[House Report 104-702]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
104th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 104-702
_______________________________________________________________________
MARION NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY CONVEYANCE ACT
_______
July 24, 1996.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______________________________________________________________________
Mr. Young of Alaska, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the
following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 3557]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 3557) to direct the Secretary of the Interior to convey
the Marion National Fish Hatchery to the State of Alabama,
having considered the same, report favorably thereon with an
amendment and recommend that the bill 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 ``Marion National Fish Hatchery
Conveyance Act''.
SEC. 2. CONVEYANCE OF MARION NATIONAL FISH HATCHERY TO THE STATE OF
ALABAMA.
(a) Conveyance Requirement.--Within 180 days after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall convey to
the State of Alabama without reimbursement all right, title, and
interest of the United States in and to the property described in
subsection (b) for use by the Game and Fish Division of the Alabama
Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as part of the State
of Alabama fish culture program.
(b) Property Described.--The property referred to in subsection (a)
consists of--
(1) that portion of the Marion National Fish Hatchery leased
to the Alabama Game and Fish Division, located on State Highway
175 seven miles northeast of Marion, Alabama, as described in
Amendment No. 2 to the Cooperative Agreement dated June 6,
1974, between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and
the State of Alabama, Department of Conservation and Natural
Resources, Game and Fish Division, comprised of approximately
300 acres (more or less);
(2) all improvements and related personal property under the
control of the Secretary that is located on that property,
including buildings, structures, equipment, and all easements
and leases relating to that property; and
(3) all water rights relating to that property.
(c) Reversionary Interest.--If any of the property conveyed to the
State of Alabama under this section is used for any purpose other than
the use authorized under subsection (a), all right, title, and interest
in and to all property conveyed under this section shall revert to the
United States. The State of Alabama shall ensure that all property
reverting to the United States under this subsection is in
substantially the same or better condition as at the time of transfer
to the State.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 3557 is to direct the Secretary of the
Interior to convey the Marion National Fish Hatchery to the
State of Alabama.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Marion National Fish Hatchery (NFH) is located in Perry
County, Alabama, about six miles northeast of the Town of
Marion. In 1934, Congress officially established the site as a
National Fish Hatchery. The original Hatchery property
consisted of approximately 598.1 acres of land. For 40 years,
the Marion NFH was operated by the Department of Commerce's
Bureau of Fisheries as a fish production facility.
Since 1974, about 300 acres of the Marion NFH has been
operated by the Alabama Game and Fish Division through a
cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
This agreement terminates on September 30, 2033. The remaining
298 acres became the Federal Southeastern Fish Culture
Laboratory. While this laboratory is not affected by H.R. 3557,
the Congress has recently renamed this facility the Claude
Harris National Aquaculture Research Center and has transferred
the administrative authority from the Department of the
Interior to the Department of Agriculture (Public Law 104-127).
In the current fiscal year, the Marion facility has
produced 820,000 bluegill, 89,000 channel catfish, 800,000
hybrid striped bass fingerlings, 180,000 largemouth bass and
700,000 striped bass. These fish are stocked in the over
500,000 acres of public waters in the State of Alabama and they
are available to over 530,000 licensed sport anglers.
Furthermore, the Alabama Game and Fish Division is a partner in
a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
and the State fisheries management agencies in Georgia and
Florida to restore the region's native race of striped bass,
known as the Gulf striped bass, to its former range. This year
the Marion NFH has provided over 1,350,000 Gulf striped bass
fry to three Federal and two neighboring State hatcheries for
their culture programs, and it has provided over 270,000 Gulf
striped bass fingerlings to support Federal and State programs
in Florida.
