[Senate Report 111-330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 616
111th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     111-330

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



 
       BOUNDARY REVISION OF THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK

                                _______
                                

               September 27, 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. 4395]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the Act (H.R. 4395) to revise the boundaries of the 
Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Gettysburg 
Train Station, 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. 4395 is to amend Public Law 101-377 to 
revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park 
to include the Gettysburg Train Station in the State of 
Pennsylvania, and expand the Park boundaries to include 
approximately 45 acres adjacent to the park.

                          Background and Need

    On July 1, 1863, a critical battle of the Civil War began 
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Among the areas that saw some of 
the most intense fighting that first day was an area along a 
nearby railway road cut. The Battle of Gettysburg would be the 
bloodiest single battle of the Civil War, with over 51,000 
soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing. The train 
station that was the site of some of the most intense fighting 
on the first day later became one of the first field hospitals 
of the battle.
    First established as a national cemetery for the Union dead 
by the local residents, Soldier's National Cemetery was 
dedicated by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, with 
solemn words that would become known as the Gettysburg Address. 
In 1895, Gettysburg National Military Park was established when 
the property was transferred to the federal government. 
Administration was transferred to the National Park Service, 
Department of the Interior, in 1933, along with many other 
sites.
    Since its establishment, several planning documents, 
including the 1999 General Management Plan, have called for 
further expansion of cooperative efforts to protect resources 
closely linked to the park. Specifically addressed in the Plan 
were the David Wills House, where President Lincoln stayed the 
night before giving the Gettysburg Address, and the train 
station. The Wills House was added to the Park's boundary 
through Public Law 106-290, and through a Memorandum of 
Understanding, is operated by Main Street Gettysburg, a non-
profit organization, at no cost to the taxpayer.
    The Gettysburg Train Station, the station at which 
President Lincoln arrived to deliver the Gettysburg Address, is 
next to Gettysburg's shuttle system, Freedom Transit. 
Rehabilitation of the historic train station was completed by 
the Borough of Gettysburg in 2006 with Pennsylvania grant 
funding. Operational funds from the Borough to maintain visitor 
information and orientation services have been lacking, leading 
the Borough of Gettysburg Council formally to request that the 
National Park Service take ownership of the site and provide 
the funding needed. The site is listed on the National Register 
of Historic Places. Much as is the case with the Wills House, a 
partnership with the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau 
is expected to provide staffing for the site, with National 
Park Service expenditures limited to covering utility costs.
    The additional land that the legislation would include 
within the Park boundary is near Big Round Top along Plum Run 
in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania. It is comprised of a 45-
acre tract of land adjacent to the Park within the Battlefield 
Historic District and at the southern end of the Gettysburg 
Battlefield. This area witnessed cavalry skirmishes, and is 
significant due to the presence of wetlands and wildlife 
habitat. The property was donated to the Gettysburg Foundation 
in 2009. The Foundation has indicated its intention to donate 
the parcel to the National Park Service once the area is within 
the Park boundary.

                          Legislative History

    H.R. 4395 was introduced by Representative Platts on 
December 16, 2009, and was passed by the House of 
Representatives, as amended, on March 19, 2010, by a vote of 
372 to 31 (H. Rept. 111-438). Senators Specter and Casey 
introduced a similar bill (S. 3159) on March 24, 2010. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bills on 
May 19, 2010.
    The Committee considered H.R. 4395 at its business meeting 
on July 22, 2010, at which time it rejected an amendment 
offered by Senator Murkowski to prohibit the use of Federal 
funds to acquire lands from willing sellers for the Gettysburg 
National Battlefield. At its business meeting on August 5, 
2010, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered 
H.R. 4395 favorably reported without amendment.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on August 5, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 4395.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis

