[House Report 107-509]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
107th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 107-509
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NEW RIVER GORGE BOUNDARY ACT OF 2002
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June 17, 2002.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
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Mr. Hansen, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3858]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3858) to modify the boundaries of the New River Gorge
National River, West Virginia, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 3858 is to modify the boundaries of New
River Gorge National River in West Virginia.
Background and Need for Legislation
The New River Gorge National River was established in 1978
to preserve and protect 53 miles of the New River. The park
encompasses 70,000 acres of land along the river between Hinton
and Fayettville in Southern West Virginia. The legislation
would modify the boundaries by adding six tracts of land held
by five owners and totaling 1,962 acres. All are willing
sellers. The tracts would add to the scenic values of the park,
as well as to help alleviate parking and trespassing concerns
associated with a popular rock climbing site. One tract would
also help insulate the park from development problems in the
area, while including a trail that would remain open to the
public. The bill also contains a land exchange provision which
would settle an encroachment issue in the vicinity of Beauty
Mountain. The property owners have a tract of land immediately
adjacent to the park boundary. When the owners constructed a
home on the tract, half was constructed on a portion of land
within the boundary. The National Park Service purchased the
tract of land from another landowner after construction had
already begun on the home. The bill proposes a fee simple land
exchange in which a third of an acre would be exchanged for a
third of an acre and the boundaries of the park would be
modified to remedy this boundary issue.
Committee Action
H.R. 3858 was introduced on March 6, 2002 by Congressman
Nick Rahall (D-WV) and was referred to the Committee on
Resources. On March 12, 2002, the bill was referred within the
Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation,
and Public Lands. On May 16, 2002, the Subcommittee held a
hearing on the bill. On May 22, 2002, the Full Committee met to
mark up the bill. By unanimous consent, the Subcommittee was
discharged from further consideration. No amendments were
offered and the bill was ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by unanimous consent.
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 Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8 and Article IV, section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant Congress the authority
to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
of that rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act
of 1974, the Committee has received the following cost estimate
for this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 13, 2002.
Hon. James V. Hansen,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 3858, the New
River Gorge Boundary Act of 2002.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 3858--New River Gorge Boundary Act of 2002
H.R. 3858 would modify the boundary of the New River Gorge
National River to include an additional 1,962 acres. The bill
also would allow the National Park Service (NPS) to exchange a
small tract of land within this park unit's existing boundary
for an adjacent tract of similar size.
Assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that implementing the bill would cost the federal
government between $2 million and $3 million over the next few
years, mostly to purchase land within the expanded boundary.
(CBO expects that most of the new acreage would remain in its
natural condition and would not require any development.)
Finally, we estimate that the cost of carrying out the proposed
land exchange and the annual expense of administering all of
the new acreage would not be significant. This estimate is
based on information provided by the NPS and local officials.
H.R. 3858 would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no
significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the 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):
SECTION 1101 OF THE NATIONAL PARKS AND RECREATION ACT OF 1978
Sec. 1101. For the purpose of conserving and interpreting
outstanding natural, scenic, and historic values and objects in
and around the New River Gorge and preserving as a free-flowing
stream an important segment of the New River in West Virginia
for the benefit and enjoyment of present and future
generations, the Secretary of the Interior (hereinafter
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall establish and
administer the New River Gorge National River. The Secretary
shall administer, protect, and develop this national river in
accordance with the provisions of the Act of August 25, 1916
(39 Stat. 535; 16 U.S.C. 1 et seq.), as amended and
supplemented; except that any other statutory authority
available to the Secretary for the preservation and management
of natural resources may be utilized to the extent he finds
such authority will further the purposes of this title. The
boundaries of the national river shall be as generally depicted
on the drawing entitled ``Proposed New River Gorge National
River'' numbered [NERI-80,028A, dated March 1996] NERI 80,034,
dated May 2001, which shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the offices of the National Park Service,
Department of the Interior.
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