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[Senate Report 106-451]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]

                                                       Calendar No. 897
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 2d Session                                                     106-451

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                  MELROSE AIR FORCE RANGE, NEW MEXICO

                                _______
                                

October 2 (legislative day, September 22), 2000.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

  Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 2757]

    The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 
referred the bill (S. 2757) to provide for the transfer and 
other disposition of certain lands at Melrose Air Force Range, 
New Mexico, and Yakima Training Center, Washington, having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments 
and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
    The amendments are as follows:
    1. On page 2, line 1, delete ``PRIME'' and insert 
``PRINCIPAL''.
    2. On page 4, line 12, delete ``SW\1/4\'' and insert 
``SE\1/4\''.

                         purpose of the measure

    The purpose of S. 2757 is to transfer administrative 
jurisdiction of approximately 6,714 acres of land administered 
by the Bureau of Land Management within Melrose Air Force Range 
in New Mexico to the Secretary of the Air Force and 
approximately 6,649 acres of BLM land within Yakima Training 
Center in Washington to the Secretary of the Army.

                          background and need

    S. 2757 transfers multiple parcels of land that are 
administered by the Bureau of Land Management but lie within 
lands administered by the Department of Defense.
    The measure transfers six parcels of public lands, totaling 
approximately 6,714 acres within the Melrose Air Force Range in 
Roosevelt County, New Mexico, from the Bureau of Land 
Management to the Air Force. The Air Force has used the parcels 
since the base was established in 1952. Approximately 1,811 
acres of these lands lie within the bomb impact zone while the 
remaining acreage is contained within the range safety zone. 
The transfer is needed to provide the Air Force with complete 
control over land uses on the Range. This transfer will 
minimize potential safety concerns, liability of the United 
States, and land use conflicts that could interfere with the 
training mission.
    The measure also transfers 19 scattered small tracts of 
public lands totaling approximately 6,649 acres within the 
Yakima Training Center in Kittitas County, Washington from the 
Bureau of Land Management to the Army. The bill also withdraws 
from the general mining laws the mineral estate associated with 
an additional 3,090 acres. All of the Yakima Training Center 
lands identified in this legislation are within an active 
maneuver training area. This transfer is needed to make sure 
all lands within the training facility are under the control of 
the Army and administered under the same legislative 
authorizations. This will provide additional efficiencies for 
base managers and reduce the risk for disruptions which could 
severely degrade the training mission of the Yakima Training 
Center.

                          legislative history

    S. 2757 was introduced by Senator Domenici on June 20, 
1999. The Subcommittee on Forests and Public Land Management 
held a hearing on S. 2757 on June 20, 2000. At the business 
meeting on September 20, 2000, the Committee on Energy and 
Natural Resources ordered S. 2757 favorably reported, if 
amended as described herein.

                        committee recommendation

    The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 
open business session on September 20, 2000, by a voice vote of 
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2757 if 
amended as described herein.

                          committee amendments

    During the consideration of S. 2757, the Committee adopted 
two technical amendments.

                      section-by-section analysis

    Section 1(a)(1) transfers jurisdiction over the surface 
estate of certain specified lands from the Secretary of the 
Interior to the Secretary of the Air Force for the Melrose Air 
Force Range in New Mexico.
    Paragraph (2) requires the surface estate transferred under 
paragraph 1 to be treated as real property and subject to the 
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.
    Paragraph (3) withdraws the mineral estate of the 
transferred lands from all forms of appropriation, except under 
the Materials Act of 1947.
    Paragraph (4) provides that the Secretary of the Air Force 
may use sand, gravel, or similar mineral material of the type 
subject to disposition under the Materials Act of 1947, on the 
transferred lands, when necessary for construction needs.
    Subsection (b) transfers jurisdiction over the surface 
estate of certain specified lands from the Secretary of the 
Interior to the Secretary of the Army for the Yakima Training 
Center, in Washington.
    Paragraph (2) requires the surface estate transferred under 
paragraph 1 to be treated as real property and subject to the 
Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949.
    Paragraph (3) withdraws the mineral estate of the 
transferred lands, and certain specified other lands from all 
forms of appropriation, except under the Materials Act of 1947.
    Paragraph (4) provides that the Secretary of the Army may 
use sand, gravel, or similar mineral material of the type 
subject to disposition under the Materials Act of 1947, on the 
transferred lands, when necessary for construction needs.

