[Senate Report 111-330]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 616
111th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 111-330
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BOUNDARY REVISION OF THE GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK
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September 27, 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. 4395]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 4395) to revise the boundaries of the
Gettysburg National Military Park to include the Gettysburg
Train Station, and for other purposes, having considered the
same, reports favorably thereon without amendment and
recommends that the Act do pass.
Purpose
The purpose of H.R. 4395 is to amend Public Law 101-377 to
revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National Military Park
to include the Gettysburg Train Station in the State of
Pennsylvania, and expand the Park boundaries to include
approximately 45 acres adjacent to the park.
Background and Need
On July 1, 1863, a critical battle of the Civil War began
in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Among the areas that saw some of
the most intense fighting that first day was an area along a
nearby railway road cut. The Battle of Gettysburg would be the
bloodiest single battle of the Civil War, with over 51,000
soldiers killed, wounded, captured, or missing. The train
station that was the site of some of the most intense fighting
on the first day later became one of the first field hospitals
of the battle.
First established as a national cemetery for the Union dead
by the local residents, Soldier's National Cemetery was
dedicated by President Lincoln on November 19, 1863, with
solemn words that would become known as the Gettysburg Address.
In 1895, Gettysburg National Military Park was established when
the property was transferred to the federal government.
Administration was transferred to the National Park Service,
Department of the Interior, in 1933, along with many other
sites.
Since its establishment, several planning documents,
including the 1999 General Management Plan, have called for
further expansion of cooperative efforts to protect resources
closely linked to the park. Specifically addressed in the Plan
were the David Wills House, where President Lincoln stayed the
night before giving the Gettysburg Address, and the train
station. The Wills House was added to the Park's boundary
through Public Law 106-290, and through a Memorandum of
Understanding, is operated by Main Street Gettysburg, a non-
profit organization, at no cost to the taxpayer.
The Gettysburg Train Station, the station at which
President Lincoln arrived to deliver the Gettysburg Address, is
next to Gettysburg's shuttle system, Freedom Transit.
Rehabilitation of the historic train station was completed by
the Borough of Gettysburg in 2006 with Pennsylvania grant
funding. Operational funds from the Borough to maintain visitor
information and orientation services have been lacking, leading
the Borough of Gettysburg Council formally to request that the
National Park Service take ownership of the site and provide
the funding needed. The site is listed on the National Register
of Historic Places. Much as is the case with the Wills House, a
partnership with the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau
is expected to provide staffing for the site, with National
Park Service expenditures limited to covering utility costs.
The additional land that the legislation would include
within the Park boundary is near Big Round Top along Plum Run
in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania. It is comprised of a 45-
acre tract of land adjacent to the Park within the Battlefield
Historic District and at the southern end of the Gettysburg
Battlefield. This area witnessed cavalry skirmishes, and is
significant due to the presence of wetlands and wildlife
habitat. The property was donated to the Gettysburg Foundation
in 2009. The Foundation has indicated its intention to donate
the parcel to the National Park Service once the area is within
the Park boundary.
Legislative History
H.R. 4395 was introduced by Representative Platts on
December 16, 2009, and was passed by the House of
Representatives, as amended, on March 19, 2010, by a vote of
372 to 31 (H. Rept. 111-438). Senators Specter and Casey
introduced a similar bill (S. 3159) on March 24, 2010. The
Subcommittee on National Parks held a hearing on the bills on
May 19, 2010.
The Committee considered H.R. 4395 at its business meeting
on July 22, 2010, at which time it rejected an amendment
offered by Senator Murkowski to prohibit the use of Federal
funds to acquire lands from willing sellers for the Gettysburg
National Battlefield. At its business meeting on August 5,
2010, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered
H.R. 4395 favorably reported without amendment.
Committee Recommendation
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in open
business session on August 5, 2010, by a voice vote of a quorum
present, recommends that the Senate pass H.R. 4395.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 of the bill amends section 1 of the Act entitled
``An Act to revise the boundary of the Gettysburg National
Military Park in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for
other purposes'' (Public Law 101-377; 16 U.S.C. 430g-4), to
expand the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park in
Pennsylvania to include the Gettysburg Train Station and its
immediate surroundings. Section 1 further amends the same Act
to expand the Park boundary to include 45 acres along Plum Run
in Cumberland Township, adjacent to Park lands. The additional
land to be included in the Park is depicted on the map titled
``Gettysburg National Military Park Proposed Boundary
Addition'', numbered 305/80,045 and dated January 2010.
