99–010

Calendar No. 590

107TH CONGRESS REPORT " SENATE ! 2d Session 107–273 

VIRGINIA KEY BEACH PARK IN BISCAYNE BAY, FLORIDA

SEPTEMBER 11, 2002.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 2109] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the Act (H.R. 2109) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of Virginia Key Beach Park 

in Biscayne Bay, Florida, for possible inclusion in the National 

Park System, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the Act do pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of H.R. 2109 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of Virginia Key Beach 

Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida, to evaluate the site for possible inclusion in the National Park System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Virginia Key Beach Park consists of a 77-acre area on the southeastern flank of Virginia Key, a 1,000-acre island two miles east of 

Miami. Virginia Key is a relatively unspoiled by development, and 

is non-residential. Island attractions include many ponds, rivers 

and waterways, a tropical hardwood hammock, and a large wildlife 

conservation area. 

Virginia Key Beach also played a role in the civil rights struggle. 

Until August 1, 1945, all beaches in the Miami area were closed 

to African Americans. As a result of a civil rights protest in May 

1945, Dade County created a separate public beach at Virginia Key 

Beach for African-Americans on August 1, 1945. The beaches reVerDate Sep 04 2002 05:40 Sep 13, 2002 Jkt 099006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\SR273.XXX SR273
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mained segregated until civil rights laws opened all the beaches in 

the area to all races. 

In 1982, the Virginia Key Beach property was granted to the city 

of Miami from the county. In 1999, with an eye toward acknowledgment and restoration of the historical aspects of the area, the 

city of Miami designated the Virginia Key Beach Park Civil Rights 

Task Force to examine the site and give advice concerning the future of the beach. 

On the task force’s recommendation, the Virginia Key Beach 

Park Trust was established in January 2001. The site was included 

on the National Register of Historical Places in July 2002. A National Park Service special resource study would gather the data 

collected through these efforts and help determine the best way to 

recognize and protect Virginia Key Beach. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

H.R. 2109 was introduced by Representative Carrie Meek on 

June 7, 2001. The bill passed the House of Representatives by a 

voice vote on April 30, 2002. Companion legislation, S. 1312, was 

introduced by Senators Nelson of Florida and Graham on August 

2, 2001. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on 

H.R. 2109 and S. 1312 on June 12, 2002. At the business meeting 

on July 31, 2002 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

ordered H.R. 2109 favorably reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open business session on July 31, 2002, by a voice vote of a quorum present, 

recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 2109. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 requires that the Secretary of the Interior examine the 

area of the Virginia Key Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida and 

report to the designated congressional committees on the suitability and viability of establishing the site as a National Park System unit. In conducting the study the Secretary must use the criteria for the study of areas for potential inclusion in the National 

Park System contained in section 8 of Public Law 91–383. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of the cost of this measure has been provided by the Congressional Budget Office:

U.S. CONGRESS, CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, Washington, DC, August 9, 2002. 

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, 

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 H.R. 2109, an act to authorize 

the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of 

Virginia Key Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida, for possible inclusion in the National Park System. 

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

to provide them. The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. 

Sincerely, 

BARRY B. ANDERSON

(For Dan L. Crippen, Director). 

Enclosure. 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE

H.R. 2109—An act to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special resource study of Virginia Key Beach Park in 

Biscayne Bay, Florida, for possible inclusion in the National 

Park System 

H.R. 2109 would require the National Park Service (NPS) to 

evaluate the national significance of Virginia Key Beach Park and 

the suitability and feasibility of establishing it as a unit of the National Park System. The legislation would require the agency to report to the Congress on its findings upon conclusion of the study. 

Based on information provided by the NPS, CBO estimates that 

completing the required study and report would cost the federal 

government $50,000 over the next three to four years, assuming 

the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 2109 would not affect 

direct spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures 

would not apply. The legislation contains no intergovernmental or 

private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments. 

On March 26, 2002, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R. 

2109 as ordered reported by the House Committee on Resources on 

March 20, 2002. The two versions of the legislation are identical, 

as are the cost estimates. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. The 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 

H.R. 2109. 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 H.R. 2109, as ordered reported. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The pertinent legislative report received by the Committee from 

the Department of the Interior setting forth Executive agency recommendations relating to H.R. 2109 is set forth below:

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY, Washington, DC, July 25, 2002. 

Hon. JEFF BINGAMAN, 

Chairman, Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, 

U.S. Senate, Washington, DC. 

DEAR MR. CHAIRMAN: This letter sets forth the views of the Department of the Interior on S. 1312 and H.R. 2109. These bills 

would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 

resource study of Virginia Key Beach in Biscayne Bay, Florida, 

where a recreational community for African Americans flourished 

at a time when non-whites were prohibited from using other beaches in the Miami area. 