                   cost and budgetary considerations

    The following estimate of costs of this measure have been 
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                Washington, DC, September 27, 2000.
Hon. Frank H. Murkowski,
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. 2757, a bill to 
provide for the transfer and other disposition of certain lands 
at Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, and Yakima Training 
Center, Washington.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan 
Carroll.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 2757--A bill to provide for the transfer and other disposition of 
        certain lands at Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, and 
        Yakima Training Center, Washington

    S. 2757 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to 
transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain lands to the 
Secretaries of the Air Force and the Army. CBO estimates that 
enacting S. 2757 would not significantly affect the federal 
budget. Enacting the bill could affect offsetting receipts (a 
credit against direct spending); therefore, pay-as-you-go 
procedures would apply, but we expect any such effects to total 
less than $10,000 in any given year. S. 2757 contains no 
intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the 
Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would have no significant 
impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
    Under the bill, the Secretary of the Interior would 
transfer jurisdiction over 6,614 acres of federal lands within 
Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, to the Secretary of the 
Air Force. The Secretary of the Interior also would transfer 
jurisdiction over 6,640 acres within Yakima Training Center, 
Washington, to the Secretary of the Army. Subject to valid 
existing rights, the bill would withdraw the associated mineral 
estate of the transferred lands and about 3,090 acres if other 
lands located within Yakima Training Center from mineral and 
geothermal leasing and development.
    Based on information from the Bureau of Land Management 
(BLM), CBO estimates that transferring the lands would not 
significantly change the federal costs to manage them. 
Withdrawing certain lands from mineral and geothermal leasing 
and development could reduce offsetting receipts from those 
activities and payments to states to share those receipts, but 
we estimate that such effects would be negligible. According to 
BLM, those lands currently generate less than $10,000 a year 
from activities that could be affected by the bill, and the 
agency does not expect the lands to generate significant 
receipts in the future.
    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 XXVVI 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. 2757. 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. 2757, as ordered reported.

                        executive communications

    September 20, 2000, 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. 2757. These 
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 2757 
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 Air 
Force, the Army, and the Bureau of Land Management at the 
Subcommittee hearing on S. 2757 follows:

 Statement of Mr. Jimmy G. Dishner, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the 
                       Air Force (Installations)

    Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, good afternoon. 
I appreciate the opportunity to appear before you today to 
discuss Senate bill 2757, introduced by Senator Domenici, 
concerning the transfer of certain lands at Melrose Range in 
New Mexico currently under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 
Land Management (BLM) but used exclusively for military 
training purposes since the mid 1950's.
    Sustained access to ranges is one of the foremost readiness 
and strategic planning concerns for our Air Force. Increasingly 
we find there is a symbiotic relationship between our 
installations supporting combat aircraft and the 31 ranges we 
operate in the continental United States, about half of which 
are on land owned by our sister services. This relationship is 
one of the critical criteria used in addressing installation 
viability. The realities of urban sprawl, demographic changes, 
and competition for finite land, airspace, frequency spectrum 
and natural resources have intensified over the past ten years.
    We appreciate the tremendous support of members of this 
committee, your colleagues, and the leadership of the 
Department of the Interior who supported the renewal of six 
critical ranges for the Department of Defense including the Air 
Force's Nellis Air Force Range, Nevada, and the Barry M. 
Goldwater Range, Arizona. We also appreciate the personal time 
Senator Domenici, Senator Bingaman and Senator Murkowski 
devoted towards the renewals of the McGregor Range in New 
Mexico and the Army's ranges in Alaska that are also utilized 
by the Air Force.
    Today we are here to address the legislative transfer of 
approximately 6,700 acres that are located on the Melrose Range 
in New Mexico. Melrose Range is approximately 66,000 acres in 
total. The remainder of the property is used as safety buffer 
zones. Approximately 59,000 acres of the range is Air Force-
owned real property. The remaining portions of the range, 
approximately 6,700 acres are public lands under the 
jurisdiction of the BLM. In fact, a portion of the impact area 
itself is part of the BLM land holdings. The lands under the 
jurisdiction of BLM are distributed in non-contiguous parcels 
across the range. Consolidating all parcels on the range under 
the control of the Air Force would address safety concerns, 
minimize potential liability to the United States Government, 
and reduce potential land use conflicts.
    Melrose Range is the primary training range for the 27th 
Fighter Wing at Cannon AFB. It supports daily air-to-ground and 
electronic combat training for approximately 3,400 F-16 wing 
sorties annually.
    The Melrose Range is also used by the New Mexico Air 
National Guard, based at Kirkland Air Force Base, and other 
U.S. and allied aircrew accounting for an additional 1,400 
sorties annually.
    Melrose Range has been in continuous use by the Air Force 
since 1952 and is 25 miles from Cannon--only about a five-
minute flight. Having a training range in close proximity to 
the installation allows the Cannon-based aircrews to maximize 
training time by reducing the time it would take to fly to more 
distant ranges for training. Our need to improve local training 
also recently led us to modify our training ranges and airspace 
in Idaho and Texas. The Cannon AFB wing commander, Colonel 
Jeffrey Remington, is also here with me today to respond to any 
operational questions you may have.
    In the future, the flexibility to modify our airspace and 
ranges will be a critical element to ensuring America's 
asymmetric advantage--the United States Air Force.
    Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. 
Colonel Remington and I stand ready to answer any questions you 
may have.
                              ----------                              

