[House Report 114-417]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress   }                                      {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                      {      114-417

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



 
  TO REVISE THE BOUNDARIES OF CERTAIN JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER 
                   RESOURCES SYSTEM UNITS IN FLORIDA

                                _______
                                

February 9, 2016.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted 
                             the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 890]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 890) to correct the boundaries of the John H. 
Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Unit P16, having 
considered the same, report favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommend that the bill as amended do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

SECTION 1. REPLACEMENT OF JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES 
                    SYSTEM MAP.

  (a) In General.--The maps subtitled ``Cape Romano Unit P15, Tigertail 
Unit FL-63P'' and ``Keewaydin Island Unit P16'' included in the set of 
maps entitled ``Coastal Barrier Resources System'' referred to in 
section 4(a) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) 
and relating to certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System 
units in Florida are hereby replaced by other maps relating to the 
units subtitled ``Cape Romano Unit P15/P15P'', ``Keewaydin Island Unit 
P16/P16P, Tigertail Unit FL-63P'', and ``Keewaydin Island Unit P16/
P16P'', respectively, and dated April 10, 2015.
  (b) Availability.--The Secretary of the Interior shall keep the 
replacement maps referred to in subsection (a) on file and available 
for inspection in accordance with section 4(b) of the Coastal Barrier 
Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)).

    Amend the title so as to read:
    A bill to revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee 
Coastal Barrier Resources System units in Florida.

                          PURPOSE OF THE BILL

    The purpose of H.R. 890, as ordered reported, is to revise 
the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier 
Resources System Units in Florida.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    The John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) 
comprises coastal barrier units on the Atlantic and Gulf of 
Mexico coasts as delineated on maps adopted by Congress. These 
units consist of undeveloped sections of coastal barrier 
islands and the associated aquatic habitat which lies behind 
these barriers. The Coastal Barrier Resources Act (CBRA) of 
1982 and the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 created 
and expanded, respectively, the CBRS. According to U.S. Fish 
and Wildlife Service (USFWS) testimony, the entire CBRS has 856 
units and more than three million acres of land and associated 
aquatic habitat. The USFWS oversees the CBRS. According to the 
agency, CBRA encourages the conservation of hurricane prone, 
biologically rich coastal barriers by restricting federal 
expenditures, such as federal flood insurance, that encourage 
development. Areas within the CBRS can be developed provided 
that private developers or other non-federal parties bear the 
full cost. Congress expanded the CBRS as part of the 1990 
reauthorization, adding coastal lands along the Great Lakes, 
Florida Keys, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
    While there are no federal development or permit 
restrictions associated with lands being included in the CBRS, 
Public Law 97-348 states that inclusion does place significant 
restrictions on the availability of federal assistance related 
to development. Under CBRA, no federal flood insurance policies 
could be issued for properties within the system after October 
1, 1989; however, any such policies issued prior to October 1, 
1983, were grandfathered and allowed to remain. According to 
USFWS, restricting federal flood insurance for CBRS lands saved 
over $1 billion in taxpayer expenditures from 1982 to 2010.
    Except for very minor technical changes to account for 
natural accretion and erosion, boundaries cannot be adjusted 
unless a law is enacted to revise a map. As amended, H.R. 890 
makes boundary adjustments to three maps in Collier County, 
Florida. Local homeowners believe that lands were erroneously 
included in such maps. The USFWS concurred with that assessment 
and recently re-mapped the area. These maps were transmitted to 
the House Natural Resources Committee by USFWS with a request 
to adopt them by legislative means.
    H.R. 890, as amended, specifically adopts three revised 
maps: CBRS Units P15, P16, and FL63-P. According to USFWS, 
together these maps remove 43.6 acres of private land on Marco 
Island and 17 acres of private land on the Isles of Capri from 
the CBRS. Based on research by the local homeowners 
associations, the required infrastructure that made land 
ineligible for inclusion in the CBRS was in place prior to the 
1990 reauthorization. According to 2014 testimony by Dr. Robert 
Rohde, this bill affects 315 condominium owners on Marco 
Island, of which 110 are not currently eligible for the 
National Flood Insurance Program. A full complement of 
infrastructure including paved roads, electricity, sewer, and 
water was present as of December 1988. In terms of the Isles of 
Capri, 190 condominium owners are impacted, including 54 that 
are not eligible for participation in the National Flood 
Insurance Program, according to the same testimony. All of 
these homeowners not currently eligible to participate in the 
National Flood Insurance Program will be allowed to participate 
if this bill, as amended, is enacted into law.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 890 was introduced on February 11, 2015, by 
Congressman Curt Clawson (R-FL). The bill was referred to the 
Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the 
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On February 2, 2016, the Natural 
Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee 
was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Donald S. 
Beyer, Jr. (D-VA) offered an amendment designated 001. The 
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. No other amendments 
were offered, and the bill, as amended, was ordered favorably 
reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent 
on February 3, 2016.

            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:

H.R. 890--A bill to revise the boundaries of certain John H. Chafee 
        Coastal Barrier Resources System units in Florida

    H.R. 890 would update a map for a portion of the Coastal 
Barrier Resources System (CBRS) located in Florida. Based on 
information provided by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CBO 
estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget.
    Because H.R. 890 could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-
go procedures apply. However, we estimate that any net change 
in direct spending would be negligible over the 2017-2026 
period. Enacting the bill would not affect revenues.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 890 would not increase net 
direct spending or budget deficits by more than $5 billion in 
any of the four consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
    The bill would revise the CBRS map for several units within 
the system and would add, on net, about 17,000 acres to the 
system (increasing the size of the CBRS by about 1 percent). 
Based on information provided by the agency, CBO expects that 
the new map would exclude lands containing about 30 structures, 
which would enable owners of those structures to purchase 
federal flood insurance. CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 890 
could increase premium collections of the National Flood 
Insurance Fund by less than $100,000 annually. Such collections 
would be offset by new mandatory spending for underwriting and 
administrative expenses and new flood insurance claims over the 
2017-2026 period.
    H.R. 890 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.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The 
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in 
revenues or tax expenditures. The Congressional Budget Office 
estimates that enactment of this bill ``would have no 
significant effect on the federal budget.'' Enacting H.R. 890 
could increase premium collections under the National Flood 
Insurance Program by less than $100,000 per year; however, 
these would be offset by new mandatory spending for 
underwriting and administrative expenses and new flood 
insurance claims over the 2017-2026 period.
    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, as ordered reported, is to revise the 
boundaries of certain John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources 
System Units in Florida.

                           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.

                                  [all]