[Senate Report 107-305]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 693
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     107-305

======================================================================



 
           BLACKWATER NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE EXPANSION ACT

                                _______
                                

                October 8, 2002.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Jeffords, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [to accompany H.R. 4807]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was 
referred a bill (H.R. 4807) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to acquire the property in Cecil County, Maryland, 
known as Garrett Island for inclusion in the Blackwater 
National Wildlife Refuge, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.

                    General Statement and Background

    On June 23, 1942, President Roosevelt issued Executive 
Order 9185 establishing the Susquehanna National Wildlife 
Refuge in Cecil County, Maryland. This area, which was closed 
to hunting, contained thousands of acres of submerged aquatic 
vegetation providing superb habitat for a large population of 
diving ducks.
    In 1978, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service opened the 
closed area to hunting because the aquatic vegetation had 
largely disappeared and waterfowl use had declined to the point 
where Federal protection was no longer necessary. As a result, 
the size of the refuge was reduced to the four acres of Battery 
Island which had been the site of a U.S. Coast Guard lighthouse 
since the 1920's. The Susquehanna Refuge has been further 
reduced by erosion and it is managed as a non-staffed satellite 
of the larger Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge.
    Garrett Island is located at the mouth of the Susquehanna 
River and it is the only rocky island in the tidal waters of 
the Chesapeake Bay. It is a link between the river and the bay. 
The island is about a mile and a half wide, is comprised of 
approximately 198 acres, and rises to 115 feet above sea level. 
The island is currently owned by a group of private land 
conservators who donated 15 percent of the island to the Cecil 
Land Trust. It is estimated that the cost to the Federal 
Government of purchasing the remaining acreage would be 
$300,000.
    Garrett Island has been occupied by humans for generations. 
It was the site of Maryland's second settlement in the early 
1600's. In the mid-1800's, the B&O railroad purchased the 
island as a base for a bridge they built across the Susquehanna 
River and named it after its Chairman of the Board, John W. 
Garrett. Today, the island has no permanent residents and there 
is limited public use including bird watching, fishing and 
picnicking. The island has a variety of archeological, natural 
and wildlife resources. It provides high-quality habitat for 44 
different avian populations and dozens of fish species, 
including 14 kinds of ducks, eagles, Canadian geese, common 
loons and tundra swans.
    Accokeek Creek and Potomac Creek in Stafford County, 
Virginia, form a more than 7,000 acres peninsula of forested 
mature wood and old growth forest. In the mid-1800's, the 
Peninsula was a thriving plantation with a brick and wood manor 
house called ``Tranquility''. The Civil War saw Tranquility 
burned and the harbor used by the Union as a supply port to 
provide materials to the Army of the Potomac. After the Civil 
War, the area was left largely untouched by human activity.
    The peninsula provides nesting, roosting, and migratory 
habitat for many neotropical land birds and raptors and is home 
to one of the largest heron rookeries--over 600 pairs--in the 
Chesapeake Bay watershed. Fifty-seven species were found 
breeding during the spring of 1999, with sixty percent of them 
experiencing serious population declines. Within the 7,480-acre 
boundary, the refuge will protect nearly 400 acres of open 
water, 5,800 acres of forested uplands, tidal marshes, 
bottomland wetland forests and floodplain forests.
    The comment period on the Final Environmental Assessment 
demonstrated the strong support of the local government, 
property owners within the proposed boundary and local civic 
groups for establishment of the Refuge.

                     Objectives of the Legislation

    H.R. 4807 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire Garrett Island in Cecil County, Maryland. The Secretary 
is required to manage the Island as the Garret Island Unit of 
the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge in order to support the 
Delmarva Conservation Corridor Demonstration Program; conserve, 
restore, and manage habitats as necessary to contribute to the 
migratory bird populations prevalent in the Atlantic Flyway; to 
conserve, restore, and manage the significant aquatic resource 
values associated with submerged adjacent land and achieving 
the habitat objectives of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement; to 
conserve its archeological resources; and to provide public 
access that does not adversely impact natural resources.
    H.R. 4807 also establishes the Accokeek Creek National 
Wildlife Refuge in Stafford County, Virginia.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

Section 1. Short Title
    This Section cites the bill as the ``Blackwater National 
Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act''.
Sec. 2. Findings
    This Section finds that Garrett Island is a microcosm of 
the geology and geography of the region; the only rocky island 
in the tidal waters of the Chesapeake; provides high-quality 
habitat for bird and fish species; and contains significant 
archaeological sites reflecting human history and prehistory of 
the region.
Sec. 3. Authority To Acquire Property for Inclusion in the Blackwater 
        National Wildlife Refuge
    This Section authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire Garrett Island, located at the mouth of the Susquehanna 
River in Cecil County, Maryland and manage the lands as the 
Garrett Island Unit of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. 
The purposes of the Garrett Island Unit are to support the 
Delmarva Conservation Corridor Demonstration Program; conserve, 
restore, and manage habitats as necessary to contribute to the 
migratory bird populations prevalent in the Atlantic Flyway; to 
conserve, restore, and manage the significant aquatic resource 
values associated with submerged adjacent land and achieving 
the habitat objectives of the Chesapeake 2000 Agreement; to 
conserve its archeological resources; and to provide public 
access that does not adversely impact natural resources.
Sec. 4. Accokeek National Wildlife Refuge
    This Section establishes the Accokeek Creek National 
Wildlife Refuge in Stafford County, Virginia, authorizes the 
Secretary of the Interior to acquire from willing parties land 
within the boundaries of the depicted refuge, and administer 
the refuge in accordance with the National Wildlife Refuge 
System.

