[Senate Report 108-374]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 733
108th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 108-374
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FORT FREDERICA NATIONAL MONUMENT LAND EXCHANGE ACT
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September 28, 2004.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1113]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1113) to authorize an exchange of land
at Fort Frederica National Monument, and for other purposes,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the Act, as amended, do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
On page 2, lines 2 and 3, strike ``any other provision of
law'' and insert ``section 5(b) of Public Law 90-401 (16 U.S.C.
460l-22(b))''.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of H.R. 1113 is to authorize an exchange of
land at Fort Frederica National Monument in Georgia between
Christ Church and the National Park Service.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Fort Frederica was one of the earliest English settlements
in what ultimately became the State of Georgia. The Fort was
established by General James Ogelthorpe, a noted military
leader, planner, and social reformer. General Ogelthorpe was
responsible for establishing the colony of Georgia and
directing the settlement and development of several Georgia
communities including the city of Savannah.
In the early 1700s, Fort Frederica was a prosperous
community of substantial homes whose residents were tradesmen
and farmers that supplied the garrison stationed there. In
1739, Britain and Spain entered into a war that eventually
involved Fort Frederica. After the 1748 treaty with Spain, Fort
Frederica's military garrison was withdrawn and the town of
Fort Frederica fell into decline. In 1758 a fire destroyed most
of the existing structures.
Fort Frederica National Monument was established on May 26,
1936. Subsequent legislation increased the authorized boundary
to 250 acres and directed the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire the Battle of Bloody Marsh memorial site on St. Simons
Island.
In 1993, when a proposed development threatened to
compromise the viewshed of Fort Frederica, the National Park
Service, with the help of the Trust for Public Land and others,
acquired 28 acres along the river front. This timely
acquisition allowed the National Park Service to preserve the
historic view of the river approach to Fort Frederica.
Christ Church is located adjacent to the Fort Frederica
National Monument on St. Simons Island. Recently, the church
experienced a substantial increase in membership and now
requires additional land on which to expand. In order to
accommodate the needed expansion the church contacted the
National Park Service and proposed the land exchange authorized
by H.R. 1113. This measure will authorize the Secretary to
exchange approximately 6 acres of land from the 1993 riverfront
acquisition for 8.7 acres of land adjacent to the Monument. The
land to be acquired by the Secretary through this exchange
contains archeological ruins dating from the colonial period.
Tradition indicates that this land also includes the home of
General Ogelthorpe, although archeological survey work has not
yet verified this theory. Similarly, the National Park Service
has not yet completed an appraisal of the lands to be
exchanged. However, at this time, the agency believes the
parcel to be acquired from Christ Church is of greater value
than the parcel to be exchanged. H.R. 1113 will provide the
necessary authorization to complete the land exchange and
revise the boundary of the Monument accordingly.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 1113 was introduced by Representative Kingston on
March 6, 2003. The House Resources Committee ordered the bill,
as amended, favorably reported (H. Rept. 108-201) on June 11,
2003. On September 23, 2003, H.R. 1113 was passed by the House
of Representatives by a voice vote. The Senate Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources' Subcommittee on National Parks
held a hearing on H.R. 1113 on July 15, 2004. At the business
meeting on September 15, 2004, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered H.R. 1113 favorably reported with
amendment.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open
business session on September 15, 2004, by a unanimous voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
1113 as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of H.R. 1113, the Committee
adopted a clarifying amendment. The amendment removes language
exempting H.R. 1113 from any other provision of law and
clarifies that the land exchange is exempted only from the
requirements of section 5(b) of Public Law 90-401. That
subsection authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to exchange
lands only if they are of equal value, or if the values of the
lands are equalized by cash payment. In addition it requires
the Secretary to hold a public meeting prior to the land
exchange if requested by an interested party and exempts timber
lands subject to harvest under a sustained yield program.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire approximately six acres of land from Christ Church of
St. Simons Island, Georgia, in exchange for approximately 8.7
acres of land. This section references a map depicting the
lands to be exchanged and requires that this map be made
available for public inspection at appropriate National Park
Service offices.
Section 2 directs the Secretary to revise the boundary of
Fort Frederica National Monument to reflect the land exchange
and to administer the acquired land as part of the Monument.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
H.R. 1113--An act to authorize the exchange of land at Fort Frederica
National Monument
H.R. 1113 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS)
to exchange 6 acres of land within the boundary of the Fort
Frederica National Monument in Georgia for 8.7 acres of nearby
property owned by the Christ Church. The act would direct the
NPS to adjust the boundaries of the monument to reflect the
exchange when completed.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that the NPS would spend about $200,000 over the year
or two following acquisition of the 9.7-acre site to identify
possible historic resources and determine how to exhibit them.
