[Senate Report 107-264]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 581
107th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 107-264
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WACO MAMMOTH SITE AREA
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September 9, 2002.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1925]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 1925) to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of
designating the Waco Mammoth Site Area in Waco, Texas, as a
unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes,
having considering the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 1925 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior, in consultation with the State of Texas, the city of
Waco, and other appropriate organizations, to study the
suitability and feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth
Site Area in Waco, Texas, as a unit of the National Park
System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Located near the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque rivers
in Central Texas, the Waco Mammoth Site area is near the city
of Waco. After hearing reports about bones emerging from
eroding creek banks in 1978, a Baylor University staff member
began investigating the site. Portions of five mammoths were
uncovered from 1978 to 1981. By 1997, the bones of twenty-two
Colombian mammoths, warm weather cousins to the woolly mammoth,
had been unearthed.
This discovery has attracted international attention.
Evidence indicates that the deaths and mass burial of the
animals was from natural causes, not the intervention of man.
These finds make the Waco Mammoth Site the largest known
concentration of a single herd of mammoths dying from the same
event. H.R. 1925 would authorize the National Park Service to
undertake a study to determine if the site would be appropriate
for designation as a unit of the National Park System.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 1925 was introduced by Representative Chet Edwards on
May 21, 2001. The House of Representatives passed the bill by
voice vote on May 14, 2002. The Subcommittee on National Parks
held a hearing on H.R. 1925 on July 18, 2002. At the business
meeting on July 31, 2002, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources ordered H.R. 1925 favorably reported.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on July 31, 2002, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 1925.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 directs the Secretary of the Interior to conduct
a suitability and feasibility study and sets forth requirements
for conducting the study and consultation.
Section 2 provides that a report on the findings,
conclusions, and recommendations of the study be submitted to
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and
the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives
within 3 years from the date on which funds are made available.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, August 9, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 1925, an act to
direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability
and feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth Site Area in
Waco, Texas, as a unit of the National Park System.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this
estimate is Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 1925--An act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the
suitability and feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth
Site Area in Waco, Texas, as a unit of the National Park System
H.R. 1925 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to
conduct a study on the suitability and feasibility of making
the Waco Mammoth Site Area in Texas a unit of the National Park
System. The legislation would require the agency to report to
the Congress on its findings within three years of receiving
funds for the study.
Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates
that completing the required study and report would cost the
federal government $300,000 over the next three years, assuming
availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 1925 would not affect
direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would not apply. The act contains no
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on
state, local, or tribal governments.
On November 28, 2001, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
H.R. 1925 as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Resources on November 28, 2001. The two versions of the
legislation are identical, as are the cost estimates.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
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. 1925. 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. 1925, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee
from the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive
agency recommendations relating to H.R. 1925 is set forth
below:
U.S. Department of the Interior,
Office of the Secretary,
Washington, DC, July 26, 2002.
Hon. Jeff Bingaman,
Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: This letter sets forth the views of the
Department of the Interior on H.R. 1925. This bill would
require the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a study to
determine the national significance, suitability and
feasibility of designating the Waco Mammoth Site in Waco, Texas
as a unit of the National Park System. H.R. 1925 passed the
House of Representatives on May 14, 2002.
The Department supports this bill. However, the Department
did not request additional funding for this study in Fiscal
Year 2003. We believe that any funding requested should be
directed towards completing previously authorized studies.
Presently, there are 34 studies pending, of which we expect to
transmit four to Congress by the end of 2002. To meet the
President's Initiative to eliminate the deferred maintenance
backlog, we must continue to focus our resources on caring for
existing areas in the National Park System. Thus, we have
concerns about adding new funding requirements for new park
units, national trails, wild and scenic rivers or heritage
areas at the same time that we are trying to reduce the
deferred maintenance backlog. As such, the Department will
identify all acquisition, one-time and operational costs of the
proposed site. At this time, those costs are unknown.
H.R. 1925 calls of the completion of a special resource
study of the Waco Mammoth Site that determines the national
significance, suitability and feasibility of designating the
site as a unit of the National Park System. The bill calls for
the study to be completed under the guidelines in P.L. 91-383
and submission of the study results to Congress not later than
three years after funds are first made available for the Act.
The Waco Mammoth Site area is located near the confluence
of the Brazos and the Bosque rivers in Central Texas, not far
from the city of Waco. Baylor University has been investigating
the site since 1978 after hearing about bones emerging from
eroding creek banks that led to the uncovering of portions of
five mammoths. Since then several additional mammoth remains
have been uncovered--making this the largest known
concentration of mammoths dying from the same event.
The discoveries have received international attention, with
archaeologists and paleontologists from Sweden and Great
Britain visiting the site. Many of the remains have been
excavated and are in storage or still being researched. The
University and the city of Waco have been working together to
protect the site, as well as develop further research and
educational opportunities.
The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is
no objection to the presentation of this report from the
standpoint of the Administration's program.
Sincerely,
Craig Manson,
Assistant Secretary for Fish and
Wildlife and Parks.
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 Act H.R. 1925, as
ordered reported.