[House Report 115-624]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress   }                                     {        Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session      }                                     {       115-624

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



 
                   WEST FORK FIRE STATION ACT OF 2017

                                _______
                                

 April 9, 2018.--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. 4609]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred 
the bill (H.R. 4609) to provide for the conveyance of a Forest 
Service site in Dolores County, Colorado, to be used for a fire 
station, 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. 4609 is to provide for the conveyance 
of a Forest Service site in Dolores County, Colorado, to be 
used for a fire station.

                  BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

    Dolores County, located in southwestern Colorado, is home 
to part of the 1.8 million-acre San Juan National Forest. As a 
neighbor to the San Juan National Forest, Dolores County plays 
an active role in fire suppression efforts on both private and 
public lands.
    Two attempts to acquire an appropriate site for a fire 
station in Dolores County on either County-owned or private 
land failed due to insufficient space or accessibility 
constraints. The Dolores County Board of County Commissioners 
then began working with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), the 
Colorado Congressional delegation, and local stakeholders to 
identify a suitable piece of property for fire station 
construction. H.R. 4609 is the result of those local efforts. 
The bill authorizes the conveyance of 3.61 acres of USFS land 
to Dolores County for the purposes of constructing the West 
Fork Fire Station.
    According to information provided by the County, the West 
Fork Fire Station will serve as a volunteer station and its 
construction will help to address insurability issues currently 
facing home and land owners in the West Fork area of Dolores 
County.\1\ West Fork residents have had trouble obtaining 
insurance for their homes and land due to the lack of emergency 
response services in the area. Currently, area residents must 
rely on the Dolores Fire Protection District located 26 miles 
away in Montezuma County in an emergency. The new fire station 
will allow the community improved access to emergency services 
and allow residents to address their current insurability 
issues.
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    \1\Dolores County Board of County Commissioners (DCBCC), Letter 
dated November 13, 2017.
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    Dolores County will pay all necessary conveyance costs as 
well as the costs associated with site preparation, 
construction of the new fire station and the long-term costs of 
equipping and manning the station. The building of the new fire 
station has been covered by a private $100,000 donation. 
Dolores County will provide heavy equipment and operators to 
prepare the building site and construct a new driveway with 
culverts and signage.\2\
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    \2\Id.
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    On February 7, 2018, USFS testified on identical companion 
legislation, S. 2218, before the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and 
Mining. Its testimony noted that USFS ``supports Dolores County 
in their efforts to provide improved emergency services to 
county residents and visitors.'' USFS ``agrees that the parcel 
of land in question is in a practical location to provide'' 
emergency management services and ``there are not similarly 
situated non-federal lands of limited acreage available that 
provide the same locational benefits.''\3\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \3\Statement of Glen Casamassa, Associate Deputy Chief, USFS, U.S. 
Department of Agriculture before the Senate Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources, Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests and Mining on 
February, 7, 2018 https://www.energy.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/files/
serve?File-id=904436BC-6120-49C9-9AE6-0F2ABFF6603D.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

                            COMMITTEE ACTION

    H.R. 4609 was introduced on December 11, 2017, by 
Congressman Scott R. Tipton (R-CO). The bill was referred to 
the Committee on Natural Resources and within the Committee to 
the Subcommittee on Federal Lands. The Subcommittee held a 
hearing on the bill on February 15, 2018. On March 14, 2018, 
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.

            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, March 22, 2018.
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. 4609, the West 
Fork Fire Station Act of 2017.
    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. 4609--West Fork Fire Station Act of 2017

    H.R. 4609 would require the Forest Service to convey 
roughly four acres of federal land to Dolores County, Colorado, 
at that county's request and without consideration.
    Because H.R. 4609 would require the county to pay any 
administrative costs associated with the conveyance, 
implementing the bill would not affect spending subject to 
appropriation.
    Using information provided by the Forest Service, CBO 
estimates that enacting the bill also would not affect direct 
spending because the affected lands are not expected to 
generate any income over the next 10 years and it would not 
affect revenues. Therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not 
apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 4609 would not increase 
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    H.R. 4609 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. 
This 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 provide for the conveyance of a 
Forest Service site in Dolores County, Colorado, to be used for 
a fire station.

                           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 to existing 
law.

                                  [all]