CONTENTS STATEMENTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., U.S. Senator from the State of Utah ............ CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WITNESSES Page 24 Statement of Nellie Edwards, Provo, UT Statement of John R. Schmidt, Associate Attorney General, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC .... Panel consisting of Loren A. Smith, chief judge, U.S. Court of Federal Claims, Washington, DC; Nancie G. Marzulla, president and chief legal counsel, Defenders of Property Rights, Washington, DC, accompanied by Roger Marzulla; and Raymond B. Ludwiszewski, former general counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC ... Panel consisting of Carol M. Rose, professor of law and organization, Yale Law School, New Haven, CT; and John J. Chaconas, St. Amant, LA Panel consisting of Nellie Edwards, Provo, UT; Larry Gardner, St. George, UT; and Edward D. Smith, Centerville, UT Panel consisting of Ken Ashby, president, Utah Farm Bureau; Ronald_W. Thompson, district manager, Washington County Water Conservance Dis- Panel consisting of Keith W. Eckel, president, Pennsylvania Farm Bureau; Merrily Pierce, second vice president, Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Association, McLean, VA; Joseph L. Sax, counselor to the Secretary of the Interior, Washington, DC; Jonathan H. Adler, director of environmental studies, Competitive Enterprise Institute, Washington, DC; and Richard G. Wilkins, Brigham Young University Law School, Provo, UT ... Congressional Budget Office letter of cost estimate of bill S. 605, dated Chafee, Hon. John H.: Testimony Hatch, Hon. Orrin G., submitted the following prepared statements from: Hon. Spencer Abraham 101 104 98 98 154 A status of Department of Interior's reform of the ESA Annual report of the White House Interagency Wetlands Working 186 Memo of the nuisance exceptions in H.R. 925 and S. 605, revised May 25, 1995 .... 191 Schmidt, John R.: Testimony ....... 9 Prepared statement 41 Shelby, Hon. Richard C.: Testimony 161 Submitted prepared statement of Senator Don Nickles 163 Smith, Edward D.: Testimony ......... 114 Prepared statement 116 Smith, Loren A.: Testimony ....... 50 Prepared statement ....... 52 Thompson, Ronald W.: Testimony ..... 124 Wilkins, Richard G.: Testimony.............. 126, 213 Prepared statement 129, 215 APPENDLX QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Questions to Jonathan H. Adler from Senators: Feinstein ..... Abraham Hatch Feingold Questions to Richard G. Wilkins from Senators: Feingold ..... Biden ... 249 250 251 253 254 255 Page ADDITIONAL SUBMISSIONS FOR THE RECORD THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1995 Prepared statement of the American Homeowners Foundation 257 259 269 270 271 275 278 279 280 MONDAY, JULY 3, 1995 Green Spring Enterprises, Inc., dated July 10, 1995 Exhibit #1: The Key to Protection: Private Lands July 11, 1991 ...... March-April 1993 ... Exhibit #5: Prepared statement of the National Audubon Society ... Dell and Jo Ann H. Walker, Orem, UT, dated June 28, 1995 Benjamin Slough with various attachments, dated July 6, 1995 ... 285 290 300 301 302 304 306 307 332 333 334 336 339 340 358 360 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 1995 Senator Dianne Feinstein ........ ...... Gary S. Guzy, deputy general counsel, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ........ and Liberty ... American Homeowners Foundation American Society of Farm Managers and Rural Appraisers and the Ap 368 377 380 390 394 395 398 401 THE RIGHT TO OWN PROPERTY THURSDAY, APRIL 6, 1995 U.S. SENATE, WASHINGTON, DC. Also present: Senators Thurmond, Grassley, Kyl, Biden, Leahy, and Feinstein. OPENING STATEMENT OF HON. ORRIN G. HATCH, A U.S. SENATOR FROM THE STATE OF UTAH The CHAIRMAN. We will call the committee to order. Our first witness this morning is going to be Ms. Nellie Edwards, of Provo, UT. So, Ms. Edwards, if you would care to take the front chair, we are sorry to jump you ahead of some other witnesses, but we think this is the way we will do it. The fifth amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees that private property shall not, “be taken for public use without just compensation.” This is not a suggestion. This is not a preference. This is not a recommendation. It is a constitutional command. So important is the right to property that the Framers saw fit to place its protection alongside such fundamental rights as due process, the right against self-incrimination, and protection against double jeopardy. Thus, when we speak today about defending the right to private property, it is vital that we always keep in mind that it stands as one of the greatest of American freedoms. In spite of the overwhelming importance of property rights, in recent years the Federal Government has trampled on those rights. A well-intentioned desire on the part of the Federal regulators to protect a wide variety of interests has led to a dramatic increase in the amount of property that is being taken away from rightful owners by the Federal Government. We will hear one of the thousands of examples of such Federal encroachments today from Ms. Nellie Edwards. She suffered the double hit of having her property declared a wetland by the Army Corps of Engineers and then having it condemned by the city of Provo, UT. Thanks to the wetland designation, the city was able to pay a mere $600 per acre for her land, land which was worth at least $7,500 per acre way back in 1973. The Omnibus Property Rights Act contains several features which combine to protect private property in a responsible and rea |