 Joint Statement by Paul W. Johnson, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the 
Army (Installations and Housing), Office of the Assistant Secretary of 
   the Army (I&E) and Brigadier General William Webster, Director of 
     Training, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, 
                           Department of Army

    Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee.
    Thank you for this opportunity to address you about the 
critical training opportunities that Yakima Training Center 
affords the Army Active, Army Reserve and National Guard units, 
and our sister services, the Air Force and Navy. Yakima 
Training Center (YTC) is a sub-installation of Fort Lewis, 
Washington, under the U.S. Army Forces Command.
    The Army supports Senator Domenici's Senate Bill 2757 that 
provides for the transfer and other disposition of certain 
lands at Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, and Yakima 
Training Center, Washington. That bill would transfer 
administrative jurisdiction and convert 6,640 acres of public 
domain lands that are wholly within Army controlled property at 
the Yakima Training Center, to the Army. The transfer is needed 
to provide the Army with complete control over land uses on the 
Yakima Training Center and eliminate the artificial obstacles 
to tactical movement that currently exist. The proposed 
legislation eliminates a management restriction that has 
adversely impacted the Army's ability to accomplish its 
training objectives in the northern part of the Yakima Training 
Center. The legislation also provides a common land management 
situation for the Army, and thereby, makes Army range 
operations and natural resource management more efficient.
    The lands to be transferred at Yakima Training Center 
consist of 19 scattered tracts of public domain lands, managed 
by the Bureau of Land Management, aggregating 6,640 acres in 
Kittitas County, Washington. There are an additional 3,090 
acres of public domain mineral estate associated with Army 
acquired lands that are withdrawn from the general mining laws. 
The mineral estate of all 9,730 acres would remain under the 
administrative jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior. 
The mineral estate would be withdrawn from the mining laws 
(gold, silver, and lead) and the geothermal leasing laws, but 
not the Material's Act (sand and gravel) or the Mineral Leasing 
Act (oil, gas, and coal).
    These Bureau of Land Management lands are located within an 
approximately 63,000 acre expansion of the YTC authorized by 
the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 
and 1993 (Public Law 102-190) and the Military Construction 
Appropriations Act of 1992 (Public Law 102-136). The Army 
purchased (1994-1996) the surrounding 56,400 acres from private 
landholders and the State of Washington leaving the 6,640 acres 
of Bureau of Land Management ``inholdings'' to be withdrawn or 
transferred to the Army. To date, the Bureau of Land Management 
has granted a right-of-way to the Army for crossing the 
inholdings, which allows the Army to use its acquired land, but 
the Army cannot train on the lands. The Bureau of Land 
Management inholdings are interspersed in a manner that 
prevents the establishment of tactically and doctrinally 
correct maneuver lanes. This restriction has adversely impacted 
the Army's ability to accomplish its training objectives.
    The original requirement for additional training land in 
1992 was a result of three factors. The first factor was the 
increased Army-wide emphasis on brigade level combined arms 
training by Active and Reserve Component units. The increased 
emphasis resulted from changes in Army Doctrine, organizations, 
and equipment that in turn respond to evolving battlefield 
requirements. The land expansion at Yakima Training Center, 
with the land transfer, will enhance the ability of Active and 
Reserve Component units to train to realistic brigade and 
battalion standards. Second, the expansion and transfer were to 
provide sufficient land to permit live-fire operation to 
continue at the same time that large-scale maneuver training 
and testing exercises are conducted and were to support 
potential mobilization requirements as occurred during 
Operation Desert Storm. It is the maneuver exercises that are 
limited by the inholdings. Finally, the land expansion and 
transfer were to provide enough land for environmentally sound 
land management practices, like rotational use of training 
areas, that periodically rests stressed training areas so that 
native grasses and other vegetation can be planted to reduce 
soil erosion.
    It was good that the Army and Congress had the foresight to 
expand the Yakima Training Center in 1992, because in 1999, 
Fort Lewis, Washington and the Yakima Training Center were 
