89–010 

Calendar No. 661 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 115–375 

AMACHE STUDY ACT 

NOVEMBER 26, 2018.—Ordered to be printed 

Ms. MURKOWSKI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2870] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 2870) to authorize the Secretary of the Interior 

to conduct a special resource study of the site known as ‘‘Amache’’ 

in the State of Colorado, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that the bill do 

pass. 

PURPOSE

The purpose of S. 2870 is to authorize the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to conduct a special resource study of the site 

known as ‘‘Amache’’ in the State of Colorado to evaluate the national significance of the study area and determine the suitability 

and feasibility of designating the study area as a unit of the National Park System. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

Executive Order 9066, issued by President Roosevelt in 1942 and 

enforced by law (Public Law 77–503), forcibly removed tens of thousands of Japanese Americans, including nearly 70,000 American 

citizens, from the West Coast to internment centers during World 

War II. 

The smallest internment camp was located a mile from Granada, 

Colorado, in the southeastern part of the state. The camp was unofficially known as ‘‘Amache’’ after a mail mix-up between the town 

Granada and the similarly named center. 

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Over 7,000 residents of Japanese ancestry, most of them American citizens, were imprisoned at Amache from 1942 to 1945, making the camp the tenth largest concentration of people in Colorado 

at the time. 

During peak occupation in 1943, Amache was a self-contained 

compound of more than 550 buildings used for quarters, administration buildings, businesses, a hospital, and other amenities. Children attended school there, and agriculture became the main industry. 

Amache had the highest rate of military volunteerism of the internment camps—10 percent of the population, or 953 men and 

women, volunteered or were drafted for military service during 

World War II. One Amache resident, Kiyoshi Muranaga, volunteered in 1943 and was killed in battle in Italy. He was posthumously awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his extraordinary heroism and devotion to duty. 

Amache was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 

1994 and designated a National Historic Landmark in 2005. The 

Amache site is currently owned by the town of Granada and maintained by a group of volunteer students, who, led by their high 

school social studies teacher, are known as the Amache Preservation Society. 

S. 2870 authorizes the Secretary to commence a special resource 

study of Amache, to assess the significance of the area and to determine the suitability and feasibility of designating Amache as a 

unit of the National Park System. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

Senators Gardner and Bennet introduced S. 2870 on May 16, 

2018. The Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on S. 

2870 on August 15, 2018. 

Companion legislation, H.R. 5844, was introduced in the House 

of Representatives by Representative Buck on May 16, 2018, and 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open 

business session on October 2, 2018, and ordered S. 2870 favorably 

reported. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on October 2, 2018, by a majority voice vote 

of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 2870. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1. Short title 

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2. Definitions 

Section 2 contains key definitions. 

Section 3. Amache Special Resource Study 

Subsection (a) requires the Secretary to conduct a special resource study. 

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Subsection (b) requires the Secretary, in conducting the special 

resource study, to evaluate the national significance of the study 

area; determine the suitability and feasibility of designating the 

study area as a National Park System unit; consider alternatives 

for the preservation, protection, and interpretation of the study 

area; consult with Federal, State or local government entities and 

other interested stakeholders; and identify cost estimates of alternatives. 

Subsection (c) requires the study to be conducted in accordance 

with applicable law. 

Subsection (d) requires the Secretary to submit a report on the 

study results and any conclusions and recommendations to the 

House Committee on Natural Resources and the Senate Committee 

on Energy and Natural Resources no later than three years after 

the date on which funds are first made available to carry out the 

study. 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

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

S. 2870 would direct the National Park Service (NPS) to conduct 

a special resource study of Camp Amache (also known as the Granada Relocation Center) in Colorado, the site of a World War II 

Japanese-American internment camp. As part of that study, the 

NPS would determine the suitability and feasibility of designating 

the site as a unit of the National Park System. 

Based on the costs of similar studies, CBO estimates that implementing S. 2870 would cost less than $500,000; such spending 

would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. 

Enacting S. 2870 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting S. 2870 would not increase net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2029. 

S. 2870 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani Shankaran. 

The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss, 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. 2870. 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. 2870, as ordered reported. 

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CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING

S. 2870, as ordered reported, does not contain any congressionally directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff 

benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules of the Senate. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The testimony provided by the Department of the Interior at the 

August 15, 2018, hearing on S. 2870 follows: 

STATEMENT OF P. DANIEL SMITH, DEPUTY DIRECTOR, EXER- CISING THE AUTHORITY OF THE DIRECTOR, NATIONAL

PARK SERVICE, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Chairman Daines, Ranking Member King, and members 

of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to provide the Department of the Interior’s views on S. 2870 to 

authorize the Secretary of the Interior to conduct a special 

resource study of the site known as ‘‘Amache’’ in the State 

of Colorado. 

The Department recognizes that Amache, also known as 

the Granada Relocation Center, would be an appropriate 

subject for a special resource study. However, we do not 

support enactment of S. 2870 at this time, as we are focusing resources on reducing the National Park Service’s 

$11.6 billion deferred maintenance backlog and addressing 

other critical national park needs. In addition, the National Park Service has not yet completed 20 studies on 

other sites that Congress previously authorized to determine if these specific areas meet the appropriate criteria 

for designation as new park units, national heritage areas, 

national trails, or wild and scenic rivers. 

This study authorized by this bill would determine 

whether Amache meets the statutory criteria for inclusion 

in the National Park System of national significance, suitability, and feasibility, and the need for National Park 

Service management. The study would also consider other 

alternatives for preservation, protection, and interpretation of the resources by the Federal government, State or 

local government entities, or private and non-profit entities. Alternatives might include, for example, the designation of the site as an affiliated area of the National Park 

Service, where the National Park Service would provide 

technical assistance to the site but not own or manage it. 

We estimate the cost of the study to range from $200,000 

to $400,000, based on similar types of studies conducted in 

recent years. 

Amache is located one mile outside Granada, in southeastern Colorado. During World War II, Amache was one 

of 10 major sites built by the War Relocation Authority to 

detain Japanese Americans forcibly removed from the 

West Coast of the United States under the terms of Executive Order 9066. Approximately 10,000 people of Japanese 

descent were detained in Amache while it was in operation. The town of Granada owns the site, and the Amache 

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Preservation Society maintains it. Visitors can observe extensive structural remains and artifacts from the incarceration period as well as archeological evidence of land use 

around the site prior to World War II. Many of the concrete features contain inscriptions of dates and names of 

people who were incarcerated there. 

Amache was designated as a National Historic Landmark by the Secretary of the Interior on February 10, 

2006. Two organizations, the National Trust for Historic 

Preservation and Colorado Preservation, Inc., have used 

grants received through the National Park Service’s Japanese American Confinement Sites Grant Program since 

2006 to help preserve and interpret the resources at 

Amache. 

Mr. Chairman, this concludes my statement. I would be 

pleased to answer any questions you or other members of 

the Subcommittee 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 the bill as ordered reported. 

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