49–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–635 

REPLACEMENT OF JOHN H. CHAFEE COASTAL BARRIER 

RESOURCES SYSTEM MAP FOR GASPARILLA ISLAND 

UNIT, FLORIDA 

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. 1810] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1810) to revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal 

Barrier Resources System Gasparilla Island Unit in Florida, 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. 1810 is to revise the boundaries of John H. 

Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Gasparilla Island Unit in 

Florida. 

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. 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 delineated on maps adopted by Conmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS

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gress. 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 the Coastal Barrier Improvement Act of 1990. It affects properties along the Atlantic 

Ocean, Gulf of Mexico and the Great Lakes. There are no units 

along the Pacific Ocean. 

The 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 unless Congress passes 

a law adopting revised maps. The entire Coastal Barrier Resources 

System, including ‘‘Otherwise Protected Areas’’ has 856 units and 

more than 3 million acres of fastland and associated aquatic habitat. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service of the Department of the 

Interior manages the System. 

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. 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, the policies 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 ‘‘Otherwise Protected Areas’’ (OPAs) comprising 

approximately 1.7 million acres which include 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, 

unlike the System units, OPAs are eligible for other federal financial assistance. When OPAs were included in the System, they 

were delineated with rudimentary mapping tools based upon preexisting 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 continues to uncover 

cases where OPA boundaries do not coincide with the actual legal 

land boundaries. 

H.R. 1810 would affect a 132-acre CBRA Unit in Florida (FL– 

70P) established in 1990 as an OPA and located near Fort Myers. 

The unit was designed to coincide with the boundaries of the 

Gasparilla State Park and no changes have been made since it was 

established. The bill is written to accurately reflect the boundaries 

of the State Park. By so doing, approximately 6 acres of privatelyowned land containing 25 privately owned homes, one residential 

structure owned by Lee County and one restaurant would be removed from the system. This mapping mistake has been confirmed 

by aerial photography, maps and public records reviewed by Lee 

County, Florida, and Florida Park Service officials who have indimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS

3 

cated that this property was never within the boundaries of 

Gasparilla State Park. 

According to the Lee County Property Appraiser, the 25 homes 

were built between 1993 and 1999. While initially the property 

owners were able to obtain federal flood insurance, a number of 

those policies have been cancelled. As a result, these homeowners 

either have had to obtain private insurance or forgo insurance 

which makes it difficult to sell the property. This bill will correct 

an honest mapping mistake and allow affected homeowners to 

maintain Federal flood insurance. By enacting the Fish and Wildlife Service’s map, 1,741 acres would be added to the System including 73 acres of fastland and 1,668 acres of associated aquatic 

habitat. The net effect will be that 1,735 acres will be added to the 

System. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1810 was introduced on April 26, 2013, by Congressman 

Trey Radel (R–FL) (Congressman Curt Clawson (R–FL) has subsequently become the primary sponsor of the bill). 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 on Fisheries, 

Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs held a hearing on the bill. On 

July 16, 2014, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider 

the bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent. The bill was 

then adopted and 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. 1810—A bill to revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System Gasparilla Island Unit in Florida 

H.R. 1810 would update a map of the Coastal Bather Resources 

System (CBRS) near Boca Raton, Florida. Based on information 

from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, CBO estimates that implemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with HEARINGS

4 

menting the legislation would have no significant effect on the federal budget. Because H.R. 1810 could affect direct spending, payas-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 CBRS maps for the Gasparilla Island Unit 

within the system and, on net, would add 1,750 acres of land to the 

CBRS. The modified maps would exclude certain private acreage, 

which would enable owners of about 30 structures to purchase federal flood insurance. CBO estimates that, relative to current law, 

enacting H.R. 1810 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. 1810 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 contacts for this estimate are Jeff LaFave and 

Daniel Hoople. 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. 

CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no 

significant effect on the federal budget. According to CBO, relative 

to current law, enacting H.R. 1810 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. 

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 revise the boundaries of John H. Chafee Coastal 

Barrier Resources System Gasparilla Island Unit in Florida. 

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 

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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 pursuant 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. 

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