    Section 1 of the bill amends section 1 of the Act entitled 
``An Act to revise the boundary of the Gettysburg National 
Military Park in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for 
other purposes'' (Public Law 101-377; 16 U.S.C. 430g-4), to 
expand the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park in 
Pennsylvania to include the Gettysburg Train Station and its 
immediate surroundings. Section 1 further amends the same Act 
to expand the Park boundary to include 45 acres along Plum Run 
in Cumberland Township, adjacent to Park lands. The additional 
land to be included in the Park is depicted on the map titled 
``Gettysburg National Military Park Proposed Boundary 
Addition'', numbered 305/80,045 and dated January 2010.
    Section 2 of the bill amends section 2(a) of the same Act 
(16 U.S.C. 430g-5) to impose certain requirements on the 
Secretary with respect to the acquisition of the land and 
interests in land commonly known as the Gettysburg Train 
Station and its immediate surroundings. Specifically, with 
respect to the Gettysburg Train Station and its immediate 
surroundings, the section authorizes the Secretary of the 
Interior to purchase publicly-owned property from a willing 
seller only after all other efforts to acquire the publicly-
owned land without cost to the federal government are 
exhausted. Section 2 also prohibits the use of eminent domain 
as a method of acquiring any of the property described in 
section 1(d), i.e., the Gettysburg Train Station and its 
immediate surroundings and the land along Plum Run referred to 
in section 1(d).

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

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

H.R. 4395--An act to revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National 
        Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for 
        other purposes

    H.R. 4395 would expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg 
National Military Park in Pennsylvania to include two nearby 
properties. CBO expects that the National Park Service (NPS), 
which administers the park, would probably purchase a small 
parcel of land containing the newly refurbished Gettysburg 
Train Station and would accept (from the Gettysburg Foundation) 
the donation of a 45-acre tract of land along Plum Run in 
Cumberland Township.
    Based on information provided by NPS, we estimate that 
implementing H.R. 4395 would cost about $1 million over the 
next year or two, assuming the availability of appropriated 
funds. That sum would be used to purchase the train station and 
conduct minor development projects at the added sites. We 
estimate that annual costs to operate and maintain the new 
properties after that time would be minimal because the train 
station would continue to be operated by local or nonprofit 
organizations and the Plum Run acreage would be left 
undeveloped.
    Enacting H.R. 4395 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do 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. 
If enacted, the legislation would benefit the Borough of 
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
    On March 2, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
4395, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural 
Resources on February 24, 2010. The two versions of the 
legislation and CBO's estimate of their costs are similar.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 
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. 4395.
    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. 4395, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    H.R. 4395, 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 views of the Department of the Interior were included 
in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 3159 
and H.R. 4395 on May 19, 2010, which is printed below:

 Statement of Stephen E. Whitesell, Associate Director, Park Planning, 
    Facilities, and Lands, 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. 3159 and H.R. 4395, bills that would add the 
historic Lincoln Train Station in the Borough of Gettysburg and 
45 acres at the base of Big Round Top to Gettysburg National 
Military Park in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
    The Department supports enactment of this legislation. The 
Department previously testified in support of H.R. 4395 on 
January 21, 2010, before the House Subcommittee on National 
Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
    Gettysburg National Military Park protects major portions 
of the site of the largest battle waged during this nation's 
Civil War. Fought in the first three days of July 1863, the 
Battle of Gettysburg resulted in a victory for Union forces and 
successfully ended the second invasion of the North by 
Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E. Lee. 
Historians have referred to the battle as a major turning point 
in the war--the ``High Water Mark of the Confederacy.'' It was 
also the Civil War's bloodiest single battle, resulting in over 
51,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured or missing.
    The Soldiers' National Cemetery within the park was 
dedicated on November 19, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln 
delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address. The cemetery 
contains more than 7,000 interments including over 3,500 from 
the Civil War. The park currently includes nearly 6,000 acres, 
with 26 miles of park roads and over 1,400 monuments, markers, 
and memorials.
    Gettysburg's Lincoln Train Station was built in 1858 and is 
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station 
served as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg, and the 
wounded and the dead were transported from Gettysburg through 
this station in the aftermath of battle. President Abraham 
Lincoln arrived at this station when he visited to give the 
Gettysburg Address.
    Gettysburg National Military Park's 1999 General Management 
Plan called for expanding cooperative relationships and 
partnerships with the Borough of Gettysburg and other sites 
``to ensure that resources closely linked to the park, the 
battle, and the non-combatant civilian involvement in the 
battle and its aftermath are appropriately protected and 
used.'' In particular, the plan stated that the National Park 
Service would initiate ``cooperation agreements with willing 
owners, and seek the assistance of the Borough of Gettysburg 
and other appropriate entities to preserve, operate and manage 
the Wills House and Lincoln Train Station.''
    The Borough of Gettysburg Interpretive Plan called for the 
Lincoln Train Station to be used as a downtown information and 
orientation center for visitors--where all park visitors would 
arrive after coming downtown--to receive information and 
orientation to downtown historic attractions, including the 
David Wills House. This is the house where Lincoln stayed the 
night before delivering the Gettysburg Address. The 
Interpretive Plan also called for rehabilitation of the Wills 
House, which was added to the park's boundary through Public 
Law 106-290 in October 2000, and is now a historic house museum 
in the borough and an official site within Gettysburg National 
Military Park. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, the David 
Wills House is operated by Main Street Gettysburg at no cost to 
the National Park Service.
    The Lincoln Train Station is next to the downtown terminus 
of Freedom Transit, Gettysburg's shuttle system, which started 
operations in July 2009 with a grant from the Federal Transit 
Administration in the Department of Transportation.
    In 2006, the Borough of Gettysburg completed rehabilitation 
of the Lincoln Train Station with funds from a Commonwealth of 
Pennsylvania grant. Due to a lack of funds, however, the 
borough has been unable to operate a visitor information and 
orientation center there. Through formal vote of the Borough 
Council, the Borough of Gettysburg has asked the National Park 
Service to take over the ownership and operations of the train 
station. The anticipated acquisition cost for the completely 
rehabilitated train station is approximately $772,000, subject 
to an appraisal by the federal government. Funding to acquire 
this land would be subject to the availability of 
appropriations and NPS priorities.
    The park has a preliminary commitment from the Gettysburg 
Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) to provide all staffing 
requirements for operations of an information and orientation 
center in the train station, thereby alleviating the park of 
staff costs. Anticipated operating costs for the train station 
that will be the responsibility of the NPS are limited to 
utility costs; the rest will be paid by the Gettysburg CVB. In 
the event that the Gettysburg CVB is unable to provide staffing 
and funding for operations, the NPS would seek another park 
partner to cover these costs and requirements.
    S. 3159 and H.R. 4395 would also add 45 acres near Big 
Round Top along Plum Run in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania 
to the boundary of the park. The 45-acre tract of land is 
adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park and is within 
the Battlefield Historic District. The land is at the southern 
base of Big Round Top at the southern end of the Gettysburg 
battlefield. There were cavalry skirmishes in this area during 
the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863, but the real significance 
is environmental. The tract has critical wetlands and wildlife 
habitat related to Plum Run. Wayne and Susan Hill donated it to 
the Gettysburg Foundation in April 2009. The Gettysburg 
Foundation plans to donate ``fee title interest'' in the parcel 
to the National Park Service once it is within the park 
boundary. It abuts land already owned by the National Park 
Service.
    When H.R. 4395 was marked up by the House Committee on 
Natural Resources, the bill was amended to combine two map 
references into one map that shows both parcels. If S. 3159 
moves forward we recommend that the bill be amended to reflect 
this newer map.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be happy 
to answer any questions that you or members of the committee 
may have.

                        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 bill H.R. 4395 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):

          Gettysburg National Military Park Boundary Revision


             (Public Law 101-377; Approved August 17, 1990)


                           [16 U.S.C. 430g-4]


 AN ACT To revise the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park in 
       the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY REVISION.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    (c) Lands Excluded From the Park.--Lands and interests in 
lands outside of the boundary so depicted as ``Park Boundary'' 
on the maps referred to in subsections (a) and (b) are hereby 
excluded from the park and shall be disposed of in accordance 
with the provisions of section 2(c)
    (d) Additional Land.--In addition to the land identified in 
subsections (a) and (b), the park shall also include the 
following, as depicted on the map titled ``Gettysburg National 
Military Park Proposed Boundary Addition'', numbered 305/80,045 
and dated January 2010:
          (1) The land and interests in land commonly known as 
        the ``Gettysburg Train Station'' and its immediate 
        surroundings in the Borough of Gettysburg.
          (2) The land and interests in land located along Plum 
        Run in Cumberland Township.

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SECTION 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF LANDS.

    (a) General Authority.--The Secretary is authorized to 
acquire lands and interests in lands within the park by 
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds, 
exchange, or otherwise. In acquiring lands and interests in 
lands under this Act, the Secretary shall acquire the minimum 
Federal interests necessary to achieve the objectives 
identified for specific areas and the park. The Secretary is 
also authorized to acquire publicly owned property within the 
area defined in section 1(d)(1) by purchase, from willing 
sellers only, if efforts to acquire that property without cost 
have been exhausted. The Secretary may not acquire property 
within the area defined in section 1(d) by eminent domain.

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