[Senate Report 111-271]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 541
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-271
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BOXER ELDER UTAH LAND CONVEYANCE ACT
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August 5, 2010.--Ordered to be printed
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Mr. Bingaman, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 601]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 601) to provide for the conveyance of
parcels of land to Mantua, Box Elder County, Utah, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without
amendment and recommends that the Act do pass.
PURPOSE
The purpose of H.R. 601 is to provide for the conveyance
approximately 31.5 acres of land administered by the Forest
Service to the town of Mantua, Utah.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
The town of Mantua, Utah, is a small town in Box Elder
County in northern Utah. The town has a total area of about 5.6
square miles, about 8 acres of which is owned by the town and
used for a cemetery (about 4 acres), park (about 2.5 acres),
and municipal buildings. The Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National
Forest borders a portion of Mantua, and it includes two
peninsula-shaped parcels of land that are largely surrounded by
private land near the cemetery and municipal buildings. The two
parcels were donated by Box Elder County to the United States
in 1940. The town would like to acquire the two parcels to add
to the existing cemetery, provide land for a new park, or to
erect new town offices, a court and law enforcement facilities,
or a fire station.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 601, sponsored by Representative Bishop, passed the
House of Representatives by a vote of 396-1 on February 23,
2009. Senators Bennett and Hatch introduced a companion bill
(S. 1546) on July 30, 2009. The Subcommittee on Public Lands
and Forests held a hearing on S. 1546 on April 21, 2010.
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources considered
H.R. 601 at its business meeting on June 16, 2010, and ordered
the bill favorably reported without amendment at its business
meeting on June 21, 2010.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on June 21, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 601.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title.
Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of Agriculture to convey
to the Town of Mantua, Utah, for no consideration, all right,
title and interest of the United States in approximately 31.5
acres of land within Wasatch-Cache National Forest, as
generally depicted on the referenced map.
Subsection (b) provides for a survey of the land, if
necessary, paid for by the town.
Subsection (c) directs that the conveyed land be used only
for public purposes.
Subsection (d) provides for the land to revert to the
Secretary, at the election of the Secretary, if the land is
used for other than public purposes.
Subsection (e) requires the conveyance to be subject to
such additional terms and conditions as the Secretary
determines appropriate to protect the interests of the United
States.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 601--Box Elder Utah Land Conveyance Act
H.R. 601 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey, without consideration, certain lands in Utah to the
town of Mantua. Based on information from the Forest Service,
CBO estimates that implementing the legislation would have no
significant impact on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 601
would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-
as-you-go procedures would not apply.
Under the act, the Secretary would be required to convey
about 32 acres of land within the Wasatch-Cache National Forest
to Mantua, Utah. The conveyed land could be used by the town
for public purposes only and would revert to the federal
government if used for other purposes. The affected lands do
not currently generate offsetting receipts for the federal
government and are not expected to generate such receipts over
the next 10 years. Any costs associated with surveying the
lands prior to conveyance would be paid by the town.
H.R. 601 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 Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Sam Papenfuss, Unit Chief for Income
Security and Education Cost Estimates, Budget Analysis
Division.
REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUTION
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. 601.
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, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of H.R. 601, as ordered reported.
CONGRESSIONALLY DIRECTED SPENDING
H.R. 601, 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
The views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 1546 on April 21,
2010, which is printed below:
Testimony of Harris Sherman, Under Secretary, Natural Resources and
Environment, Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity today to present the Department's view on S.
1546. I am Harris Sherman, USDA Under Secretary for Natural
Resources and Environment. S. 1546 would direct the Secretary
of Agriculture to convey, without consideration, to the Town of
Mantua, Utah, all right, title and interest of the United
States in approximately 31.5 acres of National Forest System
lands in Box Elder County, Utah. These lands are currently part
of the Unita-Wasatch-Cache National Forest. The conveyance
would be conditioned upon the town using the conveyed land for
public purposes. If the land is ever used for other than public
purposes, title would revert to the United States at the
election of the Secretary. While the Department does not object
to these lands being made available for conveyance to Mantua,
Utah, we object to the terms of the bill.
The 31.5 acres in question comprise two irregular
peninsula-shaped parcels which are surrounded on three sides by
private land. The parcels are encumbered with several
outstanding rights in Brigham City including three pipelines, a
right to construct a pipeline, and use of four springs. A
survey would be required to be made in advance of any proposed
conveyance.
We oppose the bill because it does not require market value
consideration for the conveyance and because of the reverter
provisions.
A general public policy is that the Federal Government
receive market value consideration for the conveyance or use of
its property. This policy is well established in law including
the Independent Offices Appropriation Act (31 U.S.C. 9701),
section 102(9) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
(43 U.S.C. 1701), as well as the numerous land exchange
authorities.
There are also practical problems with S. 1546. The land is
required to revert to the Secretary in the event it is used for
other than ``public purposes.'' However, public purposes are
not defined and could cover a vast array of land uses from
municipal waste treatment, low income housing, to industrial
parks. This lack of public purpose definition could draw a
future Secretary of Agriculture into future local land use
controversies. Therefore, we oppose the Reversionary Clause
listed in Section 2 (e).
There are laws on the books which would accommodate the
municipal needs of the Town of Mantua, Utah. Specifically, the
Townsite Act of July 31, 1958 (16 U.S.C. 478a) was enacted to
permit established communities to acquire up to 640 acres of
National Forest land to serve indigenous community objectives.
Consistent with the aforementioned public policy, the Townsite
Act requires payment to the United States of the fair market
value of the land. Similarly, the lands could be made available
by exchange for equal value consideration.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee notes that no
changes in existing law are made by the Act H.R. 601, as
ordered reported.