[Senate Report 113-18]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                        Calendar No. 49
113th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                     113-18

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



 
                 POWELL SHOOTING RANGE LAND CONVEYANCE

                                _______
                                

                 April 22, 2013.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

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

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 130]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 130) to require the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey certain Federal land to the Powell 
Recreation District in the State of Wyoming, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and 
recommends that the bill do pass.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of S. 130 is to direct the Secretary of the 
Interior to convey approximately 322 acres of land administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management near Powell, Wyoming, to the 
Powell Recreation District for use as a shooting range.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The town of Powell is located in Park County, in 
northwestern Wyoming. Since 1980, the Powell Recreation 
District has used approximately 322 acres of public lands as a 
public shooting range. Because the lands were located within 
the boundaries of an irrigation district, they were presumed to 
be under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Reclamation. The 
Bureau issued the original lease for the shooting range in 1980 
and a renewal in 2007. Recently, it was determined that the 
lands were actually administered by the Bureau of Land 
Management.
    In October 2005, the recreation district applied for a 
transfer of the land under the Recreation and Public Purposes 
Act (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). However, because the land had not 
been identified by the BLM as appropriate for conveyance under 
the R&PP Act, and because the land is contaminated with lead, 
the Department of the Interior concluded that it does not have 
authority to administratively transfer the land under that Act.
    S. 130 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey all 
right, title, and interest, of the United States to 
approximately 322 acres of land identified on the referenced 
map to the Powell Recreation District for continued use as a 
shooting range, or for any other public purpose allowed under 
the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. The conveyance is to be 
made for no cost. The District is required to pay for any 
administrative costs associated with the conveyance.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    S. 130 was introduced by Senators Enzi and Barrasso on 
January 24, 2013. At its business meeting on March 14, 2013, 
the Committee ordered S. 130 favorably reported.
    During the 112th Congress, the Committee considered similar 
legislation, S. 2015, also sponsored by Senators Enzi and 
Barrasso. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a 
hearing on S. 2015 on March 22nd, 2012 (S. Hrg. 112-642). S. 
2015 was discharged by the Committee and passed the Senate 
without amendment by unanimous consent on December 30, 2012.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open 
business session on March 14, 2013, by voice vote of a quorum 
present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 130.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 provides the short title, the ``Powell Shooting 
Range Land Conveyance Act.''
    Section 2 defines key terms used in the bill.
    Section 3(a) instructs the Secretary of the Interior to 
convey all right, title and interest of the Federal government 
to the land described in section (b).
    Subsection (b) defines the land referred to in section (a) 
as 332 acres of land managed by the Bureau of Land Management, 
Wind River District, Wyoming, commonly known as the ``Powell 
Gun Club.''
    Subsection (c) describes the map and legal description.
    Subsection (d) directs the land conveyed only be used (1) 
as a shooting range or (2) for other public purpose allowed 
under the Recreation and Public Purpose Act (43 U.S.C. 869 et 
seq.).
    Subsection (e) requires the District to pay all survey cost 
and administrative costs necessary for the preparation and 
completion of the land conveyance.
    Subsection (f) allows the land conveyed to revert back to 
the United States if it ceases to be used for a public purpose 
outlined in subsection (d).
    Subsection (g) sets the conditions of the conveyance (1) 
the District agrees to pay administrative costs and costs 
associated with any environmental, wildlife, cultural, or 
historical studies and (2) clarifies that the United States 
will not be held liable from any claims on the lands conveyed 
to the District.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 130--Powell Shooting Range Land Conveyance Act

    S. 130 would require the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to 
convey 322 acres of federal land near Powell, Wyoming, to the 
Powell Recreation District. Based on information provided by 
BLM, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have 
no significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting S. 130 
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    The bill would require BLM to convey the affected lands, 
without consideration, to the Powell Recreation District, which 
currently operates a shooting range on those lands. Because the 
bill requires the district to pay all administrative costs 
associated with the conveyance, CBO estimates that implementing 
S. 130 would have no significant impact on discretionary 
spending. In addition, the affected lands are not expected to 
generate receipts over the next 10 years under current law.
    S. 130 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    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. 130.
    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. 130, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    S. 130, 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

    Executive Communications were not requested by the Senate 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources in the 113th 
Congress. The following Administration testimony references 
similar legislation introduced in the 112th Congress.
    The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management at 
the March 22, 2012, Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests 
hearing on S. 2015 follows.

  Statement of Mike Pool, Deputy Director, Bureau of Land Management, 
                       Department of the Interior

    Thank you for the opportunity to present the views of the 
Department of the Interior on S. 2015, the Powell Shooting 
Range Land Conveyance Act, which conveys an isolated 322-acre 
tract of public land to the Powell Recreation District 
(District) in northwestern Wyoming. The Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) supports S. 2015.


                               BACKGROUND


    Powell, Wyoming, is a town of approximately 5,000 people in 
northwestern Wyoming. This region of Wyoming is generally 
irrigated farmland with scattered BLM-managed public land 
parcels.
    In 1980, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) granted the 
District a Special Use Permit (SUP) for a 25-year period to 
construct and operate a shooting range on this isolated tract 
of public land southeast of the town of Powell. The District 
constructed the facilities and infrastructure for the shooting 
range over 30 years ago, and has operated the range ever since. 
The District is a local entity created under state statute for 
the purpose of providing public recreation programs. It is 
funded from local property taxes and has authority to acquire 
land and facilities appropriate to carry out its recreational 
purposes.
    The SUP for the shooting range expired in 2005. That year, 
the District filed an application for a Recreation and Public 
Purposes Act conveyance of this land to continue the shooting 
range operations. The BOR extended the SUP pending transfer of 
the land to the District. In 2010, the BLM discovered that, as 
a result of a 1950 land exchange with the state of Wyoming, the 
parcel is actually under the BLM's jurisdiction and not the 
BOR's jurisdiction as was previously understood. The BLM has 
used the authority of a Special Recreation Permit to 
temporarily authorize the use of the existing shooting complex 
until long-term resolution of the land use issues could be 
achieved. BLM authorities for conveyance of land under the 
Recreation and Public Purpose Act do not permit the transfer of 
this land administratively to the District under its current 
use as a shooting range.


                                S. 2015


    S. 2015 requires the BLM to convey an isolated 322-acre 
tract of public land southeast of Powell, Wyoming, to the 
Powell Recreation District. The bill requires that the parcel 
of land be transferred subject to valid existing rights, and be 
used only as a shooting range or for any other public purpose 
consistent with the Recreation and Public Purposes Act.
    If the land conveyed to the District ceases to be used for 
its intended purpose then the land shall, at the discretion of 
the Secretary, revert to the United States.
    S. 2015 requires the Powell Recreation District to pay 
administrative costs to prepare the patent and transfer title 
as well as costs necessary to complete environmental, wildlife, 
cultural, historical studies, and NEPA review prior to the 
transfer. The bill also releases and indemnifies the United 
States from any claims or liabilities that may arise from uses 
carried out on the land on or before the date the Act is 
signed.
    The BLM supports the bill as it represents an opportunity 
to resolve land use issues on an isolated tract of public land 
that has been used as a shooting range for over 30 years and is 
identified for disposal in current land use plans. The 
legislation facilitates a reasonable and practicable conveyance 
of lands to the Powell Recreation District.


                               CONCLUSION


    Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in 
support of S. 2015.

                        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. 130 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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