[House Report 108-521]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
108th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 108-521
======================================================================
UTAH TEST AND TRAINING RANGE PROTECTION ACT
_______
June 3, 2004.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Pombo, from the Committee on Resources, submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 2909]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 2909) to ensure the continued availability of the Utah
Test and Training Range to support the readiness and training
needs of the Armed Forces, 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 all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Utah Test and Training Range
Protection Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) The term ``covered wilderness'' means the wilderness area
designated by this Act and wilderness study areas located near
lands withdrawn for military use and beneath special use
airspace critical to the support of military test and training
missions at the Utah Test and Training Range, including the
Deep Creek, Fish Springs, Swasey Mountain, Howell Peak, Notch
Peak, King Top, Wah Wah Mountain, and Conger Mountain units
designated by the Department of the Interior.
(2) The term ``Tribe'' means the Skull Valley Band of Goshute
Indians.
(3) The term ``Utah Test and Training Range'' means those
portions of the military operating area of the Utah Test and
Training Area located solely in the State of Utah. The term
includes the Dugway Proving Ground.
(4) The term ``Wilderness Act'' means Public Law 88-577,
approved September 3, 1964 (16 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.).
SEC. 3. MILITARY OPERATIONS AND OVERFLIGHTS, UTAH TEST AND TRAINING
RANGE.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) The testing and development of military weapons systems
and the training of military forces are critical to ensuring
the national security of the United States.
(2) The Utah Test and Training Range in the State of Utah is
a unique and irreplaceable national asset at the core of the
test and training mission of the Department of Defense.
(3) The Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area designated by section
5, as well as several wilderness study areas, are located near
lands withdrawn for military use or are beneath special use
airspace critical to the support of military test and training
missions at the Utah Test and Training Range.
(4) The Utah Test and Training Range and special use airspace
withdrawn for military uses create unique management
circumstances for the covered wilderness in this Act, and it is
not the intent of Congress that passage of this Act shall be
construed as establishing a precedent with respect to any
future national conservation area or wilderness designation.
(5) Continued access to the special use airspace and lands
that comprise the Utah Test and Training Range, under the terms
and conditions described in this section, is a national
security priority and is not incompatible with the protection
and proper management of the natural, environmental, cultural,
and other resources of such lands.
(b) Overflights.--Nothing in this Act or the Wilderness Act shall
preclude low-level overflights and operations of military aircraft,
helicopters, missiles, or unmanned aerial vehicles over the covered
wilderness, including military overflights and operations that can be
seen or heard within the covered wilderness.
(c) Special Use Airspace and Training Routes.--Nothing in this Act or
the Wilderness Act shall preclude the designation of new units of
special use airspace, the expansion of existing units of special use
airspace, or the use or establishment of military training routes over
the covered wilderness.
(d) Communications and Tracking Systems.--Nothing in this Act shall
prevent any required maintenance of existing communications,
instrumentation, or electronic tracking systems (or infrastructure
supporting such systems) or prevent the installation of new
communication, instrumentation, or other equipment necessary for
effective testing and training to meet military requirements in
wilderness study areas located beneath special use airspace comprising
the Utah Test and Training Range, including the Deep Creek, Fish
Springs, Swasey Mountain, Howell Peak, Notch Peak, King Top, Wah Wah
Mountain, and Conger Mountain units designated by the Department of
Interior, so long as the Secretary of the Interior, after consultation
with the Secretary of the Air Force, determines that the installation
and maintenance of such systems, when considered both individually and
collectively, comply with section 603 of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782).
(e) Emergency Access and Response.--Nothing in this Act or the
Wilderness Act shall preclude the continuation of the memorandum of
understanding in existence as of the date of enactment of this Act
between the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Air
Force with respect to emergency access and response.
(f) Prohibition on Ground Military Operations.--Except as provided in
subsections (d) and (e), nothing in this section shall be construed to
permit a military operation to be conducted on the ground in covered
wilderness in the Utah Test and Training Range unless such ground
operation is otherwise permissible under Federal law and consistent
with the Wilderness Act.
SEC. 4. PLANNING PROCESS FOR FEDERAL LANDS IN UTAH TEST AND TRAINING
RANGE.
(a) Analysis of Military Readiness and Operational Impacts.--The
Secretary of the Interior shall develop, maintain, and revise land use
plans pursuant to section 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management
Act of 1976 (43 U.S. C. 1712) for Federal lands located in the Utah
Test and Training Range in consultation with the Secretary of Defense.
