I

106TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 5264

To establish the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in Colorado, and

for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

SEPTEMBER 21, 2000

Mr. UDALL of Colorado (for himself, Ms. DEGETTE, Mr. TANCREDO, Mr.

SCHAFFER, Mr. HEFLEY, and Mr. MCINNIS) introduced the following

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition

to the Committee on Commerce, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

A BILL

To establish the Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge in

Colorado, and for other purposes.

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Rocky Flats National

5 Wildlife Refuge Act of 2000’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

7 (a) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds the following:
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1 (1) The Federal Government, through the

2 Atomic Energy Commission, acquired Rocky Flats in

3 1951 and began operations there in 1952. The site

4 remains a Department of Energy facility. Since

5 1992, the mission of Rocky Flats has changed from

6 the production of nuclear weapons components to

7 cleanup and closure in a manner that is safe, envi8 ronmentally and socially responsible, physically se9 cure, and cost-effective.

10 (2) The site has generally remained undisturbed

11 since its acquisition by the Federal Government.

12 (3) The State of Colorado is experiencing in13 creasing growth and development, especially in the

14 metropolitan Denver Front Range area in the vicin15 ity of Rocky Flats. This growth and development re16 duces the amount of open space and thereby dimin17 ishes for many metropolitan Denver communities the

18 vistas of the striking Front Range mountain back19 drop.

20 (4) Some areas of the site currently contain

21 contamination and will require further remediation.

22 The national interest requires that the ongoing

23 cleanup and closure of the entire site be completed

24 safely, effectively, and without unnecessary delay

25 and that the site thereafter be retained by the
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1 United States and managed so as to preserve its

2 value for open space and wildlife habitat.

3 (5) Rocky Flats provides habitat for many wild4 life species, including a number of threatened species

5 and endangered species, and is marked by the pres6 ence of rare xeric tallgrass prairie plant commu7 nities. Establishing the site as a unit of the National

8 Wildlife Refuge System will promote the preserva9 tion and enhancement of these resources for present

10 and future generations.

11 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide

12 for the establishment of Rocky Flats as a national wildlife

13 refuge while creating a process for public input on refuge

14 management and ensuring that the site is thoroughly and

15 completely cleaned up.

16 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

17 In this Act:

18 (1) CLEANUP AND CLOSURE.—The term

19 ‘‘cleanup and closure’’ means the remedial actions

20 and decommissioning activities being undertaken at

21 Rocky Flats by the Department of Energy under the

22 1996 Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement, the closure

23 plans and baselines, and any other relevant docu24 ments or requirements.
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1 (2) COALITION.—The term ‘‘Coalition’’ means

2 the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments es3 tablished by the Intergovernmental Agreement,

4 dated February 16, 1999, among—

5 (A) the city of Arvada, Colorado;

6 (B) the city of Boulder, Colorado;

7 (C) the city of Broomfield, Colorado;

8 (D) the city of Westminster, Colorado;

9 (E) the town of Superior, Colorado;

10 (F) Boulder County, Colorado;

11 (G) Jefferson County, Colorado.

12 (3) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘haz13 ardous substance’’ has the meaning given the term

14 under section 101 of the Comprehensive Environ15 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

16 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

17 (4) POLLUTANT OR CONTAMINANT.—The term

18 ‘‘pollutant or contaminant’’ has the meaning given

19 the term under section 101 of the Comprehensive

20 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil21 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

22 (5) REFUGE.—The term ‘‘refuge’’ means the

23 Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge established

24 under section 7.
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1 (6) RESPONSE ACTION.—The term ‘‘response

2 action’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘response’’

3 under section 101 of the Comprehensive Environ4 mental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

5 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601) or any other similar pro6 vision under State law.

7 (7) RFCA.—The term ‘‘RFCA’’ means the

8 Rocky Flats Cleanup Agreement, an intergovern9 mental agreement, dated July 19, 1996, among—

10 (A) the Department of Energy;

11 (B) the Environmental Protection Agency;

12 and

13 (C) the Department of Public Health and

14 Environment of the State of Colorado.

15 (8) ROCKY FLATS.—The term ‘‘Rocky Flats’’

16 means the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology

17 Site, Colorado, a defense nuclear facility, as depicted

18 on the map entitled ‘‘Rocky Flats Environmental

19 Technology Site’’, dated July 15, 1998.

20 (9) ROCKY FLATS TRUSTEES.—The term

21 ‘‘Rocky Flats Trustees’’ means the Federal and

22 State of Colorado entities that have been identified

23 as trustees for the Rocky Flats under section

24 107(f)(2) of the Comprehensive, Environmental Re-
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1 sponse, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42

2 U.S.C. 9607(f)(1)).

3 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

4 means the Secretary of Energy.

