[Senate Report 107-198]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 475
107th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 107-198
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AMEND THE CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, COLORADO, PUBLIC LANDS TRANSFER ACT OF
1993
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June 28, 2002.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 223]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 223) to amend the Clear Creek County,
Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993 to provide
additional time for Clear Creek County to dispose of certain
lands transferred to the county under the Act, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
Purpose
H.R. 223 amends the Public Laws 103-253 to provide Clear
Creek County in Colorado with eleven additional years to decide
the disposition of lands it received pursuant to the 1993 Act.
Background and Need
In 1993, as part of a plan to merge its eastern Colorado
operations into one administrative office, the Bureau of Land
Management (BLM) decided to dispose of most of its surface
lands in northeastern Colorado. The Clear Creek County,
Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993 (Public Law 103-
253) transferred approximately 7,000 acres to Clear Creek
County and another 7,000 acres to the Forest Service, the State
of Colorado, and the towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume. H.R.
223 affects only the provision of that Act transferring land to
Clear Creek County.
Pursuant to the 1993 Act, Clear Creek County could either
sell the land it received, retain the land for recreation and
other public purposes, or do both. With regard to the lands
that the county has authority to sell, the 1993 Act authorizes
the county to act as the BLM's sales agent. It also provides
that the Federal Government will receive any net receipts from
the sale of these lands by the county.
The 1993 Act required Clear Creek County to decide the
disposition of the lands within 10 years. Although the county
has conveyed some of the land, the County Commissioners have
found that the process is taking much longer than they
anticipated. They requested additional time to complete the
transactions.
Legislative History
H.R. 223 was introduced by Representative Mark Udall on
January 3, 2001, and passed the House of Representatives on
March 13, 2001. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
held a hearing on H.R. 223 on November 27, 2001. The Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources considered H.R. 223 at its
business meeting on May 15, 2002, and ordered the bill as
amended favorably reported at its business meeting on June 5,
2002.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on June 5, 2002, by a voice vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 223.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 of H.R. 223 amends the 1993 Clear Creek County,
Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act to provide Clear Creek
County until May 19, 2015 to decide the disposition of lands it
received pursuant to the 1993 Act.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 10, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
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. 223, an act to
amend the Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer
Act of 1993 to provide additional time for Clear Creek County
to dispose of certain lands transferred to the county under the
act.
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. 223--An act to amend the Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public
Lands Transfer Act of 1993 to provide additional time for Clear
Creek County to dispose of certain lands transferred to the
county under the act
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 223 would not affect the
federal budget. The legislation would not affect direct
spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would
not apply. H.R. 223 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. Enacting this legislation would benefit Clear
Creek County.
Under the Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands
Transfer Act of 1993, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM)
conveyed several thousand acres of federal lands to that
county. The act directed the county to develop a land use plan
for the conveyed lands and authorized the county to sell some
of those lands, provided that such sales were consistent with
the land use plan and occurred within 10 years. H.R. 223 would
extend that deadline for an additional 10 years. According to
BLM, the county has not completed a land use plan and needs a
statutory extension in order to sell the lands in the future.
Because the county already owns the lands, CBO estimates that
the proposed extension would not affect the federal budget.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
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. 223 The bill is not a regulatory measures in
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or
significant 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. 223.
Executive Communications
The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive
agency recommendation relating to H.R. 223 are set forth below:
Department of the Interior,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC, December 7, 2001.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter sets forth the views of the
Department of the Interior on H.R. 223, a bill to amend the
Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of
1993. The Department supports this bill.
H.R. 223 amends section 5 of the Clear Creek County,
Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993 by extending until
May 19, 2015, the time allowed Clear Creek County to sell
certain lands that is received from the BLM under the 1993 Act.
The 1993 Act helped achieved the goal of consolidating BLM
administration in eastern Colorado by transferring
approximately 14,000 acres of land from the BLM to the U.S.
Forest Service, to the State of Colorado, to Clear Creek
County, and to the towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume.
H.R. 223 applies only to 7,300 acres that were transferred
to Clear Creek County. The 1993 Act provides that, after the
county prepares a comprehensive land use plan, the county may
in turn resell some of those lands. The BLM recognizes that
Clear Creek County has not completed the land use planning of
the acreage conveyed by the United States and needs a statutory
extension. Under H.R. 223, the new deadline would be May 19,
2015.
The complexity of the fragmented county land ownership,
intermingled with patented mining claims, requires much more
time and effort than was initially anticipated, and will
require most--if not all--of the ten-year extension. We
understand that Clear Creek County will be able to complete the
conveyance of these remaining lands with this extension of time
and therefore we support this bill. Accordingly, the Department
supports H.R. 223.
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,
J. Steven Griles,
Acting Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals Management.
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 Act H.R. 223, 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):
Public Law 103-253
AN ACT To provide for the transfer of certain public lands located in
Clear Creek County, Colorado, to the Forest Service, the State of
Colorado, and certain local governments in the State of Colorado, and
for other purposes
Be in enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Clear Creek County,
Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993''.
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SEC. 5. LAND TRANSFER TO CLEAR CREEK COUNTY, COLORADO.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
(c) Unsold Lands.--(1) The County may transfer some or all
of the lands referred to in subsection (a) to an entity that
would be a qualified grantee under section 2(a) and 2(c) of the
Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869-1(a), (c)).
Any lands so transferred shall be held by the recipient thereof
under the same terms and conditions as if transferred by the
United States under such Act, except that such terms and
conditions shall also apply to the mineral estate in such
lands.
(2) Any of the lands referred to in subsection (a) which
remain in County ownership on [the date 10 years after the date
of enactment of this Act] May 19, 2015, or regarding which the
County has prior to such date notified the Secretary that the
County intends to retain ownership, shall be retained by the
County under the same terms and conditions as if transferred to
the County on such date or on the date of such notification
(whichever first occurs) by the United States under the
Recreation and Public Purposes Act, except that such terms and
conditions shall also apply to the mineral estate in such
lands.
* * * * * * *