[House Report 104-763]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
104th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 104-763
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LAND CONVEYANCE, DEL NORTE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
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September 4, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2709]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2709) to provide for the conveyance of certain land to
the Del Norte County Unified School District of Del Norte
County, California, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill
as amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu
thereof the following:
SECTION 1. CONVEYANCE.
As soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act,
the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to the Del Norte County
Unified School District of Del Norte County, California, in accordance
with this Act, all right, title, and interest of the United States in
and to the property described in section 2.
SEC. 2. PROPERTY DESCRIPTION.
The property referred to in section 1 is that portion of Township 17
North, Range 2 East, Humboldt Meridian in Del Norte County, California,
which is further described as follows:
Beginning at Angle Point No. 3 of Tract 41 as resurveyed by
the Bureau of Land Management under survey Group No. 1013,
approved August 13, 1990, and shown on the official plat
thereof;
thence on the line between Angle Points No. 3 and No. 4 of
Tract 41, North 89 degrees, 24 minutes, 20 seconds East, a
distance of 345.44 feet to Angle Point No. 4 of Tract 41;
thence on the line between Angle Points No. 4 and No. 5 of
Tract 41, South 00 degrees, 01 minutes, 20 seconds East, a
distance of 517.15 feet;
thence West, a distance of 135.79 feet;
thence North 88 degrees, 23 minutes, 01 seconds West, a
distance of 61.00 feet;
thence North 39 degrees, 58 minutes, 18 seconds West, a
distance of 231.37 feet to the East line of Section 21,
Township 17 North, Range 2 East;
thence along the East line of Section 21, North 00 degrees,
02 minutes, 20 seconds West, a distance of 334.53 feet to the
point of beginning.
SEC. 3. CONSIDERATION.
The conveyance provided for in section 1 shall be without
consideration except as required by this Act.
SEC. 4. CONDITIONS OF CONVEYANCE.
The conveyance provided for in section 1 shall be subject to the
following conditions:
(1) Del Norte County shall be provided, for no consideration,
an easement for County Road No. 318 which crosses the Northeast
corner of the property conveyed.
(2) The Pacific Power and Light Company shall be provided,
for no consideration, an easement for utility equipment as
necessary to maintain the level of service provided by the
utility equipment on the property as of the date of the
conveyance.
(3) The United States shall be provided, for no
consideration, an easement to provide access to the United
States property that is south of the property conveyed.
SEC. 5. LIMITATIONS ON CONVEYANCE.
The conveyance authorized by section 1 is subject to the following
limitations:
(1) Encumbrances.--Such conveyance shall be subject to all
encumbrances on the land existing as of the date of enactment
of this Act.
(2) Re-entry right.--The United States shall retain a right
of re-entry in the land described for conveyance in section 2.
If the Secretary determines that the conveyed property is not
being used for public educational or related recreational
purposes, the United States shall have a right to re-renter the
property conveyed therein without consideration.
SEC. 6. ADDITIONAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
The conveyance provided for in section 1 shall be subject to such
additional terms and conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Del Norte County Unified School District agree are necessary to protect
the interests of the United States.
purpose of the bill
The purpose of H.R. 2709 is to provide for the conveyance
of certain land to the Del Norte County Unified School District
of Del Norte County, California.
background and need for legislation
The Gasquet Mountain School is located on 4.32 acres of
national forest land in Del Norte County, California. H.R. 2709
would transfer ownership of the land to the Del Norte County
Unified School District.
Gasquet is a small rural community located in the middle of
national forest and national park lands in Northwest
California. The school district has leased the land in question
for $900 per year for a school since 1961. While technically
part of the Six Rivers National Forest, the parcel is actually
in a town setting and would otherwise be unused by the Forest
Service.
Because the school district does not own title to the land,
it has been unable to qualify for funding to upgrade or add to
the school. There is no indoor facility for children in
inclement weather. In addition, Gasquet is over 20 miles from
the nearest community facility available for social or
recreational purposes. If the transfer is approved, the school
would build a multipurpose room to be used as a cafeteria,
gymnasium and meeting room.
