[House Report 119-211]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
119th Congress } { Rept. 119-211
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session } { Part 1
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WABENO ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ACT
_______
July 21, 2025.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Westerman, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3937]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 3937) to provide for the conveyance of certain
Federal land in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill as
amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Wabeno Economic Development Act''.
SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF CERTAIN NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LAND IN THE
CHEQUAMEGON-NICOLET NATIONAL FOREST TO TONY'S
WABENO REDI-MIX, LLC.
(a) Conveyance Required.--If, during the 180-day period beginning on
the date of Federal approval of the appraisal under subsection (d),
Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC submits to the Secretary an offer to
acquire the property described in subsection (b) for market value, as
determined by such appraisal, the Secretary shall, not later than 180
days after receiving such offer, convey to Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC
all right, title, and interest of the United States, including mineral
rights, in and to the property described in subsection (b).
(b) Description of Property.--
(1) In general.--The property referred to in subsection (a)
is the parcel of real property, including all land and
improvements, generally depicted as ``Federal Parcel to be
Conveyed'' on the Map, consisting of approximately 14 acres of
National Forest System land located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet
National Forest in Wisconsin.
(2) Map.--
(A) Minor errors.--The Secretary may correct minor
errors in the Map.
(B) Availability.--A copy of the Map shall be on file
and available for public inspection in the appropriate
office of the Forest Service.
(3) Survey.--The exact acreage and legal description of the
National Forest System land to be conveyed under subsection (a)
shall be determined by a survey satisfactory to the Secretary.
(c) Terms and Conditions of the Conveyance.--
(1) Requirements.--The conveyance under subsection (a) shall
be--
(A) subject to valid existing rights;
(B) made by quitclaim deed; and
(C) subject to such other terms and conditions as the
Secretary considers to be appropriate to protect the
interests of the United States.
(2) Costs.--As a condition of the conveyance under subsection
(a), Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC shall pay to the Secretary--
(A) an amount equal to the market value of the land
to be conveyed under subsection (a), as determined by
the appraisal under subsection (d); and
(B) all costs associated with the conveyance,
including the cost of--
(i) a survey, if necessary, under subsection
(b)(3);
(ii) conducting the appraisal under
subsection (d); and
(iii) any environmental analysis or resource
survey required under Federal law.
(d) Appraisal.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 300 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall complete an
appraisal to determine the market value of the land to be
conveyed under subsection (a).
(2) Standards.--The appraisal under paragraph (1) shall be
conducted in accordance with--
(A) the Uniform Appraisal Standards for Federal Land
Acquisitions; and
(B) the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal
Practice.
(e) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled
``Conveyance of Federal Parcel Chequamegon-Nicolet National
Forest'' and dated September 27, 2023.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.
SEC. 3. COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW OF FEDERAL PERMITTING PROCESSES FOR STONE,
SAND, AND GRAVEL DEVELOPMENT ON FEDERAL LANDS.
(a) Review.--The Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the
heads of other relevant Federal agencies, industry stakeholders, and
State permitting authorities, shall conduct a comprehensive review of
the Federal permitting processes for the development of stone, sand,
and gravel on Federal lands.
(b) Report.--Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the
entities referred to in subsection (a), shall submit to the Committee
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and make publicly
available on the website of the Department of the Interior a report
that includes--
(1) a detailed description of the current Federal permitting
process for stone, sand, and gravel development, including
average timelines from initial application to final approval;
(2) an analysis identifying potential inefficiencies and
duplicative steps in such permitting process and the impact of
such inefficiencies and duplicative steps on project timelines;
(3) the Secretary's recommendations for legislative or
administrative actions to streamline such permitting process;
and
(4) a summary of the economic impacts associated with current
permitting timelines under such permitting process,
specifically focusing on the stone, sand, and gravel sectors.
