[Senate Report 106-476]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 925
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-476

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  CONVEYANCE OF LAND IN THE SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA

                                _______
                                

October 3 (legislative day, September 22), 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. 2111]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2111) to direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey for fair market value 1.06 acres of land 
in the San Bernardino National Forest, California, to KATY 
101.3 FM, a California corporation, 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. LAND CONVEYANCE AND SETTLEMENT, SAN BERNARDINO NATIONAL 
                    FOREST, CALIFORNIA

    (a) Conveyance Required.--Subject to valid existing rights and 
settlement of claims as provided in this section, the Secretary of 
Agriculture shall convey to KATY 101.3 FM (in this section referred to 
as ``KATY'') all right, title and interest of the United States in and 
to a parcel of real property consisting of approximately 1.06 acres 
within the San Bernardino National Forest in Riverside County, 
California, generally located in the north \1/2\ of section 23, 
township 5 south, range 2 east, San Bernardino meridian.
    (b) Legal Description.--The Secretary and KATY shall, by mutual 
agreement, prepare the legal description of the parcel of real property 
to be conveyed under subsection (a), which is generally depicted as 
Exhibit A-2 in an appraisal report of the subject parcel dated August 
26, 1999, by Paul H. Meiling.
    (c) Consideration.--Consideration for the conveyance under 
subsection (a) shall be equal to the appraised fair market value of the 
parcel of real property to be conveyed. Any appraisal to determine the 
fair market value of the parcel shall be prepared in conformity with 
the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land Acquisitions and 
approved by the Secretary.
    (d) Settlement.--In addition to the consideration referred to in 
subsection (c), upon the receipt of $16,600 paid by KATY to the 
Secretary, the Secretary shall release KATY from any and all claims of 
the United States arising from the occupancy and use of the San 
Bernardino National Forest by KATY for communication site purposes.
    (e) Access Requirements.--Notwithstanding section 1323(a) of the 
Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3210(a)) or 
any other law, the Secretary is not required to provide access over 
National Forest System lands to the parcel of real property to be 
conveyed under subsection (a).
    (f) Administrative Costs.--Any costs associated with the creation 
of a subdivided parcel, recordation of a survey, zoning, and planning 
approval, similar expenses with respect to the conveyance under this 
section, shall be borne by KATY.
    (g) Assumption of Liability.--By acceptance of the conveyance of 
the parcel of real property referred to in subsection (a) KATY, and its 
successors and assigns, will indemnify and hold harmless the United 
States for any and all liability to General Telephone and Electronics 
Corporation (also known as ``GTE''), KATY, and any third party that is 
associated with the parcel, including liability for any buildings or 
personal property on the parcel belonging to GTE and any other third 
parties.
    (h) Treatment of Receipts.--All funds received pursuant to this 
section shall be deposited in the fund established under Public Law 90-
171 (16 U.S.C. 484a; commonly known as the Sisk Act), and the funds 
shall remain available to the Secretary, until expended, for the 
acquisition of lands, waters, and interests in land for the inclusion 
in the San Bernardino National Forest.
    (i) Receipts Act Amendment.--The Act of June 15, 1938 (Chapter 
438:52 Stat. 699), as amended by the Acts of May 26, 1944 (58 Stat. 
227), is further amended--
          (1) by striking the comma after the words ``Secretary of 
        Agriculture'';
          (2) by striking the words ``with the approval of the National 
        Forest Reservation Commission established by section 4 of the 
        Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 513),'';
          (3) by inserting the words ``, real property or interests in 
        lands,'' after the word ``lands'' the first time it is used;
          (4) by striking ``San Bernardino and Cleveland'' and 
        inserting ``counties of San Bernardino, Cleveland and Los 
        Angeles'';
          (5) by striking ``county of Riverside'' each place it appears 
        and inserting ``counties of Riverside and San Bernardino'';
          (6) by striking ``as to minimize soil erosion and flood 
        damage'' and inserting ``for National Forest System purposes''; 
        and
          (7) after the ``Provided further, That'', by striking the 
        remainder of the sentence to the end of the paragraph, and 
        inserting ``twelve and one-half percent of the monies otherwise 
        payable to the State of California for the benefit of San 
        Bernardino County under the aforementioned Act of March 1, 1911 
        (16 U.S.C. 500) shall be available to be appropriated for 
        expenditure in furtherance of this Act.

