[House Report 115-470]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { 115-470
======================================================================
TO MODIFY THE BOUNDARY OF VOYAGEURS NATIONAL PARK IN THE STATE OF
MINNESOTA, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES
_______
December 18, 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. 1350]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1350) to modify the boundary of Voyageurs
National Park in the State of Minnesota, 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. 1350 is to modify the boundary of
Voyageurs National Park in the State of Minnesota.
Background and Need for Legislation
Voyageurs National Park, established in 1975, is a 218,200-
acre national park located on the northern edge of Minnesota's
border with Canada. The name Voyageurs commemorates the French-
Canadian fur traders who were the first European settlers to
frequently travel through the area. The Kabetogama Peninsula,
which lies entirely within the Park and makes up most of its
land area, is accessible only by boat. The Park is notable for
its remarkable water resources and islands and is popular with
canoeists, kayakers, other boaters, and fishermen.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently manages lands
within the boundaries of the Park that were not transferred to
the National Park Service (NPS) when the Park was established.
H.R. 1350 formally transfers these BLM lands to the NPS.
Enactment of the legislation is expected to save agency time
and taxpayer money by eliminating duplicative land management.
In addition, this legislation resolves an outstanding land
management issue faced by the State of Minnesota and
Koochiching County by authorizing a land exchange between the
State of Minnesota and NPS for certain State tax-forfeited
tracts within the boundaries of Voyageurs National Park for an
NPS-owned tract outside the Park boundary.
Committee Action
H.R. 1350 was introduced on March 2, 2017, by Congressman
Richard M. Nolan (D-MN). The bill was referred to the Committee
on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Federal Lands. On December 12, 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 December 13,
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, December 18, 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. 1350, a bill to
modify the boundary of Voyageurs National Park in the State of
Minnesota, and for other purposes.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Keith Hall,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1350--A bill to modify the boundary of Voyageurs National Park in
the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes
H.R. 1350 would authorize the National Park Service (NPS)
to acquire and integrate new lands into the Voyageurs National
Park in Minnesota through land exchanges with the state and
local governments that own land within or adjacent to the
park's boundaries. (Under current law, the federal government
can only acquire lands from state or local governments through
donation.) The bill also would authorize the transfer of
administrative jurisdiction over certain lands within the park
from the Bureau of Land Management to the NPS.
CBO expects that the properties to be exchanged by the NPS
and the state and local governments under H.R. 1350 would be
roughly equal in value. If the appraisals indicate that the
parcels' values are different, however, existing law requires
that the party receiving the more valuable land provide a cash
equalization payment. If the NPS were to acquire land of a
higher value than the federal land exchanged, CBO expects that
the NPS would make a cash payment. Using information from the
NPS, CBO expects that any costs to make any cash payment and to
administer lands affected by the bill would not exceed $500,000
in any year; such spending would be subject to the availability
of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 1350 could affect direct spending; therefore;
pay-as-you-go procedures apply. Under the bill, if the NPS were
to acquire land of a lower value than the federal land
exchanged, the NPS would receive a cash payment to equalize the
values; any such payments would be recorded as offsetting
receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending.
Using information from the NPS, however, CBO estimates that any
such payment would not exceed $500,000 in any year. Enacting
H.R. 1350 would not affect revenues.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 1350 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
H.R. 1350 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
On April 7, 2017, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.
502 as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources on March 30, 2017. The bills are similar, and
CBO's estimates of the budgetary effects are the same.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. 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 modify the boundary of Voyageurs
National Park in the State of Minnesota.
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 Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no
change is proposed is shown in roman):
PUBLIC LAW 91-661
AN ACT To authorize the establishment of the Voyageurs National Park in
the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes.
* * * * * * *
Sec. 102. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b) of this
section, the park shall include the lands and waters within the
boundaries as generally depicted on [the drawing entitled ``A
Proposed Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota,'' numbered LXPMJV-
VOYA-1001, dated February 1969] the map entitled ``Voyageurs
National Park, Proposed Land Transfer & Boundary Adjustment'',
numbered 172/80,056, and dated June 2009 (22 sheets), which
shall be on file and available for public inspection in the
offices of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior. Within one year after acquisition of the lands owned
by the State of Minnesota and its political subdivisions within
the boundaries of the park the Secretary shall affix to such
[drawing] map an exact legal description of said boundaries.
The Secretary may revise the boundaries of the park from time
to time by publishing in the Federal Register a revised
[drawing] map or other boundary description, by more than one
thousand acres, but such revisions shall not increase the land
acreage within the park by more than one thousand acres.
