[Senate Report 107-72]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 174
107th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     107-72

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    NATURAL GAS PIPELINES IN THE GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

                                _______
                                

                October 1, 2001.--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 S. 1097]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1097) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to issue right-of-way permits for natural gas 
pipelines within the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                purpose

    The purpose of S. 1097 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to issue right-of-way permits for natural gas 
pipelines along various parkways and other roads within the 
boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

                          background and need

    Last year, the Sevier County Utility District (SCUD), a 
rural utility provider in East Tennessee, requested permission 
from the National Park Service to tie in to an existing 
underground a natural gas pipeline that runs along U.S. Highway 
441, the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur. The existing pipeline 
was installed prior to the National Park Service's acquisition 
of the right-of-way along U.S. Highway 441. SCUD made the 
request to provide natural gas services to the Westgate 
subdivision, a ten phase development project in Gatlinburg, 
Tennessee. Currently, these homes are being forced to rely on 
alternate forms of energy, primarily electricity and propane.
    After the Park Service had prepared to grant SCUD's request 
for an easement along U.S. Highway 441's right-of-way, the 
agency became aware that it lacks the legal authority to grant 
a petroleum products easement, and that legislation is 
necessary to resolve this issue. While the Secretary of the 
Interior has general authority under 16 U.S.C. 79 to grant 
rights-of-way permits through units of the National Park System 
for various utility services, the authority does not include 
installation of natural gas or petroleum products pipelines.
    Great Smoky Mountains National Park experiences chronic air 
quality problems, which is expected to worsen with the growth 
taking place in communities near the park. The National Park 
Service has indicated that it would be beneficial to have the 
ability to permit natural gas pipelines as a clean alternative 
for heating these new homes and businesses. The Park Service 
would not grant any permits until it has conducted the same 
safety, esthetic, environmental and historic preservation 
reviews as it is required to conduct on any request for special 
uses of the park. Two other linear parks, the Blue Ridge and 
Natchez Trace Parkways, already have broad authority (16 U.S.C. 
460a-8) which allows them to grant rights-of-way over, across 
or upon parkway lands. S. 1097 would grant the National Park 
Service limited authority to issue similar rights-of-way 
permits within Great Smoky Mountains National Park.

                          legislative history

    S. 1097 was introduced by Senator Thompson on June 25, 
2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 
1097 on July 17, 2001. At its business meeting on August 2, 
2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 
1097 favorably reported without amendment.

                        committee recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on August 2, 2001, by a voice vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1097 as 
described herein.

                           SUMMARY OF S. 1097

    S. 1097 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue 
rights-of-way permits for existing natural gas pipelines that 
are within the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, 
if the pipeline is not otherwise authorized by Federal law and 
is not subject to valid rights of property ownership. Any 
permit issued is subject to any terms and conditions deemed 
necessary by the Secretary.
    S. 1097 also authorizes the Secretary to issue rights-of-
way permits for three pipelines proposed for construction in 
the park along the Foothills Parkway, the Foothills Parkway 
Spur between Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, and the Gatlinburg 
Bypass. Any permits issued are subject any terms and conditions 
deemed necessary by the Secretary, including provisions for the 
protection of resources disturbed by pipeline construction and 
assurances that construction and operation of the pipeline will 
be compatible with the purposes of the park

                   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, August 16, 2001.
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 S. 1097, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue right-of-way 
permits for natural gas pipelines within the boundary of the 
Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah 
Reis and Julie Middleton.
            Sincerely,
                                             Dan L. Crippen
                                                          Director.
    Enclosure.

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

S. 1097--A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue 
        right-of-way permits for natural gas pipelines within the 
        boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

    S. 1097 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
issue right-of-way permits for the installation of natural gas 
pipelines within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The 
bill would limit the permits to three specific sites within the 
park. Permits would be issued with certain conditions placed on 
the permit holder such as provisions for the protection and 
restoration of the land during pipeline construction.
    CBO estimates that implementing S. 1097 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. Because the National 
Park Service would probably charge fees for the right-of-way 
permits, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply, but CBO 
estimates that any offsetting receipts earned from these fees 
would be less than $500,000 a year.
    S. 1097 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.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and Julie Middleton. 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 S. 1097. The bill is not a regulatory measure 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 S. 1097.

