[House Report 107-628]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                                       
107th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     107-628
======================================================================
 
             SAN GABRIEL RIVER WATERSHEDS STUDY ACT OF 2002

                                _______
                                

 September 4, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 2534]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 2534) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
conduct a special resource study of the Lower Los Angeles River 
and San Gabriel River watersheds in the State of California, 
and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill 
as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``San Gabriel River Watersheds Study Act 
of 2002''.

SEC. 2. AUTHORIZATION OF STUDY.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter in this 
Act referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall conduct a special resource 
study of the following areas:
          (1) The San Gabriel River and its tributaries north of and 
        including the city of Santa Fe Springs.
          (2) The San Gabriel Mountains within the territory of the San 
        Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains Conservancy 
        (as defined in section 32603(c)(1)(C) of the State of 
        California Public Resource Code).
  (b) Study Conduct and Completion.--Section 8(c) of Public Law 91-383 
(16 U.S.C. 1a-5(c)) shall apply to the conduct and completion of the 
study required by this section.
  (c) Consultation With Federal, State, and Local Governments.--In 
conducting the study authorized by this section, the Secretary shall 
consult with the San Gabriel and Lower Los Angeles Rivers and Mountains 
Conservancy and other appropriate Federal, State, and local 
governmental entities.
  (d) Considerations.--In conducting the study authorized by this 
section, the Secretary shall consider regional flood control and 
drainage needs and publicly owned infrastructure, including, but not 
limited to, wastewater treatment facilities.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

  Not later than 3 years after funds are made available for this Act, 
the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Resources of the House of 
Representatives a report on the findings, conclusions, and 
recommendations of the study.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 2534 is to authorize the Secretary of 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of the Lower Los 
Angeles River and the San Gabriel River watersheds in the State 
of California, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The legislation would direct the Secretary of Interior to 
conduct a special resource study of a substantial portion of 
the area of the San Gabriel Rivers and Mountains Conservancy. 
The Conservancy was established in 1999 as an independent 
agency within the Resources Agency of the State of California 
to preserve open space in this urban area. The study is 
intended to address local values of open space preservation and 
recreational opportunities for this heavily urbanized area of 
southern California.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 2534 was introduced on July 17, 2001 by Congresswoman 
Hilda Solis (D-CA) and was referred to the Committee on 
Resources. On July 25, 2001, the bill was referred within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, 
and Public Lands. On June 13, 2002, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill. On July 24, 2002, the Full Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. By unanimous consent, the 
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands 
was discharged from further consideration of the bill. Ms. 
Solis offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute to 
require the Secretary of Interior to conduct a special resource 
study of the area, remove the Lower Los Angeles River and the 
portion of the San Gabriel River south of the city of Santa Fe 
Springs from the study area, insert language requiring the 
Secretary to consider regional flood control, public 
infrastructure, and wastewater treatment needs, and require the 
consultation of local governments. The amendment was adopted by 
unanimous consent. There were no further amendments and the 
bill was ordered favorably reported, as amended, to the House 
of Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

    Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority 
to enact this bill.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of Rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 31, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
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. 2534, the San 
Gabriel River Watersheds Study Act of 2002.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this 
estimate is Deborah Reis.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 2534--San Gabriel River Watersheds Study Act of 2002

    H.R. 2534 would direct the Department of the Interior to 
conduct a study of two areas to determine the suitability and 
feasibility of establishing them collectively as a unit of the 
National Park System. The study areas are composed of certain 
segments of the San Gabriel Mountains and the San Gabriel River 
and tributaries. The bill would require the department to 
report findings and recommendations within three years of 
receiving funding for the study.
    Assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 2534 would cost the federal 
government less than $500,000 over the next three years to 
complete the required study and report. The bill would not 
affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply.
    H.R. 2534 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                
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