29–010

Calendar No. 680

108TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 108–324

BEAVER COUNTY, UTAH, REAL PROPERTY CONVEYANCE 

AUGUST 25, 2004.—Ordered to be printed

Filed, under authority of the order of the Senate of July 22, 2004

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2285] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 2285) 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 with an amendment 

and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof 

the following:

SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE TO BEAVER COUNTY, UTAH. 

(a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, 

the Secretary of the Interior shall, without consideration and subject to valid existing rights, convey to Beaver County, Utah (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘County’’), 

all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the approximately 200 

acres depicted as ‘‘Minersville State Park’’ on the map entitled ‘‘S. 2285, Minersville 

State Park’’ and dated April 30, 2004, for use for public recreation. 

(b) RECONVEYANCE BY BEAVER COUNTY.—

(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding subsection (a), Beaver County may sell, for 

not less than fair market value, a portion of the property conveyed to the County under this section, if the proceeds of such sale are used by the County solely 

for maintenance of public recreation facilities located on the remainder of the 

property conveyed to the County under this section. 

(2) LIMITATION.—If the County does not comply with the requirements of 

paragraph (1) in the conveyance of the property under that paragraph—

(A) the County shall pay to the United States the proceeds of the conveyance; and 

(B) the Secretary of the Interior may require that all property conveyed 

under subsection (a) (other than the property sold by the County under 

paragraph (1)) revert to the United States.

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PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

S. 2285 directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey approximately 200 acres to Beaver County, Utah, to be used 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. 2285 would convey 

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

land to pay for park maintenance. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2285 was introduced by Senators Hatch and Bennett on April 

6, 2004. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a 

hearing on the bill on May 5, 2004. At the business meeting on 

July 4, 2004, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2285, as amended, favorably reported. 

COMMITTE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on July 14, 2004, by a unanimous vote of a quorum 

present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2285, if amended as 

described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

During the consideration of S. 2285, the Committee adopted an 

amendment in the nature of a substitute. The substitute directs the 

Secretary of the Interior to convey certain Federal lands to Beaver 

County, Utah, that have been used under lease as a State Park. 

It also authorizes the sale of a portion of the land on the condition 

the revenue is used to cover the cost of maintenance of the park. 

If that condition is not met, the amendment provides that the 

lands, at the option of the Secretary, may revert to the United 

States and the County must reimburse the Federal Government 

the proceeds of the sale. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Subsection 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 land to revert back 

to the United States. 

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COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office.

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, July 19, 2004. 

Hon. PETE V. DOMENICI, 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. 2285, a bill to direct the 

Secretary of the Interior to convey a parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan Carroll. 

Sincerely, 

ELIZABETH M. ROBINSON

(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin, Director). 

Enclosure. 

S. 2285—A bill to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey a 

parcel of real property to Beaver County, Utah 

CBO estimates that S. 2285 would not significantly affect the 

federal budget. S. 2285 contains no intergovernmental or privatesector 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. 2285 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. Hence, CBO estimates that conveying it would not significantly affect offsetting receipts (a credit against direct spending). 

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 contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll. 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. 2285. 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. 

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Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 2285, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On, May 3, 2004, 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. 2285. These reports had 

not been received at the time the report on S. 2285 was filed. When 

the reports become available, the Chairman will request that they 

be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. 

The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management at the 

Subcommittee hearing follows: 

STATEMENT OF BOB ANDERSON, DEPUTY ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, MINERALS, REALTY AND RESOURCE PROTECTION, 

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT

Thank you for inviting me to testify. 

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 efforts. 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 willing 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. Beaver County would then be authorized 

by the legislation to sell, at fair market value, portions of 

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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 compiled 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 operation 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. 2285, as ordered reported.

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