[Senate Report 109-166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 267
109th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 109-166
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RIO ARRIBA COUNTY LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
October 27, 2005.--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 S. 213]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 213) to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey certain Federal land to Rio Arriba County,
New Mexico, having considered the same, reports favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommends that the bill, as
amended, do pass.
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Rio Arriba County Land Conveyance
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) County.--The term ``County'' means the County of Rio
Arriba, New Mexico.
(2) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Alcalde
Proposed Land Transfer'' and dated September 23, 2004.
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
SEC. 3. CONVEYANCE OF LAND TO RIO ARRIBA COUNTY, NEW MEXICO.
(a) In General.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary
shall convey to the County, without consideration, all right, title,
and interest of the United States in and to the land (including any
improvements to the land) described in subsection (b).
(b) Description of Land.--The land referred to in subsection (a)
consists of approximately 171 acres of land located on the Sebastian
Martin Land Grant in the vicinity of Alcalde, Rio Arriba County, New
Mexico, as depicted on the map.
(c) Reversion.--If any portion of the land conveyed under
subsection (a) ceases to be used for public purposes the land shall, at
the option of the Secretary, revert to the United States.
(d) Conditions on Sales.--If the County sells any portion of the
land conveyed to the County under subsection (a)--
(1) the amount of consideration for the sale shall reflect
fair market value, as determined by an appraisal; and
(2) the County shall pay to the Secretary an amount equal to
the gross proceeds of the sale, for use by the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management in the State of New Mexico, without
further appropriation.
(e) Costs.--The County shall pay any costs associated with the
conveyance of land under subsection (a).
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of S. 213 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey approximately 171 acres of Federal land to
Rio Arriba County, New Mexico.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
S. 213 provides for the conveyance of approximately 171
acres of land located on the Sebastian Martin Land Grant in the
vicinity of Alcalde, New Mexico to Rio Arriba County. The land
is needed for county facilities, a cemetery for a local parish,
and a new public school. Rio Arriba County lack sufficient land
to meet the population's growing needs. The county has worked
with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to find a parcel of
land that each agrees will best serve the public if it is
transferred to county ownership. BLM was unable to handle this
transfer administratively due to the particular history of how
this parcel came into Federal ownership. S. 213 directs the
Secretary of the Interior to convey the parcel without
consideration, to the county.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
S. 213 was introduced by Senators Bingaman and Domenici on
January 31, 2005. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests
held a hearing on S. 213 on March 8, 2005. At the business
meeting on September 28, 2005, the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources ordered S. 213, favorably reported with an
amendment in the nature of a substitute.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on September 28, 2005, by a unanimous vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 213, if
amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
During the consideration of S. 213, the Committee adopted
an amendment in the nature of a substitute that simplifies the
intended conveyance and corrects the acreage to be conveyed.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Sections 1 and 2 provide the short title and definitions
for the bill.
Section 3 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey
approximately 171 acres to Rio Arriba County, including any
improvements to the land. The section provides a reversionary
clause where, at the discretion of the Secretary, the land may
be returned to Federal ownership if it is used for other than a
public purpose. The section also requires the county to pay any
costs associated with the conveyance, forbids the sale of any
land for less than fair market value and directs proceeds of
any such sale be remitted to the Bureau of Land Management.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 213--Rio Arriba County Land Conveyance Act
S. 213 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey, for no consideration, 171 acres of federal land in New
Mexico to the county of Rio Arriba. As a condition of the
proposed conveyance, the bill would require the county to use
that land for public purposes.
CBO estimates that S. 213 would have no significant impact
on the federal budget. According to the Bureau of Land
Management, the land to be conveyed currently generates no
significant receipts and is not expected to do so over the next
10 years. Therefore, we estimate that the bill would not
significantly affect offsetting receipts (a credit against
direct spending). Because the bill specifies that the county
would pay any costs associated with the conveyance, we also
estimate that the agency's administrative costs to complete the
proposed transaction, which would be subject to appropriation,
would be negligible. Enacting S. 213 would not affect revenues.
S. 213 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 land conveyance authorized by this bill would benefit Rio
Arriba county, and they would incur any associated costs
voluntarily.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
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 S. 213. 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 S. 213, as ordered reported.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Views of the Administration on S. 213 were included in
testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management at the
Subcommittee hearing as follows:
Statement of Christopher Kearny, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy
and International Affairs, Department of the Interior
Thank you for the opportunity to present testimony on S.
213, the Rio Arriba County Land Conveyance Act. S. 213 would
convey approximately 150.86 acres of land managed by the Bureau
of Land Management (BLM) in Rio Arriba County (County), New
Mexico, to the County for the purposes of providing County
facilities, a new public school, and a cemetery for a local
parish on the lands. The Department supports the conveyance. We
recommend some technical clarifications to the bill, and would
like the opportunity to work with the sponsors and the
Subcommittee to develop language to address these
clarifications.
The lands proposed for conveyance in S. 213 are located to
the north of Santa Fe, in the vicinity of Alcalde in north-
central New Mexico. The growing population in Rio Arriba County
has led to an increasing demand for municipal services.
However, Rio Arriba County has a limited land base, and has
been working with the BLM in an effort to acquire Federal land
for use in the County's efforts to provide expanded services.
Under the Recreation and Public Purposes (R&PP) Act, the
BLM can administratively transfer Federal lands to local
governments at a reduced price, for various public purposes,
including schools and municipal facilities. If the lands to be
conveyed under S. 213 were part of the public domain, the BLM
would have been able to transfer the lands under R&PP Act
without the need for authorizing legislation. However, these
lands are located on the Sebastian Martin Land Grant and were
acquired by the Federal government under the Bankhead-Jones
Act. The R&PP Act does not apply to acquired lands. Section
3(c) of S. 213 resolves this issue by directing that the land
conveyed under the legislation be treated as public land for
purposes of the R&PP Act.
Under the R&PP Act, local governments may purchase Federal
lands at reduced prices. The R&PP Act authorizes a schedule of
reduced prices established by the Secretary, based upon the
fair market value of the property, with a reduction based on
the proposed use. For most public purposes, a local government
may purchase Federal lands under the R&PP Act for $10 per acre.
The special pricing applies to land which will be under the
control of the local government, used for government purposes,
and serve the general public. Examples include land on which
facilities will be constructed for education and public health,
fire and law enforcement, administrative services, social
services, storage and maintenance, and public works. We would
like the opportunity to work with the Subcommittee to clarify
exactly which lands among the 150.86 acres are proposed for
which specific uses and to develop a more precise map. Once we
have that information, the Secretary would be able to apply the
provisions of the R&PP Act to determine the appropriate price
to be paid by the County.
We believe some clarifications to the legislation would be
helpful. The bill should clarify that valid existing rights are
protected. In addition, the bill should resolve the
inconsistency between Section 3(a), which directs the Secretary
to convey ``all right, title, and interest'' in the lands, and
the R&PP Act, under which the mineral estate is reserved to the
United States. In addition, conveyances under the R&PP Act
require analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA). Also, because the lands to be conveyed under S. 213
were identified for retention under the BLM's Taos Resource
Management Plan (RMP), the RMP will need to be amended.
Completion of the requisite NEPA analysis and RMP amendment may
not be possible within the one-year time frame prescribed for
the land transfer under bill.
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify. We look
forward to working with the Subcommittee to help achieve a
positive result. I will be happy to answer any questions.
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 bill S. 213, as ordered
reported.