In the last 22 years, the Alabama Game and Fish Division
has undertaken a long-term program of capital improvements at
the Marion NFH, many of which have been funded through the
Federal Aid in Sport Fish Restoration Program (Dingell-Johnson/
Wallop- Breaux). These improvements include the construction of
14 new fish culture ponds and the renovation of 38 others, a
new striped bass hatchery laboratory, a new fish holding house,
a new warehouse and equipment storage building, and two
chemical and equipment storage buildings. In fact, the State
has indicated that it has spent over $2 million on facility
improvements and renovations at the Marion NFH since it assumed
operational control. In total, the Hatchery property consists
of 100 culture ponds with a total impounded surface acreage of
over 66 acres, a number of laboratories, garages and
residences, water supply wells and a water recovery system. In
the most recent real estate assessment in 1994, the property
was valued at $465,000 and the structures have been assessed at
$1,062,000, according to the Realty Division of the U.S. Fish
and Wildlife Service.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 3557 was introduced on May 30, 1996, by Congressman
Earl Hilliard (D-AL). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
Fisheries, Wildlife and Oceans.
On June 13, 1996, the Subcommittee held a hearing on H.R.
3557. Testifying in support of the bill were Congressman Earl
Hilliard and Mr. William Knapp, Chief, Division of Fish
Hatcheries, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In his testimony,
Mr. Knapp said that ``the Service and * * * Alabama mutually
agree that all parties will benefit from the conveyance of
ownership of [the Marion NFH].''
On June 27, 1996, the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife
and Oceans met to mark up H.R. 3557. At that time, Congressman
Gerry Studds (D-MA) offered an amendment that stipulated that
timber rights would not be conveyed to the State of Alabama and
it clarified the reversionary language in section 2 of the
bill. The amendment was adopted by voice vote. The bill, as
amended, was then ordered favorably reported to the Full
Committee on Resources by voice vote.
On July 17, 1996, the Committee on Resources met to
consider H.R. 3557. There were no amendments and the Committee
ordered the bill reported to the House of Representatives by
voice vote, in the presence of a quorum.
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
This bill may be cited as the ``Marion National Fish
Hatchery Conveyance Act''.
Section 2. Conveyance of Marion National Fish Hatchery to the State of
Alabama
Section 2(a) directs the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the State of Alabama, within 180 days and without
reimbursement, all right, title, and interest of the United
States in and to the Hatchery property for use by the Game and
Fish Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and
Natural Resources.
Section 2(b) states that the fish hatchery is located on
State Highway 175 seven miles northeast of Marion, Alabama,
consisting of approximately 300 acres and includes buildings,
structures, equipment, and all easements and leases relating to
that property, and all water rights relating to that property.
Section 2(c) mandates that the property shall revert to the
United States if the State of Alabama decides to no longer use
the property for fishery resources management and fisheries-
related activities and requires the State to ensure that the
property is in substantially the same or better condition at
the time of transfer.
committee oversight findings and recommendations
With respect to the requirements of clause 2(l)(3) of rule
XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, and clause
2(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of Representatives,
the Committee on Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
inflationary impact statement
Pursuant to clause 2(l)(4) of rule XI of the Rules of the
House of Representatives, the Committee estimates that the
enactment of H.R. 3557 will have no significant inflationary
impact on prices and costs in the operation of the national
economy.
cost of the legislation
Clause 7(a) 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
H.R. 3557. However, clause 7(d) 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 403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
compliance with house rule xi
1. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(B) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, H.R.
3557 does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
2. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(D) of
rule XI of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee has received no report of oversight findings and
recommendations from the Committee on Government Reform and
Oversight on the subject of H.R. 3557.
3. With respect to the requirement of clause 2(l)(3)(C) of
rule XI 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 H.R.
3557 from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office.
congressional budget office cost estimate
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 23, 1996.
Hon. Don Young,
Chairman, Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
reviewed H.R. 3557, the Marion National Fish Hatchery
Conveyance Act, as ordered reported by the House Committee on
Resources on July 17, 1996.
H.R. 3557 would direct the Secretary of the Interior to
convey to the state of Alabama the Marion National Fish
Hatchery, without reimbursement. Because this facility is
already operated by the state, we expect that implementing H.R.
3557 would have no significant impact on the federal budget.
The bill would not affect direct spending or receipts;
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply.
H.R. 3557 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in Public Law 104-4 and would impose no
costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Deborah
Reis (for federal costs) and Marjorie Miller (for the state and
local impact).
Sincerely,
June E. O'Neill, Director.
compliance with public law 104-4
H.R. 3557 contains no unfunded mandates.
changes in existing law
If enacted, H.R. 3557 would make no changes in existing
law.