[Senate Report 106-134]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 246
106th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 106-134
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MESQUITE, NEVADA
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August 3, 1999.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Murkowski, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1330]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1330) to give the city of Mesquite,
Nevada, the right to purchase at fair market value certain
parcels of public land in the city, having considered the same,
reports favorably thereon without amendment and recommends that
the bill do pass.
Purpose of the Measure
The purpose of S. 1330 is to authorize the city of
Mesquite, Nevada, to acquire public land for urban economic
growth and for the development of a new commercial airport.
Background and Need
Mesquite is the one of the fastest growing cities in the
Nation. The tourism industry in the area is growing at a rapid
rate. A new commercial airport is needed to meet the future
regional demands. The proposed airport site is a result of an
approved site selection study which was funded through, and
approved by, the Federal Aviation Administration.
The city of Mesquite is land-locked by public lands. While
some relief has been provided in Public Law 99-548, the growth
requirements are exceeding demand and the city expects to be
out of room within a couple of years.
S. 1330 authorizes the city of Mesquite, Nevada, to acquire
approximately 7,690 acres of public land. The bill amends P.L.
99-548 to authorize the purchase, at fair market value, of
5,400 acres of public land for the urban growth of the city,
and a 2,560 acre site for the development of a new commercial
airport site which would be acquired by the city at no cost
pursuant to 49 USC 47125.
Legislative History
S. 1330 was introduced by Senator Reid on July 1, 1999. The
Subcommittee on Forest and Public Land Management held a
hearing on S. 1330 on July 13, 1999. At the business meeting on
July 28, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
ordered S. 1330 favorably reported without amendment.
Committee Recommendations and Tabulation of Votes
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on July 28, 1999, by a unanimous voice
vote of a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S.
1330, without amendment.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 amends section 3 of Public Law 99-548 by adding
at the end the following new subsections (e) and (f):
Subsection (e)(1) gives exclusive right to the city of
Mesquite for a period of 12 years, to purchase specified
parcels of land.
Paragraph (2) describes the parcels of land.
Paragraph (3) requires that within 10 years the city of
Mesquite shall notify the Secretary which parcels the city
intends to purchase.
Paragraph (4) requires that within one year of notification
by the city, the Secretary will convey the parcels.
Paragraph (5) withdraws the parcels described in paragraph
(2) for 12 years from all forms of entry and appropriation.
Paragraph (6) requires that the proceeds for the sale of
each parcel to be deposited in the special account established
in the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 and
disposed of as provided in that Act.
Subsection (f)(1) requires the Secretary, within one year
of the date of enactment, to convey 2,560 acres of public land
in accordance with section 47125 of title 49, United States
Code, to city of Mesquite, Nevada.
Paragraph (2) describes the parcels of land to be conveyed.
Paragraph (3) which withdraws the parcels described in
paragraph (2) for 12 years from all forms of entry and
appropriations.
Cost and Budgetary Consideration
The Congressional Budget Office estimate of the costs of
this measure has been requested but was not received at the
time the report was filed. When the report is available, the
Chairman will request it to be printed in the Congressional
Record for the advice of the Senate.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXXVI 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. 1330.
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. 1330, as ordered reported.
Executive Communications
On July 28, 1999, the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources requested legislative reports from the Department of
the Interior and the Office of Management and Budget setting
forth Executive agency recommendations on S. 1330. These
reports had not been received at the time the report on S. 1330
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 Forest
Service at the Subcommittee hearing follows:
Statement of Larry Finfer, Assistant Director, Bureau of Land
Management
Mr. Chairman, members of the subcommittee, I appreciate the
opportunity to appear before you today to testify on two bills,
S. 1329--Nye County Land Acquisition Act and S. 1330--Mesquite
Airport Federal Land Transfer Act. Combined, these bills would
convey 8,760 acres out of the public domain and into local
government management. While the Bureau supports the general
intent of these bills, to provide opportunities for these small
Nevada communities to expand, we oppose the legislative
conveyance and believe the objectives can be accomplished
within existing administrative authorities.
