[Senate Report 106-313]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 631
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-313

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              WASHAKIE COUNTY AND BIG HORN COUNTY, WYOMING

                                _______
                                

                 June 27, 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 S. 610]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 610) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain land under the jurisdiction of the 
Bureau of Land Management in Washakie County and Big Horn 
County, Wyoming, to the Westside Irrigation District, Wyoming, 
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:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE.

  (a) In General.--On completion of an environmental analysis under the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), the 
Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of 
Land Management (referred to in this Act as the ``Secretary''), shall 
convey to the Westside Irrigation District, Wyoming (referred to in 
this Act as ``Westside''), all right, title, and interest (excluding 
the mineral interest) of the United States in and to such portions of 
the Federal land in Big Horn County and Washakie County, Wyoming, 
described in subsection (c), as the district enters into an agreement 
with the Secretary to purchase.
  (b) Price.--The price of the land conveyed under subsection (a) shall 
be equal to the appraised value of the land, as determined by the 
Secretary.
  (c) Land Description.--
          (1) In general.--The land referred to in subsection (a) is 
        the approximately 16,500 acres of land in Big Horn County and 
        Washakie County, Wyoming, as depicted on the map entitled 
        ``Westside Project'' and dated May 9, 2000.
          (2) Adjustment.--On agreement of the Secretary and Westside, 
        acreage may be added to or subtracted from the land to be 
        conveyed as necessary to satisfy any mitigation requirements 
        under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4321 et seq.).
  (d) Use of Proceeds.--Proceeds of the sale of land under subsection 
(a) shall be deposited in a special account in the Treasury of the 
United States and shall be available to the Secretary of the Interior, 
without further Act of appropriation, for the acquisition of land and 
interests in land in the Worland District of the Bureau of Land 
Management in the State of Wyoming that will benefit public recreation, 
public access, fish and wildlife habitat, or cultural resources.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 610 is to provide for the conveyance of 
approximately 16,500 acres to the Westside Irrigation District, 
in Washakie and Big Horn Counties in Wyoming.

                          background and need

    The proposed conveyance will allow the Westside Irrigation 
District to make use of unallocated water rights to irrigate a 
portion of the acquired parcel. Part of the parcel will be 
placed in conservation buffer zones, rights-of-way and wildlife 
habitat. The remainder of these lands will be sold as farmland 
parcels. The project, when fully implemented would create new 
jobs and a positive economic impact in the community. The 
District will also help support additional staff with the 
Wyoming Game and Fish for mitigation assistance.
    The District will pay fair market value for the surface 
land. The mineral rights would not transfer. Proceeds raised 
from the land sales will be used by the Secretary of the 
Interior for the acquisition of land in the Worland District of 
the Bureau of Land Management for the purpose of enhancing 
public recreation, increasing public access, enhancing fish and 
wildlife habitat and improving cultural resources.

                          legislative history

    S. 610 was introduced by Senators Enzi and Thomas on March 
15, 1999. The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land 
Management held a hearing on S. 610 on October 14, 1999. At the 
business meeting on June 7, 2000, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered S. 610 reported favorably with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute.

            committee recommendation and tabulation of votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on June 7, 2000, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. 610 if 
amended as described herein.

                          committee amendment

    During the consideration of S. 610, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment 
addresses concerns made by the Administration. The amendment 
requires an environmental analysis prior to the conveyance; 
reduces the acreage conveyed; corrects the legal description in 
the bill and map reference; and allows the Secretary and the 
Westside Irrigation District to add or subtract lands if 
necessary to satisfy the mitigation requirements of the NEPA 
analysis.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1(a) requires the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey the property described in subsection (c) after 
completion of an environmental analysis. The Committee intends 
that in implementing section 1(a), the Westside Irrigation 
District and the Bureau of Land Management, acting on behalf of 
the Secretary, will enter into a formal written agreement 
regarding the purchase of the lands described in the bill. The 
Committee expects that the agreement will include requirements 
for preparation of an environmental analysis (EA) document 
pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act prior to land 
transfer; cultural and paleontological resource inventory and 
mitigation clearances; assessments of public access needs; and 
reservations to include in land patents; water augmentation 
agreements with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department and the 
Bureau of Reclamation necessary to mitigate fisheries and 
riparian values in the Big Horn River; and development of 
mitigation measures for other wildlife and threatened and 
endangered species management. The agreement should also 
include provisions for financial assistance from the Westside 
Irrigation District in the costs for preparation of the EA, the 
cultural and paleontological resource inventories, and the cost 
of appraisal for the lands conveyed.
    Subsection (b) requires the price of the land conveyed to 
be the appraised value as determined by the Secretary of the 
Interior.
    Subsection (c) describes the property to be conveyed as 
depicted on the map entitled ``Westside Project'' dated May 9, 
2000. The subsection also allows the Secretary of the Interior 
and the Westside Irrigation District to adjust acreage to 
satisfy any NEPA mitigation requirements.
    Subsection (d) authorizes the proceeds of the sale to be 
used for the acquisition of land or interest in land in the 
Worland District of the Bureau of Land Management to benefit 
certain resources.

