[Senate Report 107-273]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 590
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-273
======================================================================
 
            VIRGINIA KEY BEACH PARK IN BISCAYNE BAY, FLORIDA

                                _______
                                

               September 11, 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. 2109]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 2109) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of Virginia Key 
Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida, for possible inclusion in 
the National Park System, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act 
do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 2109 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to conduct a special resource study of Virginia 
Key Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida, to evaluate the site 
for possible inclusion in the National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Virginia Key Beach Park consists of a 77-acre area on the 
southeastern flank of Virginia Key, a 1,000-acre island two 
miles east of Miami. Virginia Key is a relatively unspoiled by 
development, and is non-residential. Island attractions include 
many ponds, rivers and waterways, a tropical hardwood hammock, 
and a large wildlife conservation area.
    Virginia Key Beach also played a role in the civil rights 
struggle. Until August 1, 1945, all beaches in the Miami area 
were closed to African Americans. As a result of a civil rights 
protest in May 1945, Dade County created a separate public 
beach at Virginia Key Beach for African-Americans on August 1, 
1945. The beaches remained segregated until civil rights laws 
opened all the beaches in the area to all races.
    In 1982, the Virginia Key Beach property was granted to the 
city of Miami from the county. In 1999, with an eye toward 
acknowledgment and restoration of the historical aspects of the 
area, the city of Miami designated the Virginia Key Beach Park 
Civil Rights Task Force to examine the site and give advice 
concerning the future of the beach.
    On the task force's recommendation, the Virginia Key Beach 
Park Trust was established in January 2001. The site was 
included on the National Register of Historical Places in July 
2002. A National Park Service special resource study would 
gather the data collected through these efforts and help 
determine the best way to recognize and protect Virginia Key 
Beach.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 2109 was introduced by Representative Carrie Meek on 
June 7, 2001. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a 
voice vote on April 30, 2002. Companion legislation, S. 1312, 
was introduced by Senators Nelson of Florida and Graham on 
August 2, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a 
hearing on H.R. 2109 and S. 1312 on June 12, 2002. At the 
business meeting on July 31, 2002 the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 2109 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. 2109.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 requires that the Secretary of the Interior 
examine the area of the Virginia Key Beach Park in Biscayne 
Bay, Florida and report to the designated congressional 
committees on the suitability and viability of establishing the 
site as a National Park System unit. In conducting the study 
the Secretary must use the criteria for the study of areas for 
potential inclusion in the National Park System contained in 
section 8 of Public Law 91-383.

                   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. 2109, an act to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 
resource study of Virginia Key Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, 
Florida, for possible inclusion in 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.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 2109--An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
        a special resource study of Virginia Key Beach Park in Biscayne 
        Bay, Florida, for possible inclusion in the National Park 
        System

    H.R. 2109 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 
evaluate the national significance of Virginia Key Beach Park 
and the suitability and feasibility of establishing it as a 
unit of the National Park System. The legislation would require 
the agency to report to the Congress on its findings upon 
conclusion of the study.
    Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates 
that completing the required study and report would cost the 
federal government $50,000 over the next three to four years, 
assuming the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 2109 
would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply. The legislation 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 March 26, 2002, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
2109 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 
March 20, 2002. 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. 2109. 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. 2109, 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. 2109 is set forth 
below:

                   U.S. Department of the Interior,
                                   Office of the Secretary,
                                     Washington, DC, July 25, 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 S. 1312 and H.R. 2109. These 
bills would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct 
a special resource study of Virginia Key Beach in Biscayne Bay, 
Florida, where a recreational community for African Americans 
flourished at a time when non-whites were prohibited from using 
other beaches in the Miami area.
    The Department supports both bills, but we prefer H.R. 2109 
as passed by the House on April 30. However, we did not request 
additional funding for this study in Fiscal Year 2003. 
Altogether, there are 39 studies pending, of which we hope to 
transmit at least 4 to Congress by the end of 2002. 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 eliminate the 
deferred maintenance backlog. The Department will identify in 
each study all of the acquisition, one-time, and operational 
costs of the proposed site. At this time the costs are unknown.
    S. 1312 and H.R. 2109 authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to conduct a special resource study of Virginia Key 
Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida. The study would evaluate 
the site's national significance and the suitability and 
feasibility of designating it as a unit of the National Park 
System. The bill calls for the study to be completed under the 
guidelines in Section 8 of P.L. 91-383, the National Park 
Service General Authorities Act of 1970, as amended, which 
contains the criteria for studying areas for potential 
inclusion in the National Park System. The guidelines specify 
that studies consider other alternatives for protection of the 
subject area besides direct management by the National Park 
Service.
    Virginia Key Beach Park is a 77-acre site on the 
southeastern side of Virginia Key, an island of approximately 
1,000 acres located two miles east of downtown Miami, Florida 
and about one mile southwest of the southern tip of Miami 
Beach. Although there has been some limited development, the 
island is non-residential and includes ponds and waterways, a 
tropical hardwood hammock, and a large wildlife conservation 
area.
    In the summer of 1945, at the ``whites-only'' Baker's 
Haulover Beach in north Dade County, a group of black men led 
by Judge Lawson E. Thomas staged a protest of thesegration laws 
that prohibited black persons from using the public beaches of Miami 
and Dade County. In response to the protest, county officials created a 
public beach for the black community on Virginia Key, which opened on 
August 1, 1945.
    The beach at Virginia Key had been used by African 
Americans for at least the two previous decades. During World 
War II, the Navy used Virginia Key Beach for training African 
Americans servicemen who were not permitted to train in the 
waters along the ``whites-only'' beaches. It was not until 
1945, however, that the county began building recreational 
facilities there and making the beach more accessible by 
providing ferry boat service until the completion of the 
Rickenbacker Causeway in 1949 allowed access by automobile.
    Virginia Key Beach Park had bathhouses, picnic pavilions, a 
concession stand, and a carousel and other amenities. The beach 
remained segregated through the 1950's until civil rights laws 
opened all the public beaches in the area. Still, through the 
next two decades. Virginia Key Beach remained a popular 
destination for many in the black community. In 1982, the area 
was transferred from the county to the City of Miami with the 
stipulation that the area be kept open and maintained as a 
public park and recreation area. However, the city closed 
Virginia Key Beach Park shortly after the transfer, citing the 
high cost of maintenance and operations. After nearly 20 years 
of non-use, the bathhouse, concessions building and other 
facilities have fallen into disrepair.
    At the present time, efforts are underway locally to 
promote recognition and restoration of Virginia Key Beach Park. 
In 1999, the City of Miami appointed the Virginia Key Park 
Civil Rights Task Force to study and make recommendations for 
the site, one of which was to establish a more permanent entity 
to carry on the work of the task force. The Virginia Key Beach 
Park Trust was established in January, 2001, to implement the 
task forces' recommendations. A nomination for the National 
Register of Historic Places is currently being prepared for the 
site. A special resource study conducted by the National Park 
Service would draw from the information compiled through these 
efforts and facilitate decisions about appropriate means to 
recognize and protect this site.
    We recommend that the committee approve the language used 
in H.R. 2109 as passed by the House rather than that used in S. 
1312. H.R. 2109 was amended by the House to change the name of 
the area to be studied from ``Virginia Key Beach'' to 
``Virginia Key Beach Park.'' Although the names have been used 
interchangeably, using the term ``Virginia Key Beach Park'' 
helps clarify that the study is focused on the 77-acre 
recreation site and does not include the entire beach of 
Virginia Key. It is also consistent with the name that is being 
used for the site in the nomination for the National Register 
of Historic Places.
    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. 2109, as 
ordered reported.

                                
