[House Report 108-294]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 108-294
======================================================================
NEVADA NATIONAL FOREST LAND DISPOSAL ACT OF 2003
_______
October 2, 2003.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 1092]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 1092) to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to sell
certain parcels of Federal land in Carson City and Douglas
County, Nevada, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with amendments and recommend that the bill as amended
do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Nevada National Forest Land Disposal
Act of 2003''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The United States owns, and the Forest Service
administers, land in small and large parcels in Carson City and
Douglas County, Nevada.
(2) Much of this Federal land is interspersed with or
adjacent to private land, which renders the Federal land
difficult, inefficient, and expensive for the Forest Service to
manage and more appropriate for disposal.
(3) In order to promote responsible and orderly development
in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada, appropriate parcels
of the Federal land should be sold by the Federal Government
based on recommendations made by units of local government and
the public.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide for the sale of
certain parcels of Federal land in Carson City and Douglas County,
Nevada.
SEC. 3. DISPOSAL OF NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM LANDS, CARSON CITY AND
DOUGLAS COUNTY, NEVADA.
(a) Disposal Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture (in this section
referred to as the ``Secretary'') shall sell any right, title, or
interest of the United States in and to the following parcels of
National Forest System lands in Carson City or Douglas County, Nevada:
(1) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Carson Parcel'',
consisting of approximately 3 acres, and more particularly
described as being a portion of the southeast quarter, section
31, township 15 north, range 20 east, Mount Diablo Base and
Meridian.
(2) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Jacks Valley/
Highway 395 Parcel'', consisting of approximately 28 acres, and
more particularly described as being a portion of the southeast
quarter, section 6, township 14 north, range 20 east, Mount
Diablo Base and Meridian.
(3) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Indian Hills
Parcel'', consisting of approximately 75 acres, and more
particularly described as being a portion of the southwest
quarter, section 18, township 14 north, range 20 east, Mount
Diablo Base and Meridian.
(4) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Mountain House
Area Parcel'', consisting of approximately 40 acres, and more
particularly described as being a portion of the northwest
quarter northeast quarter, section 12, township 10 north, range
21 east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian.
(5) The parcel of land referred to as the ``Holbrook Junction
Area Parcel'', consisting of approximately 80 acres, and more
particularly described as being a portion of the west half of
the southwest quarter, section 7, township 10 north, range 22
east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian.
(6) The two parcels of land referred to as the ``Topaz Lake
Parcels'', consisting of approximately 5 acres (approximately
2.5 acres per parcel), and more particularly described as being
portions of the northwest quarter, section 29, township 10
north, range 22 east, Mount Diablo Base and Meridian.
(b) Modification of Descriptions.--The Secretary may--
(1) correct typographical or clerical errors in the
descriptions of land specified in subsection (a); and
(2) for the purposes of soliciting offers for the sale of
such land, modify the descriptions based on--
(A) a survey; or
(B) a determination by the Secretary that the
modification is in the best interest of the public.
(c) Selection and Sale.--
(1) Coordination.--The Secretary shall coordinate the sale of
land under this section with the unit of local government in
which the land is located.
(2) Existing rights.--The sale of land under this section
shall be subject to all valid existing rights, such as rights-
of-way, in effect as of the date of the sale.
(3) Zoning laws.--The sale of land under this section shall
be in accordance with local land use planning and zoning laws
and regulations.
(4) Solicitations of offers.--The Secretary shall solicit
offers for the sale of land under this section, subject to any
terms or conditions that the Secretary may prescribe. The
Secretary may reject any offer made under this section if the
Secretary determines that the offer is not adequate or not in
the public interest.
(5) Method of sale.--The Secretary may sell the land
described in subsection (a) at public auction.
(d) Disposition of Proceeds.--
(1) Payments and deposits.--Of the gross proceeds from any
sale of land under this section, the Secretary shall--
(A) pay five percent to the State of Nevada for use
for the general education program of the State;
(B) pay five percent to the Carson Water
Subconservancy District in the State;
(C) deposit 25 percent in the fund established under
Public Law 90-171 (commonly known as the ``Sisk Act'';
16 U.S.C. 484a); and
(D) retain and use, without further appropriation,
the remaining funds for the purpose of expanding the
Minden Interagency Dispatch Center in Minden, Nevada,
as provided in paragraph (3).
(2) Use of sisk act funds.--The amounts deposited under
paragraph (1)(C) shall be available to the Secretary until
expended, without further appropriation, for the following
purposes:
(A) Reimbursement of costs incurred by the local
offices of the Forest Service in carrying out land
sales under this section, except that the total amount
of reimbursement may not exceed 10 percent of the total
proceeds of the lands sales.
(B) The development and maintenance of parks, trails,
and natural areas in Carson City, Douglas County, or
Washoe County, Nevada, in accordance with a cooperative
agreement entered into with the unit of local
government in which the park, trail, or natural area is
located.