                        executive communications

    On July 27, 2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of 
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting 
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1097. These 
reports had not been received at the time this report was 
filed. The testimony provided by the National Park Service at 
the Subcommittee hearing follows:

 Statement of John G. Parsons, Associate Regional Director for Lands, 
Resources and Planning, National Capital Region, National Park Service, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 1097, which would 
provide legal authority to permit existing and future natural 
gas pipelines within a portion of Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park near Gatlinburg, Tennessee.
    The department supports S. 1097. This legislation would 
help address the air pollution problem at Great Smokey 
Mountains National Park by facilitating the use of natural 
gas--a relatively clean source of energy--in an area where air 
quality is poor.
    S. 1097 would provide authority for the continuing 
operation and maintenance of an existing gas main that runs 
through Great Smoky Mountains National Park that has been in 
place since the 1960's. And, it would allow the Secretary of 
the Interior to authorize construction of new gas lines, where 
otherwise appropriate, across several linear park lands managed 
by Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The areas where the new 
pipelines would be allowed are: the Foothills Parkway, which 
extends parallel to the north boundary of the park for 70 
miles; the Foothills Parkway Spur, a four-mile-long park road 
(also U.S. 441) which connects the gateway communities of 
Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg; and the Gatlinburg Bypass which 
links the Spur to the main body of the park. All three areas 
are linear lands that are managed as scenic transportation 
corridors. S. 1097 would not allow construction of natural gas 
lines across the main body of the park.
    The need for this legislation came to the attention of the 
National Park Service last year, when Great Smoky Mountains 
National Park received a request from Sevier County Utility 
District in Tennessee for permission to install a new natural 
gas pipeline across the park-owned Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur 
right-of-way (U.S. 441) in order to provide gas service to a 
new development in the city of Gatlinburg. Under 16 U.S.C. 79, 
the Secretary of the Interior may permit rights-of-way through 
units of the National Park System for electrical, phone, water, 
sewer and some other utility services, but that general 
authority explicitly does not authorize installation of natural 
gas or petroleum product-bearing lines.
    Between the 1990 Census and the 2000 Census the population 
of Sevier County, Tennessee, which includes Gatlinburg and 
Pigeon Forge, grew by 39 percent, making it the state's third 
fastest-growing county. Within the county some of the most 
rapid growth is occurring between the Foothills Parkway and the 
main body of the park in the areas not currently served by 
natural gas, other than the single six-inch line along the Spur 
to Gatlinburg.
    The single greatest natural resource problem in Great Smoky 
Mountains National Park is declining air quality. Its vistas 
are reduced by sulfate and particulate emissions. Ozone levels 
in the park's higher elevations reaches levels that pose a 
hazard to human health under Environmental Protection Agency 
standards. High elevation streams and soils are becoming 
increasingly acidified by airborne acid deposition which is 
threatening plants, wildlife and aquatic systems. A large 
proportion of this pollution is produced by coal-generated 
electrical power plants. Significant progress is being made to 
reduce emissions from power generation, and that progress could 
be aided if the thousands of new homes and businesses that are 
springing up in surrounding communities turn to the use of 
natural gas for their heating needs. The authority provided by 
S. 1097 would enable greater usage of natural gas.
    The need for an authorization for existing natural gas 
pipelines stems from the developments that led to current 
National Park Service management of the Foothills Parkway Spur. 
The Foothills Parkway Spur was built by the Federal government 
in the 1950's on land acquired by the State of Tennessee and 
donated by the Federal government. In 1963, an agreement was 
signed between the National Park Service and the State of 
Tennessee that called for the Spur to be transferred back to 
the State after the Federal government built the Gatlinburg 
Bypass on other lands donated by the State. Subsequent to the 
1963 agreement, the National Park Service allowed construction 
of a six-inch natural gas main down the Spur which still 
provides the only gas service to Gatlinburg.
    At that time, the National Park Service's only concern was 
to ensure that the line's installation was acceptable to the 
State of Tennessee as the land's future owner. Although the 
Gatlinburg Bypass was completed in 1968, the State has 
declined, for a variety of reasons, to accept the Spur back 
into State ownership, leaving the National Park Service with a 
pipeline it has no current authority to permit. This 
legislation will allow for the continued operation and 
maintenance of this line.
    Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the 
Subcommittee may have.

                        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 bill S. 1097 as ordered 
reported.

                                
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