[Senate Report 117-58]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                      Calendar No. 255
117th Congress      }                                   {       Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session         }                                   {       117-58

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               AMACHE NATIONAL HISTORIC SITE DESIGNATION

                                _______
                                

 January 19 (legislative day, January 18), 2022.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

   Mr. Manchin, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                          [To accompany 2497]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (H.R. 2497), to establish the Amache National 
Historic Site in the State of Colorado as a Unit of the 
National Park System, and for other purposes, having considered 
the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and 
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                               AMENDMENT

    The amendment is as follows:
    On page 6, strike lines 17 and 18 and insert the following:

          (1) Effect.--Nothing in this Act affects the 
        authority of the town of Granada, Colorado, with 
        respect to the operation and maintenance

    On page 7, strike line 1 and insert the following:

          (2) Determination.--The Secretary shall provide the 
        town of

    On page 7, strike lines 6 through 20 and insert the 
following:

          (3) New Water Infrastructure.--The Secretary may 
        permit the town of Granada, Colorado, to construct or 
        install new water infrastructure, systems, or 
        appurtenances--
                  (A) consistent with applicable laws;
                  (B) limited to the areas determined to be 
                necessary under paragraph (2); and
                  (C) in a manner that ensures the 
                preservation, protection, and proper management 
                of the National Historic Site.
          (4) Acceptance of Donated Water Infrastructure.--The 
        Secretary may accept, for addition to and 
        administration as part of the National Historic Site, 
        the donation of water infrastructure, systems, or 
        appurtenances within the boundary of the National 
        Historic Site, including associated water rights, if 
        the water infrastructure, systems, or appurtenances are 
        no longer used by the town of Granada, Colorado.

                                PURPOSE

    The purpose of H.R. 2497 is to authorize the Secretary of 
the Interior to establish the Amache National Historic Site in 
the State of Colorado as a unit of the National Park System.

                          BACKGROUND AND NEED

    The Granada Relocation Center was located in southeastern 
Colorado, and was used to incarcerate civilians of Japanese 
ancestry during World War II in accordance with President 
Roosevelt's 1942 Executive Order. The relocation center--also 
known as Camp Amache--was one of 10 sites in the United States 
holding primarily U.S. citizens. Before its closure in 1945, 
more than 10,000 people had been incarcerated in Camp Amache.
    H.R. 2497 designates the Amache National Historic Site to 
preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present and 
future generations resources associated with: (1) the 
incarceration of civilians of Japanese ancestry during World 
War II at Amache, also known as the ``Granada Relocation 
Center,'' and the military service of incarcerees at the 
Granada Relocation Center; (2) public reaction in the State to 
the incarceration of Japanese Americans; and (3) the transition 
of the incarcerees and their descendants following the closure 
of the Granada Relocation Center and their resettlement in the 
State and other States.
    In 2019, Congress enacted legislation directing the 
National Park Service to undertake a special resource study to 
assess the suitability and feasibility of designating the 
Amache site as a unit of the National Park System. The study is 
underway, but has not yet been completed.

                          LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

    Representatives Neguse and Buck introduced H.R. 2497 on 
April 14, 2021. The bill has 6 additional cosponsors. H.R. 2497 
passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 416 to 2 on 
July 29, 2021. A Senate companion measure, S. 1284, was 
introduced by Senators Bennett and Hickenlooper on April 21, 
2021. The bill has 1 additional cosponsor.
    The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on H.R. 
2497 and S. 1284 on October 6, 2021.

                          COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

    During its consideration of H.R. 2497, the Committee 
adopted a clarifying amendment that states nothing in the bill 
affects the town's ability to operate and maintain its water 
infrastructure and projects in the National Historic Site.

                        COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on November 18, 2021, by a majority voice 
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 
2497, as amended as described herein. Senator Lee asked to be 
recorded as voting no.

                      SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 establishes the short title of the Act as 
``Amache National Historic Site Act.''

Sec. 2. Definitions

    Section 2 provides definitions for the bill.

