[Senate Report 111-269]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 539
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-269
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PRESERVATION OF ORANGE COUNTY'S ROCKS AND SMALL ISLANDS
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August 5, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 86]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 86) to eliminate an unused lighthouse
reservation, provide management consistency by incorporating
the rocks and small islands along the coast of Orange County,
California, into the California Coastal National Monument
managed by the Bureau of Land Management, and meet the original
Congressional intent of preserving Orange County's rocks and
small islands, 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. 86 is to incorporate several rocks and
small islands along the coast of Orange County, California,
into the California Coastal National Monument.
Background and Need
The California Coastal National Monument was established in
2000 to protect the rocks, small islands, and other geologic
formations along the entire 1,100 miles of the California
shoreline. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management. As
well as possessing scenic qualities and natural beauty, the
Monument's rocks and small islands provide important habitat
for seabirds, marine mammals, and other plant and animal life.
During the planning process for the monument, it was
discovered that a small number of geologic formations located
off the coastline of Orange County in the Laguna Beach area,
totaling approximately two acres, were not included within the
Monument as they were covered by legislative withdrawals made
in the 1930s. The withdrawals were intended to protect the
area's scenic qualities and reserve three specific offshore
rock clusters for the possibility of future lighthouses. The
lighthouses were never built and the Coast Guard no longer
needs the reservation.
The Laguna Beach community wishes to include the Orange
County coastal formations within the California Coastal
National Monument, in part because it has a strong interest in
developing a community initiative for the Orange County coastal
area.
Legislation to include these rocks and islands within the
Monument is needed to ensure that the features remain protected
and to allow the Bureau of Land Management to work with the
community and local groups to provide responsible stewardship
of this area.
Legislative History
H.R. 86, sponsored by Representative Campbell, passed the
House of Representatives by a vote of 397-4 on December 9,
2009.
The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing
on H.R. 86 on April 28, 2010. The Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources considered the bill at its business meeting
on June 16, 2010, and ordered H.R. 86 favorably reported
without amendment 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 H.R. 86.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1(a) amends the Act of February 18, 1931, placing
the geologic features located off the seacoast of Orange County
within the California Coastal National Monument.
Subsection (b) repeals a portion of a 1935 law reserving
the sites for future lighthouse construction, which are no
longer needed.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 86--An act to eliminate an unused lighthouse reservation, provide
management consistency by incorporating the rocks and small
islands along the coast of Orange County, California, into the
California Coastal National Monument managed by the Bureau of
Land Management, and meet the original congressional intent of
preserving Orange County's rocks and small islands
H.R. 86 would add certain islands and large rocks located
off the coast of California to the California Coastal National
Monument, which was created in 2000. The act also would repeal
statutes enacted in the 1930s that reserved two of the rocks
for lighthouses that were never constructed.
Based on information provided by the Bureau of Land
Management, CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 86 would have
no significant effect on the federal budget. The affected
properties are already administered by the federal government,
and their inclusion in the national monument would not require
the purchase or development of any land. Enacting H.R. 86 would
not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-
go procedures would not apply.
The act 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 November 5, 2009, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 86 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on October 28, 2009. The two versions of the
legislation are nearly identical, and the CBO cost estimates
are the same.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Alan Eder and
Deborah Reis. The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine,
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evalution
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. 86.
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. 86, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
H.R. 86, 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 Bureau of Land Management at
the April 28, 2010 Subcommittee hearing on H.R. 86 follows:
Statement of Marcilynn A. Burke, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land
Management, Department of the Interior
Thank you for inviting the Department of the Interior to
testify on H.R. 86, which would add certain rocks and small
islands along the coast of Orange County, California, to the
California Coastal National Monument managed by the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM). The BLM supports H.R. 86.
background
The California Coastal National Monument, part of the BLM's
National Landscape Conservation System, was established by a
Presidential Proclamation by President Clinton on January 11,
2000, to protect: ``all unappropriated or unreserved lands and
interest in lands owned or controlled by the United States in
the form of islands, rocks, exposed reefs, and pinnacles . . .
within 12 nautical miles of the shoreline of the State of
California.''
