[Senate Report 118-76]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


                                                  Calendar No. 160

118th Congress}                                           { Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session  }                                           { 118-76

======================================================================
 
                RIM OF THE VALLEY CORRIDOR PRESERVATION

                                _______
                                

                 July 25, 2023.--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. 1466]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 1466), to adjust the boundary of the 
Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area to include the 
Rim of the Valley Corridor, and for other purposes, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                                Purpose

    The purpose of S. 1466, as ordered reported, is to adjust 
the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation 
Area in Southern California to include approximately 119,669 
acres of land within the Rim of the Valley Corridor.

                          Background and Need

    Located in Los Angeles and Ventura Counties in southern 
California, the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 
(National Recreation Area) was established by Congress in 1978 
(Public Law 95-625) to preserve and enhance its scenic, 
natural, and historical setting and its public health value as 
an airshed for the Los Angeles metropolitan area, while also 
providing for recreational and educational needs of the 
visiting public. The National Recreation Area provides visitors 
with convenient access to a range of outdoor adventures despite 
its close proximity to one of the largest urban areas in the 
nation, and includes the Malibu beaches, open space, over 500 
miles of trails, and numerous historical and cultural sites.
    Section 327 of the Consolidated Natural Resources Act of 
2008 (Public Law 110-229) directed the National Park Service to 
evaluate the suitability and feasibility of expanding the 
National Recreation Area to include the area known as the ``Rim 
of the Valley Corridor,'' the area generally including the 
mountains encircling the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa 
Clarita, Simi, and Conejo Valleys in southern California.
    The National Park Service's completed study covered 
approximately 650,000 acres and determined that expanding the 
National Recreation Area to include a portion of the Rim of the 
Valley Corridor would expand opportunities for public enjoyment 
and augment the protection of significant resources. The study 
also found that inclusion of the recommended area would provide 
the most effective range of tools to maintain habitat 
connectivity and preserve significant resources, both of which 
are key to maintaining the National Recreation Area's habitat 
value and high biodiversity.
    S. 1466 modifies the boundary of the National Recreation 
Area to include a portion of the Rim of the Valley Corridor.

                          Legislative History

    S. 1466 was introduced by Senators Feinstein and Padilla on 
May 4, 2023. Similar legislation, S. 1769, was introduced in 
the 117th Congress by Senators Feinstein and Padilla on May 20, 
2021. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the 
bill on June 23, 2021. The Committee ordered S. 1769 reported 
favorably with an amendment in the nature of a substitute on 
July 21, 2022 (S. Rept. 117-181). A companion bill, H.R. 1075, 
was introduced by Representative Schiff and others on March 15, 
2021.
    The text of H.R. 1075 in the 117th Congress was included in 
title VI of H.R. 803, the ``Protecting America's Wilderness and 
Public Lands Act,'' which passed the House of Representatives 
by a vote of 227-200 on February 26, 2021. Similar text was 
also included in subtitle F of title LV of H.R. 4350, the 
National Defense Authorization Act of 2022, which passed the 
House of Representatives by a vote of 316-113 on September 23, 
2021. Similar text was also included in title V of Division I 
of H.R. 7900, the National Defense Authorization Act of 2022 
(NDAA), which passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 
329-101 on July 14, 2022. The provisions relating to the Rim of 
the Valley addition were not included in the enacted version of 
the NDAA.
    In the 116th Congress, similar legislation, S. 774, was 
introduced by Senators Feinstein and Harris on March 13, 2019. 
The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 774 on 
June 19, 2019 (S. Hrg. 116-308), and the bill was reported 
favorably by the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on 
December 18, 2019. A companion House bill, H.R. 1708 was 
introduced by Representative Schiff and others on March 13, 
2019. The House Natural Resource Subcommittee on National 
Parks, Forests, and Public Lands held a hearing on April 2, 
2019. H.R. 1708 was reported by the House Committee on Natural 
Resources on February 4, 2020 (H. Rept. 116-386). The text of 
H.R. 1708 was included in title V of H.R. 2546, the 
``Protecting America's Wilderness and Public Lands Act,'' which 
passed the House of Representatives by a vote of 231-183 on 
February 12, 2020. The bill was referred to the Senate 
Committee on Natural Resources, but no further action was 
taken. Similar text was also included in title V of Division O 
of H.R. 6395, the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021, which passed the House 
of Representatives by a vote of 295-125 on July 20, 2021, but 
was dropped in the House-Senate conference.
    In the 115th Congress, similar legislation, S. 1993, was 
introduced by Senator Feinstein on September 19, 2017. The 
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1993 on 
August 15, 2018 (S. Hrg. 115-526). Similar legislation, H.R. 
4086, was introduced by Representative Schiff and others in the 
House of Representatives on September 24, 2017. No further 
action was taken on either bill.
    In the 114th Congress, Senator Boxer introduced similar 
legislation, S. 3514, on December 7, 2016. Companion 
legislation, HR. 5467, was introduced in the House of 
Representatives on June 14, 2016 by Representative Schiff and 
others. No further action was taken on either bill.

