79–006

106TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 106–923

INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND MUSEUM, DIAMOND VALLEY

LAKE, HEMET, CALIFORNIA

OCTOBER 2, 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

REPORT

together with

ADDITIONAL VIEWS

[To accompany H.R. 4187]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 4187) to assist in the establishment of an interpretive center

and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation of the paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop a trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles,

having considered the same, report favorably thereon without

amendment and recommend that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 4187 is to assist in the establishment of an

interpretive center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation of the paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to

develop a trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Diamond Valley Lake, California, part of the Eastside Reservoir

Project, is the result of a joint effort by State and local authorities

to address possible water shortage problems in Southern California. The man-made lake is located in the fast-growing area of

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the Domenigoni/Diamond Valleys in Riverside County, California.

Dam construction on the Diamond Valley Lake project began in

September of 1995, and was completed in December of 1999. The

construction of the reservoir’s West Dam, East Dam, and Saddle

Dam was the largest earthen work project in the history of the

United States, and involved more than 110 million cubic yards of

embankment construction. Filling of the reservoir began in May

2000, culminating nearly 12 years of planning, designing, engineering, and construction. More than $2 billion of non-federal funds

have been used to develop the 4.5 mile-long Diamond Valley Lake.

The surrounding area is one of the fastest growing population centers in the State of California with no Bureau of Recreation or National Park Service facilities.

H.R. 4187 will help provide recreational and educational opportunities to the region by assisting in the funding of the design, construction, furnishing, and operation of an interpretive center and

museum. The center and museum will be known as the Western

Center for Archaeology and will house an assortment of archaeological and paleontological remains which were excavated during

the construction of the reservoir. More than 300 prehistoric sites

were identified during reservoir preparations and are considered

equal or more significant than those at the La Brea tar pits in Los

Angeles. One of these sites has been tested and found to be over

9,000 years old. The Western Center would also be available to provide storage and state-of-the-art curation services for other valuable artifacts that many federal agencies have been unable to properly care for in recent years. The federal contribution to the Center

will be $9.5 million out of a project total cost of $40 million.

This bill also provides funding to share in the cost of the design,

construction, and maintenance of a trails system around Diamond

Valley Lake and the surrounding area. The trails will provide nonmotorized recreation for visitors to the area. The federal contribution to the trails system will be $4.5 million out of a total project

cost of $10.9 million. H.R. 4187 also contains a matching requirement that all non-federal parties are to secure funds in amount

that is at least equal to those provided by the federal government.

Total authorized appropriated amounts are not to exceed $14 million.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 4187 was introduced on April 5, 2000, by Congressman Ken

Calvert (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on National Parks and Public Lands. On June 27, 2000, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 20, 2000, the

Full 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. 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 ReVerDate 11-MAY-2000 01:53 Oct 03, 2000 Jkt 079006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR923.XXX pfrm08 PsN: HR923
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sources’ 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. 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 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 28, 2000.

Hon. DON YOUNG,

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. 4187, a bill to assist in

the establishment of an interpretive center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in southern California to ensure

the protection and interpretation of the paleontology discoveries

made at the lake and to develop a trail system for the lake for use

by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles.

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased

to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan Carroll (for federal costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and local costs).

Sincerely,

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).

Enclosure.

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H.R. 4187—A bill to assist in the establishment of an interpretive

center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake

in southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation of the paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop a trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles

CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4187 would cost $14 million over the 2001–2005 period, assuming appropriation of the authorized amounts. The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. H.R.

4187 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as

defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

H.R. 4187 would authorize the appropriation of up to $14 million

for the federal government’s share of the costs of establishing and

operating an interpretive center, museum, and trail system on nonfederal lands near Diamond Valley Lake, California. Under the bill,

any federal funds provided for the projects must be matched with

funds from nonfederal sources, which may include the state of California and local governments in the state. Such spending would be

voluntary on the part of those governments. The bill would have

no other significant impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal

governments.

According to the Bureau of Land Management, federal assistance

provided under H.R. 4187 would take the form of grants to a local

museum foundation and a local water district in the amounts estimated to be necessary for the projects each year. Based on information from the water district, CBO estimates that outlays for those

grants would total about $1 million in 2002, $3 million in 2003, $5

million in 2004, and $5 million in 2005, assuming appropriation of

the necessary amounts.

On September 28, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S.

2977, similar legislation ordered reported by the Senate Committee

on Energy and Natural Resources on September 20, 2000. The two

bills are very similar, and our cost estimates are the same.

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll (for

federal costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and local costs).

This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, 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.

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ADDITIONAL VIEWS

H.R. 4187 authorizes the federal government to pay for up to one

quarter of the costs for a $40 million visitor’s facility to be constructed as part of a vast recreational complex being developed

around a new locally owned water project in California. The complex is reported to include golf courses, restaurants, and concert

areas centered around this new reservoir.

There is no federal connection to this project. None of the facilities, nor any of the land, are federally owned or operated. We are

told that during construction, important archeological artifacts

were discovered and therefore the federal government should pay

for a visitor’s center. However, if these artifacts are truly important, funding for their preservation is available through existing

grant programs and earmarked funding for a visitor’s center is

therefore unnecessary.

It has also been argued that, because the local water district was

required to set aside a nature preserve as a species mitigation

measure, federal funds should be used for a visitor’s center. The

set-aside was required by law, and does not entitle this project to

a taxpayer-funded visitor’s center.

In our view, Congress should allocate federal resources to address multi-billion dollar maintenance and construction backlogs on

federal lands. Non-federal projects such as this one should receive

the bulk of their funding from the states or localities which own

and operate them, with any federal funds coming through existing,

discretionary grant programs.

GEORGE MILLER. OWEN PICKETT. CAL DOOLEY.

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