[House Report 113-696]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
113th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 113-696
======================================================================
LAKE BERRYESSA RECREATION ENHANCEMENT ACT OF 2014
_______
December 22, 2014.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on
the State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4166]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 4166) to transfer recreational management
authority for Lake Berryessa in the State of California from
the Bureau of Reclamation to the Bureau of Land Management, and
for other purposes, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Lake Berryessa
Recreation Enhancement Act of 2014''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings; purposes.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Transfer of administrative jurisdiction.
Sec. 5. Management of Recreation Area.
Sec. 6. Continued authorities of Commissioner of Reclamation.
Sec. 7. Existing authorizations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the Monticello Dam--
(A) was authorized by the Reclamation Project Act of
1939 (53 Stat. 1187);
(B) resulted in the formation of Lake Berryessa; and
(C) is operated by the Bureau of Reclamation;
(2) Lake Berryessa--
(A) covers approximately 28,915 acres of surface
water and land;
(B) has 165 miles of shoreline;
(C) has a 2,000 acre wildlife area on the east side;
(D) is located less than 100 miles from both
Sacramento, California and San Francisco, California;
and
(E) has become an important regional recreation
destination; and
(3) the recreational use at Lake Berryessa generates tourism
that is important to local economies.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to provide diverse, high quality recreational facilities
and services on the water and land surrounding Lake Berryessa;
(2) to conserve the natural, scenic, scientific, historic,
economic, recreational, and other resource values contributing
to the public use and enjoyment of that land and water;
(3) to promote cooperation between the Federal Government and
private entities to manage that exceptional resource;
(4) to authorize the Secretary to manage certain resources
under the Bureau of Land Management; and
(5) to transfer administrative jurisdiction over certain
Federal land for management as a unit of the Bureau of Land
Management.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Dam.--The term ``Dam'' means--
(A) the Monticello Dam; and
(B) any facility relating to the Monticello Dam.
(2) Recreation area.--The term ``Recreation Area'' means the
Lake Berryessa Recreation Area designated by section 4(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of California.
SEC. 4. TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION.
(a) Establishment.--Subject to valid existing rights, there is
established the Lake Berryessa Recreational Area, the boundaries of
which are described in subsection (c). In administering the Recreation
Area, the Secretary shall not--
(1) diminish the levels of day-use occupancy, short-term
occupancy and annual occupancy as set forth in the recreational
use plan adopted by the Bureau of Reclamation on June 2, 2006,
for the Recreation Area;
(2) diminish motorized boating or alter the ``Water Surface
Zoning and Restrictions'' developed under Action 17 of the 1993
Recreation Area Management Plan Record of Decision and
continued in the recreational use plan adopted by the Bureau of
Reclamation on June 2, 2006, for the Recreation Area;
(3) close trails or limit recreational hiking and equine
access to trails on lands in the Recreation Area; and
(4) negatively impact hunting, fishing, shooting sports, or
trapping on the lands and waters within the boundaries of the
Recreation Area.
(b) Transfer of Administrative Jurisdiction.--Administrative
jurisdiction over the Federal land described in subsection (c),
including any improvements thereon, is transferred from the Bureau of
Reclamation to the Bureau of Land Management for administration of the
Recreation Area.
(c) Description of Land.--The land referred to in subsection (a) is
the approximately 30,221 acres of land administered by the Bureau of
Reclamation that is underlying or adjacent to Lake Berryessa and
identified as ``Lake Berryessa Reclamation Lands Solono Project'' on
the map dated September 15, 2014.
SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT OF RECREATION AREA.
(a) In General.--Subject to the authority of the Secretary under
section 6, the Secretary shall manage the Recreation Area in accordance
with sections 601 through 604 of Public Law 93-493.
(b) Applicable Law.--Subject to valid existing rights, the Secretary
shall administer the Recreation Area in accordance with laws (including
regulations) applicable to units of the public lands of the Bureau of
Land Management.
(c) Waters.--Nothing in this Act--
(1) affects the use or allocation, in existence on the date
of the enactment of this Act, of any water, water right, or
interest in water;
(2) affects any vested absolute or decreed conditional water
right in existence on the date of the enactment of this Act,
including any water right held by the United States;
(3) affects any interstate water compact in existence on the
date of the enactment of this Act;
(4) authorizes or imposes any new reserved Federal water
rights;
(5) relinquishes or reduces any water rights reserved or
appropriated by the United States in the State on or before the
date of the enactment of this Act;
(6) impairs the ability of the Bureau of Reclamation and its
managing partners to operate, maintain, or manage Monticello
Dam and other Solano Project facilities in accordance with the
purposes of such project; or
(7) modifies, changes, or supersedes any water contract or
agreements approved or administered by the Bureau of
Reclamation or Solano County Water Agency or Solano Irrigation
District.
(d) Existing Agreements.--To benefit the interests of the public, the
Secretary shall act in accordance with any agreement in existence on
the date of the enactment of this Act, including those with any
organization for the management of--
(1) campgrounds located in the Recreation Area;
(2) marinas located in the Recreation Area;
(3) lodging facilities located in the Recreation Area;
(4) food and beverage services located in the Recreation
Area; and
(5) boating and boat rental facilities located in the
Recreation Area.
