[House Report 114-829]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


114th Congress    }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                     {      114-829

======================================================================
 
 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]