49–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 113–708 

LOWER MISSISSIPPI RIVER AREA STUDY ACT 

DECEMBER 22, 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 S. 311] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (S. 311) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites in the Lower Mississippi 

River Area in the State of Louisiana as a unit of the National Park 

System, and for other purposes, having considered the same, report 

favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill 

do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of S. 311 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior 

to study the suitability and feasibility of designating sites in the 

Lower Mississippi River area in the State of Louisiana as a unit 

of the National Park System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Lower Mississippi River area of Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana, has been home to ten different fortifications, including Fort 

St. Philip and Fort Jackson. Fort St. Philip was built by the French 

in 1746 and rebuilt by the Spanish in 1791. President Andrew 

Jackson repaired the fort in anticipation of a British attack during 

the War of 1812. Fort Jackson, named after Andrew Jackson, was 

completed in 1832 to provide further protection for New Orleans. 

Fort St. Philip and Fort Jackson were heavily fortified during the 

Civil War. The Confederates felt that the presence of these two 

forts made passage up the Mississippi River impossible. Union 

leadership determined that the forts were not impenetrable and 

that opening the river to Union navigation was necessary for the 


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war effort. Eight days of heavy bombardment led to the bloodless 

surrender of both forts, giving the North control of the river. 

Fort St. Philip was not regularly garrisoned after 1871 and was 

later sold at public auction and remains in private ownership. Fort 

Jackson was badly damaged by the Civil War bombardment. It was 

repaired and used as a prison, then later a minor training base 

during the Spanish-American War and World War I, and then sold 

as surplus. The buyers donated the 82-acre site to the Parish of 

Plaquemines where it was converted into a historical park and 

recreation area. 

The Lower Mississippi region is home to the longest continuous 

river road and levee system in the United States. The land in 

Plaquemines Parish was created about 700 years ago when a natural levee eroded and the river changed course. In this area, there 

are also two National Wildlife Refuges, Delta and Breton, which together encompass nearly 56,000 acres. 

S. 311 authorizes the National Park Service to evaluate the suitability and feasibility of designating Fort St. Philip, Fort Jackson 

and the Head of Passes as unit of the National Park System. To 

better calculate the level of local public support, S. 311 requires the 

Secretary to use only non-Federal funds for the cost of conducting 

the study. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

S. 311 was introduced on February 13, 2013, by Senator Mary 

Landrieu (D–LA). On July 9, 2014, the bill passed the Senate by 

unanimous consent with amendments. The bill was then referred 

to the Committee on Natural Resources, and within the Committee 

to the Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On July 29, 2014, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the 

bill. On July 30, 2014, the Natural Resources Committee met to 

consider S. 311. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent. No 

amendments were offered and the bill was 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 ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 06:03 Jan 09, 2015 Jkt 049006 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR708.XXX HR708

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mittee has received the following cost estimate for this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

S. 311—Lower Mississippi River Area Study Act 

S. 311 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a 

study to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating 

specified sites along the Lower Mississippi River in the state of 

Lousiana as a unit of the National Park System. Based on information provided by the National Park Service and assuming the availability of appropriated funds, CBO estimates that carrying out the 

proposed study would cost about $400,000 over the next three 

years. Enacting S. 311 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

S. 311 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. 

On March 25, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 311 

as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on March 14, 2013. The two versions of the legislation are similar, and the CBO cost estimates are the same. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von Gnechten. 

The estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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 carrying out the proposed study would cost 

about $400,000 over the next three years, although the bill requires 

that this amount be first donated to the United States or the costs 

are borne by the state, local government or other non-federal entity. 

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 direct the Secretary of the Interior to study the 

suitability and feasibility of designating sites in the Lower Mississippi River Area in the State of Louisiana as a unit of the National Park 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. 

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. 


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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 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. 

Æ 


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