(e) Adoption of Recreational Use Plan.--To manage the Recreation
Area, the Secretary shall adopt and use the recreational use plan
adopted by the Bureau of Reclamation on June 2, 2006, for the
Recreational Area. The adoption of this plan shall not constitute a
major federal action for the purposes of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). This action is not subject
to judicial review.
SEC. 6. CONTINUED AUTHORITIES OF COMMISSIONER OF RECLAMATION.
Nothing in this Act or any subsequent management plan shall impair
the ability of the Bureau of Reclamation and its managing partners to
operate, maintain, or manage Monticello Dam, Lake Berryessa, and other
Solano Project facilities in accordance with that project's authorized
purposes. The Commissioner of Reclamation shall continue to administer
and operate--
(1) the Dam; and
(2) any power facility relating to the Dam.
SEC. 7. EXISTING AUTHORIZATIONS.
(a) In General.--Except as provided in subsections (b) and (c),
nothing in this Act affects any authorization in effect as of the date
of the enactment of this Act made by any department or agency of the
Federal Government for the use of land or water located within the
Recreation Area (referred to in this section as an ``existing
authorization'').
(b) Assumption of Existing Authorization.--Not later than 1 year
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall assume
the administration of any existing authorization, with such revisions
as necessary to align the authorization with existing law and policies
of the Bureau of Land Management.
(c) Renewal of Existing Authorization.--The renewal of any existing
authorization shall be made in accordance with such terms and
conditions as the Secretary may prescribe.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 4166 is to transfer recreational
management authority for Lake Berryessa in the State of
California from the Bureau of Reclamation to the Bureau of Land
Management.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The Bureau of Reclamation has 289 project areas, including
Lake Berryessa, that have recreation facilities and
opportunities available for public use. Lake Berryessa is a 1.6
million acre feet capacity reservoir created by the Monticello
Dam, which impounds Putah Creek in northern California's Solano
and Napa Counties. Reclamation derives much of its recreational
management authorization at Lake Berryessa pursuant to ``The
Reclamation Development Act of 1974'' (Public Law 93-493) and
Public Law 96-375, which states:
. . . the Secretary of the Interior is authorized to
enter into new negotiated concession agreements with
the present concessionaires at Lake Berryessa,
California. Such agreements shall be for a term ending
not later than May 26, 1989, and may be renewed at the
request of the concessionaire with the consent of the
Secretary of the Interior for no more than two
consecutive terms of 10 years each. Concession
agreements may be renegotiated preceding renewal.
Reclamation, under President George W. Bush's
Administration, chose not to extend the concession arrangements
when the concessions contracts expired in 2008 and 2009. As
part of this effort, Reclamation initiated work for a new
Visitor Services Plan (VSP) in 2000 and published a Draft
Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in October 2003. After
considering comments, Reclamation published a Final EIS in
October 2005. A Record of Decision was signed in June 2006,
based upon the fundamental assumption from the VSP that new
contractors would invest significant capital to develop a broad
range of recreation facilities for short-term visitor use at
all of the Lake's seven concession areas. Reclamation chose one
concessioner to manage five of the seven concessions in May
2010.
The subsequent concessioner contract with Reclamation
stipulated that several of the resorts had to be leveled then
rebuilt under specific timelines. However, Reclamation
terminated that 40-year contract in December 2012 after
disagreements between Reclamation and the concessioner. After
the contract termination, Reclamation signed interim contracts
with other concessionaires to operate the seven sub-areas while
producing a prospectus for new long-term concessionaire
contracts. Reclamation estimates that it intends to offer such
contracts in 2015.
In response to lower visitation numbers and the contract
disputes, H.R. 4166 was introduced to transfer recreational
management responsibilities from Reclamation to the Bureau of
Land Management (BLM). Napa County and other local entities
support the bill. The Administration testified in support of
H.R. 4166 at a Water and Power Subcommittee hearing on June 10,
2014, but with a qualified endorsement: ``While we support this
transfer, the Department notes that given the site conditions,
available resources, and applicable authorities, the BLM may
not be able to meet the public's expectations nor manage the
recreation area as the sponsor intends under the bill as
written.'' In addition, a local recreationalist, Mr. Peter
Kilkus, the editor of the Lake Berryessa News and long-time
Lake Berryessa resident, questioned the effect of the transfer
in submitted testimony: ``H.R. 4166 is NOT a bill aimed at
`government efficiency.' There is no real evidence that if the
BLM had managed the VSP/Bid Prospectus process, the outcome
would have been any different. Nor is there any guarantee that
the BLM would do a better job in the future . . . On a
cautionary note, the usual exclusionist suspects have already
begun floating the idea that some of the resorts should not be
reopened at all, reopened with limited amenities, or reopened
for day use only.''