As part of the required consultation in connection with a proposed
revision of a land use plan, the Secretary of Defense shall prepare and
transmit to the Secretary of the Interior an analysis of the military
readiness and operational impacts of the proposed revision within six
months of a request from the Secretary of Interior.
(b) Limitation on Rights-of-ways.--The Secretary of the Interior
shall not grant or issue any authorizations for rights-of-way under
section 501(a)(6) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976
(43 U.S.C. 1761(a)(6)) upon Federal lands identified as inventory units
UTU-020-086, UTU-020-088, UTU-020-095, UTU-020-096, UTU-020-100, UTU-
020-101, UTU-020-103, UTU-020-104, UTU-020-105, and UTU-020-110, as
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Wilderness Inventory, State of
Utah'' and dated August 1979, until the later of the following:
(1) The completion of a full revision of the Pony Express
Area Resource Management Plan, dated January 12, 1990, by the
Salt Lake Field Office of the Bureau of Land Management.
(2) January 1, 2015
SEC. 5. DESIGNATION AND MANAGEMENT OF CEDAR MOUNTAIN WILDERNESS, UTAH.
(a) Designation.--Certain Federal lands in Tooele County, Utah, as
generally depicted on the map entitled ``Cedar Mountain Wilderness''
and dated March 7, 2004, are hereby designated as wilderness and,
therefore, as a component of the National Wilderness Preservation
System to be known as the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area.
(b) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Federal lands
in the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area are hereby withdrawn from all
forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws,
from location, entry, and patent under the United States mining laws,
and from disposition under all laws pertaining to mineral and
geothermal leasing, and mineral materials, and all amendments to such
laws.
(c) Map and Description.--(1) As soon as practicable after the date
of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall
transmit a map and legal description of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness
Area to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate.
(2) The map and legal description shall have the same force and
effect as if included in this Act, except that the Secretary of the
Interior may correct clerical and typographical errors in the map and
legal description.
(3) The map and legal description shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the office of the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management and the office of the State Director of the Bureau of Land
Management in the State of Utah.
(d) Administration.--Subject to valid existing rights and this Act,
the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area shall be administered by the
Secretary of the Interior in accordance with the provisions of the
Wilderness Act, except that any reference in such provisions to the
effective date of the Wilderness Act (or any similar reference) shall
be deemed to be a reference to the date of the enactment of this Act.
(e) Land Acquisition.--Any lands or interest in lands within the
boundaries of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area acquired by the United
States after the date of the enactment of this Act shall be added to
and administered as part of the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area.
(f) Fish and Wildlife Management.--As provided in section 4(d)(7) of
the Wilderness Act (16 U.S.C. 1133(d)(7)), nothing in this Act shall be
construed as affecting the jurisdiction of the State of Utah with
respect to fish and wildlife on the Federal lands located in that
State.
(g) Grazing.--Within the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area, the grazing
of livestock, where established before the date of the enactment of
this Act, shall be permitted to continue subject to such reasonable
regulations, policies, and practices as the Secretary of the Interior
considers necessary, as long as such regulations, policies, and
practices fully conform with and implement the intent of Congress
regarding grazing in such areas, as such intent is expressed in the
Wilderness Act, section 101(f) of Public Law 101-628 (104 Stat. 4473),
and appendix A of the Report of the Committee on Interior and Insular
Affairs to accompany H.R. 2570 of the 101st Congress (H. Rept. 101-
405).
(h) Buffer Zones.--Congress does not intend for the designation of
the Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area to lead to the creation of
protective perimeters or buffer zones around the wilderness area. The
fact that nonwilderness activities or uses can be seen or heard within
the wilderness area shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or
uses up to the boundary of the wilderness area.
(i) Release From Wilderness Study Area Status.--The lands identified
as the Browns Spring Cherrystem on the map entitled ``Proposed Browns
Spring Cherrystem'' and dated May 11, 2004, are released from their
status as a wilderness study area, and shall no longer be subject to
the requirements of section 603(c) of the Federal Land Policy and
Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1782(c)) pertaining to the management
of wilderness study areas in a manner that does not impair the
suitability of those areas for preservation of wilderness.
SEC. 6. IDENTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT LAND IN
UTAH AS TRUST LAND FOR SKULL VALLEY BAND OF
GOSHUTES.
