Senate Report 111-149 - WACO MAMMOTH NATIONAL MONUMENT ESTABLISHMENT ACT

[Senate Report 111-149]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

Calendar No. 299
111th Congress } { Report
2d Session } SENATE { 111-149
======================================================================

WACO MAMMOTH NATIONAL MONUMENT ESTABLISHMENT ACT

_______

March 2, 2010.--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. 1376]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1376) to establish the Waco Mammoth
National Monument in the State of Texas, and for other
purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 1376 is to authorize the Secretary of
the Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in
the State of Texas as a unit of the National Park System.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Public Law 107-341, enacted in 2002, directed the Secretary
of the Interior to conduct a special resource study to
determine the national significance, suitability, and
feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth Site as a unit of
the National Park System. The Waco Mammoth Site is located near
the confluence of the Brazos River and the Bosque River in
Central Texas, near the City of Waco. The Mammoth Site includes
over 109 combined acres owned by the City of Waco and Baylor
University.
Baylor University has been studying the site since 1978 and
has uncovered the bones of Columbian mammoths ranging from 3 to
55 years of age, which appear to have died around 68,000 years
ago. The Waco Mammoth Site holds the biggest concentration of
mammoths in North America and has allowed scientists to study
and better understand the life history of an extinct species.
The discoveries have received international attention.
After completion of the study, the National Park Service
found that the Waco site met all the criteria for designation
as a unit of the National Park System, and proposed that the
site be managed by the Park Service in partnership with the
City of Waco and Baylor University.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 1376, sponsored by Representative Chet Edwards, was
reported by the Committee on Natural Resources on June 24, 2009
(H. Rept. 111-229), and passed the House of Representatives on
July 9, 2009, by voice vote.
Companion legislation, S. 625, was introduced in the Senate
by Senators Cornyn and Hutchison on March 17, 2009. The
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 625 on July
15, 2009. (S. Hrg. 111-92). At its business meeting on December
16, 2009, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered
H.R. 1376 to be reported favorably without amendment.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on December 16, 2009, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1376.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 contains the short title for the bill, the ``Waco
Mammoth National Monument Establishment Act of 2009''.
Section 2 contains Congressional findings.
Section 3 defines key terms used in the legislation.
Section 4 establishes the Waco Mammoth National Monument in
the State of Texas as a unit of the National Park System as
depicted on the map.
Section 5 directs the Secretary of the Interior to
administer the monument in accordance with all laws applicable
to the National Park System, including the National Park System
Organic Act (16 U.S.C. 1-4).
Subsection (b) authorizes the Secretary to enter into
cooperative agreements for the management of the national
monument with Baylor University and the City of Waco, pursuant
to the National Park Service General Authorities Act (16 U.S.C.
1a-2(1)).
Section 6 authorizes the Secretary to acquire from willing
sellers lands, or interests in lands, within the proposed
boundary of the national monument necessary for effective
management.
Section 7 authorizes the Secretary, subject to the
appropriation of necessary funds, to construct essential
administrative or visitor use facilities on non-Federal lands
within the national monument. Further, the Secretary may use
donated funds, property, and services to carry out construction
of facilities on nonfederal lands.
Section 8 states that not later than three years after the
date of which funds are made available to carry out this Act,
the Secretary, in consultation with Baylor University and City
of Waco, shall prepare a management plan for the national
monument.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 1376--Waco Mammoth National Monument Establishment Act of 2009

H.R. 1376 would establish the Waco Mammoth National
Monument in Texas. The cost to develop and manage the new
monument would be shared by the National Park Service (NPS) and
local partners, such as the city of Waco and Baylor University,
under cooperative agreements. The legislation would authorize
the NPS to both acquire land for the monument and construct
facilities on nonfederal lands within the monument's
boundaries. Finally, the act would require the NPS to prepare a
management plan for the monument within three years of
receiving funding for that purpose.
Based on information provided by the NPS and assuming the
availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that
implementing H.R. 1376 would cost about $1 million over the
next three years and about $400,000 a year thereafter. The $1
million would be used to develop a management plan for the site
and construct exhibits and interpretive facilities. Beginning
in 2013, $400,000 would be needed for the federal share of
annual operating costs.
For this estimate, CBO assumes that about 5 acres of land
owned by Waco or Baylor University would be donated to the NPS
within the next three years; the rest of the approximately 110-
acre site would remain in nonfederal ownership. We further
assume that other costs to develop visitor facilities within
the monument--an estimated $8 million--would be borne by the
city or other nonfederal participants. If, alternatively, the
NPS needed to acquire more land for the monument or bear more
of the costs of financing new facilities, federal costs would
be higher than $1 million (assuming appropriation of the
necessary amounts).
H.R. 1376 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.
On July 16, 2009, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
1376, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on July 9, 2009. The two versions of the legislation
are similar, and our cost estimates are the same.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Deborah Reis
and Daniel Hoople. The 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. 1376.
The bill 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. 1376.

CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

H.R. 1376, as ordered reported, 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 testimony provided by the Department of the Interior
was included in testimony received by the Committee at a
hearing on S. 625, on July 15, 2009.

Statement of Katherine H. Stevenson, Acting Deputy Director--Support
Services, National Park Service, Department of the Interior

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the
Interior on S. 625, a bill to authorize the Secretary of the
Interior to establish the Waco Mammoth National Monument in the
State of Texas.
The Department supports S. 625, with an amendment to
provide the map reference in the bill. The Department testified
in support of H.R. 1376, a similar bill, on April 23, 2009,
before the House Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and
Public Lands.
S. 625 would establish a new unit of the National Park
System, the Waco Mammoth National Monument (monument), near the
city of Waco, Texas. The bill directs the Secretary of the
Interior (Secretary) to administer the monument in accordance
with the laws applicable to the National Park System and to
enter into cooperative agreements with Baylor University and
the City of Waco to manage the monument. The bill also
authorizes the Secretary to acquire land for the monument from
willing sellers with donated or appropriated funds, transfer
from another federal agency, or exchange. Lands owned by the
State of Texas, or its political subdivisions, may only be
acquired by donation or exchange. Finally, the Secretary is
authorized to construct facilities on non-federal land within
the boundaries of the monument and to complete a General
Management Plan for the monument within three years after funds
are made available.
The National Park Service (NPS) was directed to complete a
Special Resource Study (SRS) of the Waco Mammoth site by Public
Law 107-341. This study evaluated a 109-acre site owned by the
City of Waco and Baylor University and found that the site
meets all the criteria for designation as a unit of the
National Park System.
The Waco Mammoth Site area is located approximately 4.5
miles north of the center of Waco, near the confluence of the
Brazos and the Bosque rivers. Baylor University has been
investigating the site since 1978 after hearing about bones
emerging from eroding creek banks that led to the uncovering of
portions of five mammoths. Since then several additional
mammoth remains have been uncovered--making this the largest
known concentration of mammoths dying from the same event.
The discoveries have received international attention and
many of the remains have been excavated and are in storage or
still being researched. The SRS determined that the combination
of both in situ articulated skeletal remains and the excavated
specimens from the site represents the nation's first and only
recorded nursery herd of Pleistocene mammoths. The resource
possesses exceptional interpretive value and superlative
opportunities for visitor enjoyment and scientific study.
From the time the site was discovered until the present,
the University and the City have managed the site responsibly.
The SRS examined a range of proposed options for the NPS
involvement at the site. We believe that NPS joining in
partnership with the city of Waco, Baylor University, and
others would offer the most effective and cost-efficient
management of this unique resource.
If established based upon the management alternative
recommended in the SRS, we estimate that the costs to create
the monument would include $8.1 million from the identified
partners to develop the facilities at the monument with the NPS
providing an additional $600,000 for enhanced interpretive
media. Total operational costs are estimated to be $645,000
with the NPS contributing approximately $345,000 for NPS
staffing of four full-time equivalent positions and associated
supplies, materials, and equipment. All funds are subject to
NPS priorities and the availability of appropriations.
We recommend that Section 3 of S. 625 be amended to include
the map reference for the monument. The map title is ``Proposed
Boundary Waco-Mammoth National Monument'', the map number is
``T21/80,000'', and the date is ``April 2009''.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be happy
to answer any questions that you or other members of the
Subcommittee may have.

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. 1376, as
ordered reported.