(b)(1) In addition to such revisions as the Secretary may
make in the boundaries of the park from time to time pursuant
to other provisions of law, the Secretary may, according to the
provisions of subsection (a)--
(A) delete approximately 782 acres in the Neil Point
area of the park;
(B) add approximately 180 acres in the Black Bay
Narrows areas of the park;
(C) add approximately 18.45 acres owned by the State
of Minnesota at the Kabetogama Forestry Station;
(D) add approximately 120 acres owned by the State of
Minnesota, being a strip of land through that portion
of section 1, township 68 north, range 20 west, fourth
principal meridian, which is parallel to and 400 feet
on both sides of the unimproved road extending
northward from the Ash River Trail as such road crosses
each section; and
(E) subject to the provisions of paragraph (21,
delete approximately 1,000 acres at Black Bay and
convey such lands to the State of Minnesota.All of the
aforementioned boundary changes if accomplished shall
be accomplished such that the boundary of the park
shall conform to that generally depicted on the drawing
entitled ``Boundary, Voyageurs National Park, United
States Department of the Interior, National Park
Service'', numbered 172-80, OO8-MWR, and dated November
1981, which shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the offices of the National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
(2) The Secretary may not delete or convey the lands referred
to in paragraph (l)(E) unless, prior to or simultaneously with
such deletion or conveyance and in consideration of such
conveyance, the State of Minnesota--
(A) tenders a conveyance of the lands described in
[paragraph (1)(C) and (D)] subparagraphs (C) and (D) of
paragraph (1) to the United States by such instrument
and in such manner as are satisfactory to the
Secretary, including but not limited to lease or
easement: Provided, That if the interest conveyed is a
lease or easement, the State of Minnesota shall
substitute therefore a transfer of all right, title,
and interest in the land by June 30, 1987: Provided
further, That if the State does not transfer all right,
title, and interest in such lands by June 30, 1987, the
land described in [paragraph 1(E)] paragraph (1)(E)
shall revert to the United States for administration by
the Secretary as part of the park; and
(B) enters into a recordable agreement satisfactory
to the Secretary which provides that--
(i) the State has established a wildlife
management area in the area authorized to be
deleted and conveyed to the State by paragraph
(l)(E);
(ii) the State has prepared a plan acceptable
to the Secretary to manage all the waters of
and State lands riparian to Black Bay
(including all of the State-owned lands and
waters of Rainy Lake) to preserve the natural
resources of the area so as to complement to
the fullest extent possible the purposes for
which the park was established;
(iii) the State shall not transfer any right,
title, or interest in, or control over, any
land described in paragraph (l)(E) to any
person other than the Secretary; and
(iv) the State shall permit access by the
Secretary at reasonable times to the land
described in paragraph (l)(E).
(3) If at any time the State fails to comply with the
material requirements of the agreement referred to in paragraph
(2)(B), all right, title, and interest in the land described in
paragraph (1)(E) shall revert to the United States for
administration by the Secretary as part of the park. Such
reversion shall take effect upon the delivery by the Secretary
of notice to the State respecting such failure to comply
without further notice or requirement for physical entry by the
Secretary unless an action for judicial review is brought in
the United States Court of Appeals for the appropriate circuit
within ninety days following such notice. In any such action
the court may issue such orders as are appropriate to carry out
the requirements of this subsection.
[LAND ACQUISITION
[Sec. 201. (a) The Secretary]
SEC. 201. LAND ACQUISITIONS.
(a) Authorization.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire lands or
interests therein within the boundaries of the park by
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds,
or exchange. [When any tract of land is only partly
within such boundaries]
(2) Certain portions of tracts._
(A) In general._In any case in which only a
portion of a tract of land is within the
boundaries of the park, the Secretary may
acquire all or any portion of the land outside
of such boundaries in order to minimize the
payment of severance costs. [Land so acquired]
(B) Exchange._
(i) In general._Any land acquired
pursuant to subparagraph (A) outside
of the park boundaries may be exchanged
by the Secretary for non-Federal lands
within the park boundaries. [Any
portion]
(ii) Portions not exchanged._Any
portion of land acquired outside the
park boundaries and not utilized for
exchange shall be reported to the
General Services Administration for
disposal under the Federal Property and
Administrative Services Act of 1949 (63
Stat. 377), as amended. [Any Federal
property]
(C) Transfers of federal property._Any
Federal property located within the boundaries
of the park may be transferred without
consideration to the administrative
jurisdiction of the Secretary for the purposes
of the park. [Lands within the boundaries of
the park owned by the State of Minnesota, or
any political subdivision thereof, may be
acquired only by donation.]
(D) Administrative jurisdiction._Effective
beginning on the date of enactment of this
subparagraph, there is transferred to the
National Park Service administrative
jurisdiction over--
(i) any land managed by the Bureau of
Land Management within the boundaries
of the park, as depicted on the map
described in section 102(a); and
(ii) any additional public land
identified by the Bureau of Land
Management as appropriate for transfer
within the boundaries of the park.
(E) Land owned by state._
(i) Donations and exchanges._Any land
located within or adjacent to the
boundaries of the park that is owned by
the State of Minnesota (or a political
subdivision of the State) may be
acquired by the Secretary only through
donation or exchange.
(ii) Revision._On completion of an
acquisition from the State under clause
(i), the Secretary shall revise the
boundaries of the park to reflect the
acquisition.
[(b) In exercising his] (b) Offers by Individuals._In
exercising the authority to acquire property under this
section, the Secretary shall give immediate and careful
consideration to any offer made by any individual owning
property within the park area to sell such property to the
Secretary. In considering such offer, the Secretary shall take
into consideration any hardship to the owner which might result
from any undue delay in acquiring his property.
* * * * * * *
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