29–006

104TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2d Session 104–702

MARION NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY CONVEYANCE ACT

JULY 24, 1996.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of

the Union and ordered to be printed

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources,

submitted the following

R E P O R T

[To accompany H.R. 3557]

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill

(H.R. 3557) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey the

Marion National Fish Hatchery to the State of Alabama, having

considered the same, report favorably thereon with an amendment

and recommend 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. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Marion National Fish Hatchery Conveyance Act’’.

SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF MARION NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY TO THE STATE OF ALABAMA.

(a) CONVEYANCE REQUIREMENT.—Within 180 days after the date of the enactment

of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to the State of Alabama without reimbursement all right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the

property described in subsection (b) for use by the Game and Fish Division of the

Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as part of the State

of Alabama fish culture program.

(b) PROPERTY DESCRIBED.—The property referred to in subsection (a) consists of—

(1) that portion of the Marion National Fish Hatchery leased to the Alabama

Game and Fish Division, located on State Highway 175 seven miles northeast

of Marion, Alabama, as described in Amendment No. 2 to the Cooperative

Agreement dated June 6, 1974, between the United States Fish and Wildlife

Service and the State of Alabama, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Game and Fish Division, comprised of approximately 300 acres (more

or less);

(2) all improvements and related personal property under the control of the

Secretary that is located on that property, including buildings, structures,

equipment, and all easements and leases relating to that property; and

(3) all water rights relating to that property.
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(c) REVERSIONARY INTEREST.—If any of the property conveyed to the State of Alabama under this section is used for any purpose other than the use authorized

under subsection (a), all right, title, and interest in and to all property conveyed

under this section shall revert to the United States. The State of Alabama shall ensure that all property reverting to the United States under this subsection is in substantially the same or better condition as at the time of transfer to the State.

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 3557 is to direct the Secretary of the Interior

to convey the Marion National Fish Hatchery to the State of Alabama.

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

The Marion National Fish Hatchery (NFH) is located in Perry

County, Alabama, about six miles northeast of the Town of Marion.

In 1934, Congress officially established the site as a National Fish

Hatchery. The original Hatchery property consisted of approximately 598.1 acres of land. For 40 years, the Marion NFH was operated by the Department of Commerce’s Bureau of Fisheries as a

fish production facility.

Since 1974, about 300 acres of the Marion NFH has been operated by the Alabama Game and Fish Division through a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This agreement terminates on September 30, 2033. The remaining 298 acres

became the Federal Southeastern Fish Culture Laboratory. While

this laboratory is not affected by H.R. 3557, the Congress has recently renamed this facility the Claude Harris National Aquaculture Research Center and has transferred the administrative

authority from the Department of the Interior to the Department

of Agriculture (Public Law 104–127).

In the current fiscal year, the Marion facility has produced

820,000 bluegill, 89,000 channel catfish, 800,000 hybrid striped

bass fingerlings, 180,000 largemouth bass and 700,000 striped

bass. These fish are stocked in the over 500,000 acres of public waters in the State of Alabama and they are available to over 530,000

licensed sport anglers. Furthermore, the Alabama Game and Fish

Division is a partner in a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish

and Wildlife Service and the State fisheries management agencies

in Georgia and Florida to restore the region’s native race of striped

bass, known as the Gulf striped bass, to its former range. This year

the Marion NFH has provided over 1,350,000 Gulf striped bass fry

to three Federal and two neighboring State hatcheries for their culture programs, and it has provided over 270,000 Gulf striped bass

fingerlings to support Federal and State programs in Florida.

In the last 22 years, the Alabama Game and Fish Division has

undertaken a long-term program of capital improvements at the

Marion NFH, many of which have been funded through the Federal

Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program (Dingell-Johnson/WallopBreaux). These improvements include the construction of 14 new

fish culture ponds and the renovation of 38 others, a new striped

bass hatchery laboratory, a new fish holding house, a new warehouse and equipment storage building, and two chemical and

equipment storage buildings. In fact, the State has indicated that

it has spent over $2 million on facility improvements and renovations at the Marion NFH since it assumed operational control. In
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total, the Hatchery property consists of 100 culture ponds with a

total impounded surface acreage of over 66 acres, a number of laboratories, garages and residences, water supply wells and a water

recovery system. In the most recent real estate assessment in 1994,

the property was valued at $465,000 and the structures have been

assessed at $1,062,000, according to the Realty Division of the U.S.

