69–006 

1 Harrison, Scott. ‘‘California Retrospective St. Francis Dam Collapse Left a Trail of Death and 

Destruction.’’ The L.A. Times 19 March 2016, http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-mestfrancis-dam-retrospective-20160319-story.html. 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–210 

SAINT FRANCIS DAM DISASTER NATIONAL MEMORIAL 

ACT 

JULY 11, 2017.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. BISHOP of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, 

submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2156] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2156) to provide for the establishment of a national memorial and national monument to commemorate those killed by the 

collapse of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 1928, 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 H.R. 2156 is to provide for the establishment of 

a national memorial and national monument to commemorate 

those killed by the collapse of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 

1928. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Saint Francis Dam was one of several large infrastructure 

projects constructed in the early 20th century to help control the 

flow of water to southern California. On March 12th, 1928, the 

dam breached, resulting in significant flooding that took more than 

400 lives in Los Angeles County, California.1 This failure is considered one of the worst civil engineering failures in the 20th century 

and resulted in the resignation of William Mulholland as head of 

2 

2 Blitz, Matt. ‘‘On Occasions Like This, I Envy the Dead: The St. Francis Dam Disaster.’’ 

Smithsonian.com 12 March 2015, http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/occasions-i-envydead-st-francis-dam-disaster-180954543/?no-ist. 

the Los Angeles Bureau of Water Works and Water Supply.2 Beyond the loss of life, thousands of residents lost their homes and 

experienced significant property damage due to the flood. Today, 

the site of the dam collapse and the affected areas are often subject 

to theft and vandalism. 

H.R. 2156 recognizes the devastation of the flood and its impact 

on the residents of northern Los Angeles County by establishing a 

national memorial as well as a national monument to preserve the 

affected area for future generations. The bill authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture to establish the memorial via donation in consultation with the Santa Clarita City Council and the public. No 

taxpayer funds are authorized for the construction of the memorial. 

The bill also authorizes the creation of a 440-acre monument 

that will encompass the St. Francis Dam memorial. The boundaries 

of the monument were designated in consultation with interest 

groups in the community. Motorized access will be allowed within 

the monument and grazing will continue to be allowed on any land 

where it is already permitted. An identical bill (H.R. 5244) passed 

the House of Representatives under suspension of the rules by 

voice vote on July 5, 2016. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 2156 was introduced on April 26, 2017, by Congressman 

Stephen Knight (R–CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Federal Lands. On June 22, 2017, the Natural Resources Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was discharged 

by unanimous consent. No amendments were offered, and the bill 

was ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by 

unanimous consent on June 27, 2017. 

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 AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET

ACT

1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act. With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of rule XIII of 

the Rules of the House of Representatives and sections 308(a) and 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has 

received the following estimate for the bill from the Director of the 

Congressional Budget Office: 

3 

JULY 6, 2017. 

Hon. ROB BISHOP, 

Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources, 

House of Representatives, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2156, the Saint Francis 

Dam Disaster National Memorial Act. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Jeff LaFave. 

Sincerely, 

KEITH HALL. 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2156—Saint Francis Dam Disaster National Memorial Act 

H.R. 2156 would establish a national monument on 440 acres of 

land administered by the Forest Service. The bill also would require the agency to submit recommendations to the Congress for a 

memorial to the victims of the Saint Francis Dam failure and to 

complete a management plan for the monument. CBO expects that 

the construction of the memorial or any other structures or improvements within the monument would be funded by donations. 

Based on information provided by the Forest Service regarding 

the amount of staff time required to carry out the activities required under the bill, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would cost less than $130,000 (the estimated cost of one 

year’s salary and benefits for a mid- to senior-level employee of the 

Forest Service in Los Angeles County) over the 2018–2022 period; 

such spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated 

funds. If in accordance with the recommendations provided to the 

Congress from the Forest Service any improvements were made 

within the monument, including constructing a visitor center, the 

cost of managing the monument could exceed $130,000. However, 

CBO expects that any costs associated with those improvements 

would be incurred after 2022. 

Enacting H.R. 2156 could affect direct spending by increasing donations, which are treated as reductions in direct spending, and the 

associated direct spending of those funds to construct a memorial; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates 

that any net effect on direct spending would be negligible. Enacting 

the bill would not affect revenues. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2156 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

H.R. 2156 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 H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. 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 provide for the establishment of a national memorial and national monument to commemorate those killed by the 

collapse of the Saint Francis Dam on March 12, 1928. 

4 

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. This bill does not contain any directed 

rule makings. 

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. 

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