[Senate Report 113-303]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 643
                                                       
113th Congress       }                           {              Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                           {              113-303

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                 INYO NATIONAL FOREST LAND EXCHANGE ACT

                                _______
                                

               December 10, 2014.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Ms. Landrieu, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 1241]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred an Act (H.R. 1241) to facilitate a land exchange 
involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo 
National Forest, 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. 1241 is to facilitate a land exchange 
involving certain National Forest System lands in the Inyo 
National Forest.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    H.R. 1241 authorizes the U.S. Forest Service to acquire two 
parcels of land outside the boundary of the Inyo National 
Forest in exchange for conveyance of 20 acres of national 
forest land to the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA). The main 
base of the MMSA currently operates under a special-use permit 
from the Forest Service and has been working to acquire 
ownership of the parcel to allow for needed renovations. The 
Inyo National Forest currently operates facilities on land that 
is owned by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power 
outside the boundary of the forest. H.R. 1241 authorizes the 
Inyo National Forest to acquire those parcels in the process of 
exchanging lands with the MMSA. In addition, the value of the 
parcels to be acquired by the MMSA exceeds the value of the 
lands to be exchanged to the Forest Service so the legislation 
authorizes the Forest Service to accept a cash equalization 
payment greater than the 25 percent cap under current law.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Representatives Cook, Costa, and McKeon introduced H.R. 
1241 on March 18, 2013. Similar legislation was introduced by 
Senator Feinstein on December 20, 2013. On April 24, 2013, the 
Natural Resources Committee ordered H.R. 1241 favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent 
(H. Rept. 113-281). The House passed H.R. 1241 without 
amendment by voice vote on December 3, 2014.
    The Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forest and Mining held a 
hearing to consider H.R. 1241 on July 30, 2014. At its business 
meeting on November 13, 2014, the Committee ordered H.R. 1241 
to be reported favorably without amendment.
    In the 112th Congress, a similar bill, H.R. 2157, was 
introduced by Congressman McKeon on June 13, 2011. The bill was 
referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. On December 2, 
2011, the Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public 
Lands held a hearing on the bill. On February 29, 2012, the 
Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The 
bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by voice vote (H. Rept. 112-439). The House 
passed H.R. 2157 without amendment 376-2 on April 24, 2012.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on November 13, 2014, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1241.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

    Section 1 authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to accept 
for acquisition in exchange certain non-Federal lands outside 
of boundaries of the Inyo National Forest Land.
    Subsection 1(b) authorizes the Secretary to accept a cash 
equalization payment in excess of 25 percent. This section 
further requires the Secretary to deposit payment into the 
Treasury of the United States.
    Subsection 1(c) modifies the use of land exchange 
authorities already available to the Secretary as of the date 
of the enactment of this Act.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

H.R. 1241--An act to facilitate a land exchange involving certain 
        National Forest System lands in the Inyo National Forest, and 
        for other purposes

    H.R. 1241 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 
accept certain nonfederal lands in exchange for 20 acres of 
federal land within the Inyo National Forest in California. 
Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CBO 
estimates that implementing the legislation would increase 
offsetting receipts and associated direct spending; therefore, 
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO expects that those 
changes would have no net effect on the deficit over the 2015-
2019 and 2015-2024 periods. Enacting H.R. 1241 would not affect 
revenues.
    H.R. 1241 would authorize the Secretary to accept private 
lands located outside of the Inyo National Forest in exchange 
for federal lands located within the forest. In addition, the 
act would allow the Secretary to accept a cash payment of any 
size to equalize the values of the properties that would be 
exchanged. Under current law, the Secretary can only exchange 
federal lands within a national forest for nonfederal lands 
located within that forest and cannot accept a cash 
equalization payment greater than 25 percent of the value of 
the federal lands exchanged.
    Formal appraisals of the properties have not been 
completed; however, based on information provided by the Forest 
Service, CBO estimates that the cash equalization payment would 
be several million dollars because the federal land is probably 
more valuable than the private land. Under the act, amounts 
received from such a payment would be retained by the agency 
and spent, without further appropriation, to acquire other 
lands in California. CBO estimates that those amounts would be 
spent within five years of the act's enactment.
    H.R. 1241 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 May 15, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 
1241, a bill to facilitate a land exchange involving certain 
National Forest System lands in the Inyo National Forest, and 
for other purposes, as ordered reported by the House Committee 
on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013. The two versions of the 
legislation are similar and the estimated costs are the same.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. 
This 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. 1241.
    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. 1241, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 1241, as 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 of the Acting Associate Deputy chief of the 
Forest System on H.R. 1241 at the Subcommittee on Public Lands, 
Forests and Mining's July 30, 2014, hearing follows:

  Statement of Gregory Smith, Acting Associate Deputy Chief, National 
        Forest System, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to appear before you today to provide the U.S. 
Department of Agriculture's (USDA) views regarding S. 1888.
    S. 1888 would allow the Secretary of Agriculture, in a 
proposed land exchange involving the conveyance of certain 
National Forest System land located within the boundaries of 
the Inyo National Forest, to accept for acquisition certain 
non-Federal lands in California lying outside the boundaries of 
the Inyo National Forest, if the Secretary determines that the 
acquisition of the non-Federal lands is desirable for National 
Forest System purposes. In addition, S. 1888 would allow the 
Secretary of Agriculture to accept a cash equalization payment 
in excess of 25 percent, which would be deposited into the 
account in the Treasury of the United States, established by 
the Sisk Act, and would be made available to the Secretary for 
acquisition of land for addition to the National Forest System.
    The Department supports S. 1888 as it will facilitate 
acquisition of highly-desirable parcels currently located 
outside the National Forest boundary. It will also simplify the 
land exchange process by authorizing a cash equalization 
payment in excess of 25 percent. All requirements otherwise 
applicable to the land exchange would continue to apply.
    Mammoth Mountain Lodge Redevelopment LLC, commonly known as 
Mammoth Mountain Ski Area (MMSA), wishes to acquire 20 acres of 
National Forest System land in the Main Lodge area, currently 
managed as part of a Ski Area Term Special Use Permit, so it 
can redevelop aging lodging facilities, increase capacity, and 
develop employee housing and whole and fractional ownership 
condominiums. These latter plans are inconsistent with its Ski 
Area Term Special Use Permit.
    MMSA has selected 12 non-Federal parcels suitable for 
acquisition in the Inyo, Stanislaus, Plumas, and Eldorado 
National Forests for the proposed exchange. These parcels were 
selected based on priorities identified in the respective 
Forest's Land Acquisition Plans, and include two Los Angeles 
Department of Water and Power (LADWP) parcels that are leased 
by the Forest Service as administrative sites. The southern 
parcel houses the Interagency Visitor Center near Lone Pine, 
California. The northern parcel is adjacent to the White 
Mountain Ranger Station in Bishop, California, and serves as a 
storage area for construction materials, recreation supplies 
and larger maintenance trucks. Legislation is needed to acquire 
the LADWP parcels because they are located outside the declared 
boundary of the lnyo National Forest.
    In addition, because the values of the agreed upon Federal 
and non-Federal lands are not likely to be within the 25 
percent range limit as provided in the Federal Land Policy and 
Management Act (FLPMA), legislation is needed to authorize the 
Forest Service to accept cash equalization in excess of the 
limit. The Department recommends the legislation be modified to 
clarify that funds deposited in the Sisk Act account shall be 
made available to the Secretary without further appropriation 
to acquire land in the State of California as additions to the 
National Forest System.
    I am 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 H.R. 1241, as ordered 
reported.