5 SEC. 4. FUTURE OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT.

6 (a) FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—Unless the Congress

7 provides otherwise in an Act enacted after the date of the

8 enactment of this Act, all right, title, and interest of the

9 United States, held on or acquired after the date of the

10 enactment of this Act, to lands within the boundaries of

11 Rocky Flats shall be retained by the United States.

12 (b) LINDSAY RANCH.—The structures that comprise

13 the former Lindsay Ranch homestead site in the Rock

14 Creek Reserve area of the buffer zone as depicted on the

15 map referred to in section 3(8) shall be permanently pre16 served and maintained in accordance with the National

17 Historic Preservation Act (16 U.S.C. 470 et seq.).

18 (c) PROHIBITION AGAINST ANNEXATION.—The Sec19 retary of the Interior shall not allow the annexation of

20 land within the refuge by any unit of local government.

21 (d) PROHIBITION AGAINST THROUGH ROADS.—Ex22 cept as provided in subsection (e), no public road shall

23 be constructed through Rocky Flats.

24 (e) TRANSPORTATION RIGHT-OF-WAY.—

25 (1) IN GENERAL.—
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1 (A) AVAILABILITY OF LAND.—On submis2 sion of an application meeting each of the con3 ditions specified in paragraph (2), the Secretary

4 and the Secretary of the Interior may make

5 available land along the eastern boundary of

6 Rocky Flats for the sole purpose of transpor7 tation improvements along Indiana Street.

8 (B) BOUNDARIES.—Land made available

9 under this paragraph may not extend more

10 than 150 feet from the west edge of the Indiana

11 Street right-of-way, as that right-of-way exists

12 as of the date of enactment of this Act.

13 (C) EASEMENT OR SALE.—Land may be

14 made available under this paragraph by ease15 ment or sale to 1 or more appropriate entities.

16 (D) COMPLIANCE WITH APPLICABLE

17 LAW.—Any action under this paragraph shall

18 be taken in compliance with applicable law.

19 (2) CONDITIONS.—An application for land

20 under this subsection may be submitted by any

21 county, city, or other political subdivision of the

22 State of Colorado and shall include documentation

23 demonstrating that—
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1 (A) the transportation project is compat2 ible with the management of Rocky Flats as a

3 wildlife refuge; and

4 (B) the transportation project is included

5 in the Regional Transportation Plan of the

6 Metropolitan Planning Organization for the

7 Denver metropolitan area designated under 49

8 U.S.C. 5303 et seq.

9 SEC. 5. TRANSFER OF MANAGEMENT RESPONSIBILITIES

10 AND JURISDICTION OVER ROCKY FLATS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—

12 (1) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—No

13 later than one year after the date of enactment of

14 this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of the In15 terior shall publish in the Federal Register a draft

16 Memorandum of Understanding under which the

17 Secretary shall transfer to the Secretary of the Inte18 rior administrative jurisdiction over Rocky Flats.

19 This memorandum of understanding shall provide

20 for the timing of the transfer, the division of respon21 sibilities between the Secretary and the Secretary of

22 the Interior for the period ending on the date of the

23 transfer, and an appropriate allocation of costs and

24 personnel to the Secretary of the Interior, except

25 that the Memorandum of Understanding shall not
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1 result in any reduction in funds available to the Sec2 retary for cleanup and closure of Rocky Flats. No

3 later than 18 months after the date of enactment of

4 this Act, the Secretary and Secretary of the Interior

5 shall finalize and implement this memorandum of

6 understanding.

7 (2) EXCLUSIONS.—The transfer under para8 graph (1) shall not include any property or facility

9 over which the Secretary retains jurisdiction, author10 ity, and control under subsection (b)(1).

