[House Report 113-221]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 113-221
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ENSURING PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT IN THE CREATION OF NATIONAL MONUMENTS ACT
_______
September 20, 2013.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 1459]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 1459) to ensure that the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of national
monuments, and for other purposes, having considered the same,
report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that
the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 1459 is to ensure that the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of
national monuments.
Background and Need for Legislation
Established in 1906, the Antiquities Act (16 U.S.C. 431)
authorizes the President to proclaim national monuments on
federal lands and regulate the care and study of our nation's
antiquities. Created to quickly reserve and protect historic
landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, or other
objects of historic or scientific interest, the Act has been
used to designate tracks of land well beyond ``the smallest
area compatible with the proper care and management of the
objects to be protected.'' Since the Act's inception in 1906,
Presidents have proclaimed a total of 137 monuments, a number
of which have been contentious, and Presidential authority
under the Act has been reduced twice. Following the unpopular
1943 proclamation of Jackson Hole National Monument,
legislation incorporating Jackson Hole into Grand Teton
National Park included a requirement for Congressional consent
for any future creation or enlargement of National Monuments in
Wyoming. Similarly, after controversial designations in Alaska,
Congressional approval became necessary for designations in
Alaska greater than 5,000 acres.
The Antiquities Act has been abused by Presidents of both
parties, particularly in the West where the timing and large
scope of many designations have resulted in unnecessary
hardship to local communities dependent upon access and use of
the land and resources within the designations. To date, no
court challenges have succeeded in undoing a Presidential
designation.
The Antiquities Act is outdated. Since its enactment,
numerous laws like the Historic Preservation Act, Native
American Graves Preservation and Repatriation Act,
Archeological and Historic Preservation Act, Archeological
Resources Preservation Act, and the National Environmental
Policy Act are actively being used to protect and preserve
American antiquities, artifacts and locations.
Antiquities Act designations should be limited to areas
that face clearly-articulated, imminent threats. The Act was
designed to prevent damage to specific sites, not to be a
national land-use planning tool covering vast landscapes or as
a backdoor maneuver to lock up lands, including private
property and other inholdings, for purposes that deny public
access for recreation and job-creation. There is no good reason
for major land-use decisions, like monuments created under the
Antiquities Act, to be done in secret without allowing proper
stakeholder input.
H.R. 1459 would guarantee public participation in National
Monument decisions by ensuring large-scale presidential
designations abide by the National Environmental Policy Act
(NEPA, 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). It prohibits the inclusion of
private property without the approval of property owners. The
bill allows the President to provide emergency protections for
a genuinely threatened site of up to 5,000 acres, but limits
these emergency designations to three years without
Congressional approval. The bill would also allow no more than
one designation per state during any presidential four-year
term. Finally, the bill requires a study of the costs
associated with managing the National Monument.
Committee Action
H.R. 1459 was introduced on April 10, 2013, by Congressman
Rob Bishop (R-UT). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Public Lands and Environmental Regulation. On April 16,
2013, the Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On July 24,
2013, the full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Environmental
Regulation was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman
Raul Grijalva (D-AZ) offered an amendment designated .025 to
the bill; the amendment was not adopted by voice vote.
Congresswoman Niki Tsongas (D-MA) offered an amendment
designated .027 to the bill; the amendment was not adopted by a
roll call vote of 13 to 24, as follows:
No further amendments were offered, and the bill was then
adopted and ordered favorably reported to the House of
Representatives by a roll call vote of 26 to 14, as follows:
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
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 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII 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 this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 1459--Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National
Monuments Act
H.R. 1459 would amend the process of designating new
national monuments. The Antiquities Act of 1906 authorizes the
President to declare landmarks, structures, and other objects
of historic or scientific interest that are on federal land to
be national monuments. H.R. 1459 would require an environmental
review of any potential monuments that are greater than 5,000
acres. The designation of a national monument would expire
after three years for any monument less than 5,000 acres unless
the monument was designated by a change in the law. Under the
bill, every designation would be followed by a feasibility
study of the costs of managing the monument. The legislation
also would limit the number of designations the President could
make to one per state during a four-year term.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service,
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 1459 would cost about $2
million over the 2014-2018 period. Over the past 10 years, 16
national monuments have been established. CBO estimates that
the additional studies required under the legislation would
increase the cost of designating a new monument by about
$300,000. Enacting H.R. 1459 would not affect direct spending
or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1459 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Martin von
Gnechten. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy
Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. Based on information provided by
the National Park Service, CBO estimates that implementing H.R.
