[House Report 106-871]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-871
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EXCHANGES OF LAND EXCESS TO CASCADE RESERVOIR RECLAMATION PROJECT
_______
September 20, 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 S. 1778]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill (S.
1778) to provide for equal exchanges of land around the Cascade
Reservoir, having considered the same, report favorably thereon
without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 1778 is to provide for equal exchanges of
land around the Cascade Reservoir.
Background and Need for Legislation
Public Law 86-92, approved July 17, 1959, prohibits the
Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) from exchanging land within 300
feet of the Cascade Reservoir in Idaho. While private property
does not exist within 300 feet of the Reservoir, several
agricultural easements were reserved by landowners within that
zone at the time BOR acquired lands for the Reservoir. To
ensure that ranching activities do not conflict with BOR's
management of the Reservoir, S. 1778 authorizes the BOR to
enter into land exchanges with these operators for their rights
at, or near, the water's edge. S. 1778 provides the BOR with
the legal authority necessary for more efficient management and
better environmental protection of the Reservoir.
For additional information, see Senate Report 106-271.
Committee Action
S. 1778 was introduced on October 25, 1999, by Senator
Larry Craig (R-ID). On April 13, 2000, the Senate passed S.
1778 with an amendment by unanimous consent. The bill was
referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on Water and Power. On July 27,
2000, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September
13, 2000, the Full Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. The Subcommittee on Water and Power 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
Section 1. Exchanges of land excess to Cascade Reservoir reclamation
project
This section amends section 5 of Public Law 86-92 (73 Stat.
219), an act to add certain lands located in Idaho to the Boise
and Payette National Forest, to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to enter into equal value land exchanges around the
Cascade Reservoir in accordance with the Uniform Relocation
Assistance and Real Property Acquisitions Policies Act of 1970.
The bill authorizes cash payments to equalize the values of
lands to be exchanged, if necessary.
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 of the Constitution of the United
States grants 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,
enactment of this bill could affect direct spending and
receipts by authorizing the payment and acceptance of cash
equalization payments for land exchanges. However, any impact
on the federal budget would be ``insignificant''.
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, September 18, 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 S. 1778, an act to
provide for equal exchanges of land around the Cascade
Reservoir.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Rachel
Applebaum.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
S. 1778--An act to provide for equal exchanges of land around the
Cascade Reservoir
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1778 would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. The act could affect
direct spending; thus, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply,
but CBO expects any such impact to be insignificant over the
2000-2005 period. S. 1778 contains no intergovernmental or
private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates
Reform Act and would have no significant effect on the budgets
of state, local, or tribal governments.
S. 1778 would amend current law to allow the Secretary of
the Interior to negotiate exchanges of land of approximately
equal value around the Cascade Reservoir in Idaho. According to
the Bureau of Reclamation, the lands that would be exchanged
under the act have already been identified to be in excess of
the needs of the reservoir. Those lands do not currently
generate any significant receipts, and the agency does not
expect them to generate any significant receipts over the next
10 years. If lands exchanged under S. 1778 are not of equal
value, the legislation would require either the federal
government or the grantor to make a cash payment equal to the
difference. Based on information from the Bureau of
Reclamation, CBO estimates that any such payments would be
insignificant.
On April 12, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
1778 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources on April 5, 2000. The two versions of the
legislation are similar and our estimates of their costs are
the same.
The CBO staff contact is Rachel Applebaum. 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 any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) 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):
SECTION 5 OF THE ACT OF JULY 17, 1959
AN ACT To add certain lands located in Idaho to the Boise and Payette
National Forests.
Sec. 5. (a) * * *
[(b) The Secretary may exchange lands of either class for
non-Federal lands of not less than approximately equal value
situated within three hundred feet of the shoreline established
by the normal water surface elevation of four thousand eight
hundred and twenty eight feet of the Cascade Reservoir and
outside the exterior boundaries of the Boise and Payette
National Forests as extended by this Act.]
(b) Land Exchanges.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may exchange land of
either class described in subsection (a) for non-
Federal land of not less than approximately equal
value, as determined by an appraisal carried out in
accordance with--
(A) the Uniform Relocation Assistance and
Real Property Acquisition Policies Act of 1970
(42 U.S.C. 4601 et seq.); and
(B) the publication entitled ``Uniform
Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions'', as amended by the Interagency
Land Acquisition Conference in consultation
with the Department of Justice.
(2) Equalization.--If the land exchanged under
paragraph (1) is not of equal value, the values shall
be equalized by the payment of funds by the Secretary
or the grantor, as appropriate, in an amount equal to
the amount by which the values of the land differ.
* * * * * * *