[Senate Report 107-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 581
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-264

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                         WACO MAMMOTH SITE AREA

                                _______
                                

               September 9, 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. 1925]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 1925) to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of 
designating the Waco Mammoth Site Area in Waco, Texas, as a 
unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes, 
having considering the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 1925 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior, in consultation with the State of Texas, the city of 
Waco, and other appropriate organizations, to study the 
suitability and feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth 
Site Area in Waco, Texas, as a unit of the National Park 
System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Located near the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque rivers 
in Central Texas, the Waco Mammoth Site area is near the city 
of Waco. After hearing reports about bones emerging from 
eroding creek banks in 1978, a Baylor University staff member 
began investigating the site. Portions of five mammoths were 
uncovered from 1978 to 1981. By 1997, the bones of twenty-two 
Colombian mammoths, warm weather cousins to the woolly mammoth, 
had been unearthed.
    This discovery has attracted international attention. 
Evidence indicates that the deaths and mass burial of the 
animals was from natural causes, not the intervention of man. 
These finds make the Waco Mammoth Site the largest known 
concentration of a single herd of mammoths dying from the same 
event. H.R. 1925 would authorize the National Park Service to 
undertake a study to determine if the site would be appropriate 
for designation as a unit of the National Park System.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 1925 was introduced by Representative Chet Edwards on 
May 21, 2001. The House of Representatives passed the bill by 
voice vote on May 14, 2002. The Subcommittee on National Parks 
held a hearing on H.R. 1925 on July 18, 2002. At the business 
meeting on July 31, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources ordered H.R. 1925 favorably reported.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on July 31, 2002, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1925.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a suitability and feasibility study and sets forth requirements 
for conducting the study and consultation.
    Section 2 provides that a report on the findings, 
conclusions, and recommendations of the study be submitted to 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 
the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives 
within 3 years from the date on which funds are made available.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                    Washington, DC, August 9, 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. 1925, an act to 
direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability 
and feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth Site Area in 
Waco, Texas, as a unit of the National Park System.
    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. 1925--An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the 
        suitability and feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth 
        Site Area in Waco, Texas, as a unit of the National Park System

    H.R. 1925 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 
conduct a study on the suitability and feasibility of making 
the Waco Mammoth Site Area in Texas a unit of the National Park 
System. The legislation would require the agency to report to 
the Congress on its findings within three years of receiving 
funds for the study.
    Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates 
that completing the required study and report would cost the 
federal government $300,000 over the next three years, assuming 
availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 1925 would not affect 
direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would not apply. The act 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.
    On November 28, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for 
H.R. 1925 as ordered reported by the House Committee on 
Resources on November 28, 2001. The two versions of the 
legislation are identical, as are the cost estimates.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
The 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. 1925. 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 H.R. 1925, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee 
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive 
agency recommendations relating to H.R. 1925 is set forth 
below:

                   U.S. Department of the Interior,
                                   Office of the Secretary,
                                     Washington, DC, July 26, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter sets forth the views of the 
Department of the Interior on H.R. 1925. This bill would 
require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to 
determine the national significance, suitability and 
feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth Site in Waco, Texas 
as a unit of the National Park System. H.R. 1925 passed the 
House of Representatives on May 14, 2002.
    The Department supports this bill. However, the Department 
did not request additional funding for this study in Fiscal 
Year 2003. We believe that any funding requested should be 
directed towards completing previously authorized studies. 
Presently, there are 34 studies pending, of which we expect to 
transmit four to Congress by the end of 2002. To meet the 
President's Initiative to eliminate the deferred maintenance 
backlog, we must continue to focus our resources on caring for 
existing areas in the National Park System. Thus, we have 
concerns about adding new funding requirements for new park 
units, national trails, wild and scenic rivers or heritage 
areas at the same time that we are trying to reduce the 
deferred maintenance backlog. As such, the Department will 
identify all acquisition, one-time and operational costs of the 
proposed site. At this time, those costs are unknown.
    H.R. 1925 calls of the completion of a special resource 
study of the Waco Mammoth Site that determines the national 
significance, suitability and feasibility of designating the 
site as a unit of the National Park System. The bill calls for 
the study to be completed under the guidelines in P.L. 91-383 
and submission of the study results to Congress not later than 
three years after funds are first made available for the Act.
    The Waco Mammoth Site area is located near the confluence 
of the Brazos and the Bosque rivers in Central Texas, not far 
from the city of Waco. Baylor University has been investigating 
the site since 1978 after hearing about bones emerging from 
eroding creek banks that led to the uncovering of portions of 
five mammoths. Since then several additional mammoth remains 
have been uncovered--making this the largest known 
concentration of mammoths dying from the same event.
    The discoveries have received international attention, with 
archaeologists and paleontologists from Sweden and Great 
Britain visiting the site. Many of the remains have been 
excavated and are in storage or still being researched. The 
University and the city of Waco have been working together to 
protect the site, as well as develop further research and 
educational opportunities.
    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,
                                      Craig Manson,
                           Assistant Secretary for Fish and
                                                Wildlife and Parks.

                        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 the Act H.R. 1925, as 
ordered reported.

                                  
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