1459 would cost about $2 million over the 2014-2018 period.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to ensure that the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of
national monuments.
Earmark Statement
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Compliance With H. Res. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the 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):
ACT OF JUNE 8, 1906
CHAP. 3060.--An Act For the preservation of American antiquities.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
* * * * * * *
Sec. 2. [That the President] (a) That the President of the
United States is hereby authorized, in his [discretion, to
declare] discretion, subject to the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), to declare by
public proclamation historic landmarks, historic and
prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or
scientific interest that are situated upon the lands owned or
controlled by the Government of the United States to be
national monuments, and may reserve as a part thereof parcels
of land, the limits of which in all cases shall be confined to
the smallest area compatible with the proper care and
management of the objects to be protected: Provided, That when
such objects are situated upon a tract covered by a bona fide
unperfected claim or held in private ownership, the tract, or
so much thereof as may be necessary for the proper care and
management of the object, may be relinquished to the
Government, and the Secretary of the Interior is hereby
authorized to accept the relinquishment of such tracts in
behalf of the Government of the United States. No more than one
declaration shall be made in a State during any presidential
four-year term of office without an express Act of Congress.
(b) A declaration under this section shall--
(1) not include private property without the informed
written consent of the owner of the private property
affected by the declaration;
(2) be considered a major Federal action under the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4321 et seq.), if it affects more than 5,000 acres;
(3) be categorically excluded under the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) and expire three years after the date of the
declaration (unless specifically designated as a
monument by Federal law), if it affects 5,000 acres or
less; and
(4) be followed by a feasibility study that includes
an estimate of the costs associated with managing the
monument in perpetuity, including any loss of Federal
and State revenue, which shall be submitted to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and made available on the
website of the Department of the Interior not later
than one year after the date of the declaration.
* * * * * * *
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 1459 is a disingenuous proposal to weaken the
President's authority to establish National Monuments under the
Antiquities Act. The bill would apply the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to future Presidential monument
declarations. While the majority has repeatedly sought to
truncate or prohibit environmental reviews for drilling and
mining, H.R. 1459 aims to require heightened environmental
analysis for potentially time-sensitive conservation proposals.
H.R. 1459 would deem a monument designation above 5,000
acres a major federal action, requiring environmental review.
The bill also limits the President to one monument designation
per state, per year. These arbitrary hurdles are only intended
to undermine the Antiquities Act and slow down conservation.
Congress passed the Antiquities Act of 1906 to give Presidents
the latitude to protect historically and culturally significant
sites. Previous Congresses understood the importance of
allowing the Executive Branch to move quickly to conserve
resources, particularly given the pace of Congressional action.
Sixteen Presidents, both Republicans and Democrats, have
used the Antiquities Act to establish National Monuments. Some
of the nation's most cherished and visited National Parks,
including the Grand Canyon, were first designated National
Monuments because past Presidents had the foresight to set them
aside. Presidents have used the Antiquities Act to protect
resources central to the American story and identity, including
Native American sacred sites, historic battlefields, and
natural treasures like the Grand Staircase Escalante. With the
Cesar E. Chavez National Monument and the Harriet Tubman
National Monument, among others, recent declarations by
President Obama have included sites significant to an even more
diverse range of American communities.
H.R. 1459 incorrectly assumes that Presidential
proclamations are done in secret, without the support of local
stakeholders. Earlier this year, President Obama established
five new National Monuments, all with broad support from local
communities and affiliated public interest groups. At the
hearing for H.R. 1459, the committee heard testimony from the
Mayor of Hampton, Virginia, the site of the National Monument
at Fort Monroe, established in 2011 by President Obama. The
Mayor highlighted the inclusiveness of the process and the
importance of the monument for her community.
In the 112th Congress, ten bills were introduced to
designate monuments or protect areas as historic sites; only
five of those bills were heard by the Committee and only two,
both sponsored by Republicans, were put before the full House
of Representatives. Three of the new monuments established by
President Obama had bills filed in the House last Congress;
none of those bills received a hearing.
The Majority complains about the Antiquities Act and then
fails to give new monument proposals a fair hearing. The
Majority opposes new monument designations before they happen,
but has never sought legislation to overturn a monument after
it has been designated. Given this level of dysfunction, it is
more important than ever that the authority granted the
President in the Antiquities Act more than a century ago remain
effective.
Peter A. DeFazio.
Niki Tsongas.
Raul M. Grijalva.
Joe Garcia.
Alan Lowenthal.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Tony Cardenas.
Rush Holt.