Volume 146, No. 77 covering the 2nd Session of the 106th Congress (1999 - 2000) was published by the Congressional Record.
The Congressional Record is a unique source of public documentation. It started in 1873, documenting nearly all the major and minor policies being discussed and debated.
“STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS” mentioning the Environmental Protection Agency was published in the Senate section on pages S5361-S5363 on June 19, 2000.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS
By Mr. REID:
S. 2749. A bill to establish the California Trail Interpretive Center in Elko, Nevada, to facilitate the interpretation of the history of development and use of trails in the setting of the western portion of the United States; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
california trail interpretive act
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the California Trail Interpretive Act.
The nineteenth century westward emigration on the California National Historic Trail, which occurred from 1840 until the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, was an important cultural and historical era in the settlement of the West. This influx of settlers contributed to the development of lands in the western United States by Americans and immigrants and to the prevention of colonization of the west coast by Russia and the British Empire. More than 300,000 settlers traveled the California Trail and many documented their amazing experiences in detailed journals. Under the National Trails System Act, the Secretary of Interior may establish interpretation centers to document and celebrate pioneer trails such as the California National Historic Trail. In Nevada, Elko County alone contains over 435 miles of National Historic Trails.
Mr. President, recognition and interpretation of the pioneer experience on the Trail is appropriate in light of Americans' strong interest in understanding our history and heritage. Those who pursue Western Americana, and thousands do, will find physical evidence of the documented hardships facing the original pioneers. One pioneer journal bemoaned the death of an elderly lady traveling west with her family. Her grave and its marker are in evidence in the Beowawe Cemetery near the trail river crossing known as Gravely Ford for those searching for historical confirmation. And, if the present-day explorers choose to walk part of the California Trail, they may do so at this place. To the east of this river crossing is around five miles of undisturbed trail that leads down from what is known as ``Emigrant Pass''.
This Act authorizes the planning, construction and operation of a visitor center. The cooperative parties include the State of Nevada, the Advisory Board for the National Historic California Emigrant Trails Interpretive Center, Elko County, the City of Elko, and Bureau of Land Management.
This interpretive center will be located near the city of Elko, in northeastern Nevada. The location is the junction of the California Trail and the Hastings Cutoff. The ill-fated Reed-Donner party spent an additional 31 days meandering over the so-called Hastings Cutoff route; precious time wasted that kept them from crossing the deadly Sierra Nevada before winter struck in 1846.
This act will recognize the California Trail, including the Hastings Cutoff, for its national historical and cultural significance through the construction of an interpretive facility devoted to the vital role of Pioneer trails in the West in the development of the United States.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the full text of the bill be printed in the Record.
Thank you, Mr. President, I yield the floor
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2749
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``California Trail Interpretive Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the nineteenth century westward movement in the United States over the California National Historic Trail, which occurred from 1840 until the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1869, was an important cultural and historical event in--
(A) the development of the western land of the United States; and
(B) the prevention of colonization of the west coast by Russia and the British Empire;
(2) the movement over the California Trail was completed by over 300,000 settlers, many of whom left records or stories of their journeys; and
(3) additional recognition and interpretation of the movement over the California Trail is appropriate in light of--
(A) the national scope of nineteenth century westward movement in the United States; and
(B) the strong interest expressed by people of the United States in understanding their history and heritage.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to recognize the California Trail, including the Hastings Cutoff and the trail of the ill-fated Donner-Reed Party, for its national, historical, and cultural significance; and
(2) to provide the public with an interpretive facility devoted to the vital role of trails in the West in the development of the United States.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) California trail.--The term ``California Trail'' means the California National Historic Trail, established under section 5(a)(18) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1244(a)(18)).
(2) Center.--The term ``Center'' means the California Trail Interpretive Center established under section 4(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(4) State.--The term ``State'' means the State of Nevada.
SEC. 4. CALIFORNIA TRAIL INTERPRETIVE CENTER.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--In furtherance of the purposes of section 7(c) of the National Trails System Act (16 U.S.C. 1246(c)), the Secretary may establish an interpretation center to be known as the ``California Trail Interpretive Center'', near the city of Elko, Nevada.
(2) Purpose.--The Center shall established be for the purpose of interpreting the history of development and use of the California Trail in the settling of the West.
(b) Master Plan Study.--To carry out subsection (a), the Secretary shall--
(1) consider the findings of the master plan study for the California Trail Interpretive Center in Elko, Nevada, as authorized by page 15 of Senate Report 106-99; and
(2) initiate a plan for the development of the Center that includes--
(A) a detailed description of the design of the Center;
(B) a description of the site on which the Center is to be located;
(C) a description of the method and estimated cost of acquisition of the site on which the Center is to be located;
(D) the estimated cost of construction of the Center;
(E) the cost of operation and maintenance of the Center; and
(F) a description of the manner and extent to which non-Federal entities shall participate in the acquisition and construction of the Center.
