39–010 

Calendar No. 62 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 109–43 

BEAVER COUNTY, UTAH LAND CONVEYANCE ACT 

MARCH 30, 2005.—Ordered to be printed 

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of March 17, 2005 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 52] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 52) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to 

convey a parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah, having 

considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 52 is to convey approximately 200 acres to 

Beaver County, Utah, for public recreation purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

In 1961, Beaver County, Utah obtained a lease for 207 acres of 

land from the Bureau of Land Management to develop a recreational site under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. In 

1963, the lease was transferred to the State of Utah, which developed and managed the site as the Minersville Reservoir State Park. 

To reduce costs, the State transferred control back to Beaver County in 2002. The County wants to sell some of the property in order 

to generate revenue to maintain the park. S. 52 would convey the 

site to Beaver County and provide authority to sell some of the 

land to pay for park maintenance. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 52 was introduced by Senator Hatch on January 24, 2005. At 

the business meeting on February 16, 2005, the Committee on EnVerDate Aug 04 2004 15:04 Mar 31, 2005 Jkt 039010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR043.XXX SR043
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ergy and Natural Resources ordered S. 52 favorably reported. A 

similar bill (S. 2285) was introduced by Senators Hatch and Bennett in the 108th Congress. The Subcommittee on Public Lands 

and Forests held a hearing on the bill on May 5, 2004 (S. Hrg. 108– 

321). The Committee ordered the bill favorably reported with an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute on July 14, 2004 (S. Rept. 

108–324). S. 2285 passed the Senate by unanimous consent, as 

amended, on September 15, 2004. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in an open 

business session on February 16, 2005, by a voice vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 52. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey approximately 200 acres to Beaver County, Utah. 

Subsection (b) authorizes Beaver County to sell a portion of the 

conveyed lands if the proceeds are used for maintenance of the 

park. Failure to comply with this condition would require the proceeds be paid to the United States. The subsection also provides 

that the Secretary may require the remaining lands to revert back 

to the United States. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

S. 52—A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey a parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah 

CBO estimates that S. 52 would not significantly affect the federal budget. S. 52 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. Enacting this legislation would benefit Beaver County. 

S. 52 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to Beaver County, Utah, for no consideration, approximately 200 acres of 

federal land in that county. The county currently manages that 

land as a park under a lease from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). According to BLM, the land currently generates no 

significant receipts and is not expected to do so over the next 10 

years. Therefore, CBO estimates that conveying it would not significantly affect offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending). Enacting the bill would not affect revenues. Based on information from BLM, we also estimate that the agency’s costs to complete the proposed conveyance would be minimal; any such costs 

would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll and 

Deborah Reis. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 

Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

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of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 52. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 52, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 2285 in the 108th Congress on May 5, 2004, as follows: 

STATEMENT OF BOB ANDERSON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIREC- TOR, MINERALS, REALTY AND RESOURCE PROTECTION, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

S. 2885

S. 2285 proposes to convey approximately 200 acres surrounding the Minersville Reservoir to Beaver County, 

Utah. The Administration supports the conveyance, but 

would like to recommend a few modifications to the legislation. 

In 1963, the BLM first granted a patent to Beaver County, Utah, for the lands that are now part of Minersville 

State Park pursuant to the Recreation & Public Purposes 

Act (R&PP) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). In 1964, title was 

transferred to the State of Utah Division of Parks and 

Recreation. Over the years the State made substantial investments in the park facilities including campgrounds, 

restrooms, and an entrance station. In 2002, the State of 

Utah moved to transfer title to Beaver County as part of 

cost cutting effort.s However, because the State did not 

have authority under the R&PP Act to transfer title, such 

an action was not possible. Beaver County has indicated 

that it will not accept a transfer of the lands because of 

the restrictions associated with the R&PP Act. Specifically, 

the reversionary clause prevents the re-sale of lands transferred under the R&PP Act. 

Beaver County however, is wiling to take over the park 

if it has an opportunity to create a funding source. The 

County proposes to sell some of the undeveloped lands 

within the park for cabin sites and use the revenue generated from the sales to operate and maintain the park for 

the benefit of the people of Beaver County and visitors. 

Under the provisions of the R&PP Act such sales would result in a reversion to the BLM. The BLM does not object 

to this proposal because this type of small, local park is 

most appropriately operated and maintained by a local 

government. 

S. 2285 proposes to transfer all right, title and interest 

of the United States for the approximately 200 acres to 

Beaver County would then be authorized by the legislation 

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to sell, at fair market value, portions of that property. The 

legislation further directs that those proceeds may be used 

only for the maintenance and further development of the 

public recreation facilities on the site. 

Normally we would require payment of fair market 

value for any interest in lands conveyed without the requirement that they be used for a public purpose. However, we recognize the unique circumstances here, including the historical use of the area as a park, and support 

this proposal as a creative solution to a difficult problem. 

However, we recommend the elimination of the reversionary clause in section 1(c), which provides for the reversion of the site to the United States if the provisions of the 

Act are not complied with, and the elimination of a subsequent requirement that Beaver County repay to the 

United States any payments received from sales of land. 

We recommend the elimination of the reversionary clause 

to avert a situation where the BLM would be responsible 

for managing a small local park, or abandoning its use as 

a park, either of which we are ill-prepared to do. We believe the requirements of section 1(b), limiting the use of 

sale proceeds specifically for the operational and maintenance of the park, are adequate to protect the interests of 

the Federal government. 

Finally, we would like the opportunity to work with the 

Committee on an appropriate map of the area to be conveyed. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no changes in existing law are made by the bill S. 52, as ordered reported. 

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