99–010

Calendar No. 174

107TH CONGRESS REPORT

1st Session " ! SENATE 107–72

NATURAL GAS PIPELINES IN THE GREAT SMOKY

MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

OCTOBER 1, 2001.—Ordered to be printed

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1097]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the bill (S. 1097) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior

to issue right-of-way permits for natural gas pipelines within the

boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, having

considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment

and recommends that the bill do pass.

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 1097 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue right-of-way permits for natural gas pipelines along

various parkways and other roads within the boundary of Great

Smoky Mountains National Park.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Last year, the Sevier County Utility District (SCUD), a rural

utility provider in East Tennessee, requested permission from the

National Park Service to tie in to an existing underground a natural gas pipeline that runs along U.S. Highway 441, the Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur. The existing pipeline was installed prior

to the National Park Service’s acquisition of the right-of-way along

U.S. Highway 441. SCUD made the request to provide natural gas

services to the Westgate subdivision, a ten phase development

project in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. Currently, these homes are being

forced to rely on alternate forms of energy, primarily electricity and

propane.

After the Park Service had prepared to grant SCUD’s request for

an easement along U.S. Highway 441’s right-of-way, the agency beVerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:25 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR072.XXX pfrm03 PsN: SR072
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came aware that it lacks the legal authority to grant a petroleum

products easement, and that legislation is necessary to resolve this

issue. While the Secretary of the Interior has general authority

under 16 U.S.C. 79 to grant rights-of-way permits through units of

the National Park System for various utility services, the authority

does not include installation of natural gas or petroleum products

pipelines.

Great Smoky Mountains National Park experiences chronic air

quality problems, which is expected to worsen with the growth taking place in communities near the park. The National Park Service

has indicated that it would be beneficial to have the ability to permit natural gas pipelines as a clean alternative for heating these

new homes and businesses. The Park Service would not grant any

permits until it has conducted the same safety, esthetic, environmental and historic preservation reviews as it is required to conduct on any request for special uses of the park. Two other linear

parks, the Blue Ridge and Natchez Trace Parkways, already have

broad authority (16 U.S.C. 460a–8) which allows them to grant

rights-of-way over, across or upon parkway lands. S. 1097 would

grant the National Park Service limited authority to issue similar

rights-of-way permits within Great Smoky Mountains National

Park.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1097 was introduced by Senator Thompson on June 25, 2001.

The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 1097 on

July 17, 2001. At its business meeting on August 2, 2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1097 favorably

reported without amendment.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in

open business session on August 2, 2001, by a voice vote of a

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1097 as described herein.

SUMMARY OF S. 1097

S. 1097 authorizes the Secretary of the Interior to issue rightsof-way permits for existing natural gas pipelines that are within

the boundary of Great Smoky Mountains National Park, if the

pipeline is not otherwise authorized by Federal law and is not subject to valid rights of property ownership. Any permit issued is subject to any terms and conditions deemed necessary by the Secretary.

S. 1097 also authorizes the Secretary to issue rights-of-way permits for three pipelines proposed for construction in the park along

the Foothills Parkway, the Foothills Parkway Spur between Pigeon

Forge and Gatlinburg, and the Gatlinburg Bypass. Any permits

issued are subject any terms and conditions deemed necessary by

the Secretary, including provisions for the protection of resources

disturbed by pipeline construction and assurances that construction

and operation of the pipeline will be compatible with the purposes

of the park

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COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the costs of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 16, 2001.

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1097, a bill to authorize the

Secretary of the Interior to issue right-of-way permits for natural

gas pipelines within the boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains

National Park.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah Reis and

Julie Middleton.

Sincerely,

DAN L. CRIPPEN

Director.

Enclosure.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

S. 1097—A bill to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue

right-of-way permits for natural gas pipelines within the

boundary of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

S. 1097 would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to issue

right-of-way permits for the installation of natural gas pipelines

within the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. The bill would

limit the permits to three specific sites within the park. Permits

would be issued with certain conditions placed on the permit holder

such as provisions for the protection and restoration of the land

during pipeline construction.

CBO estimates that implementing S. 1097 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. Because the National Park Service would probably charge fees for the right-of-way permits, pay-asyou-go procedures would apply, but CBO estimates that any offsetting receipts earned from these fees would be less than $500,000

a year.