Sec. 3. Amache National Historic Site

    Subsection (a) establishes the Amache National Historic 
Sites as a unit of the National Park System, subject to the 
requirements of subsection (c).
    Subsection (b) notes the purpose of the National Historic 
Site in preserving the history of the incarcerated civilians of 
Japanese ancestry during World War II at Amache, also known as 
the Granada Relocation Center.
    Subsection (c) provides that the National Historic Site 
shall not be established until the date on which the Secretary 
of the Interior determines that sufficient land within the 
exterior boundary of the National Historic Site has been 
acquired to constitute a management unit.
    Subsection (d) requires the Secretary, after making the 
determination in subsection (c), to publish in the Federal 
Register notice of the establishment of the National Historic 
Site.
    Subsection (e) requires a map to be available and on file 
for public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 
National Park Service.
    Subsection (f) permits the Secretary to acquire lands by 
donation or purchase with donated or appropriated funds. The 
Secretary may acquire personal property associated with the 
purposes of the National Historic Site only by donation.
    Subsection (g) provides that any lands or interests in land 
acquired under subsection (f) shall be included in the 
boundary.
    Subsection (h) requires the preparation of a general 
management plan not later than 3 years after the date on which 
funds are first made available, and to submit the plan to 
Congress upon completion.
    Subsection (i) permits the Secretary to establish 
facilities for administration, visitor services, and curation 
of personal property outside the exterior boundaries of, and in 
the vicinity of, the National Historic Site.
    Subsection (j) permits the Secretary to enter into 
agreements to establish and operate facilities outside the 
boundary and for purposes of carrying out the Act.
    Subsection (k) provides that nothing in the bill affects 
water rights, interstate water compacts, or State jurisdiction 
over any water law.
    Subsection (l) provides that nothing in this Act affects 
the town's ability to operate and maintain its water 
infrastructure and projects located within the boundary of the 
National Historic Site.

                   COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

    The Congressional Budget Office has not estimated the costs 
of H.R. 2497 as passed by the Senate. The Committee has 
requested, but has not yet received, the Congressional Budget 
Office's estimate of the cost of H.R. 2497 as ordered reported. 
When the Congressional Budget Office completes its cost 
estimate, it will be posted on the Internet at www.cbo.gov.

                      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 H.R. 2497. 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 H.R. 2497, as ordered reported.

                   CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

    H.R. 2497, 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

    The testimony provided by the United States Department of 
the Interior at the October 6, 2021, hearing on H.R. 2497 
follows:

 Statement of Joy Beasley, Associate Director for Cultural Resources, 
Partnerships and Science, Naional Park Service, U.S. Department of the 
                                Interior

    Chairman King, Ranking Member Daines, and members of the 
Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to present the 
views of the Department of the Interior (Department) on H.R. 
2497 and S. 1284, bills to establish the Amache National 
Historic Site in the State of Colorado as a unit of the 
National Park System, and for other purposes.
    The Department recognizes the important contribution to 
America's story that is represented by the site known as 
Amache, where Japanese Americans were incarcerated during World 
War II. Congress authorized the Amache Special Resource Study 
as part of the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, 
and Recreation Act (P.L. 116-9), enacted on March 12, 2019. The 
NPS completed civic engagement in May 2021 and the public 
comment period for the Special Resource Study closed on June 
30, 2021. The NPS is working closely with both internal and 
external subject matter experts to ensure the study captures 
the complexities and nuances of the history of Japanese 
American WWII incarceration. After reviewing all comments, the 
NPS will draft its assessment of whether the site meets the 
congressionally established criteria for inclusion in the 
National Park System, and the Department will transmit the 
study and recommendations to Congress.
    H.R. 2497 and S. 1284 would establish the Amache National 
Historic Site as a unit of the National Park System when the 
Secretary of the Interior acquires sufficient land within the 
boundary of the site to constitute a manageable unit. The 
boundaries of the unit would be determined by a map that would 
be developed after enactment of the bill. The NPS would be 
required to develop a management plan for the site that does 
not interfere with existing use of existing facilities at the 
site. The bill would also allow for the establishment of 
administrative, visitor service, and curatorial facilities 
outside the boundaries of the site and for entering into 
agreements with other public and private entities to establish 
those facilities and for other purposes.
    Originally known as the Granada Relocation Center, Amache 
was one of ten incarceration sites established by the War 
Relocation Authority during World War II to forcibly remove, 
illegally detain, and incarcerate U.S. citizens and legal 
residents of Japanese ancestry from the West Coast of the 
United States under the terms of Executive Order 9066. Amache 
was constructed on approximately 10,000 acres of land and held 
about 10,000 people of Japanese descent between 1942 and 1945. 
It is located approximately one mile from the Town of Granada 
in southeastern Colorado. Amache was designated by the 
Secretary of the Interior as a National Historic Landmark on 
February 10, 2006.
    The site is currently owned by the Town of Granada and 
maintained by the Amache Preservation Society. At the site, 
visitors can observe a historic cemetery, a monument, concrete 
building foundations, a road network, and other elements of the 
historic landscape that remain intact. Recent efforts to 
preserve Amache have led to the restoration of the original 
water tower, the reconstruction of a guard tower and 
residential barracks, and the current rehabilitation of a 
historic recreation hall. The NPS has provided technical and 
financial assistance for preservation and interpretation of the 
site through the Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant 
Program.
    We appreciate the changes the House made to H.R. 2497 after 
the bill's introduction. If the Committee decides to act on 
this legislation, we would like S.1284 to reflect the same 
amendments that were made to H.R. 2497.
    Chairman King, Ranking Member Daines, thank you for the 
opportunity to appear before you today. I would be happy to 
answer any questions you or other members of the Subcommittee 
may have.

                        CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

    In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no 
changes in existing law are made by the bill as ordered 
reported.

                                  [all]