11 (3) CONDITION.—The transfer under paragraph

12 (1) shall occur no later than 10 business days fol13 lowing the signing by the Environmental Protection

14 Agency’s Regional Administrator for Region VIII of

15 the Final On-site Record of Decision for Rocky

16 Flats.

17 (4) COST; IMPROVEMENTS.—The transfer—

18 (A) shall be completed without cost to the

19 Secretary of the Interior; and

20 (B) may include such buildings or other

21 improvements as the Secretary of the Interior

22 may request in writing for refuge management

23 purposes.

24 (b) PROPERTY AND FACILITIES EXCLUDED FROM

25 TRANSFERS.—
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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall retain

2 jurisdiction, authority, and control over all real prop3 erty and facilities at Rocky Flats that are to be used

4 for—

5 (A) any necessary and appropriate long6 term operation and maintenance facilities to

7 intercept, treat, and control a hazardous sub8 stance, pollutant, radionuclide, or other con9 taminants; or

10 (B) any other purpose related to a re11 sponse action or any other action that is re12 quired to be carried out at Rocky Flats.

13 (2) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall con14 sult with the Environmental Protection Agency and

15 the State of Colorado on the identification and man16 agement of all property to be retained under this

17 subsection to ensure the continuing effectiveness of

18 response actions. The Secretary shall consult with

19 the Secretary of the Interior on the management of

20 the retained property to minimize any conflict be21 tween management of property transferred to the

22 Secretary of the Interior and that retained by the

23 Secretary for response actions. However, in the case

24 of any such conflict, implementation and mainte25 nance of the response action shall take priority.
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1 (3) ACCESS.—As a condition of the transfer

2 under subsection (a), the Secretary shall be provided

3 such easements and access as may be reasonably re4 quired to carry out any obligation or address any

5 other liability.

6 (c) ADMINISTRATION.—

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—On completion of the trans8 fer under subsection (a), the Secretary of the Inte9 rior shall administer Rocky Flats in accordance with

10 this Act subject to—

11 (A) any response action or institutional

12 control at Rocky Flats carried out by or under

13 the authority of the Secretary under the Com14 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensa15 tion, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601

16 et seq.); and

17 (B) any other action required under any

18 other Federal or State law to be carried out by

19 or under the authority of the Secretary.

20 (2) CONFLICT.—In case of any conflict between

21 management of Rocky Flats by the Secretary of the

22 Interior and the conduct of any response action or

23 other action described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of

24 paragraph (1), the response action or other action

25 shall take priority.
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1 (3) CONTINUING ACTIONS.—Except as provided

2 in paragraph (1), nothing in this subsection affects

3 any response action or other action initiated at

4 Rocky Flats on or before the date of the transfer

5 under subsection (a).

6 (4) LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall retain any

7 obligation or other liability under the Comprehensive

8 Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil9 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), or any

10 other applicable provision of law for land transferred

11 under subsection (a).

12 SEC. 6. CONTINUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP

13 AND CLOSURE.

14 (a) ONGOING CLEANUP AND CLOSURE.—The Sec15 retary shall continue to carry out to completion cleanup

16 and closure at Rocky Flats. Nothing in this Act, and no

17 actions taken under this Act, shall be construed to restrict

18 the Secretary from employing new cleanup technologies

19 that may become available.

20 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—

21 (1) OBLIGATIONS, LIABILITY, AND RFCA, GEN22 ERALLY.—Nothing in this Act, and no action taken

23 under this Act, shall relieve the Secretary, the Ad24 ministrator of the Environmental Protection Agency,

25 or any other person from any obligation or other li-
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1 ability with respect to Rocky Flats under the RFCA

2 or any applicable Federal or State law. Nothing in

3 this Act impairs or alters any provision of the

4 RFCA.

5 (2) DEGREE OF CLEANUP.—Except as provided

6 in paragraph (3), nothing in this Act shall be con7 strued to affect the degree of cleanup and closure at

8 Rocky Flats required under the RFCA or any Fed9 eral or State law.

10 (3) LEVEL OF CLEANUP.—(A) The require11 ments of this Act for establishment and manage12 ment of Rocky Flats as a national wildlife refuge

13 shall not affect the level of cleanup and closure.

