[House Report 109-618]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



109th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     109-618

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 TO REVISE THE BOUNDARIES OF JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES 
                    SYSTEM JEKYLL ISLAND UNIT GA-06P

                                _______
                                

 September 6, 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. 138]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill 
(H.R. 138) to revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal 
Barrier Resources System Jekyll Island Unit GA-06P, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
  The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. REPLACEMENT OF CERTAIN JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER 
                    RESOURCES SYSTEM MAP.

  (a) In General.--The map subtitled ``GA-06P'', relating to the John 
H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System unit designated as Coastal 
Barrier Resources System Jekyll Island Unit GA-06P, that is included in 
the set of maps entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources 
System'' and referred to in section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier 
Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)), is hereby replaced by another map 
relating to the unit entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier 
Resources System Jekyll Island Unit GA-06P'' and dated July 10, 2006.
  (b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep the 
replacement map referred to in subsection (a) on file and available for 
inspection in accordance with the provisions of section 4(b) of the 
Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 138 is to revise the boundaries of John 
H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Jekyll Island Unit 
GA-06P.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    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 in the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. 
The System is administered by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife 
Service of the Department of the Interior. Lands included 
within the System are not eligible for any federal development 
assistance, the most notable of which is federal flood 
insurance.
    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 Coastal Barrier Resources 
System has 856 units and more than 3 million acres of fastland 
and associated aquatic habitat.
    The 1990 Coastal Barrier Improvement Act added an important 
new category of units to the System called ``Otherwise 
Protected Areas'' (OPAs). These include undeveloped 
conservation areas such as national wildlife refuges, national 
parks and seashores, State parks, military bases and 
conservation lands owned by private organizations. While OPAs 
remain eligible for a variety of federal financial assistance 
programs, they are ineligible for participation in the Federal 
Flood Insurance Program. The 1990 Act created 271 OPAs, 
comprised of approximately 1,786,000 acres, which more than 
doubled the amount of undeveloped coastal barrier lands covered 
under CBRA. When OPAs were included in the System, they were 
delineated with rudimentary mapping tools based upon pre-
existing boundary data. As a result of technological 
advancements in geographic information systems, databases and 
digital mapping techniques, many OPA boundaries have been shown 
to have embedded flaws and inaccuracies.
    Jekyll Island, which is owned by the State of Georgia and 
managed by the Jekyll Island Authority, was largely developed 
in the 1960s and 1970s prior to its inclusion within the System 
as an ``otherwise protected area''. There are approximately 867 
structures on Jekyll Island that are inhabited or operated by 
private individuals who signed 99-year lease agreements with 
the State that expire in 2049. The State owns the land and the 
private individuals own the structures. Under current State 
law, no more than 35 percent of the land on the island can be 
developed. Unlike most ``otherwise protected areas'', the 
island is not managed solely for conservation or recreation and 
the facts in this case are somewhat unique. In the past few 
years, homeowners on Jekyll Island have attempted to remodel 
and rebuild their homes but have been advised that they would 
not be eligible for federal flood insurance.
    H.R. 138 would adopt a revised map for Jekyll Island (GA-
06P) that would remove from the Coastal Barrier Resources 
System the developed property and approximately 100 acres of 
undeveloped land, which represents about 35 percent of the 
Island. This would ensure that homeowners and commercial 
developers can participate in the Federal Flood Insurance 
Program in the future. This bill does not affect the State's 
limitation on further development. In summary, the bill would 
remove about 1,282 acres of fastland but would add 1,157 acres 
of fastland, wetlands and open water which satisfy the 
requirements for inclusion within the System. The net result of 
this legislation is the removal of 125 acres of land from the 
Coastal Barrier Resources System from a unit that should not 
have been created since it was neither undeveloped nor held for 
conservation purposes.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 138 was introduced on January 4, 2005, by Congressman 
Jack Kingston (R-GA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 
Fisheries and Oceans. On April 6, 2006, the Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill. On July 19, 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. Chairman Richard Pombo (R-CA) 
offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute that 
identified that the proper map reference for these changes is 
entitled ``John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System 
Jekyll Island Unit GA-06P'' and dated July 10, 2006. The 
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as 
amended, was then 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, credit 
authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or tax 
expenditures. According to the Congressional Budget Office, 
enactment of this bill would affect direct spending, but any 
net change in spending would be ``negligible.''
    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:

               CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 138--A bill to revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal 
        Barrier Resources System Jekyll Island Unit GA-06P

    H.R. 138 would revise the Coastal Barrier Resources System 
(CBRS) map of Jekyll Island, Georgia. CBO estimates that 
enacting H.R. 138 would have no significant impact on the 
federal budget. The bill could affect direct spending, but we 
expect that any net change would be negligible. Enacting the 
bill would not affect revenues.
    H.R. 138 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; the 
bill would benefit the Jekyll Island Authority of Georgia.
    The bill would modify the CBRS map of Jekyll Island Unit to 
exclude 1,282 acres of developed and undeveloped lands and to 
include 1,157 acres of wetlands and open water areas. By 
excluding the specified acreage, the bill would enable 
residents and private developers to initiate new development 
and improve existing structures, such as homes, while 
maintaining eligibility for federal flood insurance. Under 
current law, all lands and existing structures in the CBRS can 
only maintain flood insurance if they remain unchanged.
    Under the bill, CBO expects that at least 100 additional 
acres of land would be eligible for flood insurance, and annual 
premium collections would total less than $500,000 a year. Any 
collections would be partially offset each year by new 
mandatory spending for underwriting and administrative 
expenses. In addition, premium collections might be offset in 
some years by new flood insurance claims.
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis 
and Leigh Angres. 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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