I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 2179

To provide for the management as open space of certain lands at the Rocky

Flats Environmental Technology Site, Colorado, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

JUNE 10, 1999

Mr. UDALL of Colorado 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 provide for the management as open space of certain

lands at the Rocky Flats Environmental Technology Site,

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 Open

5 Space Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

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

2 Atomic Energy Commission, acquired the Rocky

3 Flats site in 1951 and began operations there in

4 1952. Since 1992, the mission of the Rocky Flats

5 site has changed from the production of nuclear

6 weapons components to managing wastes and mate7 rials and cleaning up and converting the site to ben8 eficial uses in a manner that is safe, environmentally

9 and socially responsible, physically secure, and cost10 effective.

11 (2) The buffer zone has generally remained un12 disturbed since the acquisition of the Rocky Flats

13 site. The buffer zone possesses an impressive diver14 sity of plant and animal species and provides impor15 tant wildlife habitat for a number of threatened and

16 endangered species.

17 (3) The State of Colorado is experiencing in18 creasing growth and development, especially in the

19 metropolitan Denver Front Range area in the vicin20 ity of the Rocky Flats site. This growth and develop21 ment reduces the amount of open space and thereby

22 diminishes for many metropolitan Denver commu23 nities the vistas of the striking Front Range moun24 tain backdrop.
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1 (4) The national interest requires that the on2 going cleanup and closure of the Rocky Flats site be

3 completed without unnecessary delay and that the

4 site thereafter be retained by the United States and

5 managed so as to preserve its value for open space

6 and wildlife habitat.

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

8 for the management of the buffer zone at the Rocky Flats

9 site as open space and to establish a process for deter10 mining and implementing appropriate policies for the

11 management of the Rocky Flats site after the ongoing

12 cleanup and closure is completed.

13 SEC. 3. FUTURE OWNERSHIP AND MANAGEMENT.

14 (a) FEDERAL OWNERSHIP.—Unless Congress pro15 vides otherwise in an Act enacted after the date of the

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

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

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

19 the Rocky Flats site shall be retained by the United

20 States.

21 (b) OPEN SPACE MANAGEMENT OF BUFFER

22 ZONE.—(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), the buff23 er zone shall be managed as open space.

24 (2) The structures that comprise the former Lindsay

25 Ranch homestead site within the Rock Creek Reserve area
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1 of the buffer zone shall be preserved and maintained to

2 protect their historic significance and provide appropriate

3 enjoyment for visitors.

4 (c) MANAGEMENT OF INDUSTRIAL AREA.—Sub5 section (b) shall not be construed to affect the manage6 ment of the industrial area or to preclude the management

7 of the industrial area as open space after cleanup and clo8 sure is completed.

9 SEC. 4. ROCKY FLATS OPEN SPACE ADVISORY COUNCIL.

10 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after

11 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Energy

12 shall establish a council to be known as the Rocky Flats

13 Open Space Advisory Council.

14 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the Council shall be

15 to examine the options for long-term oversight and man16 agement of the Rocky Flats site and to make rec17 ommendations for such oversight and management.

18 (c) DUTIES.—The Council shall—

19 (1) identify the Federal, State, and local agen20 cies and other entities that could effectively manage

21 the buffer zone to protect its wildlife, wildlife habi22 tat, and open space resources;

23 (2) identify, with respect to the various portions

24 of the buffer zone, the management policies that

25 would be most appropriate, consistent with the pro-
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1 tection of the wildlife, wildlife habitat, and open

2 space resources;

3 (3) make recommendations regarding the man4 agement of the buffer zone after completion of the

5 cleanup and closure, including the appropriate entity

6 or entities to carry out the management, the appro7 priate management policies, any appropriate imple8 menting legislation, and any other recommendations

9 that the Council considers appropriate; and

10 (4) make any recommendations regarding the

11 management of the industrial area that the Council

12 considers appropriate.

13 (d) COMPOSITION.—The Secretary shall ensure that

14 the membership of the Council includes representatives of

15 appropriate Federal, State, and local entities, including

16 the following:

17 (1) The offices of the Governor and the Attor18 ney General of the State of Colorado.

