[House Report 113-192]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


113th Congress                                                   Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session                                                    113-192

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                  DENALI NATIONAL PARK IMPROVEMENT ACT

                                _______
                                

 September 10, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 
            the State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

 Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 157]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (S. 157) to provide for certain improvements to the 
Denali National Park and Preserve in the State of Alaska, and 
for other purposes, having considered the same, report 
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 
do pass.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of S. 157 is to provide for certain 
improvements to the Denali National Park and Preserve in the 
State of Alaska.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    S. 157 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
issue right-of-way permits for a natural gas transmission 
pipeline within Denali National Park, authorize the Secretary 
of the Interior to issue permits for a micro hydroelectric 
project within Denali National Park and Preserve, exchange land 
managed by Denali National Park and Preserve with land owned by 
Doyon Tourism, Inc., and rename the Talkeetna Ranger Station in 
Talkeetna, Alaska, in honor of Walter Harper.
    Electricity in south-central Alaska is largely generated by 
burning natural gas produced from the gas fields in Cook Inlet, 
south of Anchorage, although production from Cook Inlet has 
been declining. There are concerns regarding the region's 
ability to produce sufficient gas to support the area's 
electricity and home heating needs. Plans for a large-volume 
natural gas pipeline to run from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields to 
the Lower 48 States may not be finished in time to provide 
needed gas to south-central Alaska. Therefore, Alaska is 
considering investing in a pipeline to meet medium-term in-
state demand.
    The pipeline would run from Alaska's North Slope region, 
past Fairbanks, through the Nenana River Canyon and, as 
authorized by S. 157, through Denali National Park and Preserve 
following the existing highway, seven miles of which pass 
through the park. The proposed pipeline makes use of the 
current highway right-of-way. Using that right-of-way would 
prevent impacts on wildlife in lands immediately adjacent to 
the park and would provide natural gas for use in park 
facilities and vehicles, currently powered by diesel-turbine 
power sources.
    To further the purposes of S. 157, the Committee strongly 
urges that the requirement for the simultaneous filing of an 
application by section 1104(c) of the Alaska National Interest 
Lands Conservation Act (16 U.S.C. 3164(c)) apply only to the 
portion of the applicant's high-pressure natural gas 
transmission pipeline that is within the boundary of Denali 
National Park.
    The Kantishna Roadhouse is owned by Doyon Tourism, Inc., a 
subsidiary of the Alaska Native Corporation Doyon, Ltd. It is a 
full-service lodge located 92 miles inside Denali National Park 
and Preserve at the end of the Denali Park Road. The Roadhouse, 
like many structures within Denali National Park, is entirely 
off the grid and generates all of its electricity needs with a 
diesel generator. As a result, diesel must be trucked using the 
Denali Park Road. S. 157 would authorize the permitting of a 
micro hydroelectric project that would allow the Roadhouse to 
reduce its diesel use and transport by approximately 50 
percent.
    The proposed microhydro generator would be supplied by 
Eureka Creek, a four-mile-long stream. Some water from the 
creek would be diverted through an at-grade water intake with a 
conduit to carry water downhill to the generator housed in one 
of Doyon Tourism's buildings. An electrical distribution line 
would carry the electricity to the Roadhouse, about 600 feet 
from the microhydro generator. A battery bank would store 
surplus electricity to accommodate peak power demands and 
maintenance shut-downs of the generator. S. 157 would authorize 
the Secretary to issue permits for other microhydro projects in 
the Kantishna Hills area subject to applicable National Park 
Service terms and conditions. S. 157 also authorizes a land 
exchange between Denali National Park and Doyon Tourism, Inc., 
for the purpose of consolidating land holdings for both the 
Park and Doyon.
    The Talkeetna Ranger Station is located approximately 100 
miles from the south entrance to Denali National Park and 
Preserve and is the headquarters for the Park's mountaineering 
rangers. All climbing expeditions to Mt. McKinley and Mt. 
Foraker obtain permits and mountain orientation at this Ranger 
Station. S. 157 will rename the Talkeetna Ranger Station in 
honor of Alaskan Native Walter Harper. Nearly 100 years ago, 
Harper set out to reach the summit of Mount McKinley in the 
Alaskan Range. After a three-month journey from Fairbanks, 
Walter Harper became the first person to set foot on top of 
North America's tallest peak on June 7, 1913.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    S. 157 was introduced on January 28, 2013, by Senator Lisa 
Murkowski (R-AK). On June 19, 2013, the bill passed the Senate 
by unanimous consent without amendment. The bill was then 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the 
Committee to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental 
Regulation. On May 9, 2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on 
identical House companion bill (H.R. 586), sponsored by 
Congressman Don Young (R-AK). On July 24, 2013, the Full 
Resources Committee met to consider S. 157. The Subcommittee on 
Public Lands and Environmental Regulation was discharged by 
unanimous consent. No amendments were offered and the bill was 
adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent.

            COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

    Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of 
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the 
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

    1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the 
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and 
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be 
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when 
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted 
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule 
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

S. 157--Denali National Park Improvement Act

    Based on information provided by the National Park Service 
(NPS), CBO estimates that implementing S. 157 would have no 
significant impact on the federal budget. The act would:
           Authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 
        issue permits for microhydroelectric projects in the 
        Kantishna Hills area of the Denali National Park and 
        Preserve in Alaska;
           Authorize an exchange of land between the 
        Department of the Interior and Doyon Tourism, Inc.;
           Authorize the NPS to issue permits to 
        construct a natural gas pipeline in the Denali National 
        Park; and
           Redesignate the Talkeetna Ranger Station as 
        the Walter Harper Talkeetna Ranger Station.
    Enacting S. 157 could increase offsetting receipts (from 
permit fees) and associated direct spending; therefore, pay-as-
you-go procedures apply. If potential owners or operators of a 
pipeline seek permits from the NPS, the agency could collect a 
fee to recover any costs associated with issuing such permits. 
NPS would retain and spend those amounts to process the permit 
without further appropriation, and any excess receipts would be 
deposited in the Treasury. CBO estimates that the total 
collections under the legislation would be insignificant over 
the 2014-2023 period, and the net effect on direct spending 
would be negligible. Enacting the legislation would not affect 
revenues.
    S. 157 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and 
would not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal 
governments.
    On April 1, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 
157, the Denali National Park Improvement Act, as ordered 
reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources on March 14, 2013. The two versions of the 
legislation are identical, and the CBO cost estimates are the 
same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von 
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
    2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required 
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget 
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget 
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase 
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that 
the total collections under the legislation would be 
insignificant over the 2014-2023 period, and the net effect on 
direct spending would be negligible.
    3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or 
objective of this bill is to provide for certain improvements 
to the Denali National Park and Preserve in the State of 
Alaska.

                           EARMARK STATEMENT

    This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, 
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined 
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives.

                    COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4

    This bill contains no unfunded mandates.

                       COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

    Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that 
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any 
specific rule-making proceedings.
    Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not 
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government 
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was 
not included in any report from the Government Accountability 
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139 
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic 
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program 
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law 
98-169) as relating to other programs.

                PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

    This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or 
tribal law.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing 
law.

                                  
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