(c) Implementation.--To carry out subsection (a), the Secretary may--
(1) acquire land and interests in land for the construction of the Center by--
(A) donation;
(B) purchase with donated or appropriated funds; or
(C) exchange;
(2) provide for local review of and input concerning the development and operation of the Center by the Advisory Board for the National Historic California Emigrant Trails Interpretive Center of the city of Elko, Nevada;
(3) periodically prepare a budget and funding request that allows a Federal agency to carry out the maintenance and operation of the Center;
(4) enter into a cooperative agreement with--
(A) the State, to provide assistance in--
(i) removal of snow from roads;
(ii) rescue, firefighting, and law enforcement services; and
(iii) coordination of activities of nearby law enforcement and firefighting departments or agencies; and
(B) a Federal, State, or local agency to develop or operate facilities and services to carry out this Act; and
(5) notwithstanding any other provision of law, accept donations of funds, property, or services from an individual, foundation, corporation, or public entity to provide a service or facility that is consistent with this Act, as determined by the Secretary, including 1-time contributions for the Center (to be payable during construction funding periods for the Center after the date of enactment of this Act) from--
(A) the State, in the amount of $3,000,000;
(B) Elko County, Nevada, in the amount of $1,000,000; and
(C) the city of Elko, Nevada, in the amount of $2,000,000.
SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act $12,000,000.
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By Mr. REID:
S. 2750. A bill to direct the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, the Secretary of the Army, the Secretary of Agriculture, and the Secretary of the Interior to participate constructively in the implementation of the Las Vegas Wash Wetland Restoration and Lake Mead Water Quality Improvement Project, Nevada; to the Committee on Environment and Public Works.
las vegas wash wetland restoration and lake mead water quality improvement act of 2000
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce today the Las Vegas Wash Wetland Restoration and Lake Mead Water Quality Improvement Act of 2000. This bill is important for Nevada's families and for the environment, because water is our most precious natural resource.
My bill is the product of a visionary, locally-led initiative designed to develop and implement a plan that would enhance and protect water quality in the Las Vegas basin.
Importantly, my bill would safeguard southern Nevada's water supply and improve the unique desert wetlands environment of the Las Vegas Wash.
I would like to review some of the history that contributed to the development of this bill.
In 1998, in response to a recommendation by a citizens' water quality advisory committee, the Las Vegas Wash Coordination Committee was formed to develop a comprehensive Adaptive Management Plan (AMP) for the Las Vegas Wash ecosystem.
The AMP, which was developed by the Las Vegas Wash Coordinating Committee over the past two years and approved early this year by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, represents a vision for how local, State, and Federal stakeholders can work together to achieve shared water quality and ecosystem restoration goals in the Las Vegas basin.
First and foremost, the AMP is a locally-driven strategy. The stakeholder working group, coordinated by the Southern Nevada Water Authority and comprised of 28 groups, contributed their varied perspectives and good ideas to the development of this plan.
A draft of the AMP was published for public comment in October 1999. In January 2000, the Southern Nevada Water Authority finalized and approved the AMP.
Chief among the recommendations in the AMP was the call for development of a partnership consisting of local, State, Federal agencies with interests in the Las Vegas Wash ecosystem.
I view this plan as a Nevada solution to a tremendous local challenge of accelerated erosion and deteriorating water quality.
I commend the local, State, and Federal stakeholders that helped create the AMP for their hard work, cooperation, and dedication to improving Southern Nevada's environment for Nevada's families today and for future generations.
The Federal government, by virtue of its land ownership in Nevada and responsibilities at Lake Mead, has an obligation to help make the plan work.
In addition, the Federal government is uniquely responsible for the perchlorate contamination which contributes to the groundwater contamination that pollutes Las Vegas Wash run-off.
My bill directs the relevant Federal agencies to participate in efforts to restore Las Vegas Wash and protect Lake Mead's water quality. These agencies include: the Environmental Protection Agency, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the Natural Resources Conservation Service, the Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Army Corps of Engineers.
I hope that the Senate will move quickly to consider and pass this bill so that Federal agencies can become full partners in the effort to rehabilitate and conserve the Las Vegas Wash desert ecosystem and to improve water quality in southern Nevada's most heavily used watershed.
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By Mr. REID:
S. 2751. A bill to direct the Secretary of Agriculture to convey certain land in the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit, Nevada, to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Washoe Indian Tribe of Nevada and California; to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
washoe tribe land conveyance legislation
Mr. REID. Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Washoe Tribe Lake Tahoe Access Act.
