[House Report 106-898]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



106th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     106-898

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                     60 BAR LAND EXCHANGE, WYOMING

                                _______
                                

 September 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 S. 1030]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(S. 1030) to provide that the conveyance by the Bureau of Land 
Management of the surface estate to certain land in the State 
of Wyoming in exchange for certain private land will not result 
in the removal of the land from operation of the mining laws, 
having considered the same, report favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 1030 is to provide that the conveyance by 
the Bureau of Land Management of the surface estate to certain 
land in the State of Wyoming in exchange for certain private 
land will not result in the removal of the land from operation 
of the mining laws.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is seeking to finalize 
an equal-value land exchange under section 206 of the Federal 
Land Policy and Management Act under which the United States 
will acquire 9,480 acres of land of high scenic and 
recreational value near Gillette, Wyoming. The mineral estate 
of these lands is federally owned and open to the operation of 
the mining laws governing disposition in such split-estate 
situations. In exchange, BLM will convey 20,832 acres of 
scattered, isolated public lands with mostly limited public 
access. BLM will retain the mineral estate beneath the offered 
private lands to be conveyed to the United States, and will 
also retain the mineral estate beneath the public lands to be 
conveyed.
    The private lands were formerly located within the 60 Bar 
Ranch, adjacent to existing BLM and Wyoming State lands. They 
have been purchased by Cow Creek LLC, a limited liability 
company, and will be exchanged for scattered, isolated tracts 
of public land located within the private ranch units of the 
owners of Cow Creek LLC. An existing uranium company holds 
surface rights on the scattered public lands proposed for 
exchange. The company stated a willingness to relinquish its 
mining claims if this bill becomes law. With respect to the 
lands begin transferred by BLM, S. 1030 provides for an 
exemption to 43 Code of Federal Regulation Sections 2201.1 2(d) 
and 2091.3 2(c), which require that the mineral estate remain 
closed to the operation of the mining laws pending the issuance 
of land use regulations. These exemptions will allow the 
uranium mine to pursue subsurface claims in the future, a 
situation the owners of Cow Creek LLC are aware of and support.
    For additional information, please see Senate Report 106-
174.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 1030 was introduced by Senator Michael B. Enzi (R-WY) on 
May 13, 1999. On November 19, 1999, the Senate passed S. 1030 
with an amendment by unanimous consent. In the House of 
Representatives, the bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Energy and Mineral Resources and the Subcommittee on National 
Parks and Public Lands. On June 15, 2000, the Subcommittee on 
Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing on the bill. On 
June 28, 2000, the full Resources Committee met to consider the 
bill. The Subcommittees were discharged from further 
consideration of the bill 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. 60 Bar land exchange

    Subsection (a) describes the waiver of specified BLM 
regulations which require that mineral estate remain closed to 
the operation of the mining laws pending the issuance of land 
use regulations.
    Subsection (b) provides the land description of the 
scattered public lands to be conveyed by S. 1030.
    Subsection (c) provides that the land to be acquired by the 
United States will be segregated from entry under the mining 
laws until appropriate land use planning is completed for the 
land.

            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 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    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, July 7, 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. 1030, an act to 
provide that the conveyance by the Bureau of Land Management of 
the surface estate to certain land in the state of Wyoming in 
exchange for certain private land will not result in the 
removal of the land from operation of the mining laws.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

S. 1030--An act to provide that the conveyance by the Bureau of Land 
        Management of the surface estate to certain land in the state 
        of Wyoming in exchange for certain private land will not result 
        in the removal of the land from operation of the mining laws

    CBO estimates that enacting S. 1030 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting the 
legislation would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. S. 1030 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would not 
affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    S. 1030 concerns the administration of certain federal land 
that the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) plans to exchange in 
Wyoming. In the proposed exchange, the federal government would 
convey the surface rights to about 20,830 acres of federal land 
in exchange for the surface rights to about 9,500 acres of 
privately owned land. No subsurface mineral rights would be 
exchanged. However, under current federal regulations, public 
land administered by BLM that is conveyed in an exchange is 
automatically removed from operation of the mining laws. S. 
1030 provides that the subsurface rights retained by the 
federal government in the land exchange would not be subject to 
those regulations and would therefore remain open to the mining 
laws. As a result, enacting this legislation would allow a 
uranium mining company to pursue its existing subsurface claims 
to the land after the exchange is completed.
    On October 5, 1999, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
1030 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on September 22, 1999. The two versions of 
this legislation are identical, and the cost estimates are the 
same.
    The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. 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

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

                                  
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