Panel passes Texas river bill, several other measures

E&E News
By Phil Taylor
November 19, 2014

The House Natural Resources Committee yesterday approved an amended version of a bill designed to settle land claims along the Red River that follows the Texas-Oklahoma border, despite lingering concerns of committee Democrats.

By voice vote, members passed H.R. 4979 by Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas), which orders the Bureau of Land Management to recognize private property rights along the river and allows it to sell excess lands.

The amendment by Rep. Rob Bishop (R-Utah) also was adopted by a voice vote.

Natural Resources Chairman Doc Hastings (R-Wash.) said the vote is a crucial step in providing certainty to landowners who have paid taxes on but hold "clouded title" to lands along the river. But he signaled more effort would be needed.

"This continues to be a work in progress and will likely require many more hours of additional input," he said. "This markup today will provide us with a crucial benchmark to assist us in the evolution of this bill in bringing needed certainty to the folks along the Red River."

But Rep. Raúl Grijalva (R-Ariz.), the committee's incoming ranking member, said the "basic concept" of the amended bill "remains flawed."

He said BLM is pouring through county data to sort out who owns what and where. The underlying bill makes a messy process even more messy, he said.

Panel members also passed by unanimous consent or voice vote:

H.R. 1561, by Rep. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.), to authorize the Interior secretary to make improvements to support facilities for national historic sites operated by the National Park Service.
H.R. 1785, by Rep. Dave Reichert (R-Wash.), to establish the Mountains to Sound Greenway National Heritage Area in the state of Washington. An amendment by Hastings was adopted on a voice vote.
H.R. 4220, by Rep. Rick Nolan (D-Minn.), to authorize the exchange of certain federal land and non-federal land in Minnesota.
H.R. 4668, by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), to provide for the retention and future use of certain land on Point Spencer in Alaska, to support the statutory missions and duties of the Coast Guard, to convey certain land on Point Spencer to the Bering Straits Native Corporation, to convey certain land on Point Spencer to Alaska and for other purposes.
H.R. 4924, by Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.), to sustain water supplies for an American Indian tribe in Arizona and a major mining company, and an amendment in the nature of a substitute by Gosar was adopted by unanimous consent.
H.R. 5086, by Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), to amend the National Trails System Act to direct the Interior secretary to conduct a study on the feasibility of designating the Chief Standing Bear National Historic Trail.
H.R. 5176, by Rep. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), to authorize the Interior secretary to retire coal preference right lease applications for which the secretary has made an affirmative commercial quantities determination.
H.R. 5699, by Rep. George Miller (D-Calif.), to authorize the Interior secretary to acquire approximately 44 acres of land in Martinez, Calif. An amendment by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) was adopted by unanimous consent.