The BLM has not received any requests from Nye County or
the City of Mesquite to discuss administrative solutions or
options to provide land for the proposed uses and facilities.
The information on which our testimony is based comes only from
our reading of the recently introduced legislation and
newspaper reports.
BLM has several options available to support community
expansion. Some of the conveyance options available to BLM in
lieu of the proposed legislation include land sales, exchanges,
airport leases, and the Recreation and Public Purposes Act
(R&PP) Act authorizes the sale or lease of public lands for
specified recreational or public purposes to eligible State and
local governments. Situations where the R&PP Act can be applied
include proposed campgrounds, schools, fire stations,
landfills, parks and other similar county and community
facilities. Another option, an airport lease, could be pursued
for the Mesquite airport corridor with the proper application
submission. Under this scenario, Mesquite would pay 50% of the
fair market value for the land. This is consistent with current
airport lease applications at the Henderson Executive and Jean
Airports, also in Clark County.
S. 1329, the Nye County Land Acquisition Act proposes two
separate land actions. It proposes to convey 450 acres of
public lands (to the county), at no cost, for a Nevada Science
and Technology Center and 350 acres at fair market value for
the development of a business park to support Department of
Energy contractors and suppliers associated with the Nevada
Test Site.
The 450 acres for the Technology Center are identified for
disposal under BLM's RMP. We may be able to convey the
Technology Center properties to Nye County for 50% of fair
market value under the authority of the R&PP Act. We would need
additional information about the intended use of the facility
to determine if the R&PP Act authorities would apply. This
information would include a draft development plan and
statement of proposed use for the land.
The 350 acres proposed for the business park have been
identified for disposal under BLM's October 1998 Las Vegas
Resource Management Plan (RMP) and the Bureau would support
sale of this property at fair market value within our existing
authorities and guidelines.
This bill provides that all proceeds from the sale of these
lands will be deposited in a special account established under
the Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998
(SNPLMA). Under this provision, BLM would not be able to
recover administrative costs for processing these disposal
actions. The SNPLMA currently allows administrative costs to be
funded from the special account, but only within the disposal
boundary identified by the SNPLMA. We would recommend amending
the bill to allow the BLM to recover administrative costs for
the disposal actions in Nye County.
S. 1330, the Mesquite Airport Federal Land Transfer Act
provides the City of Mesquite the exclusive right to purchase
multiple parcels of public lands for commercial purposes (5,400
acres) and development/expansion of an airport corridor (2,500
acres).
Most of the lands proposed for conveyance under this bill
have not been identified for disposal under BLM's October 1998
Las Vegas RMP. The RMP identified only 4 parcels of the 29
identified in this bill as suitable for disposal. The Bureau
supports the sale of these 4 parcels identified for disposal at
fair market value. However, actions regarding the remaining
parcels should await future completion of land use plan
decisions.
The BLM has two additional concerns for lands not
identified for disposal within the Mesquite area. First, the
Federal Aviation Administration has not completed a suitability
assessment for the airport site to determine its
appropriateness for aviation use. Further, development of the
Mesquite parcels could affect endangered fish that inhabit the
Virgin River.
This bill also provides that all parcels from the sale of
these lands will be deposited in a special account under the
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of 1998 (SNPLMA).
Under this provision, BLM would not be able to recover
administrative costs for processing of these disposal actions.
As we previously noted, the SNPLMA currently allows
administrative costs to be funded from the special account, but
only within the disposal boundary identified by the SNPLMA. We,
again, would recommend amending the bill to allow the BLM to
recovery administrative costs for the disposal actions in the
Mesquite area.
conclusions
The BLM and the Department do not support conveyance of
public lands outside of existing authorities. Moreover, these
bills create an additional workload for a lands and realty
program that has an existing backlog of other land use
authorization applications. The preferred approach would be to
process these actions using current authorities. We are willing
to work with the subcommittee to explore other options that
might meet the needs of Nye County and the City of Mesquite.
That concludes my testimony. I would be glad to respond to
any questions.
