49–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–637 

REMOVAL OF PROPERTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA FROM 

JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM 

DECEMBER 1, 2014.—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. 3227] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 3227) to remove from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier 

Resources System certain properties in South Carolina, 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. REMOVAL OF PROPERTIES IN SOUTH CAROLINA FROM JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER RESOURCES SYSTEM. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—The map subtitled ‘‘Huntington Beach Unit SC–03’’ included in 

the sets of maps entitled ‘‘Coastal Barrier Resources System’’ referred to in section 

4(a) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(a)) and relating to the 

Huntington Beach Unit in South Carolina is hereby replaced by another map relating to the same unit entitled ‘‘John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System 

Corrected Huntington Beach Unit SC–03’’ dated September 30, 2014. 

(b) AVAILABILITY.—The Secretary of the Interior shall keep each map revised 

under subsection (a) on file and available for inspection in accordance with section 

4(b) of the Coastal Barrier Resources Act (16 U.S.C. 3503(b)). 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3227 is to remove from the John H. Chafee 

Coastal Barrier Resources System certain properties in South Carolina. 


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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, 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. However, despite their vulnerability, 

these areas are attractive places to locate private homes and resorts. 

The John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) is 

comprised of coastal barrier units delineated on maps adopted by 

Congress. Except for very minor technical changes to account for 

natural accretion and erosion, boundaries cannot be adjusted unless Congress passes a law adopting revised maps. 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 and was 

expanded by the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. The entire Coastal Barrier Resources System, including ‘‘Otherwise Protected Areas’’ (OPAs) has 856 units and more than 3 million acres 

of fastland and associated aquatic habitat. 

Inclusion of property in the CBRS 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. After October 1, 1983, no new 

federal flood insurance can be issued for properties in the System. 

For those homeowners who were issued flood insurance policies before the deadline, they 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. 

There are 271 OPAs comprising approximately 1.7 million acres 

which includes national wildlife refuge lands, national parks and 

seashores, state parks, military bases and conservation lands 

owned by private organizations. While federal flood insurance is 

not available within these areas, OPAs are eligible for other federal 

financial assistance, unlike System units. When OPAs were included in the System, they were delineated with rudimentary mapping tools based upon pre-existing boundary data. As a result of 

technological advancements in geographic information systems, 

databases and digital mapping techniques, OPA boundaries have 

been shown to have embedded inaccuracies. The Fish and Wildlife 

Service (FWS) continues to uncover cases where OPA boundaries 

do not coincide with the actual legal land boundaries. 

This legislation would revise the boundaries of Huntington Beach 

Unit SC–03 within the CBRS in South Carolina. SC–03 was established by the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990 and is currently comprised of 1,847 acres of land in Georgetown County. At 


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the time of designation, at least 16 property lots were fully developed. In fact, development within the subdivision known as Inlet 

Harbor was almost completely built by 1990. This legislation would 

direct the Secretary of the Interior to revise the existing map and 

to remove 21 specific parcels of private property land from the System. This land is comprised of 12 acres of fastland areas. 

During the legislative hearing on this legislation, it became clear 

that there is no dispute that these property owners were mistakenly incorporated within the CBRS. This bill is necessary to correct 

the mapping errors because FWS lacks the statutory authority to 

administratively fix the problem. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3227 was introduced on October 1, 2013, by Congressman 

Tom Rice (R–SC). The bill was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on 

Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular Affairs. On April 8, 2014, 

the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 18, 

2014, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 

bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans and Insular 

Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman John 

Fleming (R–LA) offered an amendment designated .001 to the bill; 

the amendment was adopted by voice vote. No further amendments 

were offered, and the bill, as amended, was then adopted and 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 

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. 3227—A bill to remove from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System certain properties in South Carolina 

HR. 3227 would update a map for a portion of the Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) located in Georgetown County, 

South Carolina. Based on information from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation 

would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Because 


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H.R. 3227 could affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures 

apply. However, we estimate that any net change in direct spending would be negligible over the 2015–2024 period. Enacting the 

bill would not affect revenues. 

The bill would revise the CBRS map for a unit within the system 

and remove 13 acres of land from the CBRS. The modified maps 

would exclude certain privately owned acreage, which would enable 

owners of about 20 structures to purchase federal flood insurance. 

CBO estimates that, relative to current law, enacting H.R. 3227 

could increase premium collections of the National Flood Insurance 

Fund by less than $100,000 annually. Such collections would be offset by new mandatory spending for underwriting and administrative expenses and new flood insurance claims over the 2015–2024 

period. 

H.R. 3227 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, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. Based on information from the U.S. Fish and 

Wildlife Service, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation 

would have no significant effect on the federal budget. H.R. 3227 

could affect direct spending, but any net change would be negligible 

over the 2015–2024 time period. 

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 remove from the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier 

Resources System certain properties in South Carolina. 

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. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published purVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:17 Dec 04, 2014 Jkt 049006 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR637.XXX HR637

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suant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

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. 

Æ 


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