[House Report 115-209]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress   }                                     {       Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 1st Session     }                                     {      115-209

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



 
       CLEAR CREEK NATIONAL RECREATION AREA AND CONSERVATION ACT

                                _______
                                

 July 11, 2017.--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. 1913]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 1913) to establish the Clear Creek National 
Recreation Area in San Benito and Fresno Counties, California, 
to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in such counties, 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. 1913 is to establish the Clear Creek 
National Recreation Area in San Benito and Fresno Counties, 
California, and to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in 
such counties.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    In 2008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found 
that naturally occurring asbestos (NOA) in the Clear Creak 
Management Area's (CCMA) serpentine soils posed a significant 
public health risk, particularly to off-highway vehicle (OHV) 
users.\1\ Later that year, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) 
temporarily closed the CCMA and initiated a process to develop 
a long-term Resource Management Plan (RMP) governing 
recreational uses in the area. In 2010, the State of 
California's Off Highway Motor Vehicle Recreation Division 
commissioned an independent risk assessment of NOA exposure 
within the Serpentine Area of Critical Environmental Concern 
(ACEC) of the CCMA. This report, completed by the International 
Environmental Research Foundation, found a minimal health risk 
to OHV users from exposure to NOA in the CCMA.\2\ Citing this 
report, local communities and OHV groups urged BLM to re-open 
the area to recreational use and develop a management strategy 
to properly mitigate the exposure of higher than acceptable 
levels of NOA and resultant risks to human health. Despite 
these findings, the BLM issued a Record of Decision for an RMP 
in 2014 that closed the 30,000-acre Serpentine ACEC, once 
considered a premiere OHV recreational site within the CCMA, to 
all OHV use.\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\United States Environmental Protection Agency, ``U.S. EPA Risk 
Assessment: Clear Creek Management Area Asbestos Increases Long-Term 
Cancer Risk'', 04/30/2008, https://yosemite.epa.gov/opa/admpress.nsf/
1ef7cd36224b565785257359003f533f/8fa475ab3f99c22a8525743b0 
07d88d1!OpenDocument.
    \2\International Environmental Research Foundation, ``Preliminary 
Analysis of the Asbestos Exposures Associated with Motorcycle Riding 
and Hiking in the Clear Creek Management Area (CCMA) San Benito County, 
California'', March 8, 2011, http://ohv.parks.ca.gov/pages/1140/ files/
ierf_ccma_final_3_8_11-web.pdf.
    \3\Bureau of Land Management, ``Clear Creek Management Area 
Proposed RMP/Final EIS'', 02/12/2014, https://eplanning.blm.gov/epl-
front-office/eplanning/legacyProjectSite.do?methodName 
=renderLegacyProjectSite&projectId=68803.
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    H.R. 1913 requires BLM to re-open and re-designate the CCMA 
as the Clear Creek National Recreation Area (CCNRA). The bill 
also mandates the development of a permanent RMP, in 
consultation with appropriate stakeholders, that specifically 
includes a hazards education program to inform visitors about 
NOA exposure and its associated health risks; creates a user 
fee program for motorized vehicle use and guidelines for the 
use of funds collected for the management and improvement of 
the CCNRA; designates trails, roads, and other areas for OHV 
use to provide a substantially-similar recreational experience 
prior to the closure of the CCMA; incorporates appropriate 
decisions from prior applicable management, activity, or 
wildlife habitat management plans; uses information gathered 
under studies of land within the CCNRA; and allows the 
Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements 
with State or local government agencies to manage all or a 
portion of the recreational activities within the CCNRA. In 
addition, the bill also designates approximately 21,000 acres 
of adjacent land as the ``Joaquin Rocks Wilderness Area'' and 
releases approximately 1,500 acres known as the San Benito 
Wilderness Study Area back into multiple-use.

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 1913 was introduced on April 5, 2017, by Congressman 
Jimmy Panetta (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 
on Federal Lands. On June 22, 2017, the Natural Resources 
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was 
discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, 
and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the House of 
Representatives by unanimous consent on June 27, 2017.

            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 AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT

    1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. 
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 following estimate for the 
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 10, 2017.
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. 1913, the Clear 
Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation Act.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave.
            Sincerely,
                                              Keith Hall, Director.
    Enclosure.

H.R. 1913--Clear Creek National Recreation Area and Conservation Act

    H.R. 1913 would designate about 75,000 acres of land in 
California as the Clear Creek National Recreation Area and 
21,000 area of adjacent land as part of the National Wilderness 
Preservation System. Under the bill, the Bureau of Land 
Management (BLM) would be required to complete a new land use 
plan for the recreation area within two years of enactment. 
Based on information from BLM regarding the costs of carrying 
out similar activities, CBO estimates that completing the land 
use plan would cost less than $500,000 over the 2018-2019 
period.
    CBO expects that, under the bill, the new recreation area 
would see a significant increase in use by the public and that 
BLM would need to hire additional personnel to manage the area. 
Based on an analysis of information provided by the agency, CBO 
estimates that operating the recreation area would require 10 
to 15 new employees to carry out administrative and law 
enforcement functions and that the cost of employing those 
individuals would total roughly $1 million a year; such 
spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 
funds. Because the lands being designated as wilderness are 
already being managed for conservation purposes, CBO estimates 
that so designating those lands would have no effect on the 
federal budget.
    In addition, the bill would require BLM to establish a user 
fee program for operators of motorized vehicles to offset 
certain costs of administering the recreation area; we expect 
that those funds would be used primarily to construct trails 
and facilities for off-highway vehicles. Based on information 
regarding the amount of user fees collected at similar 
recreation areas, CBO estimates that fee collections and the 
associated spending would total less than $500,000 a year.
    Because enacting H.R. 1913 would increase user fees, which 
are treated as reductions in direct spending, and the 
associated spending of those fees, pay-as-you-go procedures 
apply. However, CBO estimates that any net effects on direct 
spending would be negligible. Enacting the bill would not 
affect revenues.
    CBO estimates that enacting the bill would not increase net 
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 1913 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 tins estimate is Jeff LaFave. 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 establish the Clear Creek National 
Recreation Area in San Benito and Fresno Counties, California, 
and to designate the Joaquin Rocks Wilderness in such counties.

                           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. This bill does not contain any 
directed rule makings.
    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]