[Senate Report 108-94]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 202
108th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     108-94

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         HIBBEN CENTER FOR ARCHAEOLOGICAL RESEARCH ACT OF 2003

                                _______
                                

                 July 11, 2003.--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 S. 643]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 643) to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior, in cooperation with the University of New Mexico, to 
construct and occupy a portion of the Hibben Center for 
Archaeological Research at the University of New Mexico, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, reports 
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommends that the 
bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu 
thereof the following:

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hibben Center Act''.

SEC. 2. LEASE AGREEMENT.

    (a) Authorization.--The Secretary of the Interior may enter into an 
agreement with the University of New Mexico to lease space in the 
Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the University of New 
Mexico for research on, and curation of, the archaeological research 
collections of the National Park Service relating to the Chaco Culture 
National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.
    (b) Term; Rent.--The lease shall provide for a term not exceeding 
40 years and a nominal annual lease payment.
    (c) Operating Expenses.--The lease may require the Secretary to 
contribute a pro rata share of the Hibben Center's annual operating 
expenses, in addition to any nominal annual rent.
    (d) Improvements.--The lease shall permit the Secretary to make 
improvements and install furnishings and fixtures related to the use 
and curation of the collections.

SEC. 3. GRANT.

    Upon execution of the lease, the Secretary may contribute to the 
University of New Mexico up to 37 percent of the cost of construction 
of the Hibben Center, not to exceed $1,750,000.

SEC. 4. COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.

    The Secretary may enter into cooperative agreements with the 
University of New Mexico, Federal agencies, and Indian tribes for the 
curation of and conduct of research on artifacts, and to encourage 
collaborative management of the Chacoan archaeological artifacts 
associated with northwestern New Mexico.

SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary such sums 
as may be necessary for the purposes of this Act.

                         PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

    The purpose of S. 643 is to authorize the Secretary of the 
Interior to enter into an agreement with the University of New 
Mexico, to leave space in the Hibben Center for Archaeological 
Research at the University, and to provide a grant to the 
University for the Federal share of the cost of construction of 
the Hibben Center.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    Chaco Culture National Monument was established in 1907 to 
protect the prehistoric sites and archaeological resources 
located in Chaco Canyon. The monument was redesignated as Chaco 
Culture National Historic Park in 1980. The University of New 
Mexico (University) originally owned a significant portion of 
the land located within the boundaries of the park and from the 
1920s to 1947, conducted archaeological research there.
    In 1949, the University conveyed to the United States all 
right, title, and interest of the University in and to the land 
in the park and entered into a memorandum of agreement with the 
National Park Service (NPS) establishing a research partnership 
with the park.
    Since 1971, the NPS, through memoranda of understanding and 
cooperative agreements with the University, has maintained a 
research museum collection and archive at the University. Both 
the NPS and the University have large, significant 
archaeological research collections stored at the University in 
multiple, inadequate, inaccessible, and cramped repositories. 
Insufficient storage at the University makes research on and 
management, preservation, and conservation of the 
archaeological research collection difficult.
    To remedy this problem, the University recently constructed 
the Hibben Center for Archaeological Research. The Center is a 
state-of-the-art museum facility to store and research the 
University's and the National Park Service's archaeological 
holdings and archives related to the Chaco Culture National 
Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.
    S. 643 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to make a 
grant to the University to contribute the Federal Share of the 
cost of construction of the center, and to enter into along-
term lease to use a portion of the center.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 643 was introduced by Senator Domenici on March 18, 
2003. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 
643 on June 10, 2003. At the business meeting on June 25, 2003, 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 643, 
as amended, favorably reported.
    In the 107th Congress, a similar bill S. 3138, was 
introduced by Senator Domenici on October 7, 2002.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on June 25, 2003, by unanimous vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 643, if 
amended as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 643, the Committee adopted 
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute 
removes the congressional findings and definitions, and 
clarifies the lease agreement.
    The substitute amendment is explained in detail in the 
section-by-section analysis, below.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 titles the bill as the ``Hibben Center Act''.
    Section 2(a) authorizes the Secretary to enter into an 
agreement with the University to lease space in the Center for 
research on, and curation of the archaeological research 
collections of the NPS relating to the Chaco Culture National 
Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National Monument.
    Subsection (b) states that the lease shall provide for a 
term not to exceed 40 years and a nominal annual lease payment.
    Subsection (c) states that the lease may require the 
Secretary to contribute a share of the Center's annual 
operating expenses.
    Subsection (d) states that the lease shall permit the 
Secretary to make improvements and install furnishings and 
fixtures related to the use and curation of the collections.
    Section 3 authorizes the Secretary to contribute up to 37% 
of the construction of the Center, not to exceed $1,750,000, to 
the University.
    Section 4 authorizes the Secretary to enter into 
cooperative agreements with the University, Federal agencies, 
and Indian tribes for curation, research, and to encourage 
collaborative management of the Chacoan archaeological 
artifacts associated with northwestern New Mexico.
    Section 5 authorizes the appropriations necessary to carry 
out this Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of 
this measure has been requested but was not received at the 
time the report was filed. When the report is available, the 
Chairman will request it to be printed in the Congressional 
Record for the advice of the Senate.

