COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS During the consideration of H.R. 1134, the Committee adopted nine amendments. The first, second, third, fourth, seventh, and eighth amendments make technical or clarifying changes. The fifth and sixth amendments conform the language of the House-passed bill to that adopted by the Committee for other bills with respect to the withdrawal of lands subject to valid existing rights. The ninth amendment makes a technical change to the title. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS Section 1 entitles the bill the "Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1994." Section 2 directs the Secretary of the Interior (the "Secretary”) to transfer approximately 14,000 acres of public lands administered by BLM to the Secretary of Agriculture, the State of Colorado, and certain political subdivisions of the State of Colorado. The section states that conveyances made pursuant to this Act shall be made without conducting new surveys. Section 3(a) transfers, subject to valid existing rights, administrative jurisdiction over 3,400 acres of public lands to the Secretary of Agriculture and adds the 3,400 acres to the Arapaho National Forest. Subsection (b)(1) modifies the boundaries of the Arapaho National Forest as shown on the map referred to in section 2 and provides that, for the purposes of section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965, the boundaries of the Arapaho National Forest as modified by this section shall be treated as if they were the boundaries of such forest on January 1, 1965. Paragraph (b)(2) provides that nothing in this section shall affect valid existing rights, or interests in existing land use authorizations, except that any such right or authorization shall be administered by the Forest Service. The paragraph also requires that reissuance of any such authorization shall be in accordance with laws applicable to the National Forest System and regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture, except that the change in administrative jurisdiction shall not constitute, in itself, a ground to deny renewal or reissuance of any such authorization. Section 4(a) directs the Secretary to transfer without consideration, subject to section 6 and valid existing rights, all right, title, and interest, both surface and subsurface, to 3,200 acres of public lands, excluding any lands within the corporate boundaries of the towns of Georgetown and Silver Plume, Colorado, as follows: (1) 600 acres of such lands to the town of Silver Plume, Colorado. (2) 800 acres of such lands to the town of Georgetown, Colorado. (3) 600 acres of such lands to the County of Clear Creek, Colorado. (4) 1,200 acres of such lands to the State of Colorado. Subsection (b)(1) provides that the lands transferred under this section shall be managed in accordance with the cooperative management agreement among the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the Colorado State Historical Society, the town of Silver Plume, the town of Georgetown, and the County of Clear Creek (the "County"), dated January 1989; the stipulations related to the preservation of artifacts contained in the BLM's cultural resource survey pertaining to such lands; and the terms of the application filed with the Secretary for the disposal of such lands under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869), except that other uses of the lands may be made with the approval of the Secretary. Paragraph (b)(2)(A) provides that title to lands conveyed by the Secretary under this section may not be transferred by the grantee or its successor except, with the consent of the Secretary, to a transferee which would be a qualified grantee under section 2 (a) or (c) of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act. Subparagraph (B) states that the provisions of paragraph (3) of this subsection shall apply if at any time after such conveyance the grantee or its successor attempts to transfer to any other party title to, or control over, any of the lands except as provided in subparagraph (A), or such lands are devoted to a use inconsistent with this subsection. Paragraph (b)(3) provides that, if an event described in paragraph (2)(B) occurs, the grantee shall be liable to pay the Secretary the fair market value of all lands conveyed to such grantee under this section. Section 5 subsection (a) directs the Secretary, subject to subsection (b), section 6 and valid existing rights, to transfer without consideration all right, title, and interest, to both the surface and subsurface of 7,400 acres of public lands along with any public lands within the corporate boundaries of the towns of Georgetown or Silver Plume to the County. Subsection (b) prohibits such transfer until it is shown that the county has adopted comprehensive land use plans and zoning regulations for such lands; the Secretary finds that such plans and regulations are consistent with proper management of any adjacent public lands; and the Secretary and the County have reached an agreement concerning the steps that the County will take to ensure that any sales of the lands by the County will be for fair market value, the County's duty to provide the Secretary with an annual accounting of all receipts and expenditures with regard to such lands, and the obligation of the County to pay to the United States an amount equal to the County's total net receipts from the sale of some or all of such lands within 10 years after enactment of this Act. Subsection (c)(1) provides that the County may transfer some or all of the lands referred to in subsection (a) to a qualified grantee under section 2(a) or 2(c) of the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (43 U.S.C. 869–1(a), (c)). If such a transfer occurs, the same terms and conditions will apply to the land and, in addition, such terms and conditions shall also apply to the mineral estate in such lands. Paragraph (c)(2) provides that any of the lands referred to in subsection (a) which remain in County ownership 10 years after the date of enactment of this Act shall be retained by the County under the same terms and conditions as if transferred to the County on such date, except that such terms and conditions shall also apply to the mineral estate in such lands. Section 6(a) withdraws, subject to valid existing rights, the public lands referred to in sections 4 and 5 from all forms of entry under the mining laws, mineral leasing laws, the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.