selected as the initial sites where the Army's Brigade 
Transformation Campaign Plan will be evaluated. An 
Environmental Assessment of the impacts of the proposed 
training is in progress. The Army's transformation plan will 
meet the defense challenges of the future and provide the 
Nation the decisive landpower forces necessary to support the 
National Security Strategy and National Military Strategy. As a 
result of transformation, the Army will be a strategically 
responsive force that is dominant across the full spectrum of 
operations. The Army will implement the Army vision through 
transformation as rapidly as possible, while continually 
maintaining warfighting readiness of operational forces. The 
Army's Transformation Campaign Plan defines the process for 
transformation for initial forces, interim forces, and 
objective (future) forces. The Initial Force is a two brigade 
combat team force at Fort Lewis, Washington and Yakima Training 
Center that will transform and will receive off-the-shelf 
equipment to support evaluation and refinement of the doctrinal 
Organizational and Operational concepts. The Interim Force is a 
transition force--one that seeks the Objective Force state of 
the art technology, but leverages today's technology together 
with modernized legacy forces to bridge to the future. The 
Objective Force is the force that achieves our objective of a 
strategically responsive Army that is capable of dominating at 
any point across the full spectrum of operations and can 
rapidly transition across mission requirements without loss of 
momentum. It will be able to operate as an integral member of 
the joint, multinational, interagency team, and dominant 
against the asymmetric application of conventional, 
unconventional and weapons of mass destruction threat 
capabilities. This land transfer is necessary now to fully 
train and test the Initial and Interim Brigades to the fullest 
extent to which they are expected to perform.
    Besides training, the Army has another mission I would like 
to highlight . . . environmentally sound land management. The 
Army has been and will be a good environmental steward of the 
training land at the Yakima Training Center. In accordance with 
the Sikes Act, we developed a comprehensive military land use 
strategy and resource management plan for the entire 
installation in 1996 entitled the Cultural and Natural 
Resources Management Plan. It encompasses all the training 
activities and land management practices on the entire 323,000-
acre installation. It was implemented and is periodically 
updated. The plan will be updated after the land transfer. The 
Yakima Training Center has implemented the Army's Integrated 
Training Area Management technology. The goal of this program 
is to reduce soil erosion and loss of vegetation on training 
lands. Training is matched with the capabilities of the soils 
and vegetation to withstand the training impact. As part of 
this program, a Geographic Information System has been 
established so that the installation can monitor change in the 
soils, watersheds, slopes, streams, vegetation, land cover, and 
man-made features. Livestock grazing was eliminated after the 
Army conducted an Environmental Impact Statement study in 1994 
that revealed that continuation of grazing was not compatible 
with the proposed training activities. We have an Endangered 
Species Management Plan that covers the Bald Eagle, Peregrine 
Falcon, and the Sage Grouse. We allow hunting on Army land 
where it does not interfere with training. When the Army 
purchased the private land surrounding the Bureau of Land 
Management inholdings, hunting use of the inholdings increased 
because the public now had access across the Army land to the 
inholdings.
    To conclude, The Army requires the transfer of the Bureau 
of Land Management inholdings to be able to conduct tactically 
and doctrinally correct training and to provide comprehensive 
environmental management.
    Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I will be 
pleased to answer any questions you or other members of the 
subcommittee may have.
                              ----------                              

Statement of Sylvia V. Baca, Assistant Secretary for Land and Minerals 
                               Management

    Good afternoon Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee. 
Thank you for the opportunity to provide the Department of the 
Interior's views on S. 2757. This bill provides for the 
permanent transfer of Bureau of Land Management (BLM) managed 
public domain lands located within two military training ranges 
to the respective military services which manage the particular 
ranges. S. 2757 addresses this transfer at two ranges: the 
Melrose Air Force Range in New Mexico and the Army's Yakima 
Training Center in Washington. The Department supports the 
passage of this bill.