19 (2) The counties in Colorado of Jefferson and

20 Boulder.

21 (3) The cities in Colorado of Arvada, Boulder,

22 Broomfield, Westminster, Superior, Thornton, Gold23 en, and Northglenn.
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1 (4) The Rocky Flats Citizens Advisory Board

2 and the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Govern3 ments.

4 (5) The Department of Public Health and En5 vironment and the Department of Natural Resources

6 of the State of Colorado.

7 (6) The Department of Energy.

8 (7) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv9 ice.

10 (8) The Environmental Protection Agency.

11 (e) CHAIRPERSON.—The Chairperson of the Council

12 shall be appointed by the Secretary and shall be a member

13 of the Council who is a representative of the Department

14 of Energy.

15 (f) PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT.—The Council shall be

16 subject to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 U.S.C.

17 App.). The Council’s deliberations shall be open to the

18 public, and the Council shall endeavor to seek out and pro19 vide opportunities for public input.

20 (g) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the estab21 lishment of the Council, the Council shall submit a report

22 to the Secretary, the Governor of the State of Colorado,

23 and the Congress. The report shall contain the identifica24 tions and recommendations of the Council under sub25 section (c).
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1 (h) IMPLEMENTATION OF COUNCIL RECOMMENDA2 TIONS.—Subject to section 5(a) and any other provision

3 of Federal law, the Secretary may, after the submission

4 of the report by the Council under subsection (g), provide

5 for the management of the buffer zone in accordance with

6 the recommendations in that report.

7 SEC. 5. CONTINUATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL CLEANUP

8 AND CLOSURE.

9 (a) ONGOING CLEANUP AND CLOSURE.—The Sec10 retary shall continue to carry out to completion the clean11 up and closure activities at the Rocky Flats site, including

12 any such actions within the buffer zone that are necessary

13 under applicable requirements of Federal or State laws

14 and regulations.

15 (b) RULES OF CONSTRUCTION.—(1) Nothing in this

16 Act, and no action taken under this Act, shall relieve the

17 Secretary or any other person from any obligation or other

18 liability with respect to the Rocky Flats site under the

19 Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

20 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the

21 Solid Waste Disposal Act (42 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.), the

22 Colorado Hazardous Waste Act (Colo. Rev. Stat. 25–15–

23 301 et seq.), or any other applicable Federal or State law

24 or regulation.
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1 (2) This Act shall not be construed to restrict or less2 en the degree of cleanup at the Rocky Flats site, including

3 the buffer zone, required under the 1996 Rocky Flats

4 Cleanup Agreement or any other applicable requirements.

5 (3) The level of cleanup at the Rocky Flats site shall

6 not be affected by the requirements of this Act for open

7 space management of the buffer zone, but rather shall be

8 based on considerations of public health and safety.

9 SEC. 6. DEFINITIONS.

10 For purposes of this Act:

11 (1) The term ‘‘Rocky Flats’’ or ‘‘Rocky Flats

12 site’’ means the Rocky Flats Environmental Tech13 nology Site, Colorado.

14 (2) The term ‘‘Rocky Flats map’’ means the

15 map of the Rocky Flats site titled ‘‘Rocky Flats En16 vironmental Technology Site, Colorado’’ and dated

17 June 1999.

18 (3) The term ‘‘open space’’ means an area free

19 of new structures that is managed for its open space

20 characteristics and for its wildlife, wildlife habitat,

21 and potential recreational opportunities.

22 (4) The term ‘‘buffer zone’’ means the land

23 within the Rocky Flats site between the industrial

24 area and the boundary of Federal land at the Rocky
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1 Flats site, comprising approximately 6,000 acres, as

2 generally depicted on the Rocky Flats map.

3 (5) The term ‘‘industrial area’’ means the facili4 ties and structures on the Rocky Flats site that

5 comprise the former nuclear weapons production ac6 tivities, comprising approximately 385 acres, as gen7 erally depicted on the Rocky Flats map.

8 (6) The term ‘‘cleanup and closure’’ means the

9 remedial actions and decommissioning activities

10 being undertaken at the Rocky Flats site by the De11 partment of Energy under the 1996 Rocky Flats

12 Cleanup Agreement, the closure plans and baselines,

13 and any other relevant documents.

14 (7) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary

15 of Energy.

16 (8) The term ‘‘Council’’ means the Rocky Flats

17 Open Space Advisory Council.

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