                         Purpose of the Measure

    The purpose of S. 2111 is to provide for the conveyance of 
a 1.06 acre parcel within and adjacent to the boundary of the 
San Bernardino National Forest in the State of California to 
the radio station KATY 101.3 FM for the continued use as an 
antenna site and for other purposes.

                          Background and Need

    S. 2111 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to sell at 
fair market value a 1.06 acre parcel of public domain land 
lying within the exterior boundary of San Bernardino National 
Forest to KATY 101.3 FM so that it may continue to be used as 
an antenna site by the radio station.
    In 1988, Mr. and Mrs. Cliff and Katy Gill received a 
construction permit from the Federal Communication Commission 
for a radio station to serve Idyllwild, California, a community 
of approximately 3,000 residents, located at 5,200 feet in the 
San Jacinto Mountains. The community is surrounded by mountains 
and public land, including the San Bernardino National Forest 
and State and local parkland. The combination of the rugged 
terrain and limited amount of private land severely limited the 
availability of antenna sites that would provide a signal 
capable of reaching the entire community of Idyllwild, 
neighboring mountain communities, and Highway 74, the route 
that connects the communities to the valley below. No private 
land site proved suitable, although KATY did begin broadcasting 
in December 1989 with a weak signal and fragmented coverage 
from a temporary antenna on a time-shared campground.
    The Gills continued to search for a more suitable antenna 
site. They learned of a location on the San Bernardino National 
Forest that had been operated as a communications site for more 
than 30 years by the General Telephone and Electronics 
Corporation under a special use permit from the Forest Service, 
United States Department of Agriculture. This site is located 
on a geographical feature known as Inspiration Point, adjacent 
to the exterior boundary of the National Forest and a private 
subdivision. GTE offered to sublease space to KATY on its 
wooden antenna tower and within its cinder block equipment 
shed. The Gills signed a sublease with GTE and attached their 
station's antenna to the GTE tower in 1995.
    The value of the station and the antenna site was promptly 
established. KATY signed an agreement with the local, limited 
coverage, emergency broadcast station, WNKI, to carry WNKI's 
emergency bulletins. The FCC and the California State Office of 
Emergency Services designated KATY as the Local Primary Station 
to broadcast emergency information during disasters. In 1996, 
KATY aired nearly 200 announcements concerning the Bee Canyon 
fire, including the mandatory evacuation order and safe return 
notice for Idyllwild. Two years later, KATY broadcast another 
mandatory order to evacuate a second community also threatened 
by wildlife.
    However, KATY found its continued use of the National 
Forest site jeopardized when the local district ranger 
addressed a letter to Mr. Gill informing him that KATY was in 
trespass because GTE had no authority under its special use 
permit to sublease the site to the radio station. KATY was 
ordered to vacate the site.
    Following written correspondence from the then Chairman and 
ranking minority member of this Committee (Senators Murkowski 
and Johnston) with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Chief 
of the Forest Service, Senate conferees offered, and the 
conference committee agreed to insert, a provision in the 
Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1966 (section 
1037, P.L. 104-333) that directed the Secretary to determine 
whether the continued presence of the KATY antenna on the GTE 
communications site was in the public interest and to report 
his determination to this Committee and the Committee on 
Resources, House of Representatives.
    Instead of submitting the report to Congress, the Forest 
Service approached KATY about the willingness of the station to 
purchase the site. KATY agreed to buy the 1.06 acre parcel for 
fair market value and to commission a survey and appraisal 
acceptable to the agency. In return for a release of KATY from 
any and all claims the United States might have against the 
station arising from the station's occupancy and use of the 
National Forest site, KATY also agreed to pay to the Forest 
Service the rent it would otherwise have owed to the agency had 
it received a special use permit for the site.