Fish and Wildlife Service.

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 3557 was introduced on May 30, 1996, by Congressman

Earl Hilliard (D–AL). The bill was referred to the Committee on

Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans.

On June 13, 1996, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R.

3557. Testifying in support of the bill were Congressman Earl

Hilliard and Mr. William Knapp, Chief, Division of Fish Hatcheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In his testimony, Mr. Knapp

said that ‘‘the Service and * * * Alabama mutually agree that all

parties will benefit from the conveyance of ownership of [the Marion NFH].’’

On June 27, 1996, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife and

Oceans met to mark up H.R. 3557. At that time, Congressman

Gerry Studds (D–MA) offered an amendment that stipulated that

timber rights would not be conveyed to the State of Alabama and

it clarified the reversionary language in section 2 of the bill. The

amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as amended, was

then ordered favorably reported to the Full Committee on Resources by voice vote.

On July 17, 1996, the Committee on Resources met to consider

H.R. 3557. There were no amendments and the Committee ordered

the bill reported to the House of Representatives by voice vote, in

the presence of a quorum.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title

This bill may be cited as the ‘‘Marion National Fish Hatchery

Conveyance Act’’.

Section 2. Conveyance of Marion National Fish Hatchery to the

State of Alabama

Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to convey to the

State of Alabama, within 180 days and without reimbursement, all

right, title, and interest of the United States in and to the Hatchery property for use by the Game and Fish Division of the Alabama

Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Section 2(b) states that the fish hatchery is located on State

Highway 175 seven miles northeast of Marion, Alabama, consisting

of approximately 300 acres and includes buildings, structures,

equipment, and all easements and leases relating to that property,

and all water rights relating to that property.

Section 2(c) mandates that the property shall revert to the United States if the State of Alabama decides to no longer use the property for fishery resources management and fisheries-related activi-
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ties and requires the State to ensure that the property is in substantially the same or better condition at the time of transfer.

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule XI of

the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause 2(b)(1) of

rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee

on Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected

in the body of this report.

INFLATIONARY IMPACT STATEMENT

Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the House

of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the enactment of

H.R. 3557 will have no significant inflationary impact on prices and

costs in the operation of the national economy.

COST OF THE LEGISLATION

Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the Committee of

the costs which would be incurred in carrying out H.R. 3557. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this requirement does

not apply when the Committee has included in its report a timely

submitted cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the

Congressional Budget Office under section 403 of the Congressional

Budget Act of 1974.

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XI

1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of rule XI

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

the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R. 3557 does not contain

any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or

an increase or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures.

2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of rule XI

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee has

received no report of oversight findings and recommendations from

the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3557.

3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of rule XI

of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 403 of the

Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has received the

following cost estimate for H.R. 3557 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

U.S. CONGRESS,

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE,

Washington, DC, July 23, 1996.

Hon. DON YOUNG,

Chairman, Committee on Resources,

House of Representatives, Washington, DC.

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: The Congressional Budget Office has reviewed H.R. 3557, the Marion National Fish Hatchery Conveyance
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Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on

July 17, 1996.

H.R. 3557 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey to

the state of Alabama the Marion National Fish Hatchery, without

reimbursement. Because this facility is already operated by the

state, we expect that implementing H.R. 3557 would have no significant impact on the federal budget. The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures

would not apply.

H.R. 3557 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in Public Law 104–4 and would impose no costs

on state, local, or tribal governments.

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah Reis (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state and local impact).

Sincerely,

JUNE E. O’NEILL, Director.

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

H.R. 3557 contains no unfunded mandates.

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, H.R. 3557 would make no changes in existing law.

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