[DOCID: f:sr312.109]
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Calendar No. 555
109th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 109-312
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PINE SPRINGS LAND EXCHANGE ACT
_______
July 31, 2006.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Domenici, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 482]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the Act (H.R. 482) to provide for a land exchange
involving Federal lands in the Lincoln National Forest in the
State of New Mexico, and for other purposes, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment and
recommends that the Act, 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. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Pine Springs Land Exchange Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the 3
parcels of Forest land (including any improvements on the
land), comprising approximately 80 acres, as depicted on the
map.
(2) Forest.--The term ``Forest'' means the Lincoln National
Forest in the State of New Mexico.
(3) Map.--The term ``map'' means the map entitled ``Pine
Springs Land Exchange'' and dated May 25, 2004.
(4) Non-federal land.--The term ``non-Federal land'' means
the parcel of University land comprising approximately 80
acres, as depicted on the map.
(5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
Agriculture.
(6) University.--The term ``University'' means Lubbock
Christian University in the State of New Mexico.
SEC. 3. LAND EXCHANGE.
(a) In General.--In exchange for the conveyance to the Secretary of
the non-Federal land by the University, the Secretary shall convey to
the University, by quitclaim deed, all right, title, and interest of
the United States in and to the Federal land.
(b) Map.--
(1) Availability of map.--The map shall be on file and
available for inspection in--
(A) the Office of the Chief of the Forest Service;
and
(B) the Office of the Supervisor of Lincoln National
Forest.
(2) Minor errors.--The Secretary and the University may
correct any minor errors in the map.
SEC. 4. EXCHANGE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
(a) In General.--The conveyance of Federal land under section 3(a)
shall be subject to--
(1) any valid existing rights; and
(2) any additional terms and conditions that the Secretary
determines to be appropriate to protect the interests of the
United States.
(b) Acceptable Title.--Title to the non-Federal land shall--
(1) conform with the title approval standards of the Attorney
General applicable to Federal land acquisitions; and
(2) otherwise be acceptable to the Secretary.
(c) Compliance With Federal Land Policy and Management Act.--The land
exchange authorized under section 3(a) shall be carried out in
accordance with section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1716).
(d) Costs.--The costs of carrying out the exchange of Federal land
and non-Federal land shall be shared equally by the Secretary and the
University.
SEC. 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.
(a) Revocation and Withdrawal.--
(1) Revocation of orders.--Any public orders withdrawing any
of the Federal land from appropriation or disposal under the
public land laws are revoked to the extent necessary to permit
disposal of the Federal land in accordance with this Act.
(2) Withdrawal of federal land.--Subject to valid existing
rights, pending the completion of the land exchange under
section 3(a), the Federal land is withdrawn from all forms of
location, entry, and patent under the public land laws,
including--
(A) the mining and mineral leasing laws; and
(B) the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001
et seq.).
(b) Administration of Land Acquired by the United States.--
(1) Boundary adjustment.--On acceptance of title by the
Secretary to the non-Federal land--
(A) the non-Federal land shall become part of the
Forest; and
(B) the boundaries of the Forest shall be adjusted to
include the acquired land.
(2) Land and water conservation fund.--For purposes of
section 7 of the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965
(16 U.S.C. 460l-9), the boundaries of the Forest, as modified
under paragraph (1), shall be considered to be boundaries of
the Forest as of January 1, 1965.
(3) Management.--The Secretary shall manage the non-Federal
land acquired under section 3(a) in accordance with--
(A) the Act of March 1, 1911 (commonly known as the
``Weeks Law'') (16 U.S.C. 480 et seq.); and
(B) any other laws (including regulations) applicable
to National Forest System land.
(c) Duties of Secretary.--In exercising any discretion necessary to
carry out this Act, the Secretary shall ensure that the public interest
is well served.
PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE
The purpose of H.R. 482 is to provide for a land exchange
involving Federal lands in the Lincoln National Forest in the
State of New Mexico, and for other purposes.
BACKGROUND AND NEED
Lubbock Christian University's Pine Springs Camp is used in
the summer for week-long camp sessions and in the winter by
college groups, youth groups, and churches for retreats. In
recent years, the camp has seen an increase in visitors and
will soon run out of room, forcing the camp to turn visitors
away. The university has offered to exchange 80 acres of land
completely surrounded by the Lincoln National Forest in
consideration for 80 acres adjacent to the camp. The exchange
provides an opportunity for the Lincoln National Forest to
consolidate ownership and for the Pine Springs Camp to
accomplish a needed expansion.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY
H.R. 482 was introduced on February 1, 2005, by
Representative Neugebauer for himself and Representative Pearce
and referred to the Committee on Resources. On April 12, 2005,
the bill passed the House of Representatives by voice vote. The
Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing on H.R.