(a) Identification of Trust Land.--The Secretary of the Interior
shall identify approximately 640 additional acres of Bureau of Land
Management land in the State of Utah to be administered in trust for
the benefit of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes.
(b) Special Considerations.-- In identifying the land under
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall--
(1) consult with leaders of the Tribe and the Governor of
Utah; and
(2) ensure that the land has ready access to State or Federal
highways and, in the judgment of the Secretary, provides the
best opportunities for commercial economic development in
closest proximity to other lands of the Tribe.
(c) Placement in Trust.--Not later than December 31, 2005, the
Secretary of the Interior shall place the land identified pursuant to
subsection (a) into trust for the purposes of economic development for
the Tribe. At least 30 days before placing the land in trust for the
Tribe, the Secretary shall publish in the Federal Register legal
descriptions of the land to be placed in trust.
(d) Management of Trust Land.--The land placed into trust for the
Tribe under subsection (c) shall be administered in accordance with
laws generally applicable to property held in trust by the United
States for Indian Tribes, except that the land shall immediately revert
to the administrative control of the Bureau of Land Management if the
Tribe sells, or attempts to sell, any part of the land.
(e) Effect.--Nothing in this section--
(1) affects any valid right-of-way, lease, permit, mining
claim, grazing permit, water right, or other right or interest
of any person or entity (other than the United States) in or to
the trust land that exists before the date on which the land is
placed in trust for the Tribe under subsection (c);
(2) enlarges, impairs, or otherwise affects a right or claim
of the Tribe to any land or interest in land based on
Aboriginal or Indian title that exists before the date of the
enactment of this Act;
(3) constitutes an express or implied reservation of water or
water right for any purpose with respect to the trust land; or
(4) affects any water right of the Tribe that exists before
the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. RELATION TO OTHER LANDS AND LAWS.
(a) Other Lands.--Nothing in this Act shall be construed to affect
any Federal lands located outside of the covered wilderness or the
management of such lands.
(b) Conforming Repeal.--Section 2815 of the National Defense
Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000 (Public Law 106-65; 113 Stat.
852) is amended by striking subsection (d).
Purpose of the Bill
The purpose of H.R. 2909 is to ensure the continued
availability of the Utah Test and Training Range to support the
readiness and training needs of the Armed Forces.
Background and Need for Legislation
The Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) is the largest
overland safety land area available to the Department of
Defense for aircrew training and weapons testing and requires
unique accommodations. UTTR consists of airspace over vast
tracts of public lands in the West Desert of Utah, and parts of
eastern Nevada. It has the largest continuous area of
restricted airspace from ground-level to 58,000 feet in the
United States; and is the only place within the United States
where terrain-following cruise missiles can be tested. It also
contains vast areas of military-owned land where live fire
bombings and munitions testing takes place, as well as one of
the few ranges with a large ``footprint'' of airspace allowing
for testing of new long-range stand-off weapons. However,
hundreds of thousands of acres of Wilderness Study Areas (WSAs)
underlie the UTTR airspace and ring the on-the-ground range,
and the management restrictions of these WSAs amount to a
significant potential encroachment to the UTTR. Accordingly,
H.R. 2909 represents years of negotiations with environmental
groups and other concerned entities to establish through
statute protections for the UTTR while minimizing the impacts
on military readiness and mitigating environmental concerns
over management and access to these sensitive lands.
Specifically, the bill as amended by the Committee,
designates certain federal lands in Tooele County, Utah, as the
Cedar Mountain Wilderness Area. It withdraws such lands from
all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public
land laws, including mining and mineral and geothermal leasing;
however, it allows for continued fish and wildlife management
and livestock grazing within such areas, as appropriate. In
addition, nothing in H.R. 2909 as amended, or the Wilderness
Act shall: (1) preclude low-level overflights and operations of
military aircraft, missiles, or unmanned aerial vehicles over
the UTTR, including the Dugway Proving Ground; (2) preclude the
designation of new or expansion of existing units of special
use airspace or the use or establishment of military training
routes over such area; or (4) preclude the continuation of a
current memorandum of understanding between the Departments of
the Interior and Air Force with respect to emergency access and
response within the area. The bill also calls for an area
contained within the Cedar Mountain Wilderness designated as
Browns Spring to be released from its current WSA status and
subsequently managed for multiple uses by the Bureau of Land
Management. Releasing this area will provide greater access to
the spring for ongoing maintenance and upkeep.
