[House Report 110-861]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



110th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     110-861

======================================================================



 
                     DEAFY GLADE LAND EXCHANGE ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 18, 2008.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Rahall, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the 
                               following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 6159]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 6159) to provide for a land exchange involving 
certain National Forest System lands in the Mendocino National 
Forest in the State of California, and for other purposes, 
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. SHORT TITLE.

  This Act may be cited as the ``Deafy Glade Land Exchange Act''.

SEC. 2. LAND EXCHANGE, MENDOCINO NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA.

  (a) Land Exchange Required.--If Solano County, California (in this 
section referred to as the ``County'') conveys to the Secretary of 
Agriculture all right, title, and interest of the County in and to four 
parcels of land consisting of a total of approximately 160 acres 
identified on the map entitled ``Fouts Springs-Deafy Glade Federal and 
Non-Federal Lands'' and dated July 17, 2008, the Secretary shall convey 
to the County, in exchange, all right, title, and interest of the 
United States in and to the parcel of land in the Mendocino National 
Forest in the State of California (including any improvements on the 
land) comprising approximately 82 acres and known as the Fouts Springs 
Ranch, as also depicted on the map.
  (b) Availability of Map.--The map referred to in subsection (a) shall 
be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of the 
Chief of the Forest Service. With the agreement of the County, the 
Secretary may make technical corrections to the map and the legal 
descriptions of the land to be exchanged under this section.
  (c) Land Exchange Process.--Section 206 of the Federal Land Policy 
and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716) shall apply to the land 
exchange under this section.
  (d) Survey and Administrative Costs.--The exact acreage and legal 
description of the land to be exchanged under subsection (a) shall be 
determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. The costs of the 
survey and any administrative costs related to the land exchange shall 
be borne by the County.
  (e) Condition on Use of Conveyed Land.--As a condition of the 
conveyance to the County under subsection (a), the County shall agree 
to continue to use the land acquired by the County under such 
subsection for purposes consistent with the purposes listed in the 
special use authorization for the Fouts Springs Ranch in effect as of 
the date of the enactment of this Act. For a period of 10 years 
commencing on the date of the enactment of this Act, the County shall 
continue to pay the Secretary the special use permit fee in effect as 
of that date.
  (f) Easement Authority.--The Secretary may grant an easement to 
provide continued access to, and maintenance and use of, the facilities 
covered by the special use authorization referred to in subsection (e) 
as necessary for the continued operation of the Fouts Springs Ranch 
conveyed under subsection (a).
  (g) Management of Acquired Land.--The lands acquired by the Secretary 
under subsection (a) shall be added to and administered as part of the 
Mendocino National Forest and managed in accordance with the Act of 
March 1, 1911 (commonly known as the Weeks Act; 16 U.S.C. 480 et seq.) 
and the laws and regulations applicable to the National Forest System.
  (h) Additional Terms and Conditions.--The land exchange under 
subsection (a) shall be subject to such additional terms and conditions 
as the Secretary and the County may agree upon.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 6159 is to provide for a land exchange 
involving certain National Forest System lands in the Mendocino 
National Forest in the State of California, and for other 
purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    H.R. 6159 provides for a land exchange between the Forest 
Service and Solano County, California. Solano County currently 
has a special use permit for the Fouts Springs Youth 
Correctional Facility on 82 acres of land in the Mendocino 
National Forest. The County has been working diligently for 
years to acquire wilderness quality forest lands to exchange 
with the Forest Service in order to acquire the lands occupied 
by the youth correctional facility.
    Solano County, which operates the youth facility, is 
located on the east side of the San Francisco Bay Area. 
However, the land to be exchanged is located in Colusa County, 
which lies north of San Francisco. Both Solano County and 
Colusa County support H.R. 6159.
    In June of 2006, the Forest Service prepared a Feasibility 
Analysis on the proposed Fouts Springs Land Exchange. The 
Feasibility Analysis found that ``the subject appraisals . . . 
demonstrate the potential for an equal value exchange,'' and 
that ``the hazardous fuels program would benefit from the 
exchange.'' Furthermore, the lands the Forest Service would 
acquire are wilderness-quality lands bordering the Snow 
Mountain Wilderness Area and have been identified as priority 
areas for land acquisition by the Forest Service dating as far 
back as 1992. Nevertheless, the Forest Service has raised 
concerns about the land exchange due to the potential impact it 
may have on off-highway vehicle (OHV) use in the area. The 
Feasibility Analysis concluded that the proposed land exchange 
should not move forward and that ``the OHV user community would 
likely be opposed to the exchange.'' H.R. 6159, however, 
recognizes the public benefits of the land exchange.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 6159 was introduced on May 22, 2008 by Representative 
George Miller (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On July 15, 2008, 
the Subcommittee held a legislative hearing on the bill during 
which the Administration testified in opposition to the 
legislation.
    On July 23, 2008, the Subcommittee was discharged from 
further consideration and the Full Natural Resources Committee 
met to consider the bill. Representative Miller offered an 
amendment in the nature of a substitute to update the map for 
H.R. 6159; require that the County continue to use the land 
conveyed for the purposes listed in the special use permit they 
currently have to operate the Fouts Springs Youth Correctional 
Facility; require the County to continue to pay the current 
special use permit fee to the Forest Service for a period of 10 
years; and authorize the Secretary to grant an easement to 
provide continued access to, and maintenance and use of, 
facilities necessary for the continued operation of the Fouts 
Springs Youth Correctional Facility. It was adopted by voice 
vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported 
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides that the Act may be cited as the ``Deafy 
Glade Land Exchange Act''.