Covering more than 20,000 rocks and small islands spread
along 1,100 miles of the California coastline, the Presidential
Proclamation protects the Monument's overwhelming scenic
quality and natural beauty. The Proclamation specifically calls
for the protection of the geologic formations and the habitat
that these rocks and small islands provide for seabirds, marine
mammals, and other plant and animal life, both terrestrial and
marine.
Some particularly significant public rocks and islands off
the coast of Orange County in the Laguna Beach area provide
important habitat for a wide variety of upper rocky intertidal
species, as well as various shorebird species. Additionally,
four rock locations--Bird Rock and Two Rocks off the City of
Laguna Beach, San Juan Rocks off the City of Dana Point, and
San Marcos Rocks off the southern portion of the City of San
Clemente--provide important roosting habitat for seabirds
(including cormorants and the Federally-listed brown pelican)
and haul-out areas for seals and sea lions.
In the process of working with local communities on
planning for the California Coastal National Monument, the BLM
discovered that the rock features off the coastline of Orange
County were under Congressional withdrawals dating from the
1930s and, therefore, were not included within the Monument.
These withdrawals include more than 40 offshore rocks, small
islands, exposed reefs, and pinnacles located within one mile
of the coast of Orange County, California, totaling
approximately two acres above mean high tide. More than 70
years old, the withdrawals were originally intended to
temporarily reserve the Orange County offshore rocks and small
islands for ``park, scenic, or other public purposes'' (1931
Act), and reserve three specific offshore rock clusters for the
possibility of future lighthouses (1935 Act), which were never
built. These withdrawals were ultimately never utilized and are
no longer needed.
The Laguna Ocean Foundation has led a community-wide effort
to include these significant areas within the California
Coastal National Monument. The Foundation has worked with the
City of Laguna Beach and other local groups, including the
Audubon Society and the Surfrider Foundation, on a variety of
city and area-wide coastal protection and monitoring projects,
which resulted in H.R. 86.
h.r. 86
H.R. 86 would eliminate the existing withdrawals on these
public lands off the coast of Orange County and place these
features within the existing California Coastal National
Monument. The BLM supports the revocation of the old
withdrawals and the inclusion of these rocks, islands, and
exposed reefs within the Monument.
The BLM has been working with partners along the 1,100-mile
California coast to create a series of California Coastal
National Monument Gateway community initiatives. These Gateway
initiatives are a means to support organized local stewardship
of various California coastal areas through the development of
a consortium of the area's resource managers and advocates. The
Laguna Beach community has expressed strong interest in
developing a California Coastal National Monument Gateway
initiative for the Orange County coastal area. Inclusion of
these rocks and islands within the Monument will allow the BLM
to work with the community to provide responsible, long-term
stewardship of these valuable areas.
conclusion
Thank you for the opportunity to testify in support of H.R.
86. We look forward to passage of this legislation which would
place these significant features off the coast of Orange County
within the California Coastal National Monument, thus ensuring
their long-term protection and preservation, and paving the way
for an important local community stewardship initiative.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the Act H.R. 3804 as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
The Act of February 18, 1931 (Chapter 226; 46 Stat. 1172)
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[CHAP. 226]
AN ACT To reserve for public use rocks, pinnacles, reefs, and small
islands along the seacoast of Orange County, California
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That all
rocks, pinnacles, reefs, and islands having an area, at
ordinary high tide, of less than two acres, and located in the
Pacific Ocean within one mile of the coast of Orange County,
California, be, and the same are hereby, [temporarily reserved,
pending enactment of appropriate legislation by the Congress of
the United States] part of the California Coastal National
Monument and shall be administered as such, in the interest of
preserving the same for park, scenic, or other public purposes,
and no patent shall issue for any of said rocks, pinnacles,
reefs, or islands under any law relating to the public lands
after the passage of this Act.
* * * * * * *
The Act of May 28, 1935 (Chapter 155; 49 Stat. 305)
CHAPTER 155
AN ACT To authorize the Secretary of Commerce to dispose of certain
lighthouse reservations, and for other purposes
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[Sec. 31. That the Act of February 18, 1931 (46 Stat.
1172), entitled ``An Act to reserve for public use rocks,
pinnacles, reefs, and small islands along the sea coast of
Orange County, California'', is hereby amended to reserve for
lighthouse purposes the San Juan and San Mateo Rocks and the
two rocks in the vicinity of Laguna Beach, off the coast of
Orange County, California.]
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