[Senate Report 110-377]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 809
110th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     110-377

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



 
                MAMMOTH COMMUNITY WATER RESTRICTIONS ACT

                                _______
                                

                 June 16, 2008.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 356]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 356) to remove certain restrictions on 
the Mammoth Community Water District's ability to use certain 
property acquired by that District from the United States, 
having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the Act, 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. REMOVAL OF CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS ON PROPERTY.

  Notwithstanding Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the ``Sisk 
Act'') (16 U.S.C. 484a), the approximately 36.25 acres patented to the 
Mammoth County Water District (now known as the ``Mammoth Community 
Water District'') by Patent No. 04-87-0038, on June 26, 1987, and 
recorded in volume 482, at page 516, of the official records of the 
Recorder's Office, Mono County, California, may be used for any public 
purpose.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 356 is to remove certain restrictions 
on the Mammoth Community Water District's ability to use 
certain property acquired by the District from the United 
States.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    In 1987, the Mammoth Community Water District acquired 
36.25 acres from the Forest Service under the authority of 
Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the ``Sisk Act'') (16 
U.S.C. 484a). By the terms of that Act, the District is 
restricted to using the conveyed land only for the purposes for 
which it was used prior to the conveyance: In this case, for 
wastewater treatment facilities. The District has since 
upgraded its wastewater treatment facilities and no longer 
needs all of the land for that purpose.
    The District has indicated that it may want to lease a 
portion of the land, following appropriate public review and in 
compliance with local, state, and Federal mandates. Several 
potential uses for the property have been presented to the 
District or otherwise considered by the community, including a 
mosquito abatement district laboratory, a storage facility for 
search and rescue vehicles and equipment, a transit storage/
maintenance facility, a centralized propane storage facility, 
and similar uses.
    The Act would permit the District to use the land not only 
for wastewater treatment, but also for other public purposes.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    H.R. 356 was introduced on January 9, 2007, and the House 
of Representatives passed the bill on a voice vote on February 
6, 2007. A similar bill (H.R. 853) was reported by the 
Committee on Resources in the 109th Congress (H. Rept. 109-109) 
and passed the House of Representatives by a voice vote on 
December 13, 2005. Similar bills also were introduced in the 
108th (H.R. 4580) and 107th (H.R. 5222) Congresses.
    The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing 
on H.R. 356 on May 3, 2007. At its business meeting on May 7, 
2008, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 
H.R. 356 favorably reported, with an amendment in the nature of 
a substitute.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an 
open business session on May 7, 2008, by voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 356, if amended 
as described herein.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    The amendment recommended by the Committee corrects the 
acreage description and recording citation for the land at 
issue and restricts the District's use of the land to any 
public purpose.

                          SUMMARY OF H.R. 356

    H.R. 356 authorizes the Mammoth Community Water District to 
use the 36.25 acres of land it acquired in 1987 from the Forest 
Service pursuant to the Sisk Act for any public purpose. 
Specifically, the Act lifts the restriction imposed by the Sisk 
Act that the land be used by the District only for the purposes 
for which it was being used prior to the conveyance and instead 
permits the land to be used for any public purpose, as 
determined by the Forest Service under Federal law.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The following estimate of costs of this measure has been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

H.R. 356--A bill to remove certain restrictions on the Mammoth 
        Community Water District's ability to use certain property 
        acquired by that District from the United States

    In 1987, the federal government conveyed land in California 
to the Mammoth Community Water District. Under the terms of 
that conveyance, if the district uses the land for some purpose 
other than treating wastewater or storing materials, ownership 
reverts to the federal government. H.R. 356 would authorize the 
Secretary of Agriculture to release the federal government's 
reversionary interest in the land to allow the district to use 
the land for other public purposes. Based on information from 
the Department of Agriculture, CBO estimates that allowing the 
proposed change in land use would not affect the federal 
budget.
    H.R. 356 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 the Mammoth Community 
Water District and any costs would be incurred voluntarily.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Tyler Kruzich. 
This estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      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 H.R. 356.
    The Act 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 H.R. 356.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 356 does not contain any congressionally directed 
spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 
benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the 
Senate.

                        EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

    The views of the Administration were included in testimony 
received by the Committee at a hearing on H.R. 356, on May 3, 
2007 (as corrected pursuant to a request by letter from the 
Forest Service dated July 13, 2007).

     Statement of Mark Rey, Under Secretary, Natural Resources and 
                 Environment, Department of Agriculture

    Thank you for the opportunity to present our views on this 
bill, which would remove use restrictions included in the 
patent the Mammoth County [California] Water District received 
when it purchased approximately 36.25 acres of land from the 
U.S. Forest Service [Inyo National Forest] in 1987. The lands 
were purchased at market value by the District for a community 
sewage treatment facility, which up to that time had been 
authorized under a Forest Service Special Use Permit. The 
District has since upgraded their sewage treatment system, and 
their aeration ponds are no longer necessary. The District 
wishes to convert these ponds to a more suitable community use 
that would be compatible with the adjacent sewage treatment 
facility, but the use restriction must first be lifted.
    The Department supports the bill.

                        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 Act H.R. 356 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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