                      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. 643. 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 S. 643, as ordered reported.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    On May 29, 2003, 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. 643. These reports 
had not been received at the time the report on S. 643 was 
filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will 
request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for 
the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the NPS at 
the Subcommittee hearing follows:

    Statement of D. Thomas Ross, Assistant Director, Recreation and 
  Conservation, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior

    Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 643, a bill to 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior, in cooperation with 
the University of New Mexico, to construct and occupy a portion 
of the Hibben Center for Archaeological Research at the 
University of New Mexico, and for other purposes.
    The Department of the Interior supports S. 643, as the 
completion of the Hibben Center would be the final step in 
carrying out the Federal government's responsibility for the 
protection the archaeological resources that were collected 
during the Chaco Project in the 1970's. Although there are 
significant costs associated with this legislation, the bill 
directly supports a key park mission by authorizing a better 
curatorial facility for park resources. This legislation would 
authorize an appropriation of $3,772,000 for construction 
costs, tenant improvements and costs associated with a long-
term lease for a portion of the Hibben Center at the University 
of New Mexico. The facility will provide for the protection of 
the cultural resources taken from Federal lands at Chaco 
Culture National Historical Park and Aztec Ruins National 
Monument. The project is currently on the National Park Service 
(NPS) five-year list for line item projects and passage of this 
legislation is necessary for Federal funds to be expended. 
There would be no additional annual operating for maintenance 
expenses to the Federal government beyond the existing level 
expended for the current substandard facilities.


                         history of the project


    Chaco Canyon and the University of New Mexico (UNM) have 
been partners since Chaco Canyon National Monument was founded 
in 1907. From 1907 to 1949, the State of New Mexico owned 
sections of land within the monument's boundaries for the 
benefit of UNM. Since its Anthropology Department was founded 
in 1929, UNM has been a leader in Southwestern archaeology. The 
university conducted an archaeological field school in Chaco 
Canyon from 1929-1948 and excavated many important sites. 
Students from virtually every college in the country 
participated in these field schools. Dr. Frank C. Hibben was a 
teaching assistant at the UNM field school, and remained 
interested in Chaco throughout his long career. The UNM field 
schools produced extensive museum collections still held by 
UNM.
    In 1949 the university deeded its land to the United States 
government. Since then, the UNM-NPS partnership has continued 
through a series of formal agreements to conduct research and 
to care for the UNM and NPS Chaco museum collections. Since 
1970, the main NPS Chaco collection has been housed on the UNM 
campus. Today the NPS Chaco Collection contains approximately 
1.5 million artifacts, representing nearly 6,000 years of 
prehistory and history. In 1980, Congress expanded the 
monuments' boundaries and created Chaco Culture National 
Historical Park to preserve and interpret Chacoan resources and 
to facilitate research. Chaco Canyon is on the National 
Register of Historic Places and in 1987 was designated a United 
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization 
(UNESCO) World Heritage Site.
    For the past 100 years archeologists have considered Chaco 
Canyon to be one of the most important pre-Columbian 
archaeological regions in the United States. In 1970 Congress 
created the Chaco Project--a multi-year, multi-disciplinary 
research partnership with the University of New Mexico to study 
Chacoan archaeology. The million-dollar project was the largest 
archaeological project in the country at that time, and it 
generated the bulk of the Chaco archaeological collections. 
However, the Chaco Project did not address the long-term 
storage needs of the collections. In 1983, UNM committed itself 
to providing temporary storage space for the collection until a 
joint UNM/NPS repository could be built. However, the UNM 
storage space was rapidly filled to capacity. Over the past 20 
years, the collection (including office and work space) has 
spilled over into inappropriate and substandard spaces 
throughout the UNM campus.
    Both NPS and UNM have long recognized that the storage 
facilities provided by UNM are inadequate and do not meet DOI 
standards for the care of archaeological collections. The need 
for a repository for the cultural resources has been 
acknowledged in numerous planning documents for Chaco Culture 
NHP and Aztec Ruins NM, including the Chaco Culture National 
Historical Park 1985 General Management Plan, 1987 Memorandum 
of agreement with the University of New Mexico, 1990 Resource 
Management Plan and the 1993 Collections Management Plan. In 
1987, UNM and NPS museum staff began planning a new curation 
facility that would house the archaeological collections of 
both institutions and meet all federal standards. Finding 
funding for such a facility was the main stumbling block. In 
1997, Dr. Hibben made a commitment of $3 million to help fund a 
new research and curation facility at UNM, and he asked Chaco 
Culture NHP to partner with him. In 2001, the park's project to 
match Dr. Hibben's funding for a new curation facility was 
added to the NPS Line Item Construction Program for funding in 
FY 2003, pending Congressional authorization. In the FY 2004 
priority list this project is slated for funding FY 2006.
    The Hibben Center for Archaeological Research was designed 
to sit adjacent to the UNM Maxwell Museum of Anthropology. The 
building is three stories with a full basement. During planning 
it was decided that UNM would occupy the basement and the 
ground floor; the NPS would occupy the entire second floor and 
three-fourths of the third floor. Due to Dr. Hibben's advanced 
age and failing health, UNM proceeded with the construction of 
the Hibben Center. which was dedicated in October 2002, a few 
months after Dr. Hibben's death. Dr. Hibben's funds completed 
the building shell and build outs of the basement and ground 
floor. The NPS will build out the second and third floor with 
passage of S. 643.