Depending on the outcome of the archeological studies and the
level of future appropriations, the NPS might spend additional
funds to develop the new parcel. Based on information provided
by the agency, CBO estimates that such development costs would
not exceed $1 million. We estimate that additional costs to
operate and maintain any facilities that might be developed
(such as access roads and interpretive kiosks) would be less
than $200,000 annually.
H.R. 1113 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
On June 19, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
1113 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on
June 11, 2003. The two versions of the legislation are very
similar, and our cost estimates are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
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. 1113.
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. 1113.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
On July 6, 2004, 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 H.R. 1113. These
reports had not been received when this report was filed. The
testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the
Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 1113 follows:
Statement of A. Durand Jones, Deputy Director, National Park Service,
U.S. Department of the Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the Department's views on H.R. 1113.
This bill would authorize an exchange of land at Fort Frederica
National Monument.
The Department supports an exchange of land between Christ
Church, Frederica and Fort Frederica National Monument, as
outlined in H.R. 1113. Although appraisals have not been
completed for the two parcels, we expect that the value of the
land received by the National Park Service (NPS) will be more
than the value of the land given up so there will be no need
for land acquisition funding. The NPS would incur increased
operational costs associated with the exchange because of the
archeological value to the park of the acquired lands. However,
the amount of those costs cannot be determined until the
significance of the resources present on the site NPS acquires
is established.
The Department testified in support of this bill at a House
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation, and Public Lands
hearing on April 8, 2003. At the House markup the bill was
amended to adjust the amount of land to be given by the NPS to
Christ Church from 4.8 acres to 6 acres in order to provide
sufficient land for the church to complete their development
project. As a part of this process, the NPS worked closely with
Representative Kingston's office to assure that the historic
scene of the National Monument will be protected and that the
park's artifact storage facility and other buildings would
remain within the park boundary.
H.R. 1113 would authorize the Secretary to convey to Christ
Church, Frederica, located on St. Simons Island, Georgia
approximately 6 acres of land within the boundary of Fort
Frederica National Monument in exchange for approximately 8.7
acres of land near Fort Frederica that will be acquired by
Christ Church. Upon completion of the exchange, the Secretary
shall revise the boundary of Fort Frederica National Monument
and administer the land acquired through the exchange as part
of the monument.
Fort Frederica National Monument is located 12 miles
northeast of Brunswick on St. Simons Island, Georgia. The
monument's authorized boundary contains 250 acres and preserves
the remains of a fortified town established and laid out by
Governor James Oglethorpe in 1736 to defend against invasion
from Spanish colonies in Florida.
Fort Frederica was one of the earliest English settlements
in what ultimately became the State of Georgia, preceded by
Fort King George (1721), located near Darien, Georgia, and the
Cities of Savannah (1733) and Augusta (1735), also established
and planned by Oglethorpe. Fort Frederica was a prosperous
community of substantial homes whose residents were tradesmen
and farmers supplying the garrison stationed there much the
same way communities provide goods and services to military
installations today. In 1739, Britain and Spain entered a war
that eventually involved Fort Frederica. After the 1748 treaty,
Frederica's military garrison was withdrawn and the town of
Fort Frederica fell into decline. In 1758, a fire destroyed
most of the existing structures.
Fort Frederica National Monument was established on May 26,
1936. Subsequent legislation increased the authorized boundary
to 250 acres and directed the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire the Battle of Bloody Marsh memorial site on St. Simons
Island. Subject to the 250-acre limitation, the Secretary was
also authorized to acquire additional marshland acreage west of
the Frederica River, across from the National Monument, for
additional protection of the historic scene.
On June 29, 1993, following a lengthy campaign involving
the efforts and support of the Trust for Public Land and many
private citizens of St. Simons Island, Fort Frederica acquired
28 acres of land, including river frontage on the south side of
the town site, that had been planned for a major marina
development. This acquisition preserved the historic view of
the river approach to Fort Frederica. The 6-acre parcel that
H.R. 1113 directs the Secretary to give to Christ Church is
within this 28-acre acquisition.
The 8.7-acre site that Christ Church proposes to exchange
for the land at Fort Frederica contains archeological remains
that have been established to be from the colonial period.
Tradition indicates that the land includes General Ogelthorpe's
home, however we are unaware of any archeological survey work
that has been completed on this tract to positively determine
if this is the case.
The main town site within the National Monument contains
several well preserved and partially reconstructed colonial
ruins. There may be additional administrative and operational
costs associated with protecting a small archeological site
detached from the main park unit and it has not been determined
if that cost is commensurate with the limited additional
interpretive value of the site if it only contains additional
Frederica era resources but does not include Oglethorpe's home.
That completes my testimony. I would be happy to answer any
questions that you or any 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 Act H.R. 1113 as
ordered reported.