[House Report 109-533]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                                       
109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-533

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   PAINT BANK AND WYTHEVILLE NATIONAL FISH HATCHERIES CONVEYANCE ACT

                                _______
                                

 June 28, 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 H.R. 5061]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 5061) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey 
Paint Bank National Fish Hatchery and Wytheville National Fish 
Hatchery to the State of Virginia, having considered the same, 
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that 
the bill do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 5061 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey Paint Bank National Fish Hatchery and 
Wytheville National Fish Hatchery to the State of Virginia.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The majority of federal fish hatchery facilities are 
managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. From its 
historic level of 136 National Fish Hatcheries in 1940, the 
system is now comprised of 69 National Fish Hatcheries, seven 
Fish Technology Centers, nine Fish Health Centers and one 
historic fish hatchery. The role of the National Fish Hatchery 
System is broader than private, State and tribal hatcheries 
which primarily stock fish for commercial and recreational 
users. The average age of these facilities is 60 years and the 
growing deferred maintenance backlog is $245 million. The 
average cost to operate a federal Fish Hatchery is $528,000 
each year. While funding for hatchery operations has increased 
over $20 million in the last ten years, the number of federal 
employees working within the hatchery system has fallen from 
522 to 457, or a 12.5 percent reduction in the workforce.
    Under the terms of H.R. 5061, all right, title and interest 
in the Paint Bank and Wytheville National Fish Hatcheries would 
be conveyed to the Virginia Department of Fish and Game without 
reimbursement. This property consists of 490 acres at the Paint 
Bank and 134 acres at the Wytheville National Fish Hatcheries. 
It also includes the transfer of residences, an administrative 
building, flammable storage building, sewage treatment plant 
and concrete linear raceways for the production of cold water 
fisheries. The bill contains a reversionary clause that 
stipulates that these fish cultural stations will revert back 
to the federal government if they are utilized for activities 
other than the State of Virginia's fish culture program.
    The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries have 
been operating these two hatcheries since 1983 under a 25-year 
lease agreement it signed with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service. These two fish hatcheries were built in the mid 1960s, 
can produce up to 861,632 brook, brown and rainbow trout each 
year. This represents over 40 percent of the trout stocked for 
public fishing in Virginia.
    Despite the fact that the State did not have title to this 
property, a number of investments have taken place over the 
past twenty years. The total cost of these improvements at 
Paint Bank and Wytheville Hatcheries has been $389,500, and the 
State is prepared to invest an additional $4.5 million in 
renovations. According to the Virginia Department of Game and 
Inland Fisheries, the annual economic impact of these two 
facilities is in excess of $40 million, and there are 13 full-
time State employees.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 5061 was introduced on March 30, 2006, by Congressmen 
Rick Boucher (D-VA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Fisheries and Oceans. On June 15, 2006, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill. On June 21, 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, clause 3 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. This bill does 
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not 
apply.
    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:

H.R. 5061--Paint Bank and Wytheville National Fish Hatcheries 
        Conveyance Act

    H.R. 5061 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey without consideration two fish hatcheries to the state 
of Virginia. The transfer would comprise all property interests 
in the Paint Bank National Fish Hatchery and the Wytheville 
National Fish Hatchery, including about 625 acres of land, 
several buildings, a sewage treatment plant, and hatchery 
facilities.
    Based on information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 5061 would have 
no effect on the federal budget. The two fish hatcheries are 
already being operated by the state at its own expense, as they 
would continue to be under the bill.
    H.R. 5061 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. 
Enacting this legislation would benefit Virginia.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
This estimate was 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

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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