[House Report 106-928]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-928
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PROVIDING FOR ALL RIGHT, TITLE, AND INTEREST IN AND TO CERTAIN PROPERTY
IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, UTAH, TO BE VESTED IN THE UNITED STATES
_______
October 3, 2000.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4721]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4721) to provide for all right, title, and interest in
and to certain property in Washington County, Utah, to be
vested in the United States, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. ACQUISITION OF CERTAIN PROPERTY IN WASHINGTON COUNTY, UTAH.
(a) In General.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law,
effective 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, all
right, title, and interest in and to, and the right to immediate
possession of, the 1,516 acres of real property owned by the
Environmental Land Technology, Ltd. (ELT) within the Red Cliffs Reserve
in Washington County, Utah, and the 34 acres of real property owned by
ELT which is adjacent to the land within the Reserve but is landlocked
as a result of the creation of the Reserve, is hereby vested in the
United States.
(b) Compensation for Property.--Subject to section 309(f) of the
Omnibus Parks and Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-
333), the United States shall pay just compensation to the owner of any
real property taken pursuant to this section, determined as of the date
of the enactment of this Act. An initial payment of $15,000,000 shall
be made to the owner of such real property not later than 30 days after
the date of taking. The full faith and credit of the United States is
hereby pledged to the payment of any judgment entered against the
United States with respect to the taking of such property. Payment
shall be in the amount of--
(1) the appraised value of such real property as agreed to by
the land owner and the United States, plus interest from the
date of the enactment of this Act; or
(2) the valuation of such real property awarded by judgment,
plus interest from the date of the enactment of this Act,
reasonable costs and expenses of holding such property from
February 1990 to the date of final payment, including damages,
if any, and reasonable costs and attorneys fees, as determined
by the court. Payment shall be made from the permanent judgment
appropriation established pursuant to section 1304 of title 31,
United States Code, or from another appropriate Federal
Government fund.
Interest under this subsection shall be compounded in the same manner
as provided for in section 1(b)(2)(B) of the Act of April 17, 1954,
(Chapter 153; 16 U.S.C. 429b(b)(2)(B)) except that the reference in
that provision to ``the date of the enactment of the Manassas National
Battlefield Park Amendments of 1988'' shall be deemed to be a reference
to the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Determination by Court in Lieu of Negotiated Settlement.--In the
absence of a negotiated settlement, or an action by the owner, the
Secretary of the Interior shall initiate within 90 days after the date
of the enactment of this section a proceeding in the United States
Federal District Court for the District of Utah, seeking a
determination, subject to section 309(f) of the Omnibus Parks and
Public Lands Management Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-333), of the value
of the real property, reasonable costs and expenses of holding such
property from February 1990 to the date of final payment, including
damages, if any, and reasonable costs and attorneys fees.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4721 is to provide for all right,
title, and interest in and to certain property in Washington
County, Utah, to be vested in the United States.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
H.R. 4721 would provide that all right, title, and interest
in a piece of property, located in Washington County, Utah, be
transferred to the federal government. In 1983, Environmental
Land Technology, Ltd. (ELT) acquired from the State of Utah
2,440 acres of school trust lands located just north of St.
George, Utah, for residential and recreational development. ELT
began to develop the property by purchasing water rights, and
conducting a series of appraisals, cost estimates, surveys,
etc. However, in 1990, the desert tortoise was listed as an
endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, and, in
1996, following the issuance of the Habitat Conservation Plan
and Implementation Agreement, the Bureau of Land Management
(BLM) of the Department of the Interior assumed an obligation
to acquire from willing sellers approximately 12,600 acres of
non-federal land, including the ELT lands, to create the Red
Cliffs Reserve for the protection of the desert tortoise. Since
that time, the BLM has been able to acquire, through exchanges
or direct purchases, nearly all of the privately-owned property
in the area except for the 1,516 acres owned by ELT. From the
outset, the Department of the Interior has characterized the
acquisition of the ELT lands as a high priority. However, BLM
no longer has sufficient comparable lands within the State of
Utah to conduct an intrastate land exchange with ELT and the
resulting delay in purchasing these lands has imposed an
extreme financial hardship on the owner. This legislative
taking would include the 1,516 acres located within the Reserve
and 34 acres adjacent to the Reserve, which is land-locked
because of the creation of the Reserve. All of this property is
owned by ELT. H.R. 4721 would authorize the United States to
acquire the title to this property, thereby eliminating the
last major private inholding within the Red Cliffs Reserve.
Under H.R. 4721, thirty days after enactment, an initial
payment of $15 million would be given to the land owners for
compensation of the land, and title would be transferred to the
federal government. The remaining balance owed by the
government would be paid in cash after a determination of that
amount either through negotiations between the land owners and
the federal government or by the Federal District Court of Utah
if the parties cannot reach an agreement within 90 days. If the
fair market value of the lands is determined by the Court, the
Court may also consider the cost and expenses of holding the
land and damages, if any. Payment shall be made from the
permanent judgment appropriation fund (31 U.S. Code 1304) or
other appropriate federal government funds.
During consideration of the measure, an amendment was
adopted which addressed the issues raised by the Department of
the Interior in its testimony before the Subcommittee on
National Parks and Public Lands.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4721 was introduced by Congressman James Hansen (R-UT)
on June 22, 2000. The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks and Public Lands. On July 13, 2000, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 20, 2000,
the full Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The
Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands was discharged
from further consideration of the bill by unanimous consent.
Congressman Hansen offered an amendment in the nature of a
substitute which was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as
amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by voice vote.
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 and Article IV section 3 of the
Constitution of the United States grant 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. A cost estimate was requested
but not received at the time this report is filed. The
Committee believes that the costs involved if this bill is
enacted will have an insignificant effect on the federal
budget.
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 revenues or tax
expenditures. Enactment of this bill would require at a minimum
the transfer of funds from the Judgment Fund established under
31 U.S.C. 1304, or from another appropriate government fund.
3. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives, the Committee has received no report of
oversight findings and recommendations from the Committee on
Government Reform on this bill.
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 requested but not received a cost
estimate for this bill from the Director of the Congressional
Budget Office.
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 State, local, or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 4721 is a highly unusual measure which raises a number
of serious issues. The bill is a legislative taking that
provide that upon enactment, all right, title, and interest in
1550 acres of private lands will vest in the United States.
This is an extraordinary procedure. Only a few times in the
past quarter century has a legislative taking been used by the
Congress. Further, the language of the legislation is
substantially different from that used in other cases.
There is considerable controversy associated with the land
identified by the legislation. Several news articles in Utah
have called into question actions by the landowner with regards
to this property. Title has been clouded to this land and it is
unclear what interests the landowner has and what interests
other parties have to the property in question.
As the Administration noted in its testimony opposing H.R.
4721, the bill provides preferential treatment to one landowner
and provides compensation above and beyond that received by
other landowners. Further, the bill forces the Federal
Government to acquire an adjacent 34-acre parcel that it has
neither sought to acquire nor does it need.
Bill supporters have accused the Bureau of Land Management
of foot-dragging on this acquisition. However, these same
supporters failed to get Congressional appropriations earmarked
for this acquisition. Despite this BLM has negotiated with the
landowner. These negotiations have been hampered by the
landowner's insistence on using appraisal assumptions that are
inconsistent with Federal standards and that were not used in
other transactions, including those done previously with the
landowner.
Before we take the extraordinary step of a legislative
taking, we should know who benefits and how. Further if we take
such a step it should be consistent with what has been done in
the past and not create new legal precedents or provide special
benefits.
George Miller.