[House Report 114-829]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
114th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 114-829
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TO ALLOW CERTAIN PROPERTY IN THE TOWN OF LOUISA, VIRGINIA, TO BE USED
FOR PURPOSES RELATED TO COMPLIANCE WITH WATER QUALITY STANDARDS, AND
FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
November 16, 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
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 5032]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5032) to allow certain property in the town of
Louisa, Virginia, to be used for purposes related to compliance
with water quality standards, 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 H.R. 5032 is to allow certain property in
the town of Louisa, Virginia, to be used for purposes related
to compliance with water quality standards.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 5032 removes a federal use restriction on a parcel of
land in the town of Louisa, Virginia, to help the municipality
comply with federal drinking water quality standards.
The town purchases its drinking water from the Louisa
County Water Authority and redistributes that water to
approximately 766 customers. Since 2009, the town has
experienced compliance issues with the Environmental Protection
Agency's (EPA) disinfection by-products rule. Specifically, the
town has received 11 Notices of Violation for exceeding the
Primary Maximum Contaminant Level for Total Trihalomethanes and
11 Notices of Violation for exceeding the Primary Maximum
Contaminant Level for Haloacetic Acids. According to the EPA,
these contaminants can lead to liver, kidney or central nervous
problems and an increased risk of cancer. In 2015, the town
entered into a Consent Order to take corrective actions to
bring its water back into compliance. Failure to comply with
the order could result in civil penalties.
The town has spent over $1 million of public funds on
engineering studies and actions to help find a solution for
reducing the concentrations of these contaminants. For example,
the town reactivated two wells and one spring that had not been
used in over 25 years to dilute the contaminants out of its
drinking water. During that process it was discovered that the
wells and the spring were contaminated and unsuitable for this
purpose. The town then searched for other sources of suitable
groundwater, which was eventually found under the Louisa
Community Park.
In 2004, the town received a $75,000 Land and Water
Conservation Fund (LWCF) state assistance grant to develop the
Community Park. The town is required to maintain land purchased
with LWCF grant money for public recreation purposes. The law
stipulates that ``no property acquired or developed with
assistance under this section shall, without the approval of
the Secretary [of the Interior], be converted to other than
public outdoor recreation use.'' To comply with the EPA
standards, the town wishes to repurpose a two percent portion
of the Community Park so that it can convert the test well into
a production well and build a small building covering the well.
Bringing this well online will help bring the town's drinking
water back into compliance with EPA drinking water requirements
and could provide water for park restroom development.
The Department of the Interior has indicated that the town
must find suitable lands to offset for the land used for the
well site, or be provided with an exemption by the Department
or Congress. A Louisa official testified at a June 23, 2016,
Water, Power and Oceans Subcommittee hearing that the town does
not wish to pursue an offset because one of the contiguous
properties that could be acquired is located outside of the
town's limits and it would be cost prohibitive. In addition,
the State of Virginia's Department of Conservation and
Recreation sent a letter to the National Park Service (NPS) in
December 2015 requesting an exemption stating:
[T]o require replacement property for such an
insignificant impact that does not cause or contribute
to any adverse consequences to the human environment or
displace or disrupt any recreation would create
unnecessary delays and burden the Town of Louisa in its
quest to provide safe and healthy drinking water for
its citizens.
Although the town contends that an exemption can be granted
by the National Park Service, the federal agency has indicated
that it does not have the legal authority to do so. H.R. 5032,
which can be implemented at no cost to the federal government,
removes the LWCF land conversion restrictions on the Community
Park so that the town can move forward in developing the well
and bring its drinking water back into compliance with federal
water quality standards. The town and community leaders, the
State of Virginia's Department of Conservation and Recreation,
and the head of the local National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People chapter support H.R. 5032.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 stipulates that the LWCF land use restriction
shall not apply to any portion of the land known as the
``Community Park'' in the town that is used for activities
designed to improve compliance with water quality standards.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5032 was introduced on April 21, 2016, by Congressman
Dave Brat (R-VA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands and the Subcommittee on Water, Power and
Oceans. On June 23, 2016, the Subcommittee on Water, Power and
Oceans held a hearing on the bill. On September 7, 2016, the
Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittees were discharged by unanimous consent. No
amendments were offered and the bill was ordered favorably
reported to the House of Representatives by a roll call vote of
22 ayes to 12 nays on September 8, 2016, as follows:
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
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 and the Congressional Budget Act of
1974. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and
(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives
and sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the enclosed cost estimate for
the bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, September 13, 2016.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5032, a bill to
allow certain property in the town of Louisa, Virginia, to be
used for purposes related to compliance with water quality
standards, and for other purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jon Sperl.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley,
(For Keith Hall).
Enclosure.
H.R. 5032--A bill to allow certain property in the town of Louisa,
Virginia, to be used for purposes related to compliance with
water quality standards, and for other purposes
H.R. 5032 would remove a federal use restriction on a
parcel of property within Louisa Community Park in the town of
Louisa, Virginia. The use restriction was originally included
as a condition of a grant provided by the National Park Service
(NPS) to the town to develop the park and stipulates that
property be used only for outdoor recreational purposes.
Removing the use restriction would allow the town to repurpose
a portion of the property to build a production well to help
the town comply with federal drinking water quality standards.
Based on information from the NPS, CBO estimates that
implementing the legislation would not affect the federal
budget.
Enacting the legislation would not affect direct spending
or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5032 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2027.
HR. 5032 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 Jon Sperl. The
estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. 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 allow certain property in the town
of Louisa, Virginia, to be used for purposes related to
compliance with water quality standards.
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.
DISSENTING VIEWS
If enacted, H.R. 5032 would waive the land-replacement
requirements of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act for a
town in Central Virginia.
H.R. 5032 represents an ill-advised effort to undermine a
key aspect of the Land and Water Conservation Fund. For more
than fifty years, the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF)
has helped protect and enhance our nation's irreplaceable lands
and outdoor recreation opportunities by reinvesting a portion
of energy revenues from offshore oil and gas exploration into
conservation of our land, water and recreation resources.
LWCF investments include grants to towns and counties to
purchase lands for new public parks. In keeping with the LWCF's
mission to provide recreation opportunities for the American
people, communities accepting LWCF grants must use the land it
bus for public recreation. If a town or county decides later to
use the land for non-recreational purposes, the LWCF Act simply
requires the town to replace the lost land with comparable land
of reasonably equivalent recreational utility. H.R. 5032 waives
this reasonable requirement for the town of Louisa, Virginia,
despite the fact that the town of Louisa agreed to the land-
replacement requirements of the LWCF Act when it took LWCF
funds.
Over the past fifty years, thousands of communities have
abided by the LWCF's land-replacement requirements. There is a
well-established and uncontroversial process allowing
communities to convert lands to non-recreational uses. The
process has been used by thousands of communities with positive
result. H.R. 5032 circumvents this well-established process and
undermines the integrity of the LWCF state grant program in the
process. For these reasons, we oppose H.R. 5032.
Raul M. Grijalva.
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Donald S. Beyer, Jr.
Jared Polis.
Niki Tsongas.
Jared Huffman.
Alan Lowenthal.
[all]