79–010

Calendar No. 753

106TH CONGRESS REPORT

2d Session " ! SENATE 106–375

JOE ROWELL PARK

AUGUST 25, 2000.—Ordered to be printed

Filed under authority of the order of the Senate of July 26, 2000

Mr. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources, submitted the following

REPORT

[To accompany S. 1972]

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was

referred the bill (S. 1972) to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to

convey to the town of Dolores, Colorado, the current site of the Joe

Rowell Park, 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 6 and 7; Strike: ‘‘in section 16 (Map 1), township 37 north, range 15 west, NMPM, Dolores, Colorado.’’ and insert in lieu the following: ‘‘depicted on the map entitled ‘‘Joe Rowell

Park,’’ dated July 12, 2000.’’

2. Insert at the end of the bill a new subsection (d) as follows:

‘‘(d) The map referenced in subsection (b)(1) shall be on file for public inspection in the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service at the

Department of Agriculture in Washington, DC.’’.

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 1972 is to direct the Secretary of Agriculture

to convey to the town of Dolores, Colorado, the current site of the

Joe Rowell Park.

BACKGROUND AND NEED

The parcel to be conveyed by S. 1972 was originally privately

owned, and was acquired by the Bureau of Reclamation for flood

protection. The parcel was subsequently used for recreation purposes and transferred to the Forest Service. The Forest Service

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issued a permit to the town of Dolores to operate the park and

make improvements on the parcel.

The park is surrounded by town and private lands. Conveyance

to the town of Dolores will facilitate the addition of further improvements, and eliminate time-consuming requirements for routine upgrades of the existing features of the park. In addition, the

parcel is not contiguous to National Forest lands.

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 1972 was referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural

Resources on November 19, 1999. The Subcommittee on Forests

and Public Land Management held a hearing on S. 1972 on June

8, 2000. At the business meeting on July 13, 2000, the Committee

on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 1972 reported favorably with an amendment.

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION AND TABULATION OF VOTES

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in

open business session on July 13, 2000, by a voice vote of a quorum

present recommends that the Senate pass S. 1972 if amended as

described herein.

COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS

During the consideration of S. 1972, the Committee adopted two

amendments that replace the reference to a legal description with

a reference to a map of the parcel to be conveyed.

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section (1)(a) requires the Secretary of Agriculture to convey, for

no consideration, the parcel described in subsection (b).

Subsection (b) describes the property and refers to the map that

depicts the parcel. The subsection also requires a survey of the

property, the cost of which will be paid for by the town of Dolores.

Subsection (c) requires the reversion of the property to the

United States if the town of Dolores attempts to transfer title, encumber the property, or permit a use other than as a park.

Subsection (d) requires that the map referenced in subsection (b)

will be on file for public inspection in Washington, D.C. in the

Chief of the Forest Service’s office.

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimate of the costs of

this measure follows:

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC July 20, 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. 1972, a bill to direct the

Secretary of Agriculture to convey to the town of Dolores, Colorado,

the current site of the Joe Rowell Park.

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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.

S. 1972—A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey to

the town of Dolores, Colorado, the current site of the Joe Rowell

Park

CBO estimates that enacting S. 1972 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.

S. 1972 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey 25

acres of federal land to the town of Dolores, Colorado. That town

currently operates a town park on those lands under a special use

permit from the Forest Service. According to the Forest Service, the

lands currently generate no significant receipts, and the agency

does not expect them to generate significant receipts in the future.

S. 1972 would require the town to pay for a survey of the land before it could be conveyed. CBO estimated that any administrative

costs incurred by the Forest Service to complete the conveyance

would be insignificant.

S. 1972 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. The town of Dolores, Colorado, would benefit not only

because it could acquire the Joe Rowell site at almost no cost, but

also because it would be able to make improvements to the park

without seeking approval form the U.S. Forest Service.

The CBO staff contact 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. 1972.

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. 1972, as ordered reported.

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

On July 13, 2000 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of Agriculture and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1972. These reports had not

been received at the time the report on S. 1972 was filed. When

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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 Forest Service at the Subcommittee

hearing follows:

STATEMENT OF JACK CRAVEN, DIRECTOR OF LANDS, FOREST

SERVICE, UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee; thank

you for the opportunity to present the administration’s

views concerning S. 1972, a bill to direct the Secretary of

Agriculture to convey to the town of Dolores, Colorado, the

current site of the Joe Rowell Park. We would not object

to this bill if it is amended as suggested.

This bill would convey approximately 25 acres of national forest system land to the town of Dolores, Colorado.

The land is currently under special use permit to the town

for use as a park. If the bill were amended to provide for

fair market value in consideration for the conveyance, the

Administration would not object to the bill.

This concludes my testimony. I would be glad to answer

any questions you 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 S. 1972, as ordered reported.