[Senate Report 111-259]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 529
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-259
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CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO THE TOWN OF ALTA, UTAH
_______
August 5, 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 S. 1719]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1719) to provide for the conveyance of
certain parcels of land to the town of Alta, Utah, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommends that the bill, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Wasatch-Cache National Forest Land
Conveyance Act of 2010''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the
following 3 parcels of National Forest System land located in
the Wasatch-Cache National Forest in the incorporated boundary
of the Town:
(A) A parcel of land occupied by the administration
building of the Town pursuant to Forest Service special
use permit SLC102708.
(B) A parcel of land occupied by the public service
building of the Town pursuant to Forest Service special
use permit SLC102708
(C) A parcel of land occupied by the water service
building of the Town pursuant to Forest Service special
use permit SLC102707.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(3) Town.--The term ``Town'' means the town of Alta, Utah.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF FEDERAL LAND TO ALTA, UTAH.
(a) In General.--Subject to subsection (b) and 18 valid existing
rights, as soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act,
the Secretary shall convey to the Town, without consideration, all
right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the Federal
land.
(b) Conditions.--
(1) Use of federal land.--As a condition of the conveyance
under subsection (a), the Town shall use the Federal land only
for public purposes consistent with the applicable special use
permit described in section 2(1).
(2) Deed and reversion.--The conveyance under subsection (a)
shall be by quitclaim deed, which shall provide that the
Federal land shall revert to the Secretary, at the election of
the Secretary, if the Federal land is used for a purpose other
than a purpose provided under paragraph (1).
(3) Acreage.--
(A) In general.--The boundaries of the Federal land
conveyed under subsection (a) shall be determined by
the Secretary, in consultation with the Town, subject
to the condition that the Federal land conveyed may not
exceed a total of 2 acres.
(B) Survey and legal description.--The exact acreage
and legal description of the Federal land shall be
determined, in accordance with subparagraph (A), by a
survey approved by the Secretary.
(4) Costs.--The Town shall pay each administrative cost of
the conveyance under subsection (a), including the costs of the
survey carried out under paragraph (3).
(5) Additional terms and conditions.--The conveyance under
subsection (a) shall be subject to such terms and conditions as
the Secretary may require.
PURPOSE
The purpose of S. 1719 is to provide for the conveyance of
up to two acres of National Forest System land to the town of
Alta, Utah, for continued use by the town for certain public
purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The town of Alta, Utah, (hereinafter ``Town'') is home to a
permanent population of 370 people and a popular ski area. The
Town does not own any land within its municipality, and much of
its municipal infrastructure is located on National Forest
System land in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest pursuant to--
as the Department of Agriculture describes it--``a complex
suite of existing special use permits.''
The Town's administration building and public service
building were constructed pursuant to a non-assignable special
use permit (SLC102708) authorizing buildings for the town's
emergency operations center, Marshall's Office, central
dispatch, community center, emergency equipment storage, and
library, for example. A water service building was constructed
pursuant to another non-assignable separate special use permit
(SLC102707) to house municipal water infrastructure.
Legislation is needed to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
transfer the land under those three municipal buildings to the
Town to provide it with greater certainty and flexibility in
the maintenance and continued use of those buildings for the
purposes specified in the special use permits.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 1719 was introduced by Senators Bennett and Hatch on
September 25, 2009. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and
Forests held a hearing on the bill on December 17, 2009 (S.
Hrg. 111-364). The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
considered the bill and adopted an amendment in the nature of a
substitute at its business meeting on June 16, 2010. The
Committee ordered S. 1719 favorably reported, as amended, at
its business meeting on June 21, 2010.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on June 21, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1719, if amended as
described herein.
COMMITTEEE AMENDMENT
During its consideration of S. 1719, the Committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute. The amendment
restricts the continued use of the three parcels of land to be
conveyed to the Town to the public purposes specified in the
current special use permits that authorize the Town to use the
land for the three municipal buildings listed in the amended
bill. The amendment also includes a number of technical and
conforming changes. The amendment is explained in detail in the
section-by-section analysis below.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title for the bill.
Section 2 defines key terms in the bill, including
``Federal land'', which includes references to the three
parcels of National Forest System land to be conveyed to the
Town and the applicable special use permit authorization
identification numbers for each.
Section 3(a) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey, subject to the conditions in subsection (b), the
Federal land to the Town for no consideration.
Subsection (b) conditions the conveyance on the Town using
each parcel of land only for public purposes consistent with
those listed in the applicable special use permit and provides
for the land to revert to the United States if the Town uses a
parcel for some other purpose. The bill leaves the
determination of the exact boundaries of the land to be
conveyed under and immediately around the three buildings to
the Secretary's discretion, except that it may not exceed a
total of 2 acres. Once the Secretary determines the appropriate
boundaries of the parcels to be conveyed, the Secretary is
required to conduct a survey to establish the exact acreage and
a legal description of each parcel. The Town is required to pay
the costs of the survey and all other administrative costs of
the conveyance. The conveyance also shall be subject to any
additional terms and conditions that the Secretary may require.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1719--Wasatch-Cache National Forest Land Conveyance Act of 2010
S. 1719 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey, without consideration, certain lands in Utah to the
town of Alta. Based on information from the Forest Service, CBO
estimates that enacting the legislation would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. CBO expects that
enacting the legislation would increase direct spending;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply. CBO estimates,
however, that such effects would be negligible. Enacting the
legislation would not affect revenues.
Under current law, the Forest Service receives payments
totaling less than $20,000 per year for easements on the
affected lands. Under the bill, those lands would be conveyed
to Alta, Utah. Thus, CBO estimates that enacting the
legislation would reduce offsetting receipts (a credit against
direct spending) by less than $200,000 over the 2010-2020
period. Because the bill would require the town to pay the
administrative costs associated with the land exchange, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would not have a
significant impact on spending subject to appropriation.
The Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010 establishes budget-
reporting and enforcement procedures for legislation affecting
direct spending or revenues. S. 1719 would reduce offsetting
receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would apply.
However, CBO estimates that the increase in direct spending
under the bill would not be significant over the 2010-2020
period.
S. 1719 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.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Sam Papenfuss, Unit Chief for Income
Security and Education Cost Estimates Unit, Budget Analysis
Division.
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 S. 1719.
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 S. 1719, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
S. 1719, as 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 views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at the December 17, 2009,
subcommittee hearing on S. 1719 (S. Hrg. 111-364), which is
printed below:
Statement of Harris Sherman, Undersecretary, Natural Resources and
Environment, Department of Agriculture
S. 1719 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey, without consideration, certain parcels of land not to
exceed two acres located in the Wasatch-Cache National Forest
to the Town of Alta, Utah for public purposes. The bill
includes a clause for reversion of the property to the United
States, at the election of the Secretary based on the best
interests of the United States, if the land is not being used
for the purpose stated in the bill.
While we support Alta's need to consolidate their municipal
resources, the Department cannot support the bill because it
does not provide for market value compensation for the
conveyance. It is long-standing policy that the taxpayers of
the United States receive market value for the sale, exchange,
or use of their National Forest System land. Based on recent
land sales in the Alta area, we estimate the average value of
the lands to be conveyed under S. 1719 to be $500,000.
Although, the bill does require the Town of Alta to cover the
Federal land survey costs associated with the conveyance, it
does not clearly state who would be responsible for bearing
other administrative costs associated with the conveyance.
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 S. 1719, as ordered
reported.