H.R. 4166, as amended, seeks to remedy some of these
concerns by ensuring that nothing in the bill diminishes
motorized boating, hiking access, horseback riding, or hunting
and fishing activities. In addition, the amendment adopted in
committee requires BLM to follow the current Bureau of
Reclamation recreational use plan in place to ensure BLM does
not create a new plan that will cost millions of taxpayer
dollars to develop and one which may not guarantee existing
recreational access.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 4166 was introduced on March 6, 2014, by Congressman
Mike Thompson (D-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the
Subcommittees on Water and Power and Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation. On June 10, 2014, the Subcommittee on
Water and Power held a hearing on the bill. On September 18,
2014, the Full Natural Resources Committee met to consider the
bill. The Subcommittees on Water and Power and Public Lands and
Environmental Regulation were discharged by unanimous consent.
Congressman Tom McClintock (R-CA) offered an amendment
designated #1 to the bill; the amendment was adopted by
unanimous consent. The bill, as amended, was then adopted and
ordered favorably reported to the House of Representatives by
unanimous consent.
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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) 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)(2)(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. 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:
H.R. 4166--Lake Berryessa Recreation Enhancement Act of 2014
H.R. 4166 would transfer administrative jurisdiction over
30,221 acres of federal land underlying or adjacent to Lake
Berryessa in California from the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to
the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). Based on information
provided by the affected agencies and assuming appropriation of
the necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill
would cost $3 million over the 2015-2019 period. Because
enacting the legislation would increase direct spending, pay-
as-you-go procedures apply. However, we estimate that the net
budgetary effect of those changes would not be significant.
Enacting H.R. 4166 would not affect revenues.
Under current law, CBO expects that BOR would collect
receipts from concession contracts and franchise fees from
recreational activities near Lake Berryessa totaling less than
$100,000 a year. Those fees are classified as offsetting
receipts, which are treated as reductions in direct spending.
Based on information provided by BLM, CBO expects that, under
the bill, the agency would collect a similar amount of fees.
However, because BLM would probably use its existing
authorities to retain and spend a portion of those amounts, we
estimate that enacting the bill would increase direct spending
by less than $50,000 a year.
In addition, CBO estimates that, under current law, BOR
would spend about $3 million a year to administer the affected
lands, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. Under
the bill, BLM would carry out similar activities to administer
the affected lands plus certain additional activities related
to endangered species preservation, hazardous fuels removal,
and habitat preservation. Based on information provided by BLM,
and assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts, CBO
estimates that conducting those activities would cost an
additional $3 million over the 2015-2019 period, assuming
appropriation of the necessary amounts.
H.R. 4166 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would not affect the budgets of state, local, and tribal
governments.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Aurora Swanson
and Jeff LaFave. The estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of 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, credit authority, or an increase or decrease in
revenues or tax expenditures. Based on information provided by
the affected agencies and assuming appropriation of the
necessary amounts, CBO estimates that implementing the bill
would cost $3 million over the 2015-2019 period. Because
enacting the legislation would increase direct spending, pay-
as-you-go procedures apply. However, CBO estimates that the net
budgetary effect of those changes would not be significant
(less than $50,000 a year). Enacting H.R. 4166 would not affect
revenues.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. As required by
clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII, the general performance goal or
objective of this bill is to transfer recreational management
authority for Lake Berryessa in the State of California from
the Bureau of Reclamation to the Bureau of Land Management.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
COMPLIANCE WITH H. RES. 5
Directed Rule Making. The Chairman does not believe that
this bill directs any executive branch official to conduct any
specific rule-making proceedings.
Duplication of Existing Programs. This bill does not
establish or reauthorize a program of the federal government
known to be duplicative of another program. Such program was
not included in any report from the Government Accountability
Office to Congress pursuant to section 21 of Public Law 111-139
or identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal Domestic
Assistance published pursuant to the Federal Program
Information Act (Public Law 95-220, as amended by Public Law
98-169) as relating to other programs.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
H.R. 4166--Lake Berryessa Recreation Enhancement Act of 2014
H.R. 4166 would transfer recreational management authority
of Lake Berryessa from the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) to the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The legislation would further
direct the Secretary of Interior to implement the recreational
use plan adopted by the BOR on June 2, 2006 for the
Recreational Area. The Recreation Area is comprised of 30,221
acres of federal land underlying or adjacent to Lake Berryessa
in California.
While we support transferring recreational management
authority of Lake Berryessa to BLM, a number of amendments made
to H.R. 4166 during the markup process would make the current
bill difficult to implement. Prior to Full Committee
consideration of this legislation, the bill's sponsor worked
with the Department of the Interior to draft changes to address
the Department's concerns. These changes were shared with the
Majority prior to markup but not included in the Subcommittee
Chairman's amendment. Instead, the amendment adopted by the
Committee included language requiring the Secretary to maintain
certain use levels without any management flexibility.
We look forward to working with the Majority to resolve the
issues with H.R. 4166 as it is currently written so that BOR
and BLM can start working on a smooth management transfer that
enhances recreational opportunities for visitors to the lake.
Peter DeFazio,
Ranking Member, Committee on
Natural Resources.
Grace Napolitano,
Ranking Member, Subcommittee
on Water and Power.