[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

                                _______
                                

                 June 28, 2002.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   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''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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.

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