Section 2 of the bill amends section 2(a) of the same Act
(16 U.S.C. 430g-5) to impose certain requirements on the
Secretary with respect to the acquisition of the land and
interests in land commonly known as the Gettysburg Train
Station and its immediate surroundings. Specifically, with
respect to the Gettysburg Train Station and its immediate
surroundings, the section authorizes the Secretary of the
Interior to purchase publicly-owned property from a willing
seller only after all other efforts to acquire the publicly-
owned land without cost to the federal government are
exhausted. Section 2 also prohibits the use of eminent domain
as a method of acquiring any of the property described in
section 1(d), i.e., the Gettysburg Train Station and its
immediate surroundings and the land along Plum Run referred to
in section 1(d).
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 4395--An act to revise the boundaries of the Gettysburg National
Military Park to include the Gettysburg Train Station, and for
other purposes
H.R. 4395 would expand the boundaries of the Gettysburg
National Military Park in Pennsylvania to include two nearby
properties. CBO expects that the National Park Service (NPS),
which administers the park, would probably purchase a small
parcel of land containing the newly refurbished Gettysburg
Train Station and would accept (from the Gettysburg Foundation)
the donation of a 45-acre tract of land along Plum Run in
Cumberland Township.
Based on information provided by NPS, we estimate that
implementing H.R. 4395 would cost about $1 million over the
next year or two, assuming the availability of appropriated
funds. That sum would be used to purchase the train station and
conduct minor development projects at the added sites. We
estimate that annual costs to operate and maintain the new
properties after that time would be minimal because the train
station would continue to be operated by local or nonprofit
organizations and the Plum Run acreage would be left
undeveloped.
Enacting H.R. 4395 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
The act 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.
If enacted, the legislation would benefit the Borough of
Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.
On March 2, 2010, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for H.R.
4395, as ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural
Resources on February 24, 2010. The two versions of the
legislation and CBO's estimate of their costs are similar.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, 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 H.R. 4395.
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 H.R. 4395, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
H.R. 4395, 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 Department of the Interior were included
in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 3159
and H.R. 4395 on May 19, 2010, which is printed below:
Statement of Stephen E. Whitesell, Associate Director, Park Planning,
Facilities, and Lands, National Park Service, Department of the
Interior
Mr. Chairman and members of the subcommittee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the Department of the
Interior on S. 3159 and H.R. 4395, bills that would add the
historic Lincoln Train Station in the Borough of Gettysburg and
45 acres at the base of Big Round Top to Gettysburg National
Military Park in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.
The Department supports enactment of this legislation. The
Department previously testified in support of H.R. 4395 on
January 21, 2010, before the House Subcommittee on National
Parks, Forests and Public Lands.
Gettysburg National Military Park protects major portions
of the site of the largest battle waged during this nation's
Civil War. Fought in the first three days of July 1863, the
Battle of Gettysburg resulted in a victory for Union forces and
successfully ended the second invasion of the North by
Confederate forces commanded by General Robert E. Lee.
Historians have referred to the battle as a major turning point
in the war--the ``High Water Mark of the Confederacy.'' It was
also the Civil War's bloodiest single battle, resulting in over
51,000 soldiers killed, wounded, captured or missing.
The Soldiers' National Cemetery within the park was
dedicated on November 19, 1863, when President Abraham Lincoln
delivered his immortal Gettysburg Address. The cemetery
contains more than 7,000 interments including over 3,500 from
the Civil War. The park currently includes nearly 6,000 acres,
with 26 miles of park roads and over 1,400 monuments, markers,
and memorials.
Gettysburg's Lincoln Train Station was built in 1858 and is
listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The station
served as a hospital during the Battle of Gettysburg, and the
wounded and the dead were transported from Gettysburg through
this station in the aftermath of battle. President Abraham
Lincoln arrived at this station when he visited to give the
Gettysburg Address.
Gettysburg National Military Park's 1999 General Management
Plan called for expanding cooperative relationships and
partnerships with the Borough of Gettysburg and other sites
``to ensure that resources closely linked to the park, the
battle, and the non-combatant civilian involvement in the
battle and its aftermath are appropriately protected and
used.'' In particular, the plan stated that the National Park
Service would initiate ``cooperation agreements with willing
owners, and seek the assistance of the Borough of Gettysburg
and other appropriate entities to preserve, operate and manage
the Wills House and Lincoln Train Station.''
