[Senate Report 106-242]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 458
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-242

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                       RED CLIFFS DESERT RESERVE

                                _______
                                

                 March 9, 2000.--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 H.R. 2863]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 2863) to clarify the legal effect on the 
United States of the acquisition of a parcel of land in the Red 
Cliffs Desert Reserve in the State of Utah, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the Act do pass.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of H.R. 2863 is to clarify the legal effect on 
the United States of the acquisition a parcel of land in the 
Red Cliffs Desert Reserve in the State of Utah.

                          background and need

    The parcel of land described in H.R. 2863 was once used as 
a landfill by the city of St. George, Utah. The parcel is part 
of a proposed land exchange. When exchanged with the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM), the land will be used as part of a 
habitat conservation plan for the desert tortoise in Washington 
County, Utah. The bill will protect the United States from any 
potential liability from any unknown materials that may be in 
the landfill by leaving that liability in the hands of the 
city.

                          legislative history

    H.R. 2863 passed the House of Representatives on November 
16, 1999 and was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources on November 19, 1999. The Committee held a 
hearing on H.R. 2863 on February 10, 2000. At the business 
meeting on February 23, 2000, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 2863 reported favorably without 
amendment.

           committee recommendations and tabulation of votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on February 23, 2000, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 2863.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1(a) requires that the land described in subsection 
(b) conveyed from the city of St. George, Utah, shall convey no 
liability to the United States, other than preexisting 
liabilities.
    Subsectiion (b) describes the land conveyed.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the costs 
of this measure follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                 Washington, DC, February 29, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2863, an act to 
clarify the legal effect on the United States of the 
acquisition of a parcel of land in the Red Cliffs Desert 
Reserve in the state of Utah.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                              (For Dan L. Crippen).

    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

H.R. 2864--An act to clarify the legal effect on the United States of 
        the acquisition of a parcel of land in the Red Cliffs Desert 
        Reserve in the state of Utah

    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2863 would have no impact 
on the federal budget. The act would not affect direct spending 
or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not 
apply. H.R. 2863 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    H.R. 2863 would provide that the transfer or about 15 acres 
of land in Washington County, Utah, to the United States would 
impose no liability on the federal government that does not 
exist before transfer. The property to be transferred, within 
the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, was formerly used as a landfill. 
Enacting this legislation would ensure that the government does 
not assume additional liability as a result of the transfer and 
would have no effect on the federal budget.
    The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis. This estimate was 
approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director for 
Budget Analysis.

                      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 H.R. 2863.
    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 H.R. 2863, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On February 23, 2000 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 H.R. 2863. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on H.R. 
2863 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 provide by the 
Bureau of Land Management at the House Subcommittee hearing 
follows:

     Statement of Henri Bisson, Assistant Director, Bureau of Land 
                               Management

    Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the 
opportunity to appear before you today to testify on S. 1664, a 
bill to clarify the legal effect on the United States of the 
acquisition of a parcel of land in the Red Cliffs Desert 
Reserve in the State of Utah, and its companion bill in the 
House, H.R. 2863. These land transaction bills involve two 
separate exchanges resulting in change of title on a total of 
139 acres.
    These bills would support the implementation of the Red 
Cliffs Desert Reserve which was created in February of 1996 
near the City of St. George, Utah when the US Fish and Wildlife 
Service issued a permit to Washington County, Utah under 
section 10(a) of the Endangered Species Act. The permit 
approved the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) 
which calls for long-term management of approximately 61,000 
acres within a reserve to be set aside for the protection and 
recovery of the federally listed Desert Tortoise. The HCP was 
developed by a steering committee comprised of local residents, 
businesses, interest groups and local, state and Federal 
government representatives.
    S. 1664 and H.R. 2863 involve 15 acres of land owned by the 
City of St. George. The lands lie within the boundary of the 
Red Cliffs Desert Reserve which was established under the 
provisions of the Washington County Habitat Conservation Plan 
(HCP) for the protection and recovery of the threatened Desert 
Tortoise and other listed species. BLM has entered into an 
exchange agreement with the city to acquire the property in 
accordance with the HCP. BLM desires to complete the exchange 
to further the objectives of the HCP by consolidating non-
federal lands in an area at risk from urban development and 
increasing land values. The site is located in the area of the 
highest tortoise concentrations. The property was formerly used 
as a landfill site by St. George City but has been retired for 
the past 15 years. BLM would offer in exchange a 26-acre parcel 
outside of the Reserve currently used as a water treatment 
plant by St. George City under a right-of-way from BLM. The 
city would make an equalization payment to the United States of 
$12,000 to balance the respective values. As part of the 
exchange processing, BLM required the city to contract for a 
pre-acquisition site assessment and to complete site 
restoration including removal of all surface debris and the 
establishment of adequate cover. The site assessment found no 
evidence of hazardous materials and concluded that 
environmental risk was minima. Restoration has been completed 
to federal and state standards and the site is ready for 
transfer. Provisions of this bill would ensure that no 
liability accrues to the United States as a result of the 
exchange. BLM supports the bill as does the Fish and Wildlife 
Service and local and state agencies involved in management of 
the HCP.


                               conclusion


    The BLM and the local communities and governments support 
these bills to further the species recovery goals of the 
Washington County HCP.

                        changes in existing law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXII of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by H.R. 2863, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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