PURPOSE OF THE LEGISLATION
The purpose of H.R. 3937 is to provide for the conveyance
of certain Federal land in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest,
and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Nearly half of the landmass of Forest County in northern
Wisconsin, or roughly 350,000 acres, is federally owned as part
of the Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.\1\ Like many
counties and states with significant federal footprints, Forest
County has limited opportunities for economic development of
local communities and businesses. Located in the Town of
Wabeno, a historic logging community with a population of just
over 1,100 people in Forest County, Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix,
LLC, is one such business currently struggling to expand due to
the lack of available nearby private lands. For more than 22
years, this small business has supplied concrete to local
contractors and homeowners in the roughly 50-mile service area
around Wabeno, Wisconsin.\2\ Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC,
employs 17 people and has provided concrete for several
community projects, including fire and rescue buildings, town
shops and offices, barns for local farmers, as well as the
material for home construction and renovations.\3\
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\1\Forest County Forestry and Recreation Department, ``Chequamegon-
Nicolet National Forest'', https://forestcountywi.com/education-and-
resources#.
\2\City-Data.com, ``Wabeno, Wisconsin'', https://www.city-data.com/
city/Wabeno-Wisconsin.html. Letter to U.S. Representative Tom Tiffany,
Tony Smith, January 11, 2022, https://republicans-
naturalresources.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Copy_of_letter.pdf.
\3\Id.
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At its current pace, this business will run out of the
aggregate materials necessary to continue its operations in the
next two to three years.\4\ Aggregates are the raw materials,
such as stone, sand and gravel, that are used to create
building materials, including cement and asphalt. To address
this supply challenge, the company tried to work with the U.S.
Forest Service (USFS) for seven years on a land conveyance of a
14-acre parcel located in the Chequamegon-Nicolet National
Forest. This parcel is directly adjacent to the company's
current location and has adequate sand and gravel resources
needed to keep the business's operations running for years to
come.\5\ To expedite this land conveyance process after years
of continuous USFS delays, Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI)
introduced H.R. 3937, the ``Wabeno Economic Development Act,''
to require USFS to convey this land to Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix,
LLC, for fair market value. This conveyance would provide much-
needed economic growth to the local community and is supported
by the Wabeno Chamber of Commerce, the Forest County Economic
Development Partnership, and the Town of Wabeno.\6\
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\4\Id.
\5\Id.
\6\``Letters of Support, Tony Smith,'' U.S. House Committee on
Natural Resources, https://republicans-naturalresources.house.gov/
UploadedFiles/Tony_Smith_Letters_of_Support.pdf.
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H.R. 3937 also includes a provision that recognizes the
national importance of encouraging more domestic sand, stone,
and gravel mining nationwide. A healthy supply of aggregates is
critically important for infrastructure and economic
development. It takes an average of 38,000 tons of aggregates
to construct just one lane mile of interstate.\7\ Roughly 400
tons of aggregate are needed for the construction of an average
home, while a school or hospital typically requires around
15,000 tons.\8\ In addition to serving as reliable building
materials, aggregates are an important ingredient for many
other materials, such as glass, plastic, silica for computer
parts, and even calcium carbonate for antacids.\9\ The average
American relies on over 10,000 pounds of stone and over 7,000
pounds of sand and gravel per year.\10\ Currently, projects of
all varieties that rely on federal aggregates take four to ten
years to complete the federal permitting process.\11\ Aggregate
producers have consistently encouraged steps to ``fix a broken
permitting reform process that currently makes the task of
sourcing aggregates severely difficult.''\12\ H.R. 3937 would
help address this problem by requiring the Department of the
Interior (DOI) to conduct a comprehensive review of the
permitting process for stone, sand, and gravel on federal
lands. As part of this review, DOI would be required to report
on current delays and inefficiencies in the permitting process
and the economic effects of those delays to the sand, stone,
and gravel industry.
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\7\Association of Equipment Manufacturers, ``Construction
Aggregates 101: What They Are (And Why They Matter)'', Sara Feuling,
August 7, 2023, https://www.aem.org/news/construction-aggregates-101-
what-they-are-and-why-they-matter.
\8\Id.
\9\Id.