The Borough of Gettysburg Interpretive Plan called for the
Lincoln Train Station to be used as a downtown information and
orientation center for visitors--where all park visitors would
arrive after coming downtown--to receive information and
orientation to downtown historic attractions, including the
David Wills House. This is the house where Lincoln stayed the
night before delivering the Gettysburg Address. The
Interpretive Plan also called for rehabilitation of the Wills
House, which was added to the park's boundary through Public
Law 106-290 in October 2000, and is now a historic house museum
in the borough and an official site within Gettysburg National
Military Park. Through a Memorandum of Understanding, the David
Wills House is operated by Main Street Gettysburg at no cost to
the National Park Service.
The Lincoln Train Station is next to the downtown terminus
of Freedom Transit, Gettysburg's shuttle system, which started
operations in July 2009 with a grant from the Federal Transit
Administration in the Department of Transportation.
In 2006, the Borough of Gettysburg completed rehabilitation
of the Lincoln Train Station with funds from a Commonwealth of
Pennsylvania grant. Due to a lack of funds, however, the
borough has been unable to operate a visitor information and
orientation center there. Through formal vote of the Borough
Council, the Borough of Gettysburg has asked the National Park
Service to take over the ownership and operations of the train
station. The anticipated acquisition cost for the completely
rehabilitated train station is approximately $772,000, subject
to an appraisal by the federal government. Funding to acquire
this land would be subject to the availability of
appropriations and NPS priorities.
The park has a preliminary commitment from the Gettysburg
Convention and Visitor Bureau (CVB) to provide all staffing
requirements for operations of an information and orientation
center in the train station, thereby alleviating the park of
staff costs. Anticipated operating costs for the train station
that will be the responsibility of the NPS are limited to
utility costs; the rest will be paid by the Gettysburg CVB. In
the event that the Gettysburg CVB is unable to provide staffing
and funding for operations, the NPS would seek another park
partner to cover these costs and requirements.
S. 3159 and H.R. 4395 would also add 45 acres near Big
Round Top along Plum Run in Cumberland Township, Pennsylvania
to the boundary of the park. The 45-acre tract of land is
adjacent to the Gettysburg National Military Park and is within
the Battlefield Historic District. The land is at the southern
base of Big Round Top at the southern end of the Gettysburg
battlefield. There were cavalry skirmishes in this area during
the Battle of Gettysburg, July 1863, but the real significance
is environmental. The tract has critical wetlands and wildlife
habitat related to Plum Run. Wayne and Susan Hill donated it to
the Gettysburg Foundation in April 2009. The Gettysburg
Foundation plans to donate ``fee title interest'' in the parcel
to the National Park Service once it is within the park
boundary. It abuts land already owned by the National Park
Service.
When H.R. 4395 was marked up by the House Committee on
Natural Resources, the bill was amended to combine two map
references into one map that shows both parcels. If S. 3159
moves forward we recommend that the bill be amended to reflect
this newer map.
Mr. Chairman, that concludes my statement. I would be happy
to answer any questions that you or members of the committee
may have.
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 H.R. 4395 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):
Gettysburg National Military Park Boundary Revision
(Public Law 101-377; Approved August 17, 1990)
[16 U.S.C. 430g-4]
AN ACT To revise the boundary of Gettysburg National Military Park in
the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. GETTYSBURG NATIONAL MILITARY PARK BOUNDARY REVISION.
* * * * * * *
(c) Lands Excluded From the Park.--Lands and interests in
lands outside of the boundary so depicted as ``Park Boundary''
on the maps referred to in subsections (a) and (b) are hereby
excluded from the park and shall be disposed of in accordance
with the provisions of section 2(c)
(d) Additional Land.--In addition to the land identified in
subsections (a) and (b), the park shall also include the
following, as depicted on the map titled ``Gettysburg National
Military Park Proposed Boundary Addition'', numbered 305/80,045
and dated January 2010:
(1) The land and interests in land commonly known as
the ``Gettysburg Train Station'' and its immediate
surroundings in the Borough of Gettysburg.
(2) The land and interests in land located along Plum
Run in Cumberland Township.
* * * * * * *
SECTION 2. ACQUISITION AND DISPOSAL OF LANDS.
(a) General Authority.--The Secretary is authorized to
acquire lands and interests in lands within the park by
donation, purchase with donated or appropriated funds,
exchange, or otherwise. In acquiring lands and interests in
lands under this Act, the Secretary shall acquire the minimum
Federal interests necessary to achieve the objectives
identified for specific areas and the park. The Secretary is
also authorized to acquire publicly owned property within the
area defined in section 1(d)(1) by purchase, from willing
sellers only, if efforts to acquire that property without cost
have been exhausted. The Secretary may not acquire property
within the area defined in section 1(d) by eminent domain.
* * * * * * *