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 bill S. 1330, as ordered 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):
THE MESQUITE LANDS ACT OF 1988
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SEC. 3. NOTIFICATION AND SALE PERIODS.
(a) First Area.--* * *
* * * * * * *
(e) Fifth Area.--
(1) Right to purchase.--For a period of 12 years
after the date of enactment of this Act, the city of
Mesquite, Nevada, shall have the exclusive right to
purchase the parcels of public land described in
paragraph (2).
(2) Land description.--The parcels of public land
referred to in paragraph (1) are as follows:
(A) In T. 13 S., R. 70 E., Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada:
(i) The portion of sec. 27 north of
Interstate Route 15.
(ii) Sec. 28: NE\1/4\, S\1/2\ (except
the Interstate Route 15 right-of-way).
(iii) Sec. 29: E\1/2\ NE\1/4\ SE\1/4\
SE\1/4\ SE\1/4\.
(iv) The portion of sec. 30 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(v) The portion of sec. 31 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(vi) Sec. 32: NE\1/4\ NE\1/4\ (except
the Interstate Route 15 right-of-way),
the portion of NW\1/4\ NE\1/4\ south of
Interstate Route 15, and the portion of
W\1/2\ south of Interstate Route 15.
(vii) The portion of sec. 33 north of
Interstate Route 15.
(B) In T. 14 S., R. 70 E., Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada:
(i) Sec. 5; NW\1/4\.
(ii) Sec. 6: N\1/2\.
(C) In T. 13 S., R. 69 E., Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada:
(i) The portion of sec. 25 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(ii) The portion of sec. 26 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(iii) The portion of sec. 27 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(iv) Sec. 28: SW\1/4\ SE\1/4\.
(v) Sec. 33: E\1/2\.
(vi) Sec. 34.
(vii) Sec. 35.
(viii) Sec. 36.
(3) Notification.--Not later than 10 years after the
date of enactment of this subsection, the city shall
notify the Secretary which of the parcels of public
land described in paragraph (2) the city intends to
purchase.
(4) Conveyance.--Not later than 1 year after
receiving notification from the city under paragraph
(3), the Secretary shall convey to the city the land
selected for purchase.
(5) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights,
until the date that is 12 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the parcels of public
land described in paragraph (2) are withdrawn from all
forms of entry and appropriation under the public land
laws, including the mining laws, and from operation of
the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws.
(6) Use of proceeds.--The proceeds of the sale of
each parcel--
(A) shall be deposited in the special account
established under section 4(e)(1)(C) of the
Southern Nevada Public Land Management Act of
1998 (112 Stat. 2345); and
(B) shall be disposed of by the Secretary as
provided in section 4(e)(3) of that Act (112
Stat. 2346).
(f) Sixth Area.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date
of enactment of this subsection, the Secretary shall
convey to the city of Mesquite, Nevada, in accordance
with section 47125 of title 49, United States Code, up
to 2,560 acres of public land to be selected by the
city from among the parcels of land described in
paragraph (2).
(2) Land description.--The parcels of land referred
to in paragraph (1) are as follows:
(A) In T. 13 S., R. 69 E., Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada:
(i) The portion of sec. 28 south of
Interstate Route 15 (except S \1/2\ SE
\1/4\).
(ii) The portion of sec. 29 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(iii) The portion of sec. 30 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(iv) The portion of sec. 31 south of
Interstate Route 15.
(v) Sec. 32.
(vi) Sec. 33: W \1/2\.
(B) In T. 14 S., R. 69 E., Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada:
(i) Sec. 4.
(ii) Sec. 5.
(iii) Sec. 6.
(iv) Sec. 8.
(C) In T. 14 S., R. 68 E., Mount Diablo
Meridian, Nevada:
(i) Sec. 1.
(ii) Sec. 12.
(3) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights,
until the date that is 12 years after the date of
enactment of this subsection, the parcels of public
land described in paragraph (2) are withdrawn from all
forms of entry and appropriation under the public land
laws, including the mining laws, and from operation of
the mineral leasing and geothermal leasing laws.
* * * * * * *