            Committee Recommendation and Tabulation of Votes

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on May 17, 2023, by a majority vote of a 
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1466.
    The roll call vote on reporting the measure was 11 yeas, 8 
nays, as follows:

        YEAS                          NAYS
Mr. Manchin                         Mr. Barrasso
Mr. Wyden                           Mr. Risch*
Ms. Cantwell                        Mr. Lee*
Mr. Sanders*                        Ms. Murkowski
Mr. Heinrich                        Mr. Hoeven
Ms. Hirono                          Mr. Cassidy*
Mr. King                            Mrs. Hyde-Smith
Ms. Cortez Masto                    Mr. Hawley
Mr. Kelly
Mr. Hickenlooper
Mr. Daines

    *Indicates vote by proxy.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 provides the short title of the bill, the ``Rim 
of the Valley Corridor Preservation Act''.

Sec. 2. Boundary adjustment

    Section 2 amends section 507(c) of the National Parks and 
Recreation Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 460kk(c)) to adjust the 
boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area 
to include approximately 119,000 acres of the area depicted as 
the Rim of the Valley Corridor on the referenced map, and to 
make other conforming changes. The lands to be added to the 
National Recreation Area are identical to the version in S. 
1769 reported by the Committee in the 117th Congress, although 
the map has been revised to better identify the proposed 
addition.

Sec. 3. Administration

    Section 3 provides that any land or interest in land 
acquired by the Secretary of the Interior within the Rim of the 
Valley Unit shall be administered as part of the Santa Monica 
Mountains National Recreation Area, in accordance with the laws 
and regulations applicable to the National Recreation Area.

Sec. 4. Utilities and water resource facilities

    Section 4 clarifies that the addition of the Rim of the 
Valley Unit to the National Recreation Area shall not affect 
the operation, maintenance, or modification of water resource 
facilities or public utilities, except that any utility or 
water resource facility activities within the Rim of the Valley 
Unit shall be done in a manner that reasonably avoids or 
reduces any impact on park resources of the Rim of the Valley 
Unit.

                   Cost and Budgetary Considerations

    The Committee has requested, but has not yet received, the 
Congressional Budget Office's estimate of the cost of S. 1466, 
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. 1466. 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. 1466, as ordered reported.

                   Congressionally Directed Spending

    S. 1466, 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 June 23, 2021, hearing on S. 1769 follows:

   Statement of Michael A. Caldwell, Acting Associate Director, Park 
Planning, Facilities, and Lands, 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. 1769, a bill to adjust 
the boundary of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation 
Area (NRA) to include the Rim of the Valley Corridor, and for 
other purposes.
    The Department supports enactment of S. 1769 with technical 
amendments. This legislation largely reflects a special 
resource study that found that a proposed expansion of the 
Santa Monica Mountains NRA to include Rim of the Valley lands 
meets the National Park Service's criteria for addition to the 
National Park System.
    S. 1769 would expand the boundary of the Santa Monica 
Mountains NRA by approximately 191,000 acres of land within the 
area known as the Rim of the Valley Corridor, the mountainous 
areas that surround the San Fernando, Simi, and Conejo Valleys 
northwest of Los Angeles. The proposed Rim of the Valley Unit 
would be administered as part of the Santa Monica Mountains 
NRA, and an updated management plan for the park would be 
required within three years of enactment. Provisions in the 
bill ensure that the inclusion of the Rim of the Valley lands 
in the Santa Monica Mountains NRA would not interfere with 
specified existing uses.
    The Santa Monica Mountains NRA was established by Congress 
in 1978 to help preserve and protect the natural resources of 
the Santa Monica Mountains and the adjacent coastline and 
provide outdoor recreational opportunities within the vicinity 
of the densely populated Los Angeles and Ventura Counties. 
Within a boundary encompassing approximately 154,000 acres, the 
National Park Service (NPS) owns a relatively small proportion 
of the land--approximately 23,600 acres, or 15 percent. 
Altogether, 58 percent of the land within the boundary is in 
public ownership, including the NPS lands. The NPS coordinates 
actions with State and other public agencies that manage park 
lands through a cooperative management agreement, which allows 
all partners to realize cost savings and efficiencies. The NPS 
also partners with nongovernmental organizations to further the 
purposes of the NRA.
    P.L. 110-229, enacted in 2008, directed the Secretary of 
the Interior to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of 
designating all or a portion of the Rim of the Valley Corridor 
as a unit of Santa Monica Mountains NRA. The study area 
consisted of approximately 650,000 acres of land within the 
mountains encircling the San Fernando, La Crescenta, Santa 
Clarita, Simi, and Conejo Valleys. The study's preferred 
alternative, among four alternatives evaluated, recommended an 
expansion of approximately 173,000 acres of lands judged to 
have the highest concentration of resource values and 
recreational opportunities. The preferred alternative also 
recognized a limited role for NPS land ownership, as is the 
case within the existing national recreation area, and a 
continuation of the existing collaborative partnership-based 
management model. The study team conducted extensive public 
outreach throughout the study process and throughout the 
region, receiving approximately 7,200 comment letters during 
the study period; more than 90 percent of comment letters 
preferred a much larger alternative than the recommendation 
transmitted to Congress in 2016.
    S. 1769 differs in a few ways from the study's preferred 
alternative. S. 1769 would include 18,000 more acres of land 
within the boundary than the preferred alternative proposed. 
The additional acreage largely consists of lands to the east of 
the City of Santa Clarita and in the western Santa Susana 
mountains added for the purpose of regional trail connections. 
Additionally, the bill would remove all properties contained in 
the 2016 recommendation that are identified by the State of 
California as containing oil and gas operations, as well as the 
Santa Susana Field Laboratory. Removing these properties would 
eliminate any unintentional regulatory burden to oil and gas 
development and prevent the transfer of Federal lands at the 
Santa Susana Field Laboratory and their associated facilities, 
including their clean-up costs, to the NPS.
    The Department would like the opportunity to revisit the 
proposed boundary for the expansion with the bill's sponsor and 
the Committee to account for additional development changes 
that have occurred since the study was conducted and the 
legislation was first proposed. We also recommend a technical 
amendment to show the Rim of the Valley Unit as an addition to 
the NRA, not as a substitution of the original NRA boundary.
    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. 1466, as ordered reported, are shown below 
(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 95-625