S. 1097 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 Deborah Reis and

Julie Middleton. 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

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out

S. 1097. The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposVerDate 11-MAY-2000 10:25 Oct 02, 2001 Jkt 099010 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR072.XXX pfrm03 PsN: SR072
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ing government-established standards or significant 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. 1097.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On July 27, 2001, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of the

Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth

Executive agency recommendations on S. 1097. These reports had

not been received at the time this report was filed. The testimony

provided by the National Park Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF JOHN G. PARSONS, ASSOCIATE REGIONAL DIRECTOR FOR LANDS, RESOURCES AND PLANNING, NATIONAL CAPITAL REGION, NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Mr. Chairman, thank you for the opportunity to present

the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 1097, which

would provide legal authority to permit existing and future

natural gas pipelines within a portion of Great Smoky

Mountains National Park near Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

The department supports S. 1097. This legislation would

help address the air pollution problem at Great Smokey

Mountains National Park by facilitating the use of natural

gas—a relatively clean source of energy—in an area where

air quality is poor.

S. 1097 would provide authority for the continuing operation and maintenance of an existing gas main that runs

through Great Smoky Mountains National Park that has

been in place since the 1960’s. And, it would allow the Secretary of the Interior to authorize construction of new gas

lines, where otherwise appropriate, across several linear

park lands managed by Great Smoky Mountains National

Park. The areas where the new pipelines would be allowed

are: the Foothills Parkway, which extends parallel to the

north boundary of the park for 70 miles; the Foothills

Parkway Spur, a four-mile-long park road (also U.S. 441)

which connects the gateway communities of Pigeon Forge

and Gatlinburg; and the Gatlinburg Bypass which links

the Spur to the main body of the park. All three areas are

linear lands that are managed as scenic transportation

corridors. S. 1097 would not allow construction of natural

gas lines across the main body of the park.

The need for this legislation came to the attention of the

National Park Service last year, when Great Smoky Mountains National Park received a request from Sevier County

Utility District in Tennessee for permission to install a

new natural gas pipeline across the park-owned Gatlinburg-Pigeon Forge Spur right-of-way (U.S. 441) in order to

provide gas service to a new development in the city of

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Gatlinburg. Under 16 U.S.C. 79, the Secretary of the Interior may permit rights-of-way through units of the National Park System for electrical, phone, water, sewer and

some other utility services, but that general authority explicitly does not authorize installation of natural gas or petroleum product-bearing lines.

Between the 1990 Census and the 2000 Census the population of Sevier County, Tennessee, which includes Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge, grew by 39 percent, making it

the state’s third fastest-growing county. Within the county

some of the most rapid growth is occurring between the

Foothills Parkway and the main body of the park in the

areas not currently served by natural gas, other than the

single six-inch line along the Spur to Gatlinburg.

The single greatest natural resource problem in Great

Smoky Mountains National Park is declining air quality.

Its vistas are reduced by sulfate and particulate emissions.

Ozone levels in the park’s higher elevations reaches levels

that pose a hazard to human health under Environmental

Protection Agency standards. High elevation streams and

soils are becoming increasingly acidified by airborne acid

deposition which is threatening plants, wildlife and aquatic systems. A large proportion of this pollution is produced

by coal-generated electrical power plants. Significant

progress is being made to reduce emissions from power

generation, and that progress could be aided if the thousands of new homes and businesses that are springing up

in surrounding communities turn to the use of natural gas

for their heating needs. The authority provided by S. 1097

would enable greater usage of natural gas.

The need for an authorization for existing natural gas

pipelines stems from the developments that led to current

National Park Service management of the Foothills Parkway Spur. The Foothills Parkway Spur was built by the

Federal government in the 1950’s on land acquired by the

State of Tennessee and donated by the Federal government. In 1963, an agreement was signed between the National Park Service and the State of Tennessee that called

for the Spur to be transferred back to the State after the

Federal government built the Gatlinburg Bypass on other

lands donated by the State. Subsequent to the 1963 agreement, the National Park Service allowed construction of a

six-inch natural gas main down the Spur which still provides the only gas service to Gatlinburg.

At that time, the National Park Service’s only concern

was to ensure that the line’s installation was acceptable to

the State of Tennessee as the land’s future owner. Although the Gatlinburg Bypass was completed in 1968, the

State has declined, for a variety of reasons, to accept the

Spur back into State ownership, leaving the National Park

Service with a pipeline it has no current authority to permit. This legislation will allow for the continued operation

and maintenance of this line.

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Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be

pleased to answer any questions you or other members of

the Subcommittee may have.

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. 1097 as ordered reported.

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