19–006 

112TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 112–370 

YORK RIVER WILD AND SCENIC RIVER STUDY ACT 

OF 2011 

JANUARY 18, 2012.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State 

of the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2336] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2336) to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the York River and associated tributaries for 

study for potential inclusion in the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System, 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. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 

2011’’. 

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION FOR STUDY. 

Section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(a)) is amended by 

adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(l) YORK RIVER, MAINE.—(A) The York River that flows 11.25 miles from its 

headwaters at York Pond to the mouth of the river at York Harbor, and all associated tributaries. 

‘‘(B) The study conducted under this paragraph shall— 

‘‘(i) determine the effect of the designation on— 

‘‘(I) existing commercial and recreational activities, such as hunting, 

fishing, trapping, recreational shooting, motor boat use, bridge construction; 

‘‘(II) the authorization, construction, operation, maintenance, or improvement of energy production and transmission infrastructure; and 

‘‘(III) the authority of State and local governments to manage those 

activities; and 

‘‘(ii) identify— 


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‘‘(I) all authorities that will authorize or require the Secretary to influence local land use decisions (such as zoning) or place restrictions on 

non-Federal land if designated under this Act; 

‘‘(II) all authorities that the Secretary may use to condemn property; 

and 

‘‘(III) all private property located in the area studied under this paragraph.’’. 

SEC. 3. STUDY AND REPORT. 

Section 5(b) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(b)) is amended by 

adding at the end the following: 

‘‘(l) YORK RIVER, MAINE.—The study of the York River, Maine, named in 

paragraph (ll) of subsection (a) shall be completed by the Secretary of the Interior and the report thereon submitted to Congress not later than 3 years after 

the date on which funds are made available to carry out this paragraph.’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 2336, as ordered reported, is to amend the 

Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate segments of the York 

River and associated tributaries for study for potential inclusion in 

the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

H.R. 2336 authorizes the National Park Service (NPS) to study 

11.25 miles of the York River, in the State of Maine, from its headwaters at York Pond to the mouth of the river at York Harbor plus 

its tributaries. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968 intended to 

put a development freeze on rivers to preserve their ‘‘free-flowing’’ 

values against the influx of man-made dams being constructed at 

the time. Temporary restrictions on actions involving federal participation accompany the designation of a river during the study 

period. 

Although no risks to the York River necessitating federal designation were identified, proponents of the study explained that 

they would benefit from the expertise of NPS and the interaction 

with the community and students. 

Typically, rivers that may be included into the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers program operated by NPS are first studied for their suitability. The river is evaluated on its ‘‘free-flowing’’ condition and 

classified as wild, scenic or recreational, depending on the amount 

of development on and near the river. 

During markup, the Natural Resources Committee adopted an 

amendment offered by Congressman Rob Bishop (R–UT) to add 

several requirements to the study that will be undertaken by the 

NPS. NPS is required to consider the effect of designation on commercial and recreational uses, such as hunting, fishing and boating. Also, the study must look at the impact on construction and 

maintenance of energy production and transmission. Finally, the 

amendment requires that the study identify private property within the study area and identify all authorities that could be utilized 

to condemn land. 

Concerns have been raised that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 

contains several authorities allowing the condemnation of private 

property. As Wild and Scenic Rivers are purported to be locally 

driven projects, the Committee sees no reason why property owners 

should be left in the dark regarding the inclusion of their property 

in a federal designation. For the study process to be authentically 


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derived from the community, the facts and limitations on property 

rights that may result from a designation must be revealed. 

Finally, the study will identify those authorities that compel NPS 

to involve itself in local zoning. While federal designation of the 

York River may be appealing to some, the community should be 

aware that the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act requires local zoning to 

conform to the dictates of the Act. Representatives of the federal 

government would have a role in the development of local zoning 

ordinances. It should be noted that the study not only includes the 

York River, but tributaries as well. The size scope of the resulting 

designation could be well beyond what is currently anticipated in 

the impacted towns. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2336 was introduced on June 23, 2011, by Congresswoman 

Chellie Pingree (D–ME). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on National Parks, Forests and Public Lands. On September 15, 

2011, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On November 

17, 2011, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 

bill. The Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Public 

Lands was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Rob 

Bishop (R–UT) offered an en bloc amendment designated .044 to 

the bill; the amendment was adopted by unanimous consent. The 

bill, as amended, was then 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 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII 

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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: 

H.R. 2336—York River Wild and Scenic River Study Act of 2011 

H.R. 2336 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 

study a segment of the York River in southwest Maine for potential 

addition to the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates that implementing the 

legislation would cost less than $250,000 over the next three years, 

assuming availability of appropriated funds. Enacting H.R. 2336 


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would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-yougo procedures do not apply. 

H.R. 2336 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 CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant Director 

for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of 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. 

Based on information provided by the National Park Service, CBO 

estimates that implementing the legislation would cost less than 

$250,000 over the next three years, assuming availability of appropriated funds. 

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, as ordered reported, is to amend the Wild and Scenic 

Rivers Act to designate segments of the York River and associated 

tributaries for study for potential inclusion in the National Wild 

and Scenic Rivers System. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

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 (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

WILD AND SCENIC RIVERS ACT 

* * * * * * * 

SEC. 5. (a) The following rivers are hereby designated for potential addition to the national wild and scenic rivers system: 

(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(l) YORK RIVER, MAINE.—(A) The York River that flows 11.25 

miles from its headwaters at York Pond to the mouth of the 

river at York Harbor, and all associated tributaries. 

(B) The study conducted under this paragraph shall— 


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(i) determine the effect of the designation on— 

(I) existing commercial and recreational activities, 

such as hunting, fishing, trapping, recreational shooting, motor boat use, bridge construction; 

(II) the authorization, construction, operation, maintenance, or improvement of energy production and 

transmission infrastructure; and 

(III) the authority of State and local governments to 

manage those activities; and 

(ii) identify— 

(I) all authorities that will authorize or require the 

Secretary to influence local land use decisions (such as 

zoning) or place restrictions on non-Federal land if designated under this Act; 

(II) all authorities that the Secretary may use to condemn property; and 

(III) all private property located in the area studied 

under this paragraph. 

* * * * * * * 

(b)(1) * * * 

* * * * * * * 

(l) YORK RIVER, MAINE.—The study of the York River, 

Maine, named in paragraph (ll) of subsection (a) shall be 

completed by the Secretary of the Interior and the report thereon submitted to Congress not later than 3 years after the date 

on which funds are made available to carry out this paragraph. 

* * * * * * * 

Æ 


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