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Calendar No. 55
115th Congress } { Report
SENATE
1st Session } { 115-41
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CLARIFICATION TO THE NORTHERN ARIZONA LAND EXCHANGE AND VERDE RIVER
BASIN PARTNERSHIP ACT OF 2005
_______
May 3, 2017.--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. 466]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 466) to clarify the description of
certain Federal land under the Northern Arizona Land Exchange
and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005 to include
additional land in the Kaibab National Forest, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 466 is to clarify the description of
certain Federal land under the Northern Arizona Land Exchange
and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005 to include
additional land in the Kaibab National Forest.
Background and Need
S. 466 clarifies the description of one parcel of land that
was authorized for conveyance in the Northern Arizona Land
Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005 (Public
Law 109-110; 119 Stat. 2356). The 2005 legislation provided for
the conveyance of 237.5 acres from the U.S. Forest Service
(USFS) to Young Life for a camp near Williams, Arizona.
Although the legislation described the 237.5-acre parcel
(section 104(a)(5)), the map referenced in the same section
erroneously depicted only 212.5 acres.
The 2005 Act provided that ``in the case of any discrepancy
between a map and legal description, the map shall prevail
unless the Secretary and Yavapai Ranch agree otherwise.''
(Public Law 109-110, section 102(a)(4)(B)). Despite the
statutory authority to reconcile the description with the map,
the Secretary of Agriculture has taken the position that the
USFS lacks the legal authority to convey more than the 212.5
acres identified on the map. S. 466 amends the legal
description to add the 25 acres and clarify that the USFS has
the authority to convey the full 237.5 acres that was described
in the text of the 2005 legislation.
Legislative History
Senators Flake and McCain introduced S. 466 on January 5,
2017.
In the 114th Congress, Senators Flake and McCain introduced
similar legislation, S. 1592, on June 17, 2015. The
Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining held a
hearing on the bill on October 8, 2015. On November 19, 2015,
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session and ordered S. 1592 favorably reported without
amendment.
The measure was included in Amendment No. 3234, which the
Senate agreed to on April 19, 2016, as an amendment to S. 2012,
the Energy Policy Modernization Act of 2016, which the Senate
passed, as amended, on April 20, 2016.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources met in open
business session on March 30, 2017, and ordered S. 466
favorably reported.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on March 30, 2017, by a majority voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
466.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 amends section 104(a)(5) of the Northern Arizona
Land Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005
(Public Law 109-110; 119 Stat. 2356) to clarify that the
description of the Federal land to be conveyed to Yavapai Ranch
as part of the land exchange includes the 25 acres referenced
in this section.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of the costs of this measure has
been provided by the Congressional Budget Office: S. 466 would
amend current law to clarify that the Secretary of Agriculture
is authorized to convey about 238 acres of federal land to a
summer camp in Arizona. Under current law, the Secretary is
authorized to convey 212 acres to the camp.
Based on information provided by the Forest Service, CBO
estimates that implementing the legislation would not affect
the federal budget. Because CBO expects that the acreage that
could be conveyed under the bill would not generate any income
over the next 10 years, enacting S. 466 would not affect direct
spending. Enacting the bill also would not affect revenues;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 466 would not increase net
direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year period beginning in 2028.
S. 466 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA).
The bill would modify the terms of a land exchange between the
federal government and a private business, which would have a
small incidental effect on property taxes collected by the
state and local governments in Arizona. That effect, however,
would not result from an intergovernmental mandate as defined
in UMRA.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Jeff LaFave
(for federal costs) and Jon Sperl (for intergovernmental
mandates). The estimate was approved 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. 466. 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. 466, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 466, 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
Because S. 466 is similar to legislation considered by the
Committee in the 114th Congress, the Committee did not request
Executive Agency views. The testimony provided by the USFS at
the hearing before the Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests,
and Mining on October 8, 2015, follows:
Statement of Glenn Casamassa, Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest
System, U.S. Forest Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) regarding S. 414, S. 1592, and S. 2069.
s. 1592, ``a bill to clarify the description of certain federal land
under the northern arizona land exchange and verde river basin
partnership act of 2005 to include additional land in the kaibab
national forest''
S. 1592 would authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey an additional 25 acres to Young Life Lost Canyon
Organizational Camp. The Department can support enactment of S.
1592, if a technical amendment is included that would provide
an easement for a proposed extension for the Water Storage Tank
Road.
This legislation clarifies the Northern Arizona Land
Exchange and Verde River Basin Partnership Act of 2005. The
original Act authorized a land exchange with Yavapai Ranch and
the United States that was not completed. The Act also
authorized the sale of a parcel of National Forest System lands
to Young Life Lost Canyon Organizational Camp on the Kaibab
National Forest. The legislative map referenced by the Act for
the Young Life private property showed an area of only
approximately 212 acres to be conveyed, instead of the
approximately 237.5 acres stated in the Act. The area shown on
the legislative map excluded a particular 25-acre parcel.
Because the legislative map controlled over the reference to
approximately 237.5 acres, the Act did not authorize conveyance
of the 25-acre parcel excluded by the map. S. 1592 was
introduced to clarify that conveyance of the 25-acre parcel is
also authorized, allowing the United States to convey a total
of approximately 237.5 acres to Young Life.
In summary, S. 1592 would resolve the disparity between the
legislative map and the total acreage authorized for
conveyance, allowing the Secretary to proceed with the direct
sale of a total of approximately 237.5 acres to Young Life Lost
Canyon Organizational Camp. In order to ensure agreement
between the acreage and the legal description, the Agency is
willing to provide additional technical assistance to the
Committee, and wants to work with the Committee to include the
easement for the Water Tank Road Extension.
We look forward to working with the Committee and the
Sponsor to resolve these issues.
This concludes my remarks. I would be happy to answer any
questions. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the original bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing
law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new
matter is printed in italic, existing law in which no change is
proposed is shown in roman):
NORTHERN ARIZONA LAND EXCHANGE AND VERDE RIVER BASIN PARTNERSHIP ACT OF
2005
* * * * * * *
SEC. 104. DESCRIPTION OF FEDERAL LAND.
(a) In General.--The Federal land referred to in this title
consists of the following:
* * *
(5) Certain land located in the Kaibab National
Forest, comprising approximately 237.5 acres, as
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Yavapai Ranch
Land Exchange, Younglife Lost Canyon'', dated August
2004, which, notwithstanding section 102(a)(4)(B),
includes the N 1/2, NE 1/4, SW 1/4, SW 1/4, the N 1/2,
N 1/2, SE 1/4, SW 1/4, and the N 1/2, N 1/2, SW 1/4, SE
1/4, sec. 34, T. 22 N., R. 2 E., Gila and Salt River
Meridian, Coconino County, comprising approximately 25
acres.
* * * * * * *
