29–006 

113TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 113–99 

RATTLESNAKE MOUNTAIN PUBLIC ACCESS ACT 

JUNE 6, 2013.—Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of 

the Union and ordered to be printed 

Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, from the Committee on Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany H.R. 1157] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 1157) to ensure public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural, and other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE BILL

The purpose of H.R. 1157 is to ensure public access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural, 

and other purposes. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Rattlesnake Mountain is a 3,527-foot, windswept, treeless, subalpine ridge overlooking the Hanford nuclear site in Benton County, Washington. The highest winds recorded on Rattlesnake were 

around 150 mph. While parts of the western slope of the mountain 

are privately-owned ranch land, the eastern slope has been under 

federal ownership for the past several decades. In 1943, Rattlesnake Mountain was seized by the United States government using 

its condemnation authority and it became a buffer zone for the 

Manhattan nuclear project at the Hanford site. In 1956, the Army 

installed a Nike Ajax missile base on the southeastern end of the 

ridge and maintained the site until 1960, when it was closed. 

On June 9, 2000, President Bill Clinton issued Presidential Proclamation 7319 to establish the 195,000-acre Hanford Reach NaVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:18 Jun 07, 2013 Jkt 029006 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR099.XXX HR099

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
2 

tional Monument, managed by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) 

and the Department of Energy (DOE). The monument became the 

first to be administered by FWS in the United States. Eight years 

after the designation of the monument, in 2008, FWS published its 

Hanford Reach National Monument Final Comprehensive Conservation Plan and Environmental Impact Statement. 

Public comments submitted to FWS in the development of the 

15-year management plan were in favor of increasing public access 

to specific areas of the Monument, and specifically, to Rattlesnake 

Mountain and its summit. A paved road leading to the summit already exists and is maintained by DOE due to the presence of communication towers located on the mountain. The summit of Rattlesnake Mountain provides some of the most panoramic views of the 

region, the Monument and the entire Hanford site. Other areas of 

Rattlesnake Mountain are also of historic, ecological and scenic interest that should be accessible to the public. 

FWS, however, made a determination in the management plan 

that the entire Rattlesnake Mountain Unit should be kept closed 

to the public ‘‘due to resource concerns.’’ The only exceptions to the 

ban were individuals who obtain a Special Use Permit, limited to 

approved ecological research and ‘‘environmental education activities.’’ Such permits have been extremely limited and do not afford 

proper public access. 

H.R. 1157 would ensure reasonable access to lands owned by the 

American people, access that has been essentially non-existent in 

the over one dozen years since the Monument was designated, despite recent indications that FWS supports such access. 

H. R. 1157 instructs the Secretary of the Interior to provide public access to Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National 

Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural and other purposes. It allows the Secretary to enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of Energy, the State of 

Washington, any local governmental agency or interested parties to 

maintain the access road and facilitate guided tours to the summit 

of Rattlesnake Mountain. The legislation does not dictate how and 

when public access occurs, but does mandate that some access will 

be permitted, including motorized access. 

COMMITTEE ACTION

H.R. 1157 was introduced on March 14, 2013, by Congressman 

Doc Hastings (R–WA). The bill was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee 

on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs. On April 24, 

2013, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the 

bill. The Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular 

Affairs was discharged by unanimous consent. No amendments 

were offered, and the bill was then adopted and ordered favorably 

reported to the House of Representatives by unanimous consent. 

COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII 

of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on 

Natural Resources’ oversight findings and recommendations are reflected in the body of this report. 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
3 

COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII

1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B) 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 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 

3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the 

Director of the Congressional Budget Office: 

H.R. 1157—Rattlesnake Mountain Public Access Act 

H.R. 1157 would require the Secretary of the Interior to provide 

access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford 

Reach National Monument in the state of Washington. The legislation would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of Energy, the state of 

Washington, and other entities to maintain an access road and to 

provide guided tours to the summit. 

H.R. 1157 does not specifically authorize appropriations, but it 

may affect when a public access road to the summit opens. Rattlesnake Mountain is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of 

Historic Places. Therefore, public access to the site is currently 

being evaluated by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act. 

The cost to provide public access to the mountain summit under 

current law will depend on the outcome of that evaluation and 

other ongoing FWS studies. There is an existing road to the summit; however, providing public access to it may require road improvements that would cost a few million dollars according to the 

agency. The legislation could influence the magnitude and timing 

of such expenditures; however, CBO expects that any change in 

costs relative to those expected under current law would be minimal. Furthermore, any such costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 1157 would not affect direct 

spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not 

apply. 

H.R. 1157 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. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von Gnechten. 

The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Assistant Deputy Director for Budget Analysis. 

2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required by 

clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, 

this bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in revenues or 

tax expenditures. The cost to provide public access to the Rattlesnake Mountain summit under current law will depend on the outcome of a Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) evaluation and other onVerDate Mar 15 2010 19:18 Jun 07, 2013 Jkt 029006 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6659 Sfmt 6602 E:\HR\OC\HR099.XXX HR099

tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with HEARING
4 

going FWS studies. There is an existing road to the summit; however, providing public access to it may require road improvements 

that would cost a few million dollars according to the agency. The 

legislation could influence the magnitude and timing of such expenditures; however, CBO expects that any change in costs relative 

to those expected under current law would be minimal. 

3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by 

clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or objective 

of this bill is to ensure public access to the summit of Rattlesnake 

Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument for educational, recreational, historical, scientific, cultural, and other purposes. 

EARMARK STATEMENT

This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks, limited 

tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined under clause 9(e), 

9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of Representatives. 

COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104–4

This bill contains no unfunded mandates. 

COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5

Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that this 

bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any specific 

rule-making proceedings. 

Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not establish or 

reauthorize a program of the federal government known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was not included in 

any report from the Government Accountability Office to Congress 

pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111–139 or identified in the 

most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program Information Act (Public Law 95–220, 

as amended by Public Law 98–169) as relating to other programs. 

PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW

This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or tribal law. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing law. 

Æ 


tkelley on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with HEARING