Č. 100), or availability for disposal of mineral materials. Subsection (b) provides that, subject to valid existing rights, no patent shall be issued after the date of enactment of this Act for any mining or mill site claim located under the general mining laws within the public laws referred to in sections 4 and 5. The Committee appreciates the cooperative attitude Clear Creek County has demonstrated towards protecting the interests of mineral claimants, and notes that this legislation is supported by the Clear Creek County Metal Mining Association and the Colorado Mining Association. Clear Creek County has assured the Committee that the right of unpatented claim holders to develop their properties will not be denied. Further, the Committee understands that the County will offer claim holders the right of first refusal should it seek to sell the surface lands over their claims. Section 7(a) provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, neither the Secretary nor any other officer or agent of the United States shall be required to inspect any of the public lands described in this Act. Subsection (b) provides that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, the United States shall have no responsibility or liability with respect to any hazardous wastes found on the lands after their transfer of ownership, however, nothing in this Act shall be construed as diminishing or increasing any responsibility or liability of the United States based on condition of the lands on the date of their transfer to the ownership of another party. Subsection (c) provides that any funds paid to the United States by the County pursuant to an agreement described in section 5(b)(3) shall be deemed to be receipts from the sale of public lands, but shall be specifically accounted for in documents submitted to justify proposed appropriations for the Bureau of Land Management. COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS The Committee has requested that the Congressional Budget Office provide a cost estimate for this measure. The cost estimate was not available at the time the report was filed. When the estimate becomes available, the Chairman will request that it be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. 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. 1134. The Act 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, addition paperwork would result from the enactment of H.R. 1134, as ordered reported. EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS On October 21, 1993, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of Agriculture, the Department of the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting forth Executive agency recommendations on H.R. 1134. These reports had not been received at the time the report on H.R. 1134 was filed. When the reports become available, the Chairman will request that they be printed in the Congressional Record for the advice of the Senate. The testimony provided by the Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows: STATEMENT OF MIKE PENFOLD, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, LAND AND RENEWABLE RESOURCES, BUREAU OF LAND MANAGE- I appreciate the opportunity to appear here today to present the views of the Department of the Interior (DOI) on H.R. 1134, the "Clear Creek County, Colorado, Public Lands Transfer Act of 1993.” The bill would direct the Secretary of the Interior (Secretary) to transfer administrative jurisdiction of approximately 14,000 acres of public lands to the Secretary of Agriculture, the State of Colorado, and certain local governments in the State of Colorado. The DOI supports enactments of H.R. 1134 with technical amendments that I will discuss. The lands that would be transferred to Colorado State and local governments would be withdrawn, subject to valid existing rights, from all forms of entry under the general mining laws and mineral leasing laws of the United States. Patents could not be issued for mining claims or millsite claims after the date of enactment of H.R. 1134 unless a patent application had been filed with the Secretary by such date and all patenting requirements had been met. Neither the Secretary nor any other Federal officer would be required to inspect any of the public lands described in the bill for the presence or absence of hazardous substances. The United States would not be liable for any hazardous substances placed on any of the lands covered by the bill after their transfer, but would be liable for such substances on the lands on the date of enactment of this Act. As background, the BLM's Northeast [Colorado] Resource Management Plan (RMP), approved in 1986, reflected the decision to transfer title to the surface of all the lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the resource area. Public lands comprise nearly one-half of Clear County in the heart of the resource area. That decision was made because the Federal ownership is fragmented, making the area difficult and uneconomic for the BLM to manage. Currently, much of the land cannot be used by the general public because of lack of access and problems with private-Federal boundary identification. Implementation of the RMP is proceeding very slowly because of the cost of survey under the Recreation and Public Purposes Act, and the existence of unpatented mining claims. Enactment of H.R. 1134 would legislatively provide for disposal of those lands that would be costly and time-consuming to transfer out of Federal ownership using the conventional processes and procedures of the BLM, which include surveys. Under this bill, new surveys would not be required for the conveyances. We have these concerns with H.R. 1134. Section 4(a) would require the Secretary to transfer to the State of Colorado and certain local governments, without consideration, all right, title, and interest, both surface and subsurface, of the United States in and to approximately 3,200 acres of public lands. Section 4(b) would require that those transferred lands be managed, among other things, in accordance with the terms of the applications filed with the Secretary for the disposal of such lands under the Act of June 14, 1926, the Recreation and Public Purposes Act (R&PP) (43 U.S.C. 869 et seq.). Since the R&PP Act requires that minerals be reserved to the United States, section 4(b) is inconsistent with section 4(a) which requires that both the surface and subsurface be transferred out of Federal ownership. This inconsistency should be corrected. We will be pleased to work with committee staff to develop language to make this correction. We have a similar R&PP Act concern with section 5(c). That section would authorize the County to transfer the land it acquires under H.R. 1134, both surface and subsurface, to any entity that would be a qualified grantee under the R&PP Act. Any such transferred land, as well as land that remains unsold 10 years after enactment or land that the County intends to retain, would be required to be held under the same terms and conditions as if transferred by the United States under the R&PP Act, except that such terms and conditions would also apply to the mineral estate. Since the surface and subsurface of the land would be transferred, the phrase of exception causes confusion as to the intent of this section. Under section 5(b)(3), land could not be transferred to Clear Creek County, Colorado, until the County and the Secretary reach an agreement that (1) the County will sell land at fair market value; (2) the County will provide the Secretary with an annual accounting of all receipts and expenditures from the land sales and will pay the United States an amount the Secretary determines to be equal to the County's total net receipts. This section would impose accounting and compliance procedures that would be burdensome to both the County and the Federal Government. We believe that there will not be a significant net amount for the county to pay to the United States after ordinary costs of planning, survey |