                             Rollcall Votes

    The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to 
consider H.R. 4807 on September 26, 2002. The committee agreed 
to a technical amendment by Senator Jeffords and an amendment 
by Senator Warner by voice vote. Later that day the committee 
met again to complete action on the bill and voted to report 
H.R. 4807, as amended, by voice vote.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

    In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee finds that H.R. 
4807 does not create any additional regulatory burdens, nor 
will it cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of 
individuals.

                          Mandates Assessment

    In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995 
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds that H.R. 4807 would 
impose no Federal intergovernmental unfunded mandates on State, 
local, or tribal governments.

                          Cost of Legislation

    Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment 
Control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the 
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be 
included in the report. That statement follows:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               congressional Budget Office,
                                   Washington, DC, October 3, 2002.

Hon. James M. Jeffords, Chairman,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 4807, the 
Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll, who can be reached at 226-2860.
            Sincerely,
                                            Dan L. Crippen.
                              ----------                              

H.R. 4807, Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge Expansion Act as ordered 
        reported by the Senate Committee on Environment and Public 
        Works on September 26, 2002
Summary
    H.R. 4807 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire certain lands for inclusion in the Blackwater National 
Wildlife Refuge in Maryland. The legislation also would 
establish the Accokeek Creek National Wildlife Refuge in 
Virginia and would authorize the Secretary to acquire non-
Federal lands within that proposed refuge.
    Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO 
estimates that implementing H.R. 4807 would cost about $20 
million over the 2003-2007 period. The legislation would not 
affect direct spending or receipts. H.R. 4807 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would have no 
significant impact on the budgets of State, local, or tribal 
governments.
Estimated Cost to the Federal Government
    The estimated budgetary impact of H.R. 4807 is shown in the 
following table. The costs of this legislation fail within 
budget functions 300 (natural resources and environment) and 
800 (general government).


                 By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                   2003    2004    2005    2006    2007
------------------------------------------------------------------------
 CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO
          APPROPRIATION
Estimated Authorization Level...       1      18       *       *       *
Estimated Outlays...............       1      18       *       *       *
------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTE: * = Less than $500,000.

Basis of Estimate
    For this estimate, CBO assumes that H.R. 4807 will be 
enacted early in fiscal year 2003 and that amounts necessary to 
implement the legislation will be provided near the start of 
each fiscal year. Estimates of outlays are based on historic 
spending patterns for similar activities.
    H.R. 4807 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire Garrett Island, a 198-acre island at the mouth of the 
Susquehanna River in Cecil County, Maryland. The legislation 
would direct the Secretary to manage the acquired lands as a 
unit of the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge. Based on 
information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), 
CBO estimates that the agency would spend up to $800,000 to 
acquire the island in 2003.
    H.R 4807 also would establish the Accokeek Creek National 
Wildlife Refuge on 7,480 acres of land in Stafford County, 
Virginia, and would authorize the Secretary to acquire non-
Federal lands within the proposed refuge. Based on information 
from the USFWS, we estimate that acquiring those lands would 
cost $18 million in 2004.
    In addition, based on information from the USFWS, CBO 
estimates that the agency would spend less than $500,000 
annually to manage lands acquired under H.R. 4807 and to make 
payments to Cecil County and Stafford County under the Refuge 
Revenue Sharing Act.
Intergovernmental and Private-Sector Impact
    H.R 4807 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA and would have no significant 
impact on the budgets of State, local, or tribal governments.
Previous CBO Estimate
    On July 3, 2002, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
4807 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 
June 26, 2002. Our estimates of the cost of acquiring and 
managing Garrett Island are the same under both versions of the 
legislation. Our estimate of total spending under the Senate 
version of H.R. 4807 is higher than for the House version, 
however, because it would establish the Accokeek Creek National 
Wildlife Refuge and authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
acquire non-Federal lands within that proposed refuge.

Estimate Prepared By: Federal Costs: Megan Carroll (226-2860); 
Impact on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Maijorie Miller 
(225-3220); Impact on the Private Sector Lauren Marks (226-
2940).

Estimate Approved By: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                        Changes to Existing Law

    Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the Senate 
requires the committee to publish changes in existing law made 
by the bill as reported. Passage of this bill will make no 
changes to existing law.

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