[House Report 106-923]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
106th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session 106-923
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INTERPRETIVE CENTER AND MUSEUM, DIAMOND VALLEY LAKE, HEMET, CALIFORNIA
_______
October 2, 2000.--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
together with
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 4187]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Resources, to whom was referred the bill
(H.R. 4187) to assist in the establishment of an interpretive
center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in
southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation
of the paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop
a trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and
nonmotorized vehicles, having considered the same, report
favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill
do pass.
purpose of the bill
The purpose of H.R. 4187 is to assist in the establishment
of an interpretive center and museum in the vicinity of the
Diamond Valley Lake in southern California to ensure the
protection and interpretation of the paleontology discoveries
made at the lake and to develop a trail system for the lake for
use by pedestrians and nonmotorized vehicles.
background and need for legislation
Diamond Valley Lake, California, part of the Eastside
Reservoir Project, is the result of a joint effort by State and
local authorities to address possible water shortage problems
in Southern California. The man-made lake is located in the
fast-growing area of the Domenigoni/Diamond Valleys in
Riverside County, California. Dam construction on the Diamond
Valley Lake project began in September of 1995, and was
completed in December of 1999. The construction of the
reservoir's West Dam, East Dam, and Saddle Dam was the largest
earthen work project in the history of the United States, and
involved more than 110 million cubic yards of embankment
construction. Filling of the reservoir began in May 2000,
culminating nearly 12 years of planning, designing,
engineering, and construction. More than $2 billion of non-
federal funds have been used to develop the 4.5 mile-long
Diamond Valley Lake. The surrounding area is one of the fastest
growing population centers in the State of California with no
Bureau of Recreation or National Park Service facilities.
H.R. 4187 will help provide recreational and educational
opportunities to the region by assisting in the funding of the
design, construction, furnishing, and operation of an
interpretive center and museum. The center and museum will be
known as the Western Center for Archaeology and will house an
assortment of archaeological and paleontological remains which
were excavated during the construction of the reservoir. More
than 300 prehistoric sites were identified during reservoir
preparations and are considered equal or more significant than
those at the La Brea tar pits in Los Angeles. One of these
sites has been tested and found to be over 9,000 years old. The
Western Center would also be available to provide storage and
state-of-the-art curation services for other valuable artifacts
that many federal agencies have been unable to properly care
for in recent years. The federal contribution to the Center
will be $9.5 million out of a project total cost of $40
million.
This bill also provides funding to share in the cost of the
design, construction, and maintenance of a trails system around
Diamond Valley Lake and the surrounding area. The trails will
provide nonmotorized recreation for visitors to the area. The
federal contribution to the trails system will be $4.5 million
out of a total project cost of $10.9 million. H.R. 4187 also
contains a matching requirement that all non-federal parties
are to secure funds in amount that is at least equal to those
provided by the federal government. Total authorized
appropriated amounts are not to exceed $14 million.
committee action
H.R. 4187 was introduced on April 5, 2000, by Congressman
Ken Calvert (R-CA). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee on
National Parks and Public Lands. On June 27, 2000, the
Subcommittee held a hearing on the bill. On September 20, 2000,
the Full Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee
on National Parks and Public Lands was discharged from further
consideration of the bill by unanimous consent. No amendments
were offered and the bill was 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 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. Government Reform Oversight Findings. Under clause
3(c)(4) of rule XIII 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 on this bill.
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, September 28, 2000.
Hon. Don Young,
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. 4187, a bill to
assist in the establishment of an interpretive center and
museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in southern
California to ensure the protection and interpretation of the
paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop a
trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and
nonmotorized vehicles.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contacts are Megan
Carroll (for federal costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the
state and local costs).
Sincerely,
Barry B. Anderson
(For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 4187--A bill to assist in the establishment of an interpretive
center and museum in the vicinity of the Diamond Valley Lake in
southern California to ensure the protection and interpretation
of the paleontology discoveries made at the lake and to develop
a trail system for the lake for use by pedestrians and
nonmotorized vehicles
CBO estimates that implementing H.R. 4187 would cost $14
million over the 2001-2005 period, assuming appropriation of
the authorized amounts. The bill would not affect direct
spending or receipts; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would
not apply. H.R. 4187 contains no intergovernmental or private-
sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
H.R. 4187 would authorize the appropriation of up to $14
million for the federal government's share of the costs of
establishing and operating an interpretive center, museum, and
trail system on nonfederal lands near Diamond Valley Lake,
California. Under the bill, any federal funds provided for the
projects must be matched with funds from nonfederal sources,
which may include the state of California and local governments
in the state. Such spending would be voluntary on the part of
those governments. The bill would have no other significant
impact on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments.
According to the Bureau of Land Management, federal
assistance provided under H.R. 4187 would take the form of
grants to a local museum foundation and a local water district
in the amounts estimated to be necessary for the projects each
year. Based on information from the water district, CBO
estimates that outlays for those grants would total about $1
million in 2002, $3 million in 2003, $5 million in 2004, and $5
million in 2005, assuming appropriation of the necessary
amounts.
On September 28, 2000, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for
S. 2977, similar legislation ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on September 20,
2000. The two bills are very similar, and our cost estimates
are the same.
The CBO staff contacts for this estimate are Megan Carroll
(for federal costs), and Victoria Heid Hall (for the state and
local costs). 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
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
ADDITIONAL VIEWS
H.R. 4187 authorizes the federal government to pay for up
to one quarter of the costs for a $40 million visitor's
facility to be constructed as part of a vast recreational
complex being developed around a new locally owned water
project in California. The complex is reported to include golf
courses, restaurants, and concert areas centered around this
new reservoir.
There is no federal connection to this project. None of the
facilities, nor any of the land, are federally owned or
operated. We are told that during construction, important
archeological artifacts were discovered and therefore the
federal government should pay for a visitor's center. However,
if these artifacts are truly important, funding for their
preservation is available through existing grant programs and
earmarked funding for a visitor's center is therefore
unnecessary.
It has also been argued that, because the local water
district was required to set aside a nature preserve as a
species mitigation measure, federal funds should be used for a
visitor's center. The set-aside was required by law, and does
not entitle this project to a taxpayer-funded visitor's center.
In our view, Congress should allocate federal resources to
address multi-billion dollar maintenance and construction
backlogs on federal lands. Non-federal projects such as this
one should receive the bulk of their funding from the states or
localities which own and operate them, with any federal funds
coming through existing, discretionary grant programs.
George Miller.
Owen Pickett.
Cal Dooley.