[Senate Report 117-71]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                     Calendar No. 270
117th Congress       }                            {           Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session          }                            {           117-71

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



 
   CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE ADVISORY COMMISSION REAUTHORIZATION ACT

                                _______
                                

               February 10, 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 S. 2158]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2158), to extend the authorization for 
the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an 
amendment and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.

                               Amendment

    The amendment is as follows:
    Strike section 2 and insert the following:

SEC. 2. CAPE COD NATIONAL SEASHORE ADVISORY COMMISSION.

    Effective September 26, 2018, section 8 of Public Law 87-126 (16 
U.S.C. 459b-7) is amended--
          (1) in subsection (a), in the second sentence, by striking 
        ``2018'' and inserting ``2029'';
          (2) by striking subsection (g); and
          (3) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (g).

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 2158 is to reauthorize the Cape Cod 
National Seashore Advisory Commission through September 26, 
2029.

                          Background and Need

    The Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory Commission was 
first authorized in 1961. The purpose of the commission is to 
consult with the National Park Service about matters relating 
to the development of Cape Cod National Seashore and specific 
sections of the Act establishing the seashore. Recent issues 
the Commission has addressed include shore bird management, the 
impacts of climate change on park infrastructure, and the 
expiration of several reservations of use and occupancy. 
Commissioners are appointed by the Secretary of the Interior 
and represent the six towns within the seashore boundary, plus 
Barnstable County, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the 
Secretary of the Interior. The legislative authority of the 
advisory commission expired on September 26, 2018.
    S. 2158 reauthorizes the advisory commission, effective 
September 26, 2018, through September 26, 2029.

                          Legislative History

    Senators Markey and Warren introduced S. 2158 on June 22, 
2021. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the 
bill on October 6, 2021. Representatives DeGette, Neguse, Crow, 
and Perlmutter introduced a related bill, H.R. 803, on February 
4, 2021. H.R. 803 passed the House on February 26, 2021, by a 
roll call vote of 227 yeas to 200 nays. The bill was received 
in the Senate on March 2, 2021, and was referred to the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

                        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 S. 
2158, as amended as described herein.

                          Committee Amendment

    During its consideration of S. 2158, the Committee adopted 
an amendment requested by the Department of the Interior that 
deleted a requirement in section 8(g) of the national 
seashore's enabling legislation (16 U.S.C. 459b-7(g)), which 
prohibited the issuance of permits for commercial or industrial 
use of property located within the seashore or the 
establishment of any public use area for recreational activity 
without the advice of the Commission.

                                Summary

    S. 2158 amends Public Law 87-126 to change the termination 
date for the Commission from September 26, 2018, to September 
26, 2029, and deletes section 8(g) of that law, which 
prohibited the issuance of permits for commercial or industrial 
use of property located within the seashore or the 
establishment of any public use area for recreational activity 
without the advice of the Commission.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Congressional Budget Office has not estimated the costs 
of S. 2158 as passed by the Senate. The Committee has 
requested, but has not yet received, the Congressional Budget 
Office's estimate of the cost of S. 2158 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 S. 2158. 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. 2158, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 2158, 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 Department of the Interior at 
the October 6, 2021, hearing on S. 2158 follows:

 Statement of Joy Beasley, Associate Director for Cultural Resources, 
Partnerships and Science, National 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 
Department of the Interior's views on S. 2158 to extend the 
authorization for the Cape Cod National Seashore Advisory 
Commission (Commission).
    The Department supports S. 2158 with one recommended 
technical change.
    The bill would reauthorize the Commission until September 
26, 2029, retroactive to September 26, 2018, the date that the 
Commission's authority to operate expired. The retroactive 
extension included in the bill would enable the Commission to 
function with the same charter it had previously. There would 
be no new administrative costs associated with reauthorization 
of the Commission.
    The Commission was originally authorized in 1961 as a part 
of Public Law 87-126, Cape Cod National Seashore's enabling 
legislation, and began operation in 1966. It has been 
legislatively and administratively reestablished and amended 
several times. The Commission was last extended for a ten-year 
period by Public Law 111-11 in 2009.
    The Commission is an exceptional example within the 
National Park System of a partner in cooperative land 
stewardship. Its purpose is to advise park management on 
questions relating to municipal and private land ownership and 
occupancy inside the seashore, and on the management of 
recreational activities. Membership consists of one 
representative from each of the six Lower Cape towns, two from 
the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one from Barnstable County, 
and one selected by the Secretary of the Interior.
    The seashore, located in eastern Massachusetts, involves a 
unique pattern of land ownership and management. The six Lower 
Cape towns, from whose lands the Cape Cod National Seashore was 
carved, retain ownership of numerous parcels within the park 
including ponds, beaches, parking lots and roads. In addition, 
more than 600 parcels inside the park are privately owned. 
Under a unique landowner arrangement, sometimes referred to as 
the `Cape Cod Model,' many of these parcels are expected to 
remain in private hands.
    Activities on these lands can have profound effects on 
protected resources within the seashore, creating a need for 
constructive and productive dialogue among landowners and park 
managers. The multiplicity of interests to which the park 
superintendent must respond, requires effective public and 
community involvement that the Commission effectively provides.
    Before its authority to operate expired on September 26, 
2018, the Commission was an asset that enhanced and encouraged 
communication between park managers and local communities and 
had established an excellent reputation as a facilitator of 
vital community dialogue. Frequent use of subcommittees allows 
local opinion leaders to remain involved. At the same time, it 
permitted numerous parties to have direct access to park 
management through consultation.
    In its recent past, the Commission has addressed such 
contentious issues as: shore bird management, kite boarding, 
the impacts of climate change on park infrastructure, and the 
expiration of several reservations of use and occupancy. 
Passage of this bill would enable the Commission to continue 
this important role.
    As mentioned above, the Department supports S. 2158 with 
one recommended technical change to the Commission's statutory 
role. The law that established the Commission [16 U.S.C. 459b-
7(g)] states that no permit for the commercial or industrial 
use of property located within the seashore shall be issued, 
nor shall any public use area for recreational activity be 
established within the seashore, without the advice of the 
Commission, if such advice is submitted within a reasonable 
time after it is sought. We recommend this provision be struck 
as it is unusual for an advisory commission to have this kind 
of statutory role in park management decisions.
    Chairman King, this concludes my statement. I would be 
pleased 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, changes in existing law made by 
the bill S. 2158, as ordered 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):

                           Public Law 87-126


 AN ACT To provide for the establishment of Cape Cod National Seashore.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That (a) the area 
comprising that portion of the land and waters located in the towns of 
Provincetown, Truro, Wellfleet, Eastham, Orleans, and Chatham in the 
Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and described in subsection (b), is 
designated for establishment as Cape Cod National Seashore (hereinafter 
referred to as ``the seashore'').
          * * * * * * *
    Sec. 8. (a) There is established a Cape Cod National Seashore 
Advisory Commission (hereinafter referred to as the ``Commission''). 
The Commission shall terminate September 26, 2029 [2018].
          * * * * * * *
    [(g) No permit for the commercial or industrial use of property 
located within the seashore shall be issued by the Secretary, nor shall 
any public use area for recreational activity be established by the 
Secretary within the seashore, without the advice of the Commission, if 
such advice is submitted within a reasonable time after it is sought.]
    [(h)](g) Any member of the Advisory Commission appointed under this 
Act shall be exempted, with respect to such appointment, from the 
operation of sections 281, 283, 284, and 1914 of title 18 of the United 
States Code and section 190 of the Revised Statutes (5 U.S.C. 99) 
except as otherwise specified in subsection (2) of this section.
          * * * * * * *

                                  
                                  
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