In a July 31, 1995, letter, the Supervisor of the Six
Rivers National Forest noted that the Forest Service would have
no objection to the proposed method for conveying the site to
the school district ``due to its close proximity to the town of
Gasquet, long range need, location outside the [Smith River]
National Recreation Area, overall development of the site, and
the difficulty of the Forest Service to manage the site for
other National Forest purposes.''
committee action
H.R. 2709 was introduced on December 5, 1995, by
Congressman Frank Riggs (R-CA). The bill was referred to the
Committee on Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests and Lands. On June 6,
1996, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R. 2709, where the
Administration testified in support of the objectives of the
bill but requested amendments to address several concerns. On
June 27, 1996, the Subcommittee met to mark up H.R. 2709. An
amendment in the nature of a substitute to reserve for the
Federal Government all mineral rights in the land, and to
subject the conveyance to a reversionary interest if the land
ceases to be used for public education or recreational
purposes, was offered by Congressman James V. Hansen (R-UT) and
adopted by voice vote. The bill was then ordered favorably
reported to the Full Committee. On July 17, 1996, the Full
Resources Committee met to consider H.R. 2709. An amendment,
requested by the Forest Service, to delete the Federal
Governments retention of mineral rights and to change the
retention of a reversionary interest to a right of re-entry,
was offered by Congressman Hansen and adopted by voice vote.
The bill as amended was then ordered favorably reported to the
House of Representatives by voice vote in the presence of a
quorum.
section-by-section analysis
Section 1. Conveyance
This section directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey
the lands described in Section 2 to the Del Norte County
Unified School District as soon as possible after the date of
enactment of this Act.
Section 2. Property description
This section describes the location of properties to be
conveyed from the Six Rivers National Forest to the Del Norte
County Unified School District.
Section 3. Consideration
This section provides that the lands shall be conveyed to
the school district without consideration except as required by
the Act.
Section 4. Conditions of conveyance
This section describes the conditions for conveyance,
including: (1) an easement for a road provided to Del Norte
County; (2) an easement for utility equipment to the Pacific
Power and Light Company; and (3) an easement to provide the
Federal Government access to lands south of the property
conveyed.
Section 5. Limitations on conveyance
This section makes the conveyance subject to certain
limitations, including all encumbrances existing as of the date
of enactment of the Act, and retention of a re-entry right in
the land to be held by the Federal Government if the land
ceases to be used for public educational or recreational
purposes.
Section 6. Additional terms and conditions
This section provides for such additional terms and
conditions as the Secretary of Agriculture and the Del Norte
County Unified School District agree are necessary to protect
the interests of the Federal Government.
committee oversight findings and recommendations
With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
inflationary impact statement
Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the
enactment of H.R. 2709 will have no significant inflationary
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national
economy.
cost of the legislation
Clause 7(a) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives requires an estimate and a comparison by the
Committee of the costs which would be incurred in carrying out
H.R. 2709. However, clause 7(d) of that rule provides that this
requirement does not apply when the Committee has included in
its report a timely submitted cost estimate of the bill
prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office
under section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
compliance with house rule xi
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R.
2709 does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in tax
expenditures. The bill would decrease receipts to the federal
Government by less than $5,000 per year.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 2709.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of
rule XI of the rules of the House of Representatives and
section 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the
Committee has received the following cost estimate for H.R.
2709 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
congressional budget office cost estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 29, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed H.R. 2709, a bill to provide for the conveyance of
certain land to Del Norte County Unified School District of Del
Norte County, California, as ordered reported by the House
Committee on Resources on July 17, 1996. Enacting the bill
would affect direct spending; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures would apply. However, we estimate that any change in
direct spending would be insignificant.
H.R. 2709 would authorize and direct the Secretary of
Agriculture to transfer about 4 acres of federally owned land
in the Six Rivers National Forest to the Del Norte County
Unified School District. The school district currently leases
the land and has a school located on it. Based on information
from the Forest Service, CBO estimates this exchange would
cause the federal government to lose receipts from fees for the
current lease totaling less than $1,500 a year. The federal
government would not receive any compensation for the land. We
estimate that enacting this bill would have no significant
effect on direct spending by the Forest Service.
H.R. 2709 contains no private-sector or intergovernmental
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4) and would impose no costs on state, local,
or tribal governments. The school district would not be
required to provide any compensation for this conveyance and
any costs that the district might subsequently incur to improve
the property would be incurred voluntarily.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Victoria
Heid and Jonathan Womer (for federal costs), and Marjorie
Miller (for the state and local impact).
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neil, Director.
compliance with public law 104-4
H.R. 2709 contains no unfunded mandates.
changes in existing law
If enacted, H.R. 2709 would make no changes in existing
law.