port of entry

    H.R. 3023 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey certain lands to the Greater Yuma Port Authority of Yuma 
County, Arizona. As a condition of conveyance, the port 
authority would have to pay the fair market value of the land, 
as of the date of the bill's enactment. The bill would require 
the port authority to use these lands only for the construction 
and operation of an international port of entry and related 
activities.
    CBO estimates that H.R. 3023 would not have a significant 
effect on the federal budget. Based on information from the 
Bureau of Reclamation and the General Services Administration, 
CBO estimates that the federal government would receive about 
$300,000 from the sale of lands to the Greater Yuma Port 
Authority. Currently, this property does not generate any 
receipts for the federal government; however, the agency plans 
to sell the property in the future. CBO expects that sale of 
the property for the fair market value in 2001 would offset any 
forgone receipts from sale under current law at a later date. 
Because enacting H.R. 3023 would affect offsetting receipts (a 
form of direct spending), pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
    H.R. 3023 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. State 
and local governments would probably incur some costs as a 
result of the bill's enactment, but these costs would be 
voluntary. Further, the surrounding communities would benefit 
from the purchase of the land, which would enable them to 
construct a new port of entry for commercial traffic between 
the United States and Mexico. This new port of entry would 
reduce delays at the existing border crossing at San Luis, 
Arizona.
    The CBO staff contacts are Rachel Applebaum (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 as described in 
Public Law 104-4.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

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

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

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

                                  
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