[Senate Report 112-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 141
112th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     112-61

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



 
              CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO THE TOWN OF ALTA, UTAH

                                _______
                                

  August 30 (legislative day, August 2), 2011.--Ordered to be printed

   Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of August 2, 2011

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 684]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 684) to provide for the conveyance of 
certain parcels of land to the town of Alta, Utah, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
  1. On page 2, strike line 15 and insert the following:

    (b) Conveyance.--On the request of the Town submitted to 
the Secretary by the date that is not later than 1 year after 
the

  2. On page 2, strike line 20 and insert the following:

    (c) Survey; Costs.--

  3. On page 3, strike lines 4 and 5 and insert the following:

          (3) Costs.--The Town shall pay the reasonable survey 
        and other administrative costs associated with the 
        conveyance.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 684 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, marshal's office, central 
dispatch, community center, emergency equipment storage, and 
library, for example. A water service building was constructed 
pursuant to another non-assignable special use permit 
(SLC102707) to house municipal water infrastructure. S. 684 
would provide for the conveyance of the Federal land under 
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. 684 was introduced by Senator Lee on March 30, 2011. The 
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on S. 
684 on May 18, 2011 (S. Hrg. 112-39). At its business meeting 
on July 14, 2011, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 
ordered S. 684 favorably reported with amendments. The 
Committee reported a similar bill, S. 1719, in the 111th 
Congress (S. Rept. 111-259).

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on July 14, 2011, by a voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 684, if amended as 
described herein.

                          COMMITTEEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of S. 684, the Committee adopted 
amendments that clarify that the direction to the Secretary to 
convey the Federal land is contingent on the Town submitting a 
prior request for the conveyance, that require the town to pay 
the administrative costs associated with the conveyance, and 
that make a conforming change to the bill.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1(a) defines a number of terms used 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.
    Subsection (b) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to 
convey the Federal land to the Town for no consideration if the 
Town requests the conveyance.
    Subsection (c) directs the Secretary to survey each of the 
parcels to be conveyed and requires the Town to pay the 
administrative costs associated with the exchange. The bill 
leaves the determination of the exact boundaries of each of the 
parcels to be conveyed under and immediately around the three 
buildings to the Secretary's discretion, except that they may 
not exceed a total of two acres.
    Subsection (d) conditions the exchange on a requirement 
that the Town use each parcel of land only for public purposes 
consistent with those listed in the applicable special use 
permit, and subsection (e) provides for the land to revert to 
the United States if the Town uses a parcel for some other 
purpose.
    Subsection (f) provides that the conveyance 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. 684--A bill to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land 
        to the town of Alta, Utah

    S. 684 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 apply. We estimate, 
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 2012-2021 
period. Because the bill would require the town to pay the 
administrative costs associated with the land conveyance, CBO 
estimates that implementing the bill would not have a 
significant impact on spending subject to appropriation.
    S. 684 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 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 S. 684.
    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. 684, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 684, 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 Forest Service at the May 18, 
2011, hearing on S. 684 follows.

 Statement of Mary Wagner, Associate Chief, Forest Service, Department 
                             of Agriculture

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, I am Mary 
Wagner, Associate Chief of the United States Forest Service.
    Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today 
and provide the Department of Agriculture's views regarding S. 
684, to provide for the conveyance of certain parcels of land 
to the town of Alta, Utah. S. 684 would direct the Secretary of 
Agriculture to convey, without consideration, certain parcels 
of National Forest System (NFS) land comprising approximately 
two acres located in the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest to 
the Town of Alta, Utah, for public purposes. While supportive 
of the Town's desire to consolidate its municipal resources, 
the Department does not support S. 684.
    The Forest Service can convey the parcel under current 
authorities through the Townsite Act of July 31, 1958 (16 
U.S.C. 478a). The Townsite Act authorizes communities to 
acquire up to 640 acres of NFS land in order to serve community 
objectives, and requires payment to the United States of the 
market value of the federal land. Similarly, the lands could be 
made available by exchange for equal value consideration.
    It is long standing policy that the United States receive 
market value for the sale, exchange, or use of NFS land. This 
policy is well established in law, including the Independent 
Offices Appropriation Act (31 U.S.C. 9701), section 102(9) of 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701), as 
well as numerous land exchange authorities. Based on recent 
land sales in the Alta area, we estimate the value of the lands 
proposed to be conveyed under S. 684 to be approximately 
$500,000 per acre.
    Finally, S. 684 would require the Town of Alta to cover the 
Federal land survey costs associated with the proposed 
conveyance. It also should provide that the Town should bear 
other administrative costs associated with the conveyance.
    Although the Department does not support S. 684 as written, 
we are willing to work with the bill sponsors, the Town of 
Alta, and the Committee, in hopes of assisting the Town in 
achieving its desired consolidation of municipal resources.
    The Department of Justice also advises that the bill raises 
a constitutional concerns. In order to address this concern the 
Department of Justice recommends that the bill be revised to 
make absolutely clear that the town would have to agree to the 
proposed conveyance, which is what we understand Congress 
intends. This change might be accomplished by adding ``and 
subject to the Town's agreement'' after ``the Secretary shall 
convey to the Town,'' in section 2(b) of the bill.
    This concludes my statement and I would be happy to answer 
any questions you might 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 bill S. 684, as ordered 
reported.

                                  