In 1997, I helped convene a Presidential Forum at Lake Tahoe to discuss the future of the Lake Tahoe Basin. Together with President Clinton, Federal, State, and local government leaders, we addressed the protection of the extraordinary natural, recreational, and ecological resources of the Lake Tahoe region. Goals and an action plan developed during the Lake Tahoe Forum were codified as the ``Presidential Forum Deliverables.'' These Deliverables included supporting the traditional and customary use of the Lake Tahoe Basin by the Washoe Tribe. Perhaps, most importantly, the Deliverables include a provision designed to provide the Washoe Tribe access to the shore of Lake Tahoe for cultural purposes.
Mr. President, the ancestral homeland of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California included an area of over 10,000 square miles in and around Lake Tahoe. The purpose of this Act is to ensure that the members of the Washoe Tribe have the opportunity to engage in traditional and customary cultural practices on the shore of Lake Tahoe including spiritual renewal, land stewardship, Washoe horticulture and ethnobotany, subsistence gathering, traditional learning, and reunification of tribal and family bonds as was envisioned by the parties involved in the Lake Tahoe Presidential Forum.
Mr. President, this Act will convey 24.3 acres from the Secretary of Agriculture to the Secretary of the Interior to be held in trust for the Washoe Tribe. This is land located within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit north of Skunk Harbor, Nevada. The land in question would be conveyed with the expectation that it would be used for traditional and customary uses and stewardship conservation of the Washoe Tribe and will not permit any commercial use. In the unlikely event this land were used for any commercial development purpose, title to the land will revert to the Secretary of Agriculture. It is my sincere hope that Congress will pass this bill thereby making the Presidential Deliverables of the Lake Tahoe forum a reality by ensuring that the Washoe Tribe once again enjoy access to Lake Tahoe.
Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.
There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows:
S. 2751
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. WASHOE TRIBE LAND CONVEYANCE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
(1) the ancestral homeland of the Washoe Tribe of Nevada and California (referred to in this section as the ``Tribe'') included an area of approximately 5,000 square miles in and around Lake Tahoe, California and Nevada, and Lake Tahoe was the heart of the territory;
(2) in 1997, Federal, State, and local governments, together with many private landholders, recognized the Washoe people as indigenous people of Lake Tahoe Basin through a series of meetings convened by those governments at 2 locations in Lake Tahoe;
(3) the meetings were held to address protection of the extraordinary natural, recreational, and ecological resources in the Lake Tahoe region;
(4) the resulting multiagency agreement includes objectives that support the traditional and customary uses of Forest Service land by the Tribe; and
(5) those objectives include the provision of access by members of the Tribe to the shore of Lake Tahoe in order to reestablish traditional and customary cultural practices.
(b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are--
(1) to implement the joint local, State, tribal, and Federal objective of returning the Tribe to Lake Tahoe; and
(2) to ensure that members of the Tribe have the opportunity to engage in traditional and customary cultural practices on the shore of Lake Tahoe to meet the needs of spiritual renewal, land stewardship, Washoe horticulture and ethnobotony, subsistence gathering, traditional learning, and reunification of tribal and family bonds.
(c) Conveyance.--Subject to valid existing rights and subject to the easement reserved under subsection (d), the Secretary of Agriculture shall convey to the Secretary of the Interior, in trust for the Tribe, for no consideration, all right, title, and interest in the parcel of land comprising approximately 24.3 acres, located within the Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit north of Skunk Harbor, Nevada, and more particularly described as Mount Diablo Meridian, T15N, R18E, section 27, lot 3.
(d) Easement.--
(1) In general.--The conveyance under subsection (c) shall be made subject to reservation to the United States of a nonexclusive easement for public and administrative access over Forest Development Road #15N67 to National Forest System land.
(2) Access by individuals with disabilities.--The Secretary shall provide a reciprocal easement to the Tribe permitting vehicular access to the parcel over Forest Development Road
#15N67 to--
(A) members of the Tribe for administrative and safety purposes; and
(B) members of the Tribe who, due to age, infirmity, or disability, would have difficulty accessing the conveyed parcel on foot.
(e) Use of Land.--
(1) In general.--In using the parcel conveyed under subsection (c), the Tribe and members of the Tribe--
(A) shall limit the use of the parcel to traditional and customary uses and stewardship conservation of the Tribe and not permit any commercial use (including commercial development, residential development, gaming, sale of timber, or mineral extraction); and
(B) shall comply with environmental requirements that are no less protective than environmental requirements that apply under the Regional Plan of the Tahoe Regional Planning Agency.
(2) Reversion.--If the Secretary of the Interior, after notice to the Tribe and an opportunity for a hearing, based on monitoring of use of the parcel by the Tribe, makes a finding that the Tribe has used or permitted the use of the parcel in violation of paragraph (1) and the Tribe fails to take corrective or remedial action directed by the Secretary of the Interior, title to the parcel shall revert to the Secretary of Agriculture.
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