482 on November 2, 2005 (S. Hrg. 109-347). The Committee on
Energy and Natural Resources ordered H.R. 482 favorably
reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute on May
24, 2006. The bill was introduced in the 108th Congress as H.R.
4806 on July 9, 2004, by Representative Neugebauer for himself
and Representative Pearce and passed the House by voice vote on
September 22, 2004.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on May 24, 2006, by a unanimous voice
vote of a quorum present recommends that the Senate pass H.R.
482, if amended as described herein.
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
The Committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a
substitute to ensure the environmental analyses and public
process needed to assess the potential impacts of this exchange
are completed prior to implementation of the exchange and to
remove legal descriptions in order to avoid any potential
conflicts with the exchange map.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1 provides the short title of the Act.
Section 2 provides definitions for the Act.
Section 3 directs the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake
an equal value exchange of approximately 80 acres of Federal
land for approximately 80 acres of land controlled by Lubbock
Christian University.
Section 4 provides the terms and conditions of the
exchange, including that the exchange be conducted in
compliance with Section 206 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976.
Section 5 allows for minor corrections to the referenced
maps and revokes any public orders with regard to the Federal
lands that would interfere with the exchange and withdraws the
Federal lands from all forms of location, entry, and patent
under public land laws pending completion of the exchange. Also
directs that the acquired lands become part of the Lincoln
National Forest and that they be managed in accordance with all
laws applicable to National Forest System Lands.
COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office.
H.R. 482--Pine Springs Land Exchange Act
H.R. 482 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
convey 80 acres of land in the Lincoln National Forest, New
Mexico, to Lubbock Christian University. In exchange, the
university would convey an 80-acre parcel of land that lies
within that forest. If the values of the properties to be
exchanged are not equal, the Secretary could accept or make
cash payments to equalize those values. Any federal spending
for such payments would be subject to the availability of
appropriated funds.
Based on information from the Forest Service, CBO estimates
that implementing H.R. 482 would have no significant impact on
the federal budget. Enacting the legislation would not affect
revenues. According to the agency, the land to be conveyed
currently generates no significant receipts and is not expected
to do so over the next 10 years; therefore, we estimate that
conveying the land would not affect offsetting receipts (a
credit against direct spending). Based on information regarding
the value of the properties involved in the proposed exchange,
we estimate that any cash equalization payments exchanged under
H.R. 482 would be minimal. Finally, we estimate that the
proposed exchange would not significantly affect the Forest
Service's costs to manage the Lincoln National Forest.
H.R. 482 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would have no significant impact on the budgets of state,
local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis.
This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, 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. 482.
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. 482.
EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
The views of the Administration were included in testimony
received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on November
2, 2005, as follows:
Statement of Gloria Manning, Associate Deputy Chief, National Forest
System, Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman: Thank you for the opportunity to appear
before you today to provide the Department views on H.R. 482,
to provide for a land exchange involving Federal lands in the
Lincoln National Forest in the State of New Mexico.
h.r. 482--pine springs land exchange
H.R. 482 would direct the Secretary of Agriculture to
exchange with the Lubbock Christian University all right, title
and interest in approximately 80 acres of National Forest
System land within the Lincoln National Forest, New Mexico upon
receipt of acceptable title to approximately 80 acres of non-
federal land. The University has operated a summer camp in the
Lincoln National Forest for over 40 years on 40 acres that it
owns. The University seeks to exchange 80 acres that it owns
elsewhere in the Forest for 80 acres immediately adjacent to
its existing camp. The bill directs that the exchange be equal
in value, that the appraisal conform to the uniform appraisal
standards for Federal Land Acquisition and that the proponent
of the exchange and the United States share the costs of
implementing the exchange equally.
The Forest Service and Lubbock Christian University have
discussed an administrative land exchange since 2001, roughly
comprising the lands described in the bill. While the
Department is not opposed to the exchange, we would like to
work with the Subcommittee and the bill's sponsor on amendments
to insure that land management issues related to floodplains
and wetlands are adequately addressed.
This concludes my statement, I would be happy to answer any
questions that you may have.
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. 482 as ordered
reported.
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