[House Report 109-428]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
109th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 109-428
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COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES REAUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2005
_______
April 25, 2006.--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 S. 1869]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(S. 1869) to reauthorize the Coastal Barrier Resources Act, and
for other purposes, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of S. 1869 is to reauthorize the Coastal
Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act, and for other purposes.
Background and Need for Legislation
Coastal barriers are natural landscape features that
protect the mainland, lagoons, wetlands and salt marshes from
the full force of wind, wave and tidal energy. Major types of
coastal barriers include fringing mangroves, tombolos, barrier
islands, barrier spits and bay barriers. Composed of sand and
other loose sediments, these elongated, narrow land forms are
dynamic ecosystems and prone to frequent disruption by storms.
They are the first line of defense against the strong winds,
huge waves and powerful storm surges that accompany hurricanes.
Coastal barriers provide habitat for a variety of wildlife and
they are an important recreational resource. Despite their
vulnerability, these areas are attractive places to locate
private homes and resorts.
The John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System is made
up of coastal barrier units which are delineated on maps
adopted by Congress. These units consist of undeveloped
sections of coastal barrier islands and the associated aquatic
habitat which lies behind these barriers. The System was
created by the Coastal Barrier Resources Act of 1982 (CBRA) and
was expanded by amendments adopted in the Coastal Barrier
Improvement Act of 1990. CBRA is administered by the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Director of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service. Appropriations for CBRA were last
reauthorized in 2000.
The Coastal Barrier Resources System was initially
comprised of 186 units totaling 666 miles of shoreline and
452,834 acres of undeveloped, unprotected coastal barriers on
the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts. Except for very minor
technical changes to account for natural accretion and erosion,
boundaries cannot be adjusted and units cannot be added or
deleted from the System unless Congress passes a law adopting
revised maps. Today, the entire System including otherwise
protected areas has 856 units and more than 3 million acres of
fastland and associated aquatic habitat.
The Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2000
(Public Law 106-514) directed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service to conduct a digital mapping pilot study to produce
digital maps of up to 75 CBRA areas and to estimate the cost
and feasibility of completing digital maps for the entire
System. The legislation also reauthorized appropriations for
the System at $2 million per fiscal year until September 30,
2005. It authorized private landowners to voluntarily include
property in the System and it required an economic assessment
of the System within one year of enactment. The assessment was
completed in August 2002 and concluded that the System provided
an estimated $1.27 billion in savings to the Treasury by
restricting federal spending for disaster relief and
development assistance for roads, portable water supplies, and
wastewater infrastructure from 1983 to 2010.
Inclusion of property in the System does not prevent
private development of land nor does it prevent actions
necessary to process and issue federal permits necessary for
development. However, it does place significant restrictions on
the availability of any new federal assistance to develop the
property. Of particular importance, after October 1, 1983, no
new federal flood insurance can be issued for properties in the
System. For those homeowners within the System who were issued
flood insurance polices before the deadline, the policies will
remain in force. However, if the property is damaged more than
50 percent of its value, and a claim is placed, the claim will
be paid but the insurance policy cannot be renewed. In
addition, if an insured structure in the System is
substantially expanded or replaced with more intensive
development, insurance coverage is lost.
In addition to the federal flood insurance limitation, CBRA
prohibits most new federal expenditures and financial
assistance, if those expenditures encourage development. This
would include funds for certain types of disaster relief,
community block grants, Federal Home Administration housing
loans, water systems and wastewater treatment grants, flood
control and beach erosion projects, highway construction
projects and other types of direct and indirect federal
financial assistance. The Fish and Wildlife Service's economic
analysis indicates that this policy to prohibit federal
development subsidies has dampened, if not prevented,
development within many but not all units in the System.
This legislation would extend the authorization of
appropriations at their existing levels until September 30,
2010; authorize funds to complete within two years a public
review process and the digital mapping pilot project mandated
by the Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2000;
authorize the Secretary of the Interior to create digital
versions of all of the Coastal Barrier Resources System maps;
and require a report to the Congress describing the progress
made to complete the mapping of each of the remaining units.
Committee Action
S. 1869 was introduced on October 17, 2005, by Senator
James Inhofe (R-OK). It was passed by the Senate by unanimous
consent on December 16, 2005. The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on Fisheries and Oceans. On November 8, 2005, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the House version of this
legislation. On March 29, 2006, the Full Resources Committee
met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries and
Oceans was discharged from further consideration of the bill by
unanimous consent. 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 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, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to reauthorize the Coastal Barrier
Resources Act, and for other purposes.
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:
S. 1869--Coastal Barrier Resources Reauthorization Act of 2005
Summary: S. 1869 would authorize appropriations for the
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) to carry out the coastal
barrier resources program. Assuming appropriation of the
amounts authorized by the bill, CBO estimates that the USFWS
would spend $16 million over the 2006-2010 period. Enacting S.
1869 would not affect direct spending or revenues.
The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: S. 1869 would
authorize the appropriation of $2 million for each of fiscal
years 2006 through 2010 to the USFWS for mapping the coastal
barrier resources system. (Authorizations for the program
expired at the end of fiscal year 2005.) The bill also would
authorize appropriations of $500,000 a year for 2006 and 2007
to complete an existing pilot project on digital mapping and $1
million a year through 2010 to create digital versions of all
maps of the coastal barrier system.
The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1869 is shown in the
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within
budget function 300 (natural resources and environment). For
this estimate, CBO assumes that the entire amounts authorized
by the bill will be appropriated for each fiscal year.
Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for
this program.
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By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
-----------------------------------------------
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION a
Authorization Level............................................. 4 4 3 3 3 0
Estimated Outlays............................................... 1 4 4 4 4 0
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a Some or all of the authorized spending for 2006 could come from funds already provided in the Department of
the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 (Public Law 109-54).
Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1869
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Previous CBO estimate: On November 14, 2005, CBO
transmitted a cost estimate for S. 1869 as ordered reported by
the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works on October
26, 2005. The two versions of the legislation are identical.
Estimated outlays for the House version are lower in 2006 to
reflect our assumption that the legislation will be enacted
later in the fiscal year than assumed in last fall's estimate.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Deborah Reis. Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Marjorie Miller.
Impact on the Private Sector: Craig Cammarata.
Estimate 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 10 OF THE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES ACT
SEC. 10 AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary to
carry out this Act $2,000,000 for each of fiscal years [2001,
2002, 2003, 2004, and 2005] 2006 through 2010.