14 (B) The Secretary is required to conduct clean15 up and closure of Rocky Flats to the levels hereafter

16 established for soil, water, and other media following

17 a thorough review by the parties to the RFCA and

18 the public of the appropriateness of the interim lev19 els in the RFCA.

20 (4) FEDERAL OBLIGATION TO CONTROL CON21 TAMINATION.—Nothing in this Act, and no actions

22 taken under this Act, shall affect any long-term obli23 gation of the United States for funding, construc24 tion, monitoring, or operation and maintenance of

25 any necessary and appropriate intercept and treat-
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1 ment facilities or any other measures to control con2 tamination.

3 (c) PAYMENT OF RESPONSE ACTION COSTS.—Noth4 ing in this Act affects the obligation of a Federal depart5 ment or agency that had or has operations at Rocky Flats

6 resulting in the release or threatened release of a haz7 ardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant to pay the

8 costs of response actions carried out to abate the release

9 of, or clean up, the hazardous substance, pollutant, or con10 taminant.

11 (d) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out a response ac12 tion at Rocky Flats, the Secretary shall consult with the

13 Secretary of the Interior to ensure that the response ac14 tion is carried out in a manner that, to the maximum ex15 tent practicable, furthers the purposes of the refuge.

16 SEC. 7. ROCKY FLATS NATIONAL WILDLIFE REFUGE.

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 30 days after

18 the transfer of jurisdiction under section 5(a)(3), the Sec19 retary of the Interior shall establish at Rocky Flats a na20 tional wildlife refuge to be known as the ‘‘Rocky Flats Na21 tional Wildlife Refuge’’.

22 (b) COMPOSITION.—The refuge shall consist of the

23 real property transferred under section 5(a)(1).
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1 (c) NOTICE.—The Secretary of the Interior shall pub2 lish in the Federal Register a notice of the establishment

3 of the refuge.

4 (d) ADMINISTRATION AND PURPOSES.—

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Inte6 rior shall manage the refuge in accordance with all

7 applicable provisions of law, including this Act and

8 the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration

9 Act of 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.), including the

10 purposes specified in that Act.

11 (2) PURPOSES.—To the extent consistent with

12 applicable provisions of law, the refuge shall be man13 aged for the purposes of—

14 (A) restoring and preserving native eco15 systems;

16 (B) providing habitat for and population

17 management of native plants and migratory

18 and resident wildlife;

19 (C) conserving threatened species and en20 dangered species (including species that are

21 candidates for listing under the Endangered

22 Species Act of 1973);

23 (D) providing opportunities for compatible

24 environmental scientific research; and
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1 (E) providing the public with opportunities

2 for compatible outdoor recreational and edu3 cational activities.

4 SEC. 8. PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—

6 (1) ESTABLISHMENT OF PROCESS.—Not later

7 than 90 days after the date of enactment of this

8 Act, in developing plans for the management of fish

9 and wildlife and public use of the refuge, the Sec10 retary of the Interior, in consultation with the Sec11 retary, the members of the Coalition, the Governor

12 of the State of Colorado, and the Rocky Flats trust13 ees, shall establish a process for involvement of the

14 public and local communities to accomplish the pur15 poses and objectives of this section.

16 (2) OTHER PARTICIPANTS.—In addition to the

17 entities identified in paragraph (1), the public in18 volvement process shall include the opportunity for

19 direct involvement of entities not presently members

20 of the Coalition, including the Rocky Flats Citizens’

21 Advisory Board and the cities in Colorado of Thorn22 ton, Northglenn, Golden, Louisville, and Lafayette.

23 (3) DISSOLUTION OF THE COALITION.—In the

24 event that the Coalition dissolves, or any Coalition

25 member chooses to leave the Coalition during the
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1 public involvement process outlined in this section,

2 the public involvement process under this section

3 shall continue and an opportunity shall be provided

4 to each entity comprising the Coalition on Sep5 tember 1, 2000, for direct involvement in the public6 participation process.

7 (4) PURPOSES.—The public involvement proc8 ess developed under paragraph (1) shall provide

9 input and make recommendations to the Secretary

10 and the Secretary of the Interior on the following:

11 (A) The long-term management of the ref12 uge consistent with the refuge purposes identi13 fied in section 7(d) of this Act and the National

14 Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of

15 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.).