Finally, the bill as amended, directs the Secretary of the
Interior to identify approximately 640 additional acres of
Bureau of Land Management land in the State of Utah to be
administered in trust for the benefit of the Skull Valley Band
of Goshutes. Use of the land by the tribe is limited to
commercial development.
Committee Action
Congressman Rob Bishop (R-UT), introduced H.R. 2909 on July
25, 2003. The bill was referred to the Committee on Resources
and within the Committee, the bill was referred to the
Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and Public Lands.
The Subcommittee met on October 16, 2003 to hear the bill. On
May 19, 2004, the Full Resources Committee met to mark up the
bill, and the Subcommittee on National Parks, Recreation and
Public Lands was discharged from further consideration of the
bill by unanimous consent. Congressman Rob Bishop offered an
amendment in the nature of a substitute to the bill which: (1)
clarified the lands designated as wilderness and the lands
being released from wilderness status; and (2) directed the
Secretary of the Interior to identify 640 acres of land in Utah
to be held in trust for the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes. The
amendment in the nature of a substitute was adopted by voice
vote. The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported
to the House of Representatives by voice vote.
Committee Oversight Findings and Recommendations
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Resources' oversight findings and recommendations
are reflected in the body of this report.
Constitutional Authority Statement
Article I, section 8, of the Constitution of the United
States grants Congress the authority to enact this bill.
Compliance With House Rule XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(2) 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 this bill. However, clause 3(d)(3)(B)
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 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974.
2. Congressional Budget Act. As required by clause 3(c)(2)
of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, this
bill does not contain any new budget authority, spending
authority, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII
of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not apply.
4. Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate. Under clause
3(c)(3) of rule XIII 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 this bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget
Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, June 2, 2004.
Hon. Richard W. Pombo,
Chairman Committee on Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 2909, the Utah
Test and Training Range Protection Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Megan
Carroll.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth M. Robinson
(For Douglas Holtz-Eakin).
Enclosure.
H.R. 2909--Utah Test and Training Range Protection Act
H.R. 2909 would make several changes to current law that
would affect federal land in the state of Utah. Specifically,
the bill would require the Secretary of the Interior to
develop, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, plans
for managing federal land within the Utah Test and Training
Range. In addition, the bill would establish the Cedar Mountain
Wilderness on roughly 99,500 acres of federal land and release
other land currently designated as a wilderness study area from
that status. Finally, the bill would direct the Secretary of
the Interior to select 640 acres of land administered by the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to be taken into trust on
behalf of the Skull Valley Band of Goshutes.
Based on information from BLM, CBO estimates that enacting
H.R. 2909 would not significantly affect the federal budget.
According to the agency, the land that would be affected by the
bill currently does not generate any significant receipts, and
it is unlikely to do so in the next 10 years. Hence, we
estimate that altering the status of this land or changing
management practices would not significantly affect offsetting
receipts (a credit against direct spending). We also estimate
that any increased costs for planning and management activities
would be less than $500,000 annually. Enacting H.R. 2909 would
not affect federal revenues.
H.R. 2909 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
Enacting this legislation would benefit the Skull Valley Band
of Goshutes by providing them with additional land. It would
limit the tribe's development opportunities on existing land,
however, because it would bar rights-of-way across adjacent
federal land. The bill would impose no other costs on state,
local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Megan Carroll.
This estimate was approved by Robert A. Sunshine, Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Compliance With Public Law 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
Preemption of State, Local or Tribal Law
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported
In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets and
existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
SECTION 2815 OF THE NATIONAL DEFENSE AUTHORIZATION ACT FOR FISCAL YEAR
2000
SEC. 2815. STUDY AND REPORT ON IMPACTS TO MILITARY READINESS OF
PROPOSED LAND MANAGEMENT CHANGES ON PUBLIC LANDS IN
UTAH.
(a) * * *
* * * * * * *
[(d) Effect of Study.--Until the Secretary of Defense submits
to Congress a report containing the results of the study, the
Secretary of the Interior may not proceed with the amendment of
any individual resource management plan for Utah national
defense lands, or any statewide environmental impact statement
or statewide resource management plan amendment package for
such lands, if the statewide environmental impact statement or
statewide resource management plan amendment addresses
wilderness characteristics or wilderness management issues
affecting such lands.]