                          need for the project


    The current storage conditions of the world-class Chaco 
Museum Collection are substandard and pose a threat to the 
preservation and security of the artifacts and archives. The 
bulk of the archaeological collections are stored in a room in 
the UNM Anthropology Building, built in 1937. This room has no 
temperature or environmental controls, no smoke detection of 
fire suppression system, and only a rudimentary security 
system. Aging plumbing pipes that run through the ceiling of 
the room frequently leak, exposed phone and data lines pose a 
fire risk, and insect infestations are a constant problem. This 
space is currently at 99% capacity. The remainder of the NPS 
archaeology collection is housed in the Maxwell Museum 
warehouse. The conditions at the warehouse are the same, except 
there is no heating, cooling or ventilation system in the 
building at all. Lighting fixtures were finally added a few 
years ago. Due to the nature of the structure, rodent and 
insect infestations are an ongoing problem. Rodents have 
destroyed some of the Maxwell Museum's collections. This 
facility exceeded 100% capacity several years ago, and the 16' 
high wooden shelves are overloaded with boxes and are unsafe. 
The Chaco Museum Archive is housed on the third and floor 
levels in the stacks of UNM's Zimmerman Library, built in 1950. 
The stacks have no temperature or environmental controls, no 
fire suppression system, and no security system. The antiquated 
evaporative cooling system in the library fluctuates 
dramatically during the summer season, pouring excessively 
harmful humidity into the archive. Dust from the aging building 
covers everything. The main storage room has built-in 
structural shelving supports that are so closely spaced that 
map cases will not fit between them. One map case sits in a 
hallway because it will not fit through a narrow, non-code, 
non-ADA compliant emergency exit door. Flights of stairs link 
the archive storage room and the office, and there is no 
elevator access to the archive office.
    None of the storage areas meet DOI standards set forth in 
36 CFR 79, Curation of Federally-Owned and Administered 
Archaeological Collections (1990) or NPS museum standards. The 
poor storage conditions contribute to the deterioration of the 
collection. The lack of adequate security puts the collection 
at risk especially given the large (25,000+ students), urban 
university setting. The lack of ADA access violates federal 
law. The dispersed storage, office, and workspaces make it 
impossible to efficiently and effectively manage or use the 
collection. The overcrowding of storage and workspaces makes 
providing research access, mandated by 36 CFR 79, extremely 
difficult.


                         benefit of the project


    The NPS is committed to supporting the Department and 
Secretary Norton's 4 C's initiative of cooperation, 
consultation, and communication, all in the service of 
conservation and believe this project supports that goal. 
Partnerships are a cost-effective way of doing business. If the 
NPS were to construct a new facility on its own, it would cost 
more than three-and-a-half times as much. Under this project, 
the NPS will invest now in tenant improvements and will enter 
into a 40-year lease with UNM at a cost of $1 dollar per year. 
UNM will bear the annual operations and maintenance cost. As a 
result, the cost of this facility to the federal government, 
amortized over the forty-year lease, will be $5.60 per square 
foot. A comparable GSA-leased space would cost $20.00 per 
square foot.
    This project will also involve a partnership between two 
NPS parks: Chaco Culture NHP and Aztec Ruins National Monument. 
These parks share the World Heritage Site designation because 
of their close archaeological relationship. Under this project, 
Aztec Ruins NM archaeological collections will also be stored 
in the Hibben Center, making research of Chacoan culture more 
centralized and efficient.
    In addition to the monetary benefits, this project will 
continue a collaboration which, since 1949, has been a model of 
Federal and state partnerships. The NPS will continue to 
benefit by having its Chaco Museum Collection housed in a 
research university setting, with the attendant advantages, 
while UNM will continue to benefit by having a World Heritage 
Site collection readily available to its faculty and students 
for research and training.
    That concludes my testimony. I would be glad to answer any 
questions that you or the 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. 643, as ordered 
reported.

                                
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