[House Report 111-393]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


111th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session                                                     111-393

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



 
     CASTLE NUGENT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE ESTABLISHMENT ACT OF 2010

                                _______
                                

January 12, 2010.--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. 3726]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

  The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 
bill (H.R. 3726) to establish the Castle Nugent National 
Historic Site at St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands, 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 ``Castle Nugent National Historic Site 
Establishment Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

  In this Act:
          (1) Historic site.--The term ``historic site'' means the 
        Castle Nugent National Historic Site established in section 3.
          (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        the Interior.

SEC. 3. CASTLE NUGENT NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE.

  (a) Establishment.--There is established as a unit of the National 
Park System the Castle Nugent National Historic Site on the Island of 
St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, in order to preserve, protect, and 
interpret, for the benefit of present and future generations, a 
Caribbean cultural landscape that spans more than 300 years of 
agricultural use, significant archeological resources, mangrove 
forests, endangered sea turtle nesting beaches, an extensive barrier 
coral reef system, and other outstanding natural features.
  (b) Boundaries.--The historic site consists of the approximately 
2,900 acres of land extending from Lowrys Hill and Laprey Valley to the 
Caribbean Sea and from Manchenil Bay to Great Pond, along with 
associated submerged lands to the three-mile territorial limit, as 
generally depicted on the map titled ``Castle Nugent National Historic 
Site Proposed Boundary Map'', numbered T22/100,447, and dated October 
2009.
  (c) Map Availability.--The map referred to in subsection (b) shall be 
on file and available for public inspection in the appropriate offices 
of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.
  (d) Acquisition of Land.--
          (1) In general.--Except as provided in paragraph (2), the 
        Secretary is authorized to acquire lands and interests in lands 
        within the boundaries of the historic site by donation, 
        purchase with donated or appropriated funds, or exchange.
          (2) U.S. virgin island lands.--The Secretary is authorized to 
        acquire lands and interests in lands owned by the U.S. Virgin 
        Islands or any political subdivision thereof only by donation 
        or exchange.

SEC. 4. ADMINISTRATION.

  (a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the historic site in 
accordance with this Act and with laws generally applicable to units of 
the National Park System, including--
          (1) the National Park Service Organic Act (39 Stat. 535; 16 
        U.S.C. 1 et seq.); and
          (2) the Act of August 21, 1935 (49 Stat. 666; 16 U.S.C. 461 
        et seq.).
  (b) Shared Resources.--To the greatest extent practicable, the 
Secretary shall use the resources of other sites administered by the 
National Park Service on the Island of St. Croix to administer the 
historic site.
  (c) Continued Use.--In order to maintain an important feature of the 
cultural landscape of the historic site, the Secretary may lease to the 
University of the Virgin Islands certain lands within the boundary of 
the historic site for the purpose of continuing the university's 
operation breeding Senepol cattle, a breed developed on St. Croix. A 
lease under this subsection shall contain such terms and conditions as 
the Secretary considers appropriate, including those necessary to 
protect the values of the historic site.
  (d) Management Plan.--Not later than three years after funds are made 
available for this subsection, the Secretary shall prepare a general 
management plan for the historic site.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 3726 is to establish the Castle Nugent 
National Historic Site at St. Croix, United States Virgin 
Islands, and for other purposes.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The Castle Nugent Farms area is located on the arid 
southeastern shore of the island of St. Croix. Historic 
resources include the remnants of small Danish cotton, sugar, 
indigo, and cattle plantations, including slave quarters and a 
sugar mill. Pre-Columbian archaeological sites also exist on 
the property. The Castle Nugent Farms cattle ranch is one of 
the oldest in the West Indies, and is home to Senepol cattle, a 
unique breed developed on St. Croix for adaptation to the dry 
climate and poor forage found there.
    The diverse and undisturbed natural resources of the site 
include the most substantial black mangrove stand left in the 
Virgin Islands, sea turtle nesting areas, large and healthy 
fringe coral reefs, and Great Pond Bay, a lagoon that is home 
to numerous species of birds and other wildlife.
    A Special Resource Study of the site was authorized by 
Public Law 109-317 in 2006. The National Park Service (NPS) has 
completed the work associated with the study, though the report 
has yet to be finalized. The NPS has found that the site meets 
all applicable criteria for significance, suitability, and 
feasibility for designation as an NPS unit. There are three 
other small NPS sites on the island (Christiansted National 
Historic Site, Buck Island Reef National Monument, and Salt 
River Bay National Historical Park and Ecological Preserve) 
which would share resources with the new proposed site.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 3726 was introduced by Representative Donna 
Christensen (D-VI) on October 6, 2009. The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. 
At a November 17, 2009, subcommittee hearing a representative 
of the National Park Service testified in support of the bill 
with technical amendments, but requested the Committee defer 
action on the measure until the study has been formally 
transmitted to Congress.
    On December 16, 2009, the Subcommittee on National Parks, 
Forests, and Public Lands was discharged from further 
consideration of H.R. 3726 and the full Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. Representative Christensen 
offered an amendment to insert a map reference, which was 
adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered 
favorably reported to the House of Representatives by a roll 
call vote of 25 to 14, as follows:


                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides that this Act may be cited as the 
``Castle Nugent National Historic Site Establishment Act of 
2010.''

Section 2. Definitions

    Section 2 provides definitions for several key terms used 
in the Act.

Section 3. Castle Nugent National Historic Site

    Section 3 defines the purpose of the Castle Nugent National 
Historic Site as the preservation, protection, and 
interpretation of a Caribbean cultural landscape including 
historic agricultural use, archaeological resources, mangrove 
forests, sea turtle nesting beaches, and a barrier coral reef 
system along with other outstanding natural resources.
    This section establishes the boundaries of the site as 
those depicted on the map entitled ``Castle Nugent National 
Historic Site Proposed Boundary Map,'' numbered T22/100,447 and 
dated October 2009 and provides for the availability of the map 
in appropriate offices of the National Park Service.
    Section 3 also authorizes the acquisition of land and 
interests in land within the boundaries of the site through 
donation, purchase with appropriated or donated funds, or 
exchange. It specifies exchange or donation as the only 
authorized means of acquisition of land owned by the U.S. 
Virgin Islands or any political subdivision.

Section 4. Administration

    Section 4 mandates that the site be administered as a unit 
of the National Park System in accordance with the laws 
generally governing the System. It also requires that the 
National Park Service share resources between the Castle Nugent 
National Historic Site and other existing units of the National 
Park System on the island of St. Croix.
    Section 4 authorizes the lease of lands within the park to 
the University of the Virgin Islands for the purpose of 
continuing the breeding of Senepol cattle and requires the 
preparation of a general management plan for the site within 
three years of appropriation of funds.

            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 and Article IV, section 3 of the 
Constitution of the United States grant 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 establish the Castle Nugent 
National Historic Site at St. Croix, United States Virgin 
Islands, 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:

H.R. 3726--Castle Nugent National Historic Site Establishment Act of 
        2009

    H.R. 3726 would establish Castle Nugent on the island of 
St. Croix in the U.S. Virgin Islands as a unit of the National 
Park System. The historic agricultural site encompasses about 
8,600 acres of submerged lands owned by the Virgin Islands and 
2,900 acres of nonsubmerged lands that are privately owned. The 
bill would allow the National Park Service (NPS) to acquire 
that property by purchase, donation, or exchange.
    Based on information from the NPS, CBO estimates that 
implementing H.R. 3726 would cost $26 million over the next 
five years, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, 
mostly to acquire about half of the total acreage. Currently 
the NPS estimates that the entire parcel (2,900 acres of 
nonsubmerged land) has a value of about $45 million and would 
take 10 years to acquire. Based on that information, CBO 
expects that most of the private land acquisition would be 
accomplished by purchase and the public lands through donations 
and exchanges. In addition, CBO estimates that NPS would need 
about $1 million to develop a general management plan, 
including the site's future needs for resource protection, 
visitor services, and other operational needs. Finally, we 
estimate that NPS would need about $1 million annually to 
manage the new area. Enacting H.R. 3726 would have no effect on 
direct spending or revenues.
    The bill contains no intergovernmental mandates as defined 
in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would impose no 
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    CBO expects that H.R. 3726 would impose no private-sector 
mandates as defined in UMRA because NPS indicates that it 
expects to acquire properties for the Castle Nugent National 
Historic Site without using condemnation. If, however, the 
Secretary determines that condemnation is necessary to acquire 
a property, such use of condemnation would be a private-sector 
mandate as defined in UMRA. The cost of the mandate would be 
equal to the fair-market value of the property. Since, 
according to the NPS, the value of property that may be 
obtained is no more than $50 million, CBO estimates that the 
cost of the mandate, if imposed, would fall well below the 
annual threshold established in UMRA for private-sector 
mandates ($141 million in 2010, adjusted annually for 
inflation).
    The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Matthew 
Pickford (for federal costs) and Amy Petz (for the impact on 
the private sector). The estimate was approved by Theresa 
Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    H.R. 3726 does not contain any congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined in 
clause 9 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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