                      Summary of Major Provisions

    S. 2111 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to sell to 
KATY the 1.06 acre parcel in the San Bernardino National Forest 
for fair market value upon the Secretary's approval of an 
appraisal that conforms with the Uniform Appraisal Standards 
for Federal Land Acquisition. It also provides the release to 
KATY for claims of the United States upon payment by the 
station of $16,600--the amount equivalent to the rent the 
Forest Service calculated it would have charged KATY under a 
special use permit.
    Other provisions of S. 2111 make clear that KATY is 
responsible for any subdivision, recordation, and zoning costs 
related to continued use of the parcel after conveyance and 
that the Forest Service is not required to grant access across 
national forest land to the site; provide that KATY, upon 
acceptance of title, holds harmless the United States from any 
third party claims associated with the parcel; and authorizes 
use of the funds received from KATY under the bill for 
acquisition of other land for inclusion in the San Bernardino 
National Forest.
    Finally, the bill amends the Receipts Act of 1938 to 
redirect one-half of the twenty-five percent payments from the 
San Bernardino National Forest. Currently, San Bernardino 
County receives the payments, and this section directs one-half 
of the payments to San Bernardino National Forest for land 
acquisition. This would provide the same treatment for San 
Bernardino County that is currently enjoyed by the counties of 
Los Angeles, Kern, San Diego, and Riverside. The impact on San 
Bernardino County revenues would be minimal because only a very 
small part of its budget is derived from receipt sharing 
payments from National Forest system lands.
    At the same time, there are numerous parcels of 
underdeveloped, private land within the San Bernardino National 
Forest, many of which are suitable for subdivision and 
development. If these tracts are developed, the manageability 
of adjacent National Forest system lands will decrease. Public 
ownership of key private land parcels would help the forest 
manage threaten, endangered and sensitive plant and animal 
species, improve recreation opportunities, and maintain open 
space that is scarce in southern California.
    Additionally, acquisition of these parcels will reduce the 
prospect of increased urban-wildland interface areas in and 
around the San Bernardino National Forest as a consequence of 
new subdivision construction. Using current fiscal year 
figures, it is estimated that approximately $150,000 would be 
available for land acquisition within that portion of the San 
Bernardino National Forest located in San Bernardino county.

                          Legislative History

    S. 2111 was introduced by Senator Feinstein on February 28, 
2000. The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management 
held a hearing on the measure on June 8, 2000. At its business 
meeting on September 20, 2000, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered S. 2111 reported favorably with an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on September 20, 2000, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2111 with 
amendment.

                          Committee Amendment

    The amendment in the nature of a substitute makes several 
technical and clarifying changes to the language of S. 2111, as 
introduced. It also includes two new provisions: subsection (g) 
concerning KATY's assumption of liability and subsection (i) 
amending the 1938 Receipts Act, as explained in the Summary of 
Major Provisions section above.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the costs 
of this measure has been requested but was not received at the 
time the report was filed. When the report becomes available 
the Chairman will request that it be printed in the 
Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. A copy of 
the CBO report on the companion measure in the House (H.R. 
3657) follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 15, 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 H.R. 3657, a bill to 
provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of public domain 
land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the state of 
California, and for other purposes.
    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.

H.R. 3657--A bill to provide for the conveyance of a small parcel of 
        public domain land in the San Bernardino National Forest in the 
        State of California, and for other purposes.

    CBO estimates that enacting this legislation would have no 
significant net affect on the federal budget. Because the bill 
would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures would 
apply, but the impact on direct spending would be negligible. 
H.R. 3657 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.
    Since 1995, KATY 101.3 FM (KATY), a small radio station, 
has operated a communication tower on approximately 1 acre of 
land that it leases within the San Bernardino National Forest 
in California. H.R. 3657 would direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey that property to KATY in return for a 
payment equal to the land's appraised full market value. The 
bill also would require the Secretary, upon receipt of a 
payment by KATY of $16,600 (the estimated amount of arrears 
owed by KATY to the federal government), to release KATY from 
all claims arising from its lease of the site. Under the bill, 
the Secretary would not be required to provide access to the 
site. KATY would bear all administrative costs associated with 
the conveyance and would have to agree to indemnify the United 
States against future claims regarding the property.
    H.R. 3657 would authorize the Secretary to spend, without 
further appropriation, funds received from KATY to acquire 
other property for the San Bernardino National Forest, Based on 
information from the Forest Service, CBO expects that the 
federal government would receive as much as $150,000 from KATY 
in 2001. Those payments would be recorded as offsetting 
receipts (a credit against direct spending), and would be spent 
over the 2001-2002 period.
    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 that would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 2111.
    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 
enactment of S. 2111, as ordered reported.

