[Senate Report 106-133]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 245
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    106-133

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                           NYE COUNTY, NEVADA

                                _______
                                

                 August 3, 1999.--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 S. 1329]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1329) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain land to Nye County, Nevada, and for 
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as 
amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 3, line 7, change ``(b)'' to ``(c)''.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 1329 is to authorize Nye County, Nevada 
to acquire approximately 800 acres of public land for the 
construction and operation of the Nevada Science and Technology 
Center and the Amargosa Valley Science and Technology Park.

                          background and need

    S. 1329 authorizes Nye County, Nevada to acquire 
approximately 800 acres of public land. This conveyance will 
facilitate the development of both the Nevada Science and 
Technology Center and the Amargosa Valley Science and 
Technology Park, part of a larger proposed Nevada Science and 
Technology Corridor. The lands proposed for conveyance have 
been identified for disposal by the Bureau of Land Management.
    The Nevada Science and Technology Center is a proposed 
interactive science center and museum, highlighting the 
environment, industries, and technological developments 
associated with the region. Due to the non-profit nature of the 
Science Center, this land, comprising approximately 450 acres, 
would be conveyed at no cost. The land will revert to the 
Federal Government should it be used for purposes other than 
the Science Center.
    The Amargosa Valley Science and Technology Park is a 
proposed research and development business park of 
approximately 350 acres designed to support Department of 
Energy contractors and suppliers associated with the Nevada 
Test Site. The County would pay fair market value for the 350 
acres being added to the business park.

                          legislative history

    S. 1329 was introduced by Senator Reid on July 1, 1999. The 
Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management held a 
hearing on S. 1329 on July 13, 1999. At the business meeting on 
July 28, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered S. 1329 favorably reported, with an amendment.

           committee recommendations and tabulation of votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on July 28, 1999, by a unanimous voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
1329, with an amendment.

                          committee amendment

    The Committee made a technical and clerical amendment in 
the designation of the third subsection of the bill.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1(a) defines the terms used in the bill.
    Subsection (b)(1) directs the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey at no cost parcels of land to Nye County.
    Paragraph (2) describes the land to be conveyed.
    Paragraph (3) requires the parcels to be used for the 
construction and operation of the Nevada Science and Technology 
Center, and if not used for that purpose, the parcels shall be 
subject to reversion to the United States.
    Subsection (c)(1) gives Nye County the right, for a period 
of 5 years, to purchase certain parcels of public land.
    Paragraph (2) describes the land to be conveyed.
    Paragraph (3) directs the Secretary to deposit the proceeds 
from the sales in the special account established under the 
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998, and are 
available as provided by that Act.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure has been requested but was not received at the 
time the report was filed. When the report is available, the 
Chairman will request it to be printed in the Congressional 
Record for the advice of the Senate.

                      regulatory impact evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 1329.
    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 S. 1329, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On July 28, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1329. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1329 
was filed. When the 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 the Forest 
Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

     Statement of Larry Finfer, Assistant Director, Bureau of Land 
                               Management

    Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the 
opportunity to appear before you today to testify on two bills, 
S. 1329 Nye County Land Acquisition Act and S. 1330 Mesquite 
Airport Federal Land Transfer Act. Combined, these bills would 
convey 8,760 acres out of the public domain and into local 
government management. While the Bureau supports the general 
intent of these bills, to provide opportunities for these small 
Nevada communities to expand, we oppose the legislative 
conveyance and believe the objectives can be accomplished 
within existing administrative authorities.
    The BLM has not received any requests from Nye County or 
the City of Mesquite to discuss administrative solutions or 
options to provide land for the proposed uses and facilities. 
The information on which our testimony is based comes only from 
our reading of the recently introduced legislation and 
newspaper reports.
    BLM has several options available to support community 
expansion. Some of the conveyance options available to BLM in 
lieu of the proposed legislation include land sales, exchanges, 
airport leases, and the Recreation and Public Purposes Act 
(R&PP). The R&PP Act authorizes the sale or lease of public 
lands for specified recreational or public purposes to eligible 
State and local governments. Situations where the R&PP Act can 
be applied include proposed campgrounds, schools, fire 
stations, landfills, parks and other similar county and 
community facilities. Another option, an airport lease, could 
be pursued for the Mesquite airport corridor with the proper 
application submission. Under this scenario, Mesquite would pay 
50% of the fair market value for the land. This is consistent 
with current airport lease applications at the Henderson 
Executive and Jean Airports, also in Clark County.
    S. 1329, the Nye County Land Acquisition Act proposes two 
separate land actions. It proposes to convey 450 acres of 
public lands (to the county), at no cost, for a Nevada Science 
and Technology Center and 350 acres at fair market value for 
the development of a business park to support Department of 
Energy contractors and suppliers associated with the Nevada 
Test Site.
    The 450 acres for the Technology Center are identified for 
disposal under BLM's RMP. We may be able to convey the 
Technology Center properties to Nye County for 50% of fair 
market value under the authority of the R&PP Act. We would need 
additional information about the intended use of the facility 
to determine if the R&PP Act authorities would apply. This 
information would include a draft development plan and 
statement of proposed use for the land.
    The 350 acres proposed for the business park have been 
identified for disposal under BLM's October 1998 Las Vegas 
Resource Management Plan (RMP) and the Bureau would support 
sale of this property at fair market value within our existing 
authorities and guidelines.
    This bill provides that all proceeds from the sale of these 
lands will be deposited in a special account established under 
the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 
(SNPLMA). Under this provision, BLM would not be able to 
recover administrative costs for processing these disposal 
actions. The SNPLMA currently allows administrative costs to be 
funded from the special account, but only within the disposal 
boundary identified by the SNPLMA. We would recommend amending 
the bill to allow the BLM to recover administrative costs for 
the disposal actions in Nye County.
    S. 1330, the Mesquite Airport Federal Land Transfer Act 
provides the City of Mesquite the exclusive right to purchase 
multiple parcels of public lands for commercial purposes (5,400 
acres) and development/expansion of an airport corridor (2,560 
acres).
    Most of the lands proposed for conveyance under this bill 
have not been identified for disposal under BLM's October 1998 
Las Vegas RMP. The RMP identified only 4 parcels of the 29 
identified in this bill as suitable for disposal. The Bureau 
supports the sale of these 4 parcels identified for disposal at 
fair market value. However, actions regarding the remaining 
parcels should await future completion of land use plan 
decisions.
    The BLM has two additional concerns for lands not 
identified for disposal within the Mesquite area. First, the 
Federal Aviation Administration has not completed a suitability 
assessment for the airport site to determine its 
appropriateness for aviation use. Further, development of the 
Mesquite parcels could affect endangered fish that inhabit the 
Virgin River.
    This bill also provides that all proceeds from the sale of 
these lands will be deposited in a special account under the 
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (SNPLMA). 
Under this provision, BLM would not be able to recover 
administrative costs for processing of these disposal actions. 
As we previously noted, the SNPLMA currently allows 
administrative costs to be funded from the special account, but 
only within the disposal boundary identified by the SNPLMA. We, 
again, would recommend amending the bill to allow the BLM to 
recover administrative costs for the disposal actions in the 
Mesquite area.
Conclusions
    The BLM and the Department do not support conveyance of 
public lands outside of existing authorities. Moreover, these 
bills create an additional workload for a lands and realty 
program that has an existing backlog of other land use 
authorization applications. The preferred approach would be to 
process these actions using current authorities. We are willing 
to work with the subcommittee to explore other options that 
might meet the needs of Nye County and the City of Mesquite.
    That concludes my testimony. I would be glad to respond to 
any questions.

                        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 bill S. 1329 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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