 AN ACT To authorize additional appropriations for the acquisition of 
 lands and interests in lands within the Sawtooth National Recreation 
Area in Idaho.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                   SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS

    Section 1. This Act may be cited as the ``National Parks 
and Recreation Act of 1978''.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


  TITLE V--ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW AREAS AND ADDITIONS TO NATIONAL TRAILS 
                                 SYSTEM

Subtitle A--Parks, Seashores, Etc.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                    SANTA MONICA MOUNTAINS NATIONAL 
                            RECREATION AREA

    Sec. 507(a). The Congress finds that--
          (1) there are significant scenic, recreational, 
        educational, scientific, natural, archeological, and 
        public health benefits provided by the Santa Monica 
        Mountains and adjacent coastline area;
          (2) there is a national interest in protecting and 
        preserving these benefits for the residents of and 
        visitors to the area; and
          (3) the State of California and its local units of 
        government have authority to prevent or minimize 
        adverse uses of the Santa Monica Mountains and adjacent 
        coastline area and can, to a great extent, protect the 
        health, safety, and general welfare by the use of such 
        authority.
    (b) There is hereby established the Santa Monica Mountains 
National Recreation Area (hereinafter referred to as the 
``recreation area''). The Secretary shall manage the recreation 
area in a manner which will preserve and enhance its scenic, 
natural, and historical setting and its public health value as 
an airshed for the Southern California metropolitan area while 
providing for the recreational and educational need of the 
visiting public.
    (c)[(1) The recreation area shall consist of the lands and 
waters and interests generally depicted as the recreation area 
on the map entitled ``Santa Monica Mountains National 
Recreation Area and Santa Monica Mountains Zone, California, 
Boundary Map'', numbered 80,047--C and dated August 2001, which 
shall be on file and available for inspection in the offices of 
the National Park Service, Department of the Interior, 
Washington, District of Columbia, and in the offices of the 
General Services Administration in the Federal Office Building 
in West Los Angeles, California, and in the main public library 
in Ventura, California. After advising the Committee on 
Resources of the United States House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the United States 
Senate, in writing, the Secretary may make minor revisions of 
the boundaries of the recreation area when necessary by 
publication of a revised drawing or other boundary description 
in the Federal Register.] (1)Boundary._
          (A) In general.--The recreation area shall consist 
        of--
                  (i) the land, water, and interests in land 
                and water generally depicted as the recreation 
                area on the map entitled ``Santa Monica 
                Mountains National Recreation Area and Santa 
                Monica Mountains Zone, California, Boundary 
                Map'', numbered 80,047-C, and dated August 
                2001; and
                  (ii) the land, water, and interests in land 
                and water, as generally depicted as ``Proposed 
                Addition'' on the map entitled ``Rim of the 
                Valley Unit--Santa Monica Mountains National 
                Recreation Area'', numbered 638/147,723, and 
                dated April 2023.
          (B) Availability of maps.--The maps described in 
        subparagraph (A) shall be on file and available for 
        public inspection in the appropriate offices of the 
        National Park Service.
          (C) Revisions.--After advising the Committee on 
        Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
        Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 
        Representatives, in writing, of the proposed revision, 
        the Secretary may make minor revisions to the 
        boundaries of the recreation area by publication of a 
        revised drawing or other boundary description in the 
        Federal Register.

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