                        Executive Communications

    On September 26, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
Agriculture and the Office of management and budget setting 
forth executive views on S. 2111. These reports had not been 
received at the time the report on S. 2111 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 Jack Craven, Director of Lands, Forest Service, Department 
                             of Agriculture

    Mister Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you 
for the opportunity to present the Administration's views on S. 
2111, a bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
for fair market value 1.06 acres of land in the San Bernardino 
National Forest, California, to KATY 101.3 FM, a California 
corporation. We do not object to this bill if it is as 
suggested.
    S. 2111 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 
for fair market value 1.06 acres of national forest system land 
within the San Bernardino National Forest to KATY 101.3 FM, a 
California corporation. It would resolve a four-year dispute 
between the Forest Service and KATY-FM over their unauthorized 
use and occupancy of national forest system land.
    This bill will provide the public with payment of the fair 
market value of the subject parcel and with accrued land use 
rental fees for its use as a broadcast site over the past four 
years. The Administration does not object to this bill but 
recommends that it be amended with a provision that directs 
KATY to assume any liability of any building or personal 
property belonging to any third party and existing on the 
subject parcel of national forest system land to be conveyed. 
Amending S. 2111 in this manner will protect the United States 
against possible claims by any third parties who may have an 
interest in the facilities located on this parcel.
    This concludes my testimony. I would be glad to answer any 
questions you may have.

                        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 
the bill S. 2111, 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):

  AN ACT To further amend the Act of June 5, 1938 (52 Stat. 699), as 
amended by the Act of May 26, 1944 (58 Stat. 227), which authorizes the 
    appropriation of receipts from certain national forests for the 
purchase of lands within the boundaries of such forests, to provide for 
 the purchase of lands, real property or interests in lands in certain 
                           additional areas.

    The Secretary of Agriculture[,] [with the approval of the 
National Forest Reservation Commission established by section 4 
of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 513),] is hereby 
authorized to acquire by purchase any lands, real property or 
interests in lands, within the boundaries of the [San 
Bernardino and Cleveland] counties of San Bernardino, Cleveland 
and Los Angeles National Forests, in the [county of Riverside] 
counties of Riverside and San Bernardino, State of California, 
which, in his judgment, should become the property of the 
United States in order that they may be so managed with other 
lands of the United States [as to minimize soil erosion and 
flood damage] for National Forest System purposes, and to pay 
for said lands from those proportions of the receipts derived 
from the sale of natural resources, other than mineral, and the 
occupancy of publicly owned lands within said national forests 
which are equal to the proportions of the net areas of said 
national forests situated in the [county of Riverside] counties 
of Riverside and San Bernardino, State of California, which 
receipts are hereby authorized to be appropriated for 
expenditure for that purpose until said lands have been 
acquired; all lands so acquired thereafter to be subject to and 
administered under the laws applicable to lands acquired under 
the provisions of said Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 519, 
520, 521), as amended: Provided, That the provisions of 
sections 500 and 501 of title 16 of the United States Code 
shall not be applicable to receipts so appropriated and 
expended, but any appropriated amounts which are, or which 
heretofore have been, unexpended and unobligated at the close 
of the fiscal year for which appropriated shall be transferred 
to the national-forest receipts of that fiscal year, and 
amounts so transferred and such portions of the receipts of any 
fiscal year as are not, or heretofore have not been, 
appropriated, for the ensuing fiscal year shall be disposed of 
in the same manner as other national forest receipts: Provided 
further, [That the amounts to which the county of Riverside 
would otherwise be entitled under section 500 of title 16 of 
the United States Code shall be reduced by the amounts by which 
payments to the State for distribution to counties under that 
section are reduced pursuant to the above proviso.] Twelve and 
one-half percent of the monies otherwise payable to the State 
of California for the benefits of San Bernardino County under 
the aforementioned Act of March 1, 1911 (16 U.S.C. 500) shall 
be available to be appropriated for expenditure in furtherance 
of this Act.

                                  
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