(3) Minden interagency dispatch center.--The Minden
Interagency Dispatch Center is located on land made available
by the State of Nevada in Minden, Nevada, and will serve as a
joint facility for the Forest Service and the Nevada Division
of Forestry for the purpose of fighting wildland fires. The
expansion of the center shall include living quarters and
office space for the Blackmountain Hotshot Crew, a guard
station for housing engines and patrol vehicles, an air traffic
control tower, a training facility, and a warehouse.
(4) Limitation.--None of the amounts made available to the
Carson Water Subconservancy District under paragraph (1)(B)
shall be used to pay the costs of litigation.
(e) Relation to Other Property Management Laws.--The land described
in subsection (a) shall not be subject to chapter 5 of title 40, United
States Code, as codified by Public Law 107-217 (116 Stat. 1062).
(f) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all Federal land
described in subsection (a) is withdrawn from location, entry, and
patent under the public land laws, mining laws, and mineral leasing
laws, including geothermal leasing laws.
(g) Revocation of Public Land Orders.--
(1) In general.--To facilitate the sale of parcels of land
described in subsection (a), the Secretary shall revoke any
public land orders in existence on the date of the enactment of
this Act that withdraw the parcels from all forms of
appropriation under the public land laws, to the extent that
the orders apply to land described in such subsection (a).
(2) Effective date.--A revocation under paragraph (1) shall
be effective on the date on which the instrument conveying the
parcels of land subject to the public land order is executed.
(h) Report.-- The Secretary shall submit to the Committee on
Agriculture and the Committee on Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and
Forestry of the Senate an annual report on all land sales made under
this section.
Amend the title so as to read:
A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to sell
certain parcels of Federal land in Carson City and Douglas
County, Nevada.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 1092, as ordered reported, is to direct
the Secretary of Agriculture to seel certain parcels of federal
land in Carson City and Douglas County, Nevada.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
There are currently six parcels of Humboldt-Toiyabe
National Forest land in Douglas County and Carson City in
Nevada which have been identified for future community
development. The parcels comprise approximately 231 acres. The
County, City and the U.S. Forest Service agree that these
parcels are isolated, difficult and expensive to manage, and
have lost their national forest character. Furthermore, most of
the identified parcels border private land and are in close
proximity to highways and/or other developments.
H.R. 1092 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to sell
these parcels to the County and City. The bill requires
percentages of the gross proceeds from the sales to be
earmarked for: (1) the State of Nevada general education
program (5%); (2) the Carson Water Subconservancy in Nevada
(5%); (3) the fund established under the Sisk Act to be used
for land sale costs and for the development and maintenance of
parks, trails and natural areas in specified Nevada counties
(25%); and (4) the Minden Interagency Dispatch Center, a joint
U.S. Forest Service-Nevada Division of Forestry facility used
for fighting wildland fires (65%).
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 1092 was introduced on March 5, 2003, by Congressman
Jim Gibbons (R-NV). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Forests and Forest Health. On September 24, 2003, the Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged from further consideration by unanimous consent. Mr.
Gibbons offered an amendment in the nature of a substitute
making minimal technical and substantive changes; this
amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The bill, as
amended, was then 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 of the Constitution of the United
States grants 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, credit
authority, or an increase or decrease in expenditures.
According to the Congressional Budget Office, enactment of this
bill would increase offsetting receipts and direct spending but
``estimates that the net impact would be less than $500,000 in
any year.''
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, September 29, 2003.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
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. 1092, the Nevada
National Forest Land Disposal Act of 2003.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan
Carroll and Deborah Reis.
Sincerely,
Douglas Holtz-Eakin,
Director.
Enclosure.
H.R. 1092--Nevada National Forest Land Disposal Act of 2003
CBO estimates that H.R. 1092 would not significantly affect
the federal budget. Enacting the bill would increase offsetting
receipts and direct spending but we estimate that the net
impact would be less than $500,000 in any year. H.R. 1092 would
not affect revenues.
H.R. 1092 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to sell
231 acres of National Forest System land in Nevada. Under the
bill, the state of Utah and a local water district would each
receive 5 percent of the gross proceeds from such sales. The
balance of proceeds would be available to the Secretary,
without further appropriation, to administrate the proposed
sales, develop and maintain certain parks, trails, and natural
areas in Nevada, and expand a facility to support federal and
state wildland firefighting programs.
Based on information from the Forest Service about the
value of the lands involved, CBO estimates that selling them
would generate offsetting receipts (a credit against direct
spending) totaling about $1 million over the 2004-2005 period.
We also estimate that the agency would spend those amounts over
the same period, resulting in a negligible change in net direct
spending in each of those years.
H.R. 1092 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Enacting this legislation would benefit the state of Utah and a
local water district in that state because each would receive a
share of the proceeds from the land sales.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll
and Deborah Reis. This 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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.