16 (B) The identification of any land referred

17 to in section 4(e) that could be made available

18 for transportation purposes.

19 (C) The potential for leasing any land on

20 Rocky Flats for the National Renewable Energy

21 Laboratory to carry out projects related to the

22 National Wind Technology Center.

23 (D) The characteristics and configuration

24 of any perimeter fencing that may be necessary,
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1 appropriate or compatible for cleanup and clo2 sure, refuge, or other purposes.

3 (E) The feasibility of locating, and poten4 tial location for, a visitor and education center

5 at the refuge.

6 (F) The establishment of a Rocky Flats

7 museum described in section 10.

8 (G) Any other issues relevant to the site.

9 (5) REPORT.—Not later than 2 years after the

10 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the

11 Interior shall submit to the Congress a report out12 lining the conclusions of the public involvement proc13 ess and, to the degree that any input or rec14 ommendations from the public involvement process

15 were not accepted, clearly stating the reasons for not

16 accepting such input or recommendations.

17 SEC. 9. PROPERTY RIGHTS.

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection

19 (c), nothing in this Act limits any valid, existing property

20 rights at Rocky Flats which are owned by any party. Such

21 property rights include, but are not limited to—

22 (1) mineral rights;

23 (2) water rights and easements related thereto;

24 and

25 (3) facilities and rights-of-way for utilities.
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1 (b) ACCESS.—Except as provided in subsection (c),

2 nothing in this Act shall affect any right of an owner of

3 property rights described in subsection (a) to access to the

4 owner’s property.

5 (c) REASONABLE CONDITIONS.—The Secretary or

6 Secretary of the Interior may impose such reasonable con7 ditions on access to the property rights referred to in this

8 section as may be necessary and appropriate for the clean9 up and closure of Rocky Flats and for the management

10 of the refuge. Nothing in this Act shall affect any other

11 applicable Federal, State, or local law or regulation related

12 to the use, development, and management of property

13 rights described in subsection (a). Nothing in this sub14 section shall preclude the exercise of any existing access

15 right necessary to perfect or maintain an existing water

16 right.

17 (d) PURCHASE OF MINERAL RIGHTS.—The Sec18 retary shall seek to acquire any and all mineral rights at

19 Rocky Flats through donation or through purchase or ex20 change for fair market value from willing sellers. The Sec21 retary or the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to use

22 funds specifically provided by the Congress to acquire such

23 mineral rights, but no funds appropriated for cleanup and

24 closure of Rocky Flats may be used for such acquisition.
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1 (e) UTILITY EXTENSION.—The Secretary or the Sec2 retary of the Interior may allow not more than one exten3 sion from an existing utility right-of-way on Rocky Flats,

4 if necessary. Such extension, if any, shall be subject to

5 the conditions in subsection (c).

6 SEC. 10. ROCKY FLATS MUSEUM.

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—In order to commemorate the con8 tribution that Rocky Flats and its worker force provided

9 to the winning of the cold war and the impact it has had

10 on the nearby communities and the State of Colorado, the

11 Secretary is authorized to establish a Rocky Flats Mu12 seum.

13 (b) LOCATION.—The Rocky Flats Museum to be es14 tablished under subsection (a) shall be located in the city

15 of Arvada, unless after compliance with subsection (c) the

16 Secretary determines otherwise.

17 (c) STUDY.—The Secretary shall consult with the city

18 of Arvada, other local communities, and the Colorado

19 State Historical Society on the development of the mu20 seum, its siting, and any other issues relevant to its devel21 opment and construction.

22 (d) REPORT.—Not later than 3 years after the date

23 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary, in coordination

24 with the city of Arvada, Colorado, shall submit a report

25 to the Congress regarding the costs associated with the
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1 construction of the museum and any other relevant issues

2 to its construction and development.

3 SEC. 11. FUNDING.

4 Beginning at the time of submission of the first Pres5 idential budget proposal submitted under section 1105(a)

6 of title 31, United States Code, after the date of enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary and the Secretary of the

8 Interior shall annually inform the Committee on Appro9 priations and the Committee on Resources of the House

10 of Representatives and appropriate Committees of the

11 Senate as to the costs incurred in implementing this Act

12 during the preceding fiscal year and the funds required

13 to implement this Act during the current and subsequent

14 fiscal years.

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