                   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, June 20, 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 S. 610, a bill to 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey certain land 
under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management in 
Washakie County and Big Horn County, Wyoming, to the Westside 
Irrigation District, Wyoming, and for other purposes.
    If you wish further details on the estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                        Steven M. Lieberman
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 610.--A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
        certain land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land 
        Management in Washakie County and Big Horn County, Wyoming, to 
        the Westside Irrigation District, Wyoming, and for other 
        purposes

    CBO estimates that enacting S. 610 would not significantly 
affect the federal budget. We estimate that enacting the bill 
would increase both offsetting receipts (a credit against 
direct spending) and the spending of such receipts; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures would apply, but we expect that the 
net impact on direct spending would not be significant in any 
year. S. 610 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    S. 610 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
to the Westside Irrigation District all right, title, and 
interest (exclusive of mineral interests) in about 16,500 acres 
of land located in two counties in Wyoming and currently under 
the administration of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The 
bill would require the agency to complete an environmental 
analysis prior to the conveyance, and would direct the 
Secretary to convey the lands in return for a cash payment 
equal to their appraised value. According to BLM, those lands 
probably would not be sold under current law. They generate 
less than $2,000 annually in offsetting receipts from grazing 
fees, and the agency does not expect them to generate 
significant receipts over the next ten years.
    Based on information from BLM, we estimate that agency 
would spend about $300,000 during fiscal year 2001 to complete 
an environmental analysis of the lands, assuming the 
availability of appropriated funds. We estimate that the lands 
would be conveyed during fiscal year 2002 in exchange for a 
payment of about $1 million. Under S. 610, the Secretary could 
retain and spend, without further appropriation, any proceeds 
from the sale to acquire other lands and interests to benefit 
public recreation, access to public land, fish and wildlife 
habitat, or cultural resources. As a result, CBO estimates that 
additional direct spending over the 2002-2003 period would 
offset the additional income from the land sale, and that the 
net impact on direct spending would not be significant in 
either year.
    The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. This estimate was 
approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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 S. 610.
    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. 610, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    On June 7, 2000 the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Secretary of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 610. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 610 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 Bureau 
of Reclamation at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

Statement of Carson (Pete) Culp, Assistant Director of Minerals, Realty 
           and Resource Protection, Bureau of Land Management

    Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, I appreciate 
the opportunity to appear before you to testify on S. 610, the 
conveyance of certain Bureau of Land Management (BLM) lands in 
Washakie and Big Horn Counties, Wyoming to the Westside 
Irrigation District. The Bureau does not support S. 610, the 
land conveyance in Wyoming.
    I first wish to discuss S. 610, and the conveyance of 
certain BLM lands to the Westside Irrigation District in 
Wyoming. This bill would enable the Westside Irrigation 
District to purchase approximately 39,000 acres of BLM lands 
northwest of Worland, Wyoming which would then be converted to 
agricultural production through the use of overhead sprinkler 
irrigation systems. The surface rights would be purchased at 
fair market value and the monies derived from the sale of these 
public lands would be used by the BLM to acquire other private 
parcels having resource values.
    The Bureau has concerns with S. 610. First, the BLM opposes 
land disposals without appropriate planning, NEPA analysis, and 
public participation. The BLM Grass Creek Resource Management 
Plan does not identify these lands for disposal. Additionally, 
no environmental analysis has been completed for the proposal 
and there has been very little public involvement.
    Also, the legal description as identified in the 
legislation is very vague and requires clarification. After a 
review of BLM land status records, the total acreage was 
determined to be approximately 39,000 acres. As I mentioned, 
the purpose of this legislation is to permit the Westside 
Irrigation District to add 39,000 acres of arable farming units 
to their district. Arable is a term used for lands that are 
suitable for cultivation. However, in 1986 the Bureau of 
Reclamation completed a classification study and found that 
there were not 39,000 acres of arable lands, but only 7,500 
acres suitable for cultivation in the area. The remaining acres 
were classified to be non-arable.
    In addition to the discrepancy in the arable lands, a 
partial cultural inventory on approximately 2,000 acres within 
the proposed sale area, yielded 38 sites that were evaluated as 
eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. An 
additional 471 cultural sites were found but were not evaluated 
for eligibility for the National Register. Six of the eligible 
sites are believed to have been occupied by Paleo-Indians.
    The area is also valuable for paleontological research. For 
example, it includes many localities where scientifically 
significant vertebrate fossils have been collected and studied. 
These fossils, and the layers of rock where they occur, 
document the history of life in North America. In addition, 
approximately 15,000 acres have been identified as crucial mule 
deer and antelope winter range and agricultural development of 
the area could potentially affect fisheries in the Bighorn 
River.
    The area is rich in mineral resources as well. Yet, despite 
this mineral value the bill states that all rights, title, and 
interest of the United States be transferred. This would 
include the mineral estate, including the three oil and gas 
fields (including 22 producing wells), gravel deposits used for 
construction and road building, and a number of rights-of-way 
are also located within the affected area and easements the BLM 
holds for access to public lands. Inasmuch as the BLM wishes to 
support opportunities for rural development in Wyoming, we 
cannot support the divestiture of these resource rich lands 
from public ownership.

                        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 S. 610, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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