[Senate Report 108-91]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 199
108th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 108-91
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LAKE TAHOE BASIN MANAGEMENT UNIT, NEVADA
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July 11, 2003.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 490]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 490) to direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to convey certain land in the Lake Tahoe Basin
Management Unit, Nevada, to the Secretary of the Interior, in
trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and California,
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with
amendments and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
On page 1, strike line 4 and all that follows through page
2, line 19, and redesignate subsequent subsections accordingly.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 490 is to direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to convey certain land in the Lake Tahoe Basin
Management Unit to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in
trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
S. 490 is intended to provide the Washoe Tribe of Nevada
and California access to the shore of Lake Tahoe to support
traditional and cultural uses. The Washoe Tribe's ancestral
homeland includes over 5,000 square miles in the vicinity of
the Lake Tahoe basin. The Tribe historically gathered along the
shore of Lake Tahoe for activities such as spiritual renewal,
land stewardship, traditional learning, and reunification of
tribal and family bonds.
The concept of providing the Washoe Tribe with access to
the shore of Lake Tahoe was ratified by a group of Federal,
State and local government leaders who gathered at a 1997
Presidential Forum to discuss the future of Lake Tahoe. Goals
and an action plan developed during the Lake Tahoe Forum became
known as ``Presidential Forum Deliverables.'' These
Deliverables include a commitment to provide the Washoe Tribe
access to the shore of Lake Tahoe for traditional and cultural
purposes.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 490 was introduced by Senator Reid and Senator Ensign on
February 27, 2003. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
held a hearing on S. 490 on June 12, 2003. The Committee
ordered S. 490 favorably reported, with an amendment in the
nature of a substitute on July 25, 2003. Similar legislation,
S. 691, was introduced by Senators Reid and Ensign in the 107th
Congress. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a
hearing on S. 691 on November 27, 2001 (S. Hrg. 107-373). The
Committee favorably reported S. 691 on June 28, 2002 (S. Rept.
1707-191), and the Senate passed it by unanimous consent on
August 12, 2002. A similar bill, S. 2751, passed the Senate
during the 106th Congress.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an
open business session on July 25, 2002, by unanimous consent of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass W. 490, if
amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 490, the Committee adopted
an amendment striking the findings in the original bill.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1(a) states the purposes of the Act.
Subsection (b) directs the Secretary of Agriculture,
subject to valid existing rights, an access easement and other
use limitations, to transfer 24.3 acres of lands administered
by the Forest Service within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management
unit to the Washoe Tribe.
Subsection (c) reserves an easement to the United States
over a portion of the conveyed land for public and nonexclusive
access over a Forest Development Road, and provides for a
reciprocal easement to the Tribe for vehicular access along the
road for administration and safety purposes.
Subsection (e) requires the Tribe to limit the use of the
land to traditional and customary uses and to prohibit
development or commercial use of the site, including gaming.
The Tribe is also required to comply with environmental
requirements that are no less protective than those which apply
under the Tahoe Regional Plan. Finally, the subsection includes
a reversal to the Secretary of Agriculture if the Tribe has
used the land in violation of the restrictions listed in this
Act.
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, June 27, 2003.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
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. 490, a bill to
direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in
the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada, to the Secretary
of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada
and California.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Peter H. Fontaine
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
S. 490--A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain
land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada, to the
Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe
of Nevada and California.
Based on information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates
that implementing S. 490 would have no significant impact on
the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would not affect
direct spending or revenues. S. 490 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.
S. 490 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey,
without consideration, about 24 acres of national forest system
land within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit to the
Secretary of the Interior, to be taken into trust on behalf of
the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and California. According to
the Forest Service, the lands to be conveyed currently generate
no receipts and are not expected to do so over the next 10
years. The Secretary of Agriculture would retain an easement to
provide for access to federal lands adjacent to those that
would be conveyed. S. 490 outlines conditions for the tribe's
use of the conveyed lands and specifies that ownership of the
lands would revert back to the Secretary of Agriculture if the
tribe violates those conditions.
On June 16, 2003, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
74, similar legislation, as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Resources on June 11, 2003. The two bills are very
similar, and our estimates are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
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. 490. 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. 490.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
On June 3, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget setting
forth Executive agency recommendations of S. 490. These reports
had not been received at the time that report on S. 490 was
filed. The testimony provided by the Department of Agriculture
at the Subcommittee hearing follows:
Statement of Tom Thompson, Deputy Chief, National Forest System, Forest
Service, Department of Agriculture
S. 490 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 24.3
acres of National Forest System land within the Lake Tahoe
Basin Management Unit to the Secretary of the Interior to be
held in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and
California. The conveyance would be subject to a reservation of
a non-exclusive easement on a forest road to continue public
and administrative access to other adjacent National Forest
System land. In addition, the bill would grant vehicular access
over a forest road to the parcel by tribal members under
certain circumstances. The transfer would occur without
consideration. The Department believes the bill would defeat
public expectations of continued access to this lakefront
parcel. The Department has concerns with S. 490 and would like
to work with the Committee on alternatives that would meet
tribal needs as discussed in our testimony.
The Department understands and appreciates the goals of the
Washoe Tribe to acquire land in the Lake Tahoe Basin for the
purpose of exercising recurring exclusive use of Lake Tahoe
shoreline property for traditional and customary cultural
purposes. The Forest Service has taken extensive actions to
meet the needs of the Tribe within the limits of its authority.
At present, the Washoe Tribe holds a special use permit with
the Forest Service for the uses described in Section 1(b)(2).
These uses have been analyzed and approved through the Forest
Service special use permitting process and appear to meet the
needs of the Tribe.
The 24.3-acre parcel identified in S. 490 for transfer to
the Department of the Interior was originally acquired by the
Forest Service as part of a larger purchase using funds
authorized by the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act to
provide public access to recreational resources in the Lake
Tahoe Basin. Transfer of this parcel to the Department of the
Interior to be held in trust for exclusive use by the Washoe
Tribe is not consistent with the public purposes for which this
land was purchased. The Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit has
placed a high priority on the acquisition and retention of
lakefront property for public access and watershed protection.
Any land conveyance should be with consideration to ensure the
public obtains market value. The Department also has concerns
with the reversionary interests identified in 1(e)(2).
In lieu of transferring the parcel to the Secretary of the
Interior, the Department recommends the bill be amended to
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture, upon the Tribe's
request, to close the parcel to general public use on a
temporary basis to protect the privacy of the traditional and
customary cultural uses of the land by the Tribe. We note that
Congress has provided similar statutory authority to the
Secretary of the Interior in section 705(a) of the California
Desert Protection Act (16 U.S.C. 410aaa-75(a)) and section
507(c) of Public Law 100-225) (16 U.S.C. 460uu-47(c)), and to
the Secretary of Agriculture in section 2(d)(1) of Public Law
103-014 (16 U.S.C. 460jjj-1(d)(1)), an act establishing the
Jemez National Recreation Area. Additionally, to meet the
Tribe's goal of using the parcel for cultural horticulture and
ethnobotany purposes, a provision could be added to the bill to
authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to issue a permit to the
Washoe Tribe for these uses. The Department believes this
approach would accommodate both the goals of the Washoe Tribe
and the objective of maintaining public access to the parcel.
This concludes my statement. I would be happy to answer
your questions.
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. 490, as ordered
reported.