[House Report 109-428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-428

======================================================================
 
         COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005

                                _______
                                

 April 25, 2006.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1869]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(S. 1869) to reauthorize the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

    The purpose of S. 1869 is to reauthorize the Coastal 
Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act, and for other purposes.

                  Background and Need for Legislation

    Coastal barriers are natural landscape features that 
protect the mainland, lagoons, wetlands and salt marshes from 
the full force of wind, wave and tidal energy. Major types of 
coastal barriers include fringing mangroves, tombolos, barrier 
islands, barrier spits and bay barriers. Composed of sand and 
other loose sediments, these elongated, narrow land forms are 
dynamic ecosystems and prone to frequent disruption by storms. 
They are the first line of defense against the strong winds, 
huge waves and powerful storm surges that accompany hurricanes. 
Coastal barriers provide habitat for a variety of wildlife and 
they are an important recreational resource. Despite their 
vulnerability, these areas are attractive places to locate 
private homes and resorts.
    The John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System is made 
up of coastal barrier units which are delineated on maps 
adopted by Congress. These units consist of undeveloped 
sections of coastal barrier islands and the associated aquatic 
habitat which lies behind these barriers. The System was 
created by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 (CBRA) and 
was expanded by amendments adopted in the Coastal Barrier 
Improvement Act of 1990. CBRA is administered by the Secretary 
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service. Appropriations for CBRA were last 
reauthorized in 2000.
    The Coastal Barrier Resources System was initially 
comprised of 186 units totaling 666 miles of shoreline and 
452,834 acres of undeveloped, unprotected coastal barriers on 
the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Except for very minor 
technical changes to account for natural accretion and erosion, 
boundaries cannot be adjusted and units cannot be added or 
deleted from the System unless Congress passes a law adopting 
revised maps. Today, the entire System including otherwise 
protected areas has 856 units and more than 3 million acres of 
fastland and associated aquatic habitat.
    The Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2000 
(Public Law 106-514) directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service to conduct a digital mapping pilot study to produce 
digital maps of up to 75 CBRA areas and to estimate the cost 
and feasibility of completing digital maps for the entire 
System. The legislation also reauthorized appropriations for 
the System at $2 million per fiscal year until September 30, 
2005. It authorized private landowners to voluntarily include 
property in the System and it required an economic assessment 
of the System within one year of enactment. The assessment was 
completed in August 2002 and concluded that the System provided 
an estimated $1.27 billion in savings to the Treasury by 
restricting federal spending for disaster relief and 
development assistance for roads, portable water supplies, and 
wastewater infrastructure from 1983 to 2010.
    Inclusion of property in the System does not prevent 
private development of land nor does it prevent actions 
necessary to process and issue federal permits necessary for 
development. However, it does place significant restrictions on 
the availability of any new federal assistance to develop the 
property. Of particular importance, after October 1, 1983, no 
new federal flood insurance can be issued for properties in the 
System. For those homeowners within the System who were issued 
flood insurance polices before the deadline, the policies will 
remain in force. However, if the property is damaged more than 
50 percent of its value, and a claim is placed, the claim will 
be paid but the insurance policy cannot be renewed. In 
addition, if an insured structure in the System is 
substantially expanded or replaced with more intensive 
development, insurance coverage is lost.
    In addition to the federal flood insurance limitation, CBRA 
prohibits most new federal expenditures and financial 
assistance, if those expenditures encourage development. This 
would include funds for certain types of disaster relief, 
community block grants, Federal Home Administration housing 
loans, water systems and wastewater treatment grants, flood 
control and beach erosion projects, highway construction 
projects and other types of direct and indirect federal 
financial assistance. The Fish and Wildlife Service's economic 
analysis indicates that this policy to prohibit federal 
development subsidies has dampened, if not prevented, 
development within many but not all units in the System.
    This legislation would extend the authorization of 
appropriations at their existing levels until September 30, 
2010; authorize funds to complete within two years a public 
review process and the digital mapping pilot project mandated 
by the Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2000; 
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to create digital 
versions of all of the Coastal Barrier Resources System maps; 
and require a report to the Congress describing the progress 
made to complete the mapping of each of the remaining units.

                            Committee Action

    S. 1869 was introduced on October 17, 2005, by Senator 
James Inhofe (R-OK). It was passed by the Senate by unanimous 
consent on December 16, 2005. The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans. On November 8, 2005, the 
Subcommittee held a hearing on the House version of this 
legislation. On March 29, 2006, the Full Resources Committee 
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries and 
Oceans was discharged from further consideration of the bill by 
unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was 
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 
unanimous consent.

            Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations 
are reflected in the body of this report.

                   Constitutional Authority Statement

    Article I, section 8 of the Constitution of the United 
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.

                    Compliance With House Rule XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
    2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2) 
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and 
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this 
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending 
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to reauthorize the Coastal Barrier 
Resources Act, and for other purposes.
    4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause 
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act 
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate 
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget 
Office:

S. 1869--Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2005

    Summary: S. 1869 would authorize appropriations for the 
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to carry out the coastal 
barrier resources program. Assuming appropriation of the 
amounts authorized by the bill, CBO estimates that the USFWS 
would spend $16 million over the 2006-2010 period. Enacting S. 
1869 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) 
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    Estimated cost to the Federal Government: S. 1869 would 
authorize the appropriation of $2 million for each of fiscal 
years 2006 through 2010 to the USFWS for mapping the coastal 
barrier resources system. (Authorizations for the program 
expired at the end of fiscal year 2005.) The bill also would 
authorize appropriations of $500,000 a year for 2006 and 2007 
to complete an existing pilot project on digital mapping and $1 
million a year through 2010 to create digital versions of all 
maps of the coastal barrier system.
    The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1869 is shown in the 
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within 
budget function 300 (natural resources and environment). For 
this estimate, CBO assumes that the entire amounts authorized 
by the bill will be appropriated for each fiscal year. 
Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for 
this program.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                     By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                                 -----------------------------------------------
                                                                   2006    2007    2008    2009    2010    2011
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                 CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION a

Authorization Level.............................................       4       4       3       3       3       0
Estimated Outlays...............................................       1       4       4       4       4       0
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
a Some or all of the authorized spending for 2006 could come from funds already provided in the Department of
  the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109-54).

    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1869 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or 
tribal governments.
    Previous CBO estimate: On November 14, 2005, CBO 
transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1869 as ordered reported by 
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on October 
26, 2005. The two versions of the legislation are identical. 
Estimated outlays for the House version are lower in 2006 to 
reflect our assumption that the legislation will be enacted 
later in the fiscal year than assumed in last fall's estimate.
    Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis. Impact 
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller. 
Impact on the Private Sector: Craig Cammarata.
    Estimate approved by: Peter H. Fontaine Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    Compliance With Public Law 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

            SECTION 10 OF THE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES ACT


SEC. 10 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to 
carry out this Act $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2001, 
2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005] 2006 through 2010.

                                  
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