The Department supports both bills, but we prefer H.R. 2109 as 

passed by the House on April 30. However, we did not request additional funding for this study in Fiscal Year 2003. Altogether, 

there are 39 studies pending, of which we hope to transmit at least 

4 to Congress by the end of 2002. We have concerns about adding 

new funding requirements for new park units, national trails, wild 

and scenic rivers or heritage areas at the same time that we are 

trying to eliminate the deferred maintenance backlog. The Department will identify in each study all of the acquisition, one-time, 

and operational costs of the proposed site. At this time the costs 

are unknown. 

S. 1312 and H.R. 2109 authorize the Secretary of the Interior to 

conduct a special resource study of Virginia Key Beach Park in Biscayne Bay, Florida. The study would evaluate the site’s national 

significance and the suitability and feasibility of designating it as 

a unit of the National Park System. The bill calls for the study to 

be completed under the guidelines in Section 8 of P.L. 91–383, the 

National Park Service General Authorities Act of 1970, as amended, which contains the criteria for studying areas for potential inclusion in the National Park System. The guidelines specify that 

studies consider other alternatives for protection of the subject area 

besides direct management by the National Park Service. 

Virginia Key Beach Park is a 77-acre site on the southeastern 

side of Virginia Key, an island of approximately 1,000 acres located 

two miles east of downtown Miami, Florida and about one mile 

southwest of the southern tip of Miami Beach. Although there has 

been some limited development, the island is non-residential and 

includes ponds and waterways, a tropical hardwood hammock, and 

a large wildlife conservation area. 

In the summer of 1945, at the ‘‘whites-only’’ Baker’s Haulover 

Beach in north Dade County, a group of black men led by Judge 

Lawson E. Thomas staged a protest of the segration laws that prohibited black persons from using the public beaches of Miami and 

Dade County. In response to the protest, county officials created a 

public beach for the black community on Virginia Key, which 

opened on August 1, 1945. 

The beach at Virginia Key had been used by African Americans 

for at least the two previous decades. During World War II, the 

Navy used Virginia Key Beach for training African Americans servicemen who were not permitted to train in the waters along the 

‘‘whites-only’’ beaches. It was not until 1945, however, that the 

county began building recreational facilities there and making the 

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beach more accessible by providing ferry boat service until the completion of the Rickenbacker Causeway in 1949 allowed access by 

automobile. 

Virginia Key Beach Park had bathhouses, picnic pavilions, a concession stand, and a carousel and other amenities. The beach remained segregated through the 1950’s until civil rights laws opened 

all the public beaches in the area. Still, through the next two decades. Virginia Key Beach remained a popular destination for many 

in the black community. In 1982, the area was transferred from the 

county to the City of Miami with the stipulation that the area be 

kept open and maintained as a public park and recreation area. 

However, the city closed Virginia Key Beach Park shortly after the 

transfer, citing the high cost of maintenance and operations. After 

nearly 20 years of non-use, the bathhouse, concessions building and 

other facilities have fallen into disrepair. 

At the present time, efforts are underway locally to promote recognition and restoration of Virginia Key Beach Park. In 1999, the 

City of Miami appointed the Virginia Key Park Civil Rights Task 

Force to study and make recommendations for the site, one of 

which was to establish a more permanent entity to carry on the 

work of the task force. The Virginia Key Beach Park Trust was established in January, 2001, to implement the task forces’ recommendations. A nomination for the National Register of Historic 

Places is currently being prepared for the site. A special resource 

study conducted by the National Park Service would draw from the 

information compiled through these efforts and facilitate decisions 

about appropriate means to recognize and protect this site. 

We recommend that the committee approve the language used in 

H.R. 2109 as passed by the House rather than that used in S. 

1312. H.R. 2109 was amended by the House to change the name 

of the area to be studied from ‘‘Virginia Key Beach’’ to ‘‘Virginia 

Key Beach Park.’’ Although the names have been used interchangeably, using the term ‘‘Virginia Key Beach Park’’ helps clarify that 

the study is focused on the 77-acre recreation site and does not include the entire beach of Virginia Key. It is also consistent with the 

name that is being used for the site in the nomination for the National Register of Historic Places. 

The Office of Management and Budget advises that there is no 

objection to the presentation of this report from the standpoint of 

the Administration’s program. 

Sincerely, 

CRAIG MANSON, 

Assistant Secretary for Fish 

and Wildlife and Parks. 

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 Act H.R. 2109, as ordered reported.

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