\10\Elements by Visual Capitalist, ``Visualizing U.S. Consumption
of Fuel and Materials per Capita'', Bruno Venditti, January 27, 2023,
https://elements.visualcapitalist.com/visualizing-u-s-consumption-of-
fuel-and-materials-per-capita/.
\11\National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA), Coalition
Letter to House Committee on Natural Resources Leadership Supporting
BUILDER Act of 2023, March 7, 2023, https://www.nssga.org/sites/
default/files/2023-03/
230307_Coalition_BUILDERAct_HouseNaturalResources.pdf.
\12\National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association (NSSGA), Letter to
House Leadership Supporting H.R. 1, the Lower Energy Costs Act, March
23, 2023, https://www.nssga.org/sites/default/files/2023-03/
FINAL_HR_1_PDF3.23.23.pdf.
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COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3937 was introduced on June 11, 2025, by
Representative Tom Tiffany (R-WI). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources. The bill was also referred to
the Committee on Agriculture. On June 25, 2025, the Committee
on Natural Resources met to consider the bill. Representative
Tom Tiffany (R-WI) offered an Amendment in the Nature of a
Substitute designated Tiffany_022 ANS. The Amendment in the
Nature of a Substitute was agreed to by unanimous consent. The
bill, as amended, was ordered favorably reported to the House
of Representatives by unanimous consent.
HEARINGS
For the purposes of clause 3(c)(6) of House rule XIII, the
following hearing was used to develop or consider this measure:
hearing in the 118th Congress by the Subcommittee on Federal
Lands held on January 31, 2024.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
Section 1 names the bill the ``Wabeno Economic Development
Act.''
Section 2. Conveyance of certain National Forest System land in the
Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest to Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix,
LLC
Section 2 requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convey a
14-acre parcel of National Forest System land to Tony's Wabeno
Redi-Mix, LLC within 180 days of receiving an offer to acquire
the property. Section 2 requires the conveyance be done at fair
market value based on an appraisal conducted within 300 days of
the bill's passage. Section 2 sets guidelines for finalizing
the map of the conveyance and provides for corrections to the
map. Section 2 also requires Tony's Wabeno Redi-Mix, LLC to pay
for the cost of the conveyance and specifies that the
conveyance is subject to valid existing rights.
Section 3. Comprehensive review of federal permitting processes for
stone, sand, and gravel development on federal lands
Section 3 requires the Secretary of the Interior, in
consultation with the other relevant federal agencies and
stakeholders, to conduct a comprehensive review of the federal
permitting process for the development of stone, sand, and
gravel on federal lands within 180 days of the bill's passage.
The report is required to include a detailed description of the
current permitting process, an analysis identifying
inefficiencies and duplicative steps in the permitting process
and how such inefficiencies impact project timelines,
recommendations for legislative or administrative actions to
streamline the permitting process, and a summary of the
economic impacts of the current permitting process. Section 3
requires the Secretary to submit the report to the House
Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Energy and
Natural Resources Committee. The report must also be publicly
posted on a DOI website.
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.
Pursuant to clause 3(c)(2) of House rule XIII and section
308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, and pursuant to
clause 3(c)(3) of House rule XIII and section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has requested
but not received from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office a budgetary analysis and a cost estimate of this bill.
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
certain Federal land in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest,
and for other purposes.
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.
UNFUNDED MANDATES REFORM ACT STATEMENT
An estimate of federal mandates prepared by the Director of
the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 423 of the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act was not made available to the
Committee in time for the filing of this report. The Chair of
the Committee shall cause such estimate to be printed in the
Congressional Record upon its receipt by the Committee, if such
estimate is not publicly available on the Congressional Budget
Office website.
EXISTING PROGRAMS
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.
APPLICABILITY TO LEGISLATIVE BRANCH
The Committee finds that the legislation does not relate to
the terms and conditions of employment or access to public
services or accommodations within the meaning of section
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
Any preemptive effect of this bill over state, local, or
tribal law is intended to be consistent with the bill's
purposes and text and the Supremacy Clause of Article VI of the
U.S. Constitution.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
As ordered reported by the Committee on Natural Resources,
H.R. 3937 would make no changes in existing law.
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