Section 2. Land Exchange, Mendocino National Forest, California

    Section 2(a) requires Solano County to convey four parcels 
of approximately 160 acres of wilderness-quality lands 
bordering the Snow Mountain Wilderness Area in exchange for the 
82-acre parcel of Mendocino National Forest land currently 
occupied by the Fouts Springs Youth Correctional Facility.
    Section 2(b) requires that the map for the land exchange 
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the 
Office of the Chief of the Forest Service.
    Section 2(c) requires that Section 206 of the Federal Land 
Policy Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716) apply to this 
land exchange. Therefore, the land exchange would be conducted 
according to standards in the Federal Land Policy Management 
Act related to equal-value exchanges and Uniform Appraisal 
Standards.
    Section 2(d) states that the exact acreage and legal 
description of the land to be exchanged shall be determined by 
a survey satisfactory to the Secretary. It further states that 
the costs of the survey and any administrative costs related to 
the land exchange shall be borne by the County.
    Section 2(e) requires that as a condition of the land 
exchange, the County shall agree to continue to use the land 
acquired for purposes consistent with the purposes listed in 
the special use authorization for the Fouts Springs Ranch is in 
effect as of the date of enactment of this Act. Furthermore, 
for a period of 10 years, the County shall continue to pay the 
Secretary the current special use permit fee.
    The current special use authorization for the Fouts Spring 
Ranch is dated June 27, 2000, and there was an amendment on 
February 25, 2008. Under the special use authorization, Solano 
County pays the Secretary an annual special use permit fee of 
$6,250.00. H.R. 6159 requires that the special use permit fee 
continue to be paid for a period of 10 years in order to 
satisfy House ``pay as you go'' requirements.
    The Committee expects that Solano County, California, will 
utilize the lands they acquire pursuant to H.R. 6159 for the 
purposes of operation of the Fouts Springs Youth Correctional 
Facility.
    Section 2(f) authorizes the Secretary to grant an easement 
to provide continued access to, and maintenance and use of, 
facilities necessary for the continued operation of the Fouts 
Springs Ranch.
    Section 2(g) requires that the land exchange be subject to 
such additional terms and conditions as the Secretary and the 
County may agree upon.
    The Committee expects the Secretary and the County to come 
to agreement regarding water rights. The Committee recommends 
that the County acquire the water rights associated with the 
property, and that any water not necessary for the operation of 
the Fouts Springs facility or put to reasonable and beneficial 
use should be dedicated for instream beneficial uses. The 
County shall be responsible for obtaining any necessary change 
in use.

            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 Natural 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 provide for a land exchange 
involving certain National Forest System lands in the Mendocino 
National Forest in the State of California.
    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. 6159--Deafy Glade Land Exchange Act

    H.R. 6159 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 
exchange 82 acres of land in the Mendocino National Forest for 
160 acres owned by Solano County, California. Under current 
law, the county pays the Forest Service about $6,000 per year 
for the use of facilities on Forest Service land. As a 
condition of the proposed land exchange, the county would be 
required to continue to pay the $6,000 per year for 10 years 
after the date of enactment of the legislation, but would have 
no payment obligation after that point. In addition, the 
administrative costs of the exchange would be paid for by the 
county.
    Based on information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates 
that implementing H.R. 6159 would have a negligible effect on 
direct spending and no effect on revenues or discretionary 
outlays. The transactions authorized by the bill would reduce 
offsetting receipts from existing fees by about $60,000 over 
the 2009-2018 period, but most of that cost would be offset by 
the amounts paid by the county as a condition of the exchange. 
By selling the land to Solano County on an installment basis, 
the federal government would effectively provide a direct loan 
to the county for the purposes of completing the property sale. 
Following the requirements of the Federal Credit Reform Act, 
which specifies how to account for the costs of government 
loans and loan guarantees, the budget would record an upfront 
payment equivalent to the net present value of the county's 
future payments, adjusted for any risk of defaults. Based on 
information about the credit risk of such loans, CBO estimates 
that the net present value of the county payments would total 
$45,000. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting this bill would 
increase net direct spending by $15,000 over the next 10 years.
    H.R. 6159 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would impose no costs on the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 6159 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9(d), 9(e) or 9(f) of rule XXI.

                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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