                  melrose air force range, new mexico

    S. 2757 would transfer administrative jurisdiction over the 
surface estate of 6614 acres of BLM land from the Secretary of 
the Interior to the Secretary of the Air Force. Subject to 
valid existing rights, the mineral estate of the transferred 
lands would be withdrawn from all forms of appropriation under 
the public land laws.
    The acquisition of lands for the Melrose Range was 
authorized by the Military Construction Authorization Act of 
1967 (Public Law 89-568). Pursuant to this authority, the Air 
Force requested the assistance of the BLM to remove 6,634 acres 
of State-owned lands and 80 acres of private lands (a total of 
6,714 acres) through an exchange from within the range 
boundaries. The BLM accomplished these exchanges in 1970 and 
1973. In 1975, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, on behalf of 
the Air Force, filed an application for withdrawal and 
reservation of these lands with the BLM.
    Melrose Range, including the BLM acquired parcels, has been 
in continuous use since the initial Air Force lease of lands 
from the State of New Mexico and private land owners in 1952. 
The Air Force has been responsible for natural resources 
management on these lands during this same period. The BLM has 
not exercised natural resources management on the lands it 
acquired for the Air Force within this active training range. 
The six parcels which the BLM acquired for the Air Force 
include 1,811 acres within the bomb impact zone; the remaining 
acres are within the range safety buffer.
    One Federal Endangered Species Act candidate animal, the 
black tailed prairie dog, has been documented on the acquired 
lands. Management for the species is currently under 
development by the Department of Defense in association with 
the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. There are no other 
threatened, endangered or sensitive species known on the 
acquired parcels and the proposed transfer is not in conflict 
with either the Endangered Species Act or BLM policy.
    The Department of the Interior supports the transfer of the 
surface estate and withdrawal of the mineral estate of the BLM 
acquired lands for the following reasons:
    1. These lands were acquired for the sole purpose of 
completing the range acquisition authorized by Public Law 89-
568.
    2. The lands contain ordnance and explosive waste from 43 
years of Air Force use.
    3. The acquired lands represent less than 10% of the entire 
range and are divided among six separate parcels.
    4. The BLM has never managed and has no interest in 
managing these lands located within an active training range 
for natural or cultural resources.

                   yakima training center, washington

    S. 2757 would transfer administrative jurisdiction over the 
surface estate of 6640 acres of BLM land from the Secretary of 
the Interior to the Secretary of the Army. Under the bill, 
these lands will be withdrawn from mining law and geothermal 
leasing, but not from oil and gas leasing.
    The acquisition of lands for an expansion of the Army's 
Yakima Training Center was authorized by the National Defense 
Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 1992 and 1993 (Public Law 
102-190) and the Military Construction Authorization Act of 
1992 (Public Law 102-136). Within this expansion area lie 6,640 
acres of BLM-managed public domain lands and an additional 
3,090 acres of subsurface mineral estate. The Army filed an 
application for a withdrawal and reservation of these lands and 
minerals in May 1992.
    Nineteen small parcels of public lands, aggregating 6,640 
acres, are within the Army's acquisition area. These public 
lands represent approximately 10 percent of the expansion area. 
These lands have been managed by the BLM for recreation and 
grazing.
    One federal Endangered Species Act candidate plant, 
Erigonum codium (Umtanum Wild Buckwheat) has been documented on 
habitat adjacent to the Yakima Training Center (Hanford 
property) in Yakima County. Unsurveyed potential habitat occurs 
within the Yakima Training Center near the southern boundary. 
There are no threatened, endangered, or sensitive species known 
in the expansion area and the proposed transfer would not be in 
conflict with the Endangered Species Act or BLM policy.
    The Department of the Interior supports the transfer of the 
surface estate and withdrawal of the mineral estate of these 
lands for the following reasons:
    1. These lands are within the range expansion authorized by 
Public Law 102-190.
    2. The 19 scattered parcels are an integral part of the 
Army's maneuver training. If these parcels are not under Army 
control, the usefulness of the expansion is severely degraded.
    3. These parcels are approximately 10 percent of the range 
expansion.
    4. Any attempt by the BLM to manage resources on these 
scattered parcels within an active maneuver area would be very 
difficult. Adequate coordination of any Department of the 
Interior resource management concerns can be achieved through 
the provisions of the Sikes Act, as amended (Public Law 86-
797).
    We have identified two technical corrections to the land 
descriptions and this information has been passed to Committee 
staff.
    Thank you again for the opportunity to testify on this 
bill, I am happy to answer any questions you might 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. 2757 as ordered 
reported.

                                  
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