[Senate Report 106-269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]





                                                       Calendar No. 499

106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-269

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



 
              LAMPREY WILD AND SCENIC RIVER EXTENSION ACT

                                _______
                                

                 April 12, 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. 1615]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 1615) to amend the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act to extend the designation of a portion of the 
Lamprey River in New Hampshire as a recreational river to 
include an additional river segment, 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. 1615 is to designate a 12-mile river 
segment of the Lamprey River in the State of New Hampshire as a 
component of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.

                          Background and Need

    The 1995 National Park Service study of the Lamprey River, 
in the State of New Hampshire, found that a total of 23.5 miles 
of the river qualified for designation as a component of the 
National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
    As part of the Omnibus Parks and Public lands Management 
Act of 1996 (Sec. 405 of Public Law 104-333), the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Act was amended to designate an 11.5-mile segment 
of the river as a component of the system. The remaining 12-
mile segment that runs through the Town of Epping, New 
Hampshire, was not included at that time because there was 
little local support for such action. The Town of Epping, 
however, has since voiced their support of the designation, and 
other locally based support has also been shown. H.R. 1615 
would therefore complete the designation of the entire Lamprey 
River segment found eligible for inclusion in the National Wild 
and Scenic River System.

                          Legislative History

    The House of Representatives passed H.R. 1615 on October 
12, 1999. A similar bill, S. 972 was introduced by Senator 
Gregg on May 6, 1999. The Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Historic Preservation and Recreation held a hearing on S. 972 
and H.R. 1615 on March 8, 2000. At its business meeting on 
April 5, 2000, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered H.R. 1615 to be favorably reported, without amendment.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on April 5, 2000, by a unanimous voice vote of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1615 as 
described herein.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 designates the Act's short title as the ``Lamprey 
Wild and Scenic River Extension Act''.
    Section 2(a) amends the paragraph entitled ``Lamprey River, 
New Hampshire'' in section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act by extending the 11.5-mile segment currently designated as 
a recreational river to a 23.5 mile segment from the Buniker 
Pond Dam to the confluence of the Piscassic River.
    Subsection (b) amends section 405 of the Omnibus Parks and 
Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (P.L. 104-333) by including 
Epping, New Hampshire among the localities which have zoning 
ordinances that satisfy section 6(c) of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act. The subsection also deletes the provision that 
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to provide assistance 
to the town of Epping concerning potential future designation 
of the river as a component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System.

                   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 H.R. 1615. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards of 
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 
enactment of H.R. 1615, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    The legislative report received by the Committee from the 
Department of the Interior setting forth Executive agency 
recommendations relating to H.R. 1615, is set forth below:

                       U.S. Department of Interior,
                                   Office of the Secretary,
                                     Washington, DC March 20, 2000.
Hon. Frank Murkowski,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter presents the Department's 
views on S. 972, a bill that adds a 12-mile segment of the 
Lamprey River in the Town of Epping, New Hampshire, to the 
portion of that river already designated as a recreational 
river under the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. S. 972 
also amends the text of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to 
include the specific management prescriptions that were enacted 
as freestanding provisions of the legislation that originally 
designated the Lamprey River.
    The Department supports the purpose of this bill, however, 
it does not support the legislation as it is currently written. 
The Department prefers enactment of H.R. 1615, the House 
version of this legislation.
    In 1991 the National Park Service, through Public Law 102-
214, was directed to undertake a Wild and Scenic River study of 
a portion of New Hampshire's Lamprey River. In June of 1995, 
the NPS issued it findings in a draft study report. The NPS 
found the 23.5-mile segment of the Lamprey River, running from 
the Bunker Pond Dam in West Epping to the confluence of the 
Lamprey and Piscassic Rivers in the vicinity of the Newmarket-
Durham town line, to be eligible for inclusion in the National 
Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Although 23.5 miles of the 
Lamprey River were found eligible for inclusion in the national 
system, there was then local support for designation of only 
the 11.5 miles running from the southern Lee Town line to the 
confluence with the Pascassic River. Due to the lack of local 
support for designation of the Epping Town segment, the NPS 
recommended that only the 11.5-mile segment of the Lamprey in 
Lee, Durham and Newmarket Towns be designated as a component of 
the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
    As part of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management 
Act of 1996, that 11.5-mile segment of the Lamprey River was 
designated as a component of the National Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System. That act also recommended that the NPS continue 
to offer assistance to the Town of Epping regarding the 
potential future addition of the 12-mile eligible segment now 
contemplated for designation.
    On March 16, 1999, the citizens of Epping voted 
overwhelmingly, at their annual Town Meeting to seek 
designation of their 12-mile segment of the Lamprey and to 
officially join with their downstream communities in Wild and 
Scenic designation. During Epping's deliberations, officials 
from Lee, Durham and Newmarket strongly endorsed the wild and 
Scenic River designation and the program they are involved in 
to protect the Lamprey River. This support is based on the 
solid partnership that the designation has forged among local, 
state, and federal groups.
    S. 972 completes the designation of the 23.5-mile Lamprey 
River segment found eligible for inclusion in the National Wild 
and Scenic Rivers System as presented in the NPS's draft study 
report of June 1995. The designation of this 12-mile segment, 
which now has strong local support, would more than double the 
mileage of the Lamprey included in the Wild and Scenic River 
System, and is an important step toward preserving this special 
resource.
    The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act provides management rules 
for rivers that are to be units of the National Park System or 
managed as part of a national park or national forest. When a 
river that is designated as part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
System is to be managed differently than the management 
outlined in the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, those particular 
management prescriptions consistently has been adopted as free-
standing provisions of the designation legislation. This 
legislative drafting has been down so as to keep the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers Act focused on designations and not the 
exceptions to the law. Separate legislation is effective in 
ensuring that the river is managed under an exception to the 
usual management prescriptions. Keeping the special management 
provisions separate also prevents confusion between generally 
appropriate management requirements that are contained in the 
Wild and Scenic Rivers Act and those that are provided in the 
independent legislation.
    S. 972 amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act so that it 
includes the management prescriptions for the Lamprey Wild and 
Scenic River. These management prescriptions are specific to 
the Lamprey River and should be retained in this legislation 
that is specific to the Lamprey. The language of H.R. 1615 
accomplishes this goal by only amending the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act to include the additional river mileage to be added 
to the Lamprey Wild and Scenic River designation. H.R. 1615 
leaves intact the Lamprey's unique management prescriptions 
enacted in Public Law 104-333, Division I, Section 405(b), 
keeping the specific management for the Lamprey independent 
from the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Thus, the Department 
supports enactment of H.R. 1615 instead of S. 972.
    The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is 
no objection to the presentation of this report from the 
standpoint of the Administration's program.
            Sincerely,
                                         Don Barry,
                               Assistant Secretary for Fish
                                            and Wildlife and Parks.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
H.R. 1615, as ordered 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 3 of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act

    Sec. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent 
thereto are hereby designated as components of the national 
wild and scenic rivers system:
          (1) * * *

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (158) Lamprey river, new hampshire.--The [11.5-mile 
        segment extending from the southern Lee town line] 
        23.5-mile segment extending from the Bunker Pond Dam in 
        Epping to the confluence with the Piscassic River in 
        the vicinity of the Durham-Newmarket town line 
        (hereinafter in this paragraph referred to as the 
        ``segment'') as a recreational river. The segment shall 
        be administered by the Secretary of the Interior 
        through cooperation agreements between the Secretary 
        and the State of New Hampshire and its relevant 
        political subdivisions, namely the [towns of] towns of 
        Epping, Durham, Lee, and Newmarket, pursuant to section 
        10(e) of this Act. The segment shall be managed in 
        accordance with the Lamprey River Management Plan dated 
        January 10, 1995, and such amendments thereto as the 
        Secretary of the Interior determines are consistent 
        with this Act. Such plan shall be deemed to satisfy the 
        requirements for a comprehensive management plan 
        pursuant to section 3(d) of this Act.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


  Section 405 of the Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 
                                  1996


SEC. 405. LAMPREY WILD AND SCENIC RIVER.

    (a) * * *
    (b) Management.--
          (1) * * *
          (2) Land management.--The zoning ordinances duly 
        adopted by the towns of Epping, Durham, Lee, and 
        Newmarket, New Hampshire, including provisions for 
        conservation of shorelands, floodplains, and wetlands 
        associated with the segment, shall be deemed to satisfy 
        the standards and requirements of section 6(c) of the 
        Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, and the provisions of that 
        section, which prohibit Federal acquisition of lands by 
        condemnation, shall apply to the segment designated by 
        subsection (a). The authority of the Secretary to 
        acquire lands for the purposes of this paragraph shall 
        be limited to acquisition by donation or acquisition 
        with the consent of the owner thereof, and shall be 
        subject to the additional criteria set forth in the 
        Lamprey River Management Plan.
    [(c) Upstream Segment.--Upon request by the town of Epping, 
which abuts an additional 12 miles of river found eligible for 
designation as a recreational river, the Secretary of the 
Interior shall offer assistance regarding continued involvement 
of the town of Epping in the implementation of the Lamprey 
River Management Plan and in consideration of potential future 
addition of that portion of the river within Epping as a 
component of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System.]

                                

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