[Senate Report 115-42]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                       Calendar No. 56
115th Congress     }                                     {      Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session       }                                     {      115-42

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



 
                EAST ROSEBUD WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT

                                _______
                                

                  May 3, 2017.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Ms. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 501]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 501) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers 
Act to designate certain segments of East Rosebud Creek in 
Carbon County, Montana, as components of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System, having considered the same, reports favorably 
thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 501 is to amend the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act to designate certain segments of East Rosebud Creek 
in Carbon County, Montana, as components of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers System.

                          Background and Need

    Montana's East Rosebud Creek flows through glacial-carved 
valleys and originates in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness. 
During its journey to the Yellowstone River, East Rosebud Creek 
flows into Rosebud Lake. The segment that flows from the lake 
provides opportunity for whitewater paddling.
    In 1998, the U.S. Forest Service conducted a study which 
determined that the East Rosebud Creek was eligible for 
inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The study found 
that two areas of East Rosebud Creek contained remarkable 
values in the geologic, recreational, and scenic categories. A 
13-mile segment was recognized for its wild characteristics 
running from the source of the creek in the wilderness area to 
East Rosebud Lake. A second section of the creek flows 
northwest from the lake, and is significant for its 
recreational values. Featuring a significant number of category 
five rapids, the creek is a popular section of whitewater for 
kayakers.
    In 2009, a Montana company proposed building a 
hydroelectric dam on the East Rosebud, including a two-mile 
penstock. The company received a preliminary permit from the 
Federal Energy Regulatory Commission but allowed it to expire 
after facing significant local opposition. Designation as a 
wild and scenic river under S. 501 would prohibit any future 
development.

                          Legislative History

    Senators Tester and Daines introduced S. 501 on March 2, 
2017.
    Senators Tester and Daines also introduced similar 
legislation in the 114th Congress, S. 1577, on June 15, 2015. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bill 
on March 17, 2016. The Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources met in open business session on July 13, 2016, and 
ordered S. 1577 favorably reported as amended. H.R. 2787, the 
companion bill to S. 1577, was introduced in the House of 
Representatives by Representative Zinke on June 15, 2015.
    In the 113th Congress, Senator Walsh introduced S. 2392 on 
May 22, 2014. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing 
on S. 2392 on July 23, 2014. In the House of Representatives, 
Representative Daines introduced a similar bill, H.R. 5543, on 
September 18, 2014.
    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 501 
favorably reported.

                        Committee Recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 
501.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides a short title.

Section 2. Findings; Purpose

    Section 2 contains Congressional findings and the purpose 
of the Act.

Section 3. Designation of Wild and Scenic River Segments

    Section 3(a) amends section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic 
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1274) to designate portions of the East 
Rosebud Creek in the state of Montana as wild and scenic.
    Subsection (b) clarifies that the designation does not 
create a perimeter or buffer zone outside of the designated 
boundary of the river segment. It further specifies that 
activities outside of the Wild and Scenic River System shall 
not be precluded as a result of the designation even if the 
authorized activity or use can be seen or heard within the 
designated boundary of the river segment.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The following estimate of the costs of this measure has 
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
    S. 501 would designate two segments of the East Rosebud 
Creek in Carbon County, Montana, as components of the Wild and 
Scenic Rivers System. Under the legislation, the Forest Service 
would administer the river segments. Based on an analysis of 
information provided by the Forest Service about typical costs 
involved in administering such river segments, CBO estimates 
that implementing the bill would cost less than $500,000. Such 
spending, which CBO expects would begin one year after the 
designation occurs, would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    Enacting S. 501 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. CBO 
estimates that enacting S. 501 would not increase net direct 
spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 
10-year periods beginning in 2028.
    S. 501 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 Jacob Fabian. 
The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy 
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Evaluation

    In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following 
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in 
carrying out S. 501. The bill is not a regulatory measure in 
the sense of imposing Government-established standards or 
significant economic responsibilities on private individuals 
and businesses.
    No personal information would be collected in administering 
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal 
privacy.
    Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the 
enactment of S. 501, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 501, as ordered reported, does not contain any 
congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, 
or limited tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate.

                        Executive Communications

    Because S. 501 is similar to legislation considered by the 
Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not request 
Executive Agency views. The testimony provided by the U.S. 
Forest Service at the hearing before the Subcommittee on Public 
Lands, Forests and Mining on October 8, 2015, follows:

 Statement of Glenn Casamassa, Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest 
      System, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for 
the opportunity to present the views of the U.S. Department of 
Agriculture (USDA) regarding S. 414, S. 1592, and S. 2069.


 s. 1592, ``a bill to clarify the description of certain federal land 
    under the northern arizona land exchange and verde river basin 
   partnership act of 2005 to include additional land in the kaibab 
                           national forest''


    S. 1592 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 
convey an additional 25 acres to Young Life Lost Canyon 
Organizational Camp. The Department can support enactment of S. 
1592, if a technical amendment is included that would provide 
an easement for a proposed extension for the Water Storage Tank 
Road.
    This legislation clarifies the Northern Arizona Land 
Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005. The 
original Act authorized a land exchange with Yavapai Ranch and 
the United States that was not completed. The Act also 
authorized the sale of a parcel of National Forest System lands 
to Young Life Lost Canyon Organizational Camp on the Kaibab 
National Forest. The legislative map referenced by the Act for 
the Young Life private property showed an area of only 
approximately 212 acres to be conveyed, instead of the 
approximately 237.5 acres stated in the Act. The area shown on 
the legislative map excluded a particular 25-acre parcel. 
Because the legislative map controlled over the reference to 
approximately 237.5 acres, the Act did not authorize conveyance 
of the 25-acre parcel excluded by the map. S. 1592 was 
introduced to clarify that conveyance of the 25-acre parcel is 
also authorized, allowing the United States to convey a total 
of approximately 237.5 acres to Young Life.
    In summary, S. 1592 would resolve the disparity between the 
legislative map and the total acreage authorized for 
conveyance, allowing the Secretary to proceed with the direct 
sale of a total of approximately 237.5 acres to Young Life Lost 
Canyon Organizational Camp. In order to ensure agreement 
between the acreage and the legal description, the Agency is 
willing to provide additional technical assistance to the 
Committee, and wants to work with the Committee to include the 
easement for the Water Tank Road Extension.
    We look forward to working with the Committee and the 
Sponsor to resolve these issues. This concludes my remarks. I 
would be happy to answer any questions. Thank you for the 
opportunity to testify.

                        Changes in Existing Law

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of Rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by 
the original bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing 
law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is 
proposed is shown in roman):

                       WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT


Public Law 90-542, as amended

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


    Sec. 3. (a) The following rivers and the land adjacent 
thereto are hereby designated as components of the national 
wild and scenic rivers system:

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *

          (213) East Rosebud Creek, Montana.--The portions of 
        East Rosebud Creek in the State of Montana, consisting 
        of--
                  (A) the 13-mile segment exclusively on public 
                land within the Custer National Forest from the 
                source in the Absaroka-Beartooth Wilderness 
                downstream to the point at which the Creek 
                enters East Rosebud Lake, including the stream 
                reach between Twin Outlets Lake and Fossil 
                Lake, to be administered by the Secretary of 
                Agriculture as a wild river; and
                  (B) the 7-mile segment exclusively on public 
                land within the Custer National Forest from 
                immediately below, but not including, the 
                outlet of East Rosebud Lake downstream to the 
                point at which the Creek enters private 
                property for the first time, to be administered 
                by the Secretary of Agriculture as a 
                recreational river.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


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