[Senate Report 108-67]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 131
108th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 108-67
======================================================================
GLEN CANYON NATIONAL RECREATION AREA BOUNDARY REVISION ACT
_______
June 9, 2003.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 788]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 788) to revise the boundary of the Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area in the States of Utah and
Arizona, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon
without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
Purpose of the Measure
The purpose of H.R. 788 is to revise the boundary of the
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in the States of Utah and
Arizona.
Background and Need
Page One L.L.C., a private corporation, is in the process
of developing approximately 1500 acres of private land adjacent
to the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area (NRA) located
between U.S. Highway 89 and the Arizona border. Following
months of negotiation, Page One and the National Park Service
(NPS) agreed to a mutually beneficial land exchange. S. 612
implements the exchange. It will enable Page One to consolidate
its property while permitting the NPS to better protect the
viewshed of the NRA. In addition, the legislation would correct
the NRA's statutory acreage ceiling to accurately reflect the
present acreage in the boundary.
Currently, Page One owns approximately 152 acres of land
between U.S. Highway 89 and the southwestern shore of Lake
Powell. This land features a primary viewshed corridor between
the lake and highway, three established highway access right-
of-ways, and a developed culinary water well producing 700
gallons per minute. According to an outside appraisal, the
value of the private parcel is approximately $836,000. The Park
Service seeks to acquire this land in order to protect the
scenic corridor and to establish a more manageable boundary at
its most visited entrance. The 370 acres of NPS land are
topographically isolated with no vehicular access, no right-of-
way, no water rights and no site improvements. The appraised
value of the NPS land, according to an outside appraisal is
approximately $480,000.
Legislative History
H.R. 788 was introduced on February 2, 2003 and passed the
House of Representatives by a vote of 423-0 on March 25, 2003.
Companion legislation, S. 612, was introduced by Sen. Bennett
on March 13, 2003. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a
hearing on H.R. 788 and S. 612 on May 13, 2003. During the
107th Congress, the House of Representatives passed and the
Committee reported a similar measure, H.R. 3786. The text of
H.R. 3786 was included in an amendment to S. 2222, and was
passed by the Senate on November 19, 2002.
At the business meeting on May 21, 2003, the Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 788 favorably
reported.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on May 21, 2003, by a unanimous vote of a
quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 788 as
described herein.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 titles the bill the ``Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area Boundary Revision Act''.
Section 2(a) amends Public Law 92-593, the Act establishing
the Glen Canyon NRA, by authorizing the Secretary of the
Interior to acquire approximately 152 acres from Page One in
exchange for approximately 370 acres within the boundary of
Glen Canyon NRA.
Subsection (b) further amends Public Law 92-593 to correct
the authorized acreage of the Glen Canyon NRA.
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, May 30, 2003.
Hon. Pete V. Domenici,
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. 788, the Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area Boundary Revision Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan
Carroll and Jenny Lin.
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 788--Glen Canyon National Recreation Area Boundary Revision Act
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 788 would cost about
$560,000, subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
H.R. 788 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to
acquire 152 acres of private land in exchange for 370 acres of
land within the boundary of the Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area. In addition, the act would change the acreage ceiling of
that Recreation Area to reflect the land exchange.
Based on an appraisal paid for by the private landowner,
the land the federal government would receive is valued at
$836,000, and the land that it would give to the private
landowner is valued at $278,000. The National Park Service may
make a cash equalization payment to the private landowner for
the difference in the appraisal. Making such a payment would be
subject to the availability of appropriated funds.
H.R. 788 would not affect direct spending or receipts. H.R.
788 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.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll
and Jenny Lin. This 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. 788. 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. 788, as ordered reported.
Executive Communications
On May 12, 2003, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth
Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 788. These reports had
not been received at the time the report on H.R. 788 was filed.
When the reports become available, the Chairman will request
that they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice
of the Senate. The testimony provided by the National Park
Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:
Statement of Sue Masica, Associate Director of Park Planning,
Facilities and Lands, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the
Interior
Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present the
Department of the Interior's views on S. 612 and H.R. 788.
These bills would revise the boundary of the Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area in the States of Utah and Arizona.
The Department supports S. 612 and the companion House
legislation H.R. 788. The legislation would amend Public Law
92-593 and give the Secretary of the Interior the authority,
through an exchange, to change the boundary of Glen Canyon
National Recreation Area (``Park'') by adding approximately 152
acres and deleting 370 acres in Kane County, Utah. The current
owner of the private property to be exchanged, Page One, LLC.
(``Page One''), initiated this proposal and although the
National Park Service (``Service'') has not yet appraised the
parcels involved, the owner's appraisal indicates that the
service will receive lands with a higher value than those the
Service would exchange, which should remove the need for any
land acquisition funds.
The bills would also revise the authorized acreage of the
park from 1,236,880 acres to 1,256,000 acres. This change would
correct the total acreage within the park boundary that was
incorrectly identified in the park's enabling legislation.
Correction of the authorized acreage ceiling would not add any
new facilities, increase operating costs, or require additional
staffing.
Since House passage of the H.R. 788 last March, we have
learned through additional surveys, conducted by Page One, that
the Page One exchange parcel identified as the Shoppman Land
Exchange Parcel on the map entitled ``Page One Land Exchange
Proposal'' number 608/60573a-2002 dated May 16, 2002 is closer
to 122 acres than 152 acres. The acres that the Service would
acquire are located east of Highway 89, approximately 5 miles
south of Big Water, Utah and are contiguous to the existing
park boundary. Both the Page One and Park exchange parcels are
accurately reflected on the map. The lands that the Service
would be authorized to exchange are located west of Highway 89
and are adjacent to privately owned lands. Although within the
boundary of the recreation area, the 370 acres are physically
and visually isolated from the rest of the recreation area by
topographic features.
Page One, the owner of the private land has had an
appraisal completed on the lands that are proposed for
exchange. If this legislation is enacted, the Service would
conduct its own appraisal on the two parcels. However, the
owner's appraisal determined that their parcel ($5,500 per acre
for a total appraised value of $671,000), which the Service
would receive, was worth approximately two and one half times
more then the appraised value of the land within the NRA Land
Exchange Parcel identified on the map ($750 per acre for a
total appraised value of $277,500).
S. 612 and H.R. 788 would also correct the acreage ceiling
error stated in Public Law 92-593, the 1972 enabling
legislation for Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. Public
Law 92-593 incorrectly estimated Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area's acreage within the boundary to be 1,236,880
acres. Using the same boundary identified on the map referenced
in the 1972 enabling legislation, application of modern map
reading and geographic information system technologies have
determined that 1,256,000 acres more accurately reflects the
amount of land within the 1972 boundary.
S. 612 and H.R. 788 enjoy a broad cross section of support.
The nearest communities to the lands proposed for exchange, Big
Water, Utah and Page, Arizona, recognize the importance of
protecting the National Recreation Area. Also, this exchange
would provide an opportunity for private development at one of
the main access points to lands held by the Utah Schools and
Institutional Trust Lands Administration (``SITLA''). Such
private development could enhance the 40,000 acres held by
SITLA and is supported by the State of Utah and Kane County,
Utah.
As the House has passed H.R. 788 and the legislation is
identical to S. 612 we would recommend passage of H.R. 788, in
order to move this legislation expediently.
Mr. Chairman, this concludes my prepared remarks. 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 Act H.R. 788, as ordered reported, are shown as follows:
AN ACT To establish the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in the
States of Arizona and Utah
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, [That in]
Section 1. (a) In order to provide for public outdoor
recreation use and enjoyment of Lake Powell and lands adjacent
thereto in the States of Arizona and Utah and to preserve
scenic, scientific, and historic features contributing to
public enjoyment of the area, there is established the Glen
Canyon National Recreation Area (hereafter referred to as the
``recreation area'') to comprise the area generally depicted on
the drawing entitled ``Boundary Map Glen Canyon National
Recreation Area,'' numbered GLC-91,006 and dated August 1972,
which is on file and available for public inspection in the
office of the National Park Service, Department of the
Interior. The Secretary of the Interior (hereafter referred to
as the ``Secretary'') may revise the boundaries of the
recreation area from time to time by publication in the Federal
Register of a revised drawing or other boundary description,
but the total acreage of the national recreation area may not
exceed [one million two hundred and thirty-six thousand eight
hundred and eighty acres] 1,256,000 acres.
(b) In addition to the boundary change authority under
subsection (a), the Secretary may acquire approximately 152
acres of private land in exchange for approximately 370 acres
of land within the boundary of Glen Canyon National Recreation
Area, as generally depicted on the map entitled ``Page One Land
Exchange Proposal'', number 608/60573a-2002, and dated May 16,
2002. The map shall be on file and available for public
inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park
Service. Upon conclusion of the exchange, the boundary of the
recreation area shall be revised to reflect the exchange.
* * * * * * *