White Sands National Park Establishment Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1891 To establish the White Sands National Park in the State of New Mexico as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 26, 2019 Ms. TORRES SMALL of New Mexico (for herself, Ms. HAALAND, and Mr. LUJA´N) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic- tion of the committee concerned A BILL To establish the White Sands National Park in the State of New Mexico as a unit of the National Park System, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘White Sands National Park Establishment Act’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1891 IH Sec. 2. Definitions. TITLE I—WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK Sec. 101. Findings. Sec. 102. Establishment of White Sands National Park. TITLE II—MODIFICATION OF BOUNDARIES OF WHITE SANDS NATIONAL PARK AND WHITE SANDS MISSILE RANGE Sec. 201. Transfers of administrative jurisdiction. Sec. 202. Boundary modifications. Sec. 203. Administration. SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 1 In this Act: 2 (1) MAP.—The term ‘‘Map’’ means the map en- 3 titled ‘‘White Sands National Park Proposed Bound- 4 ary Revision & Transfer of Lands Between National 5 Park Service & Department of the Army’’, numbered 6 142/136,271, and dated February 14, 2017. 7 (2) MILITARY MUNITIONS.—The term ‘‘military 8 munitions’’ has the meaning given the term in sec- 9 tion 101(e) of title 10, United States Code. 10 (3) MISSILE RANGE.—The term ‘‘missile 11 range’’ means the White Sands Missile Range, New 12 Mexico, administered by the Secretary of the Army. 13 (4) MONUMENT.—The term ‘‘Monument’’ 14 means the White Sands National Monument, New 15 Mexico, established by Presidential Proclamation 16 No. 2025 (54 U.S.C. 320301 note), dated January 17 18, 1933, and administered by the Secretary. 18 (5) MUNITIONS DEBRIS.—The term ‘‘munitions 19 debris’’ has the meaning given the term in volume 20 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1891 IH 8 of the Department of Defense Manual Number 1 6055.09–M entitled ‘‘DoD Ammunitions and Explo- 2 sives Safety Standards’’ and dated February 29, 3 2008 (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 4 Act). 5 (6) PARK.—The term ‘‘Park’’ means the White 6 Sands National Park established by section 102(a). 7 (7) PUBLIC LAND ORDER.—The term ‘‘Public 8 Land Order’’ means Public Land Order 833, dated 9 May 21, 1952 (17 Fed. Reg. 4822). 10 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 11 the Secretary of the Interior. 12 (9) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the State 13 of New Mexico. 14 TITLE I—WHITE SANDS 15 NATIONAL PARK 16 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 17 Congress finds that— 18 (1) White Sands National Monument was es- 19 tablished on January 18, 1933, by President Her- 20 bert Hoover under chapter 3203 of title 54, United 21 States Code (commonly known as the ‘‘Antiquities 22 Act of 1906’’); 23 (2) President Hoover proclaimed that the 24 Monument was established ‘‘for the preservation of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1891 IH the white sands and additional features of scenic, 1 scientific, and educational interest’’; 2 (3) the Monument was expanded by Presidents 3 Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Carter, and Clinton in 1934, 4 1942, 1953, 1978, and 1996, respectively; 5 (4) the Monument contains a substantially 6 more diverse set of nationally significant historical, 7 archaeological, scientific, and natural resources than 8 were known of at the time the Monument was estab- 9 lished, including a number of recent discoveries; 10 (5) the Monument is recognized as a major unit 11 of the National Park System with extraordinary val- 12 ues enjoyed by more visitors each year since 1995 13 than any other unit in the State; 14 (6) the Monument contributes significantly to 15 the local economy by attracting tourists; and 16 (7) designation of the Monument as a national 17 park would increase public recognition of the diverse 18 array of nationally significant resources at the 19 Monument and visitation to the unit. 20 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF WHITE SANDS NATIONAL 21 PARK. 22 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—To protect, preserve, and re- 23 store its scenic, scientific, educational, natural, geological, 24 historical, cultural, archaeological, paleontological, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 1891 IH hydrological, fish, wildlife, and recreational values and to 1 enhance visitor experiences, there is established in the 2 State the White Sands National Park as a unit of the Na- 3 tional Park System. 4 (b) ABOLISHMENT OF WHITE SANDS NATIONAL 5 MONUMENT.— 6 (1) ABOLISHMENT.—Due to the establishment 7 of the Park, the Monument is abolished. 8 (2) INCORPORATION.—The land and interests 9 in land that comprise the Monument are incor- 10 porated in, and shall be considered to be part of, the 11 Park. 12 (c) REFERENCES.—Any reference in a law, map, reg- 13 ulation, document, paper, or other record of the United 14 States to the ‘‘White Sands National Monument’’ shall be 15 considered to be a reference to the ‘‘White Sands National 16 Park’’. 17 (d) AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS.—Any funds available 18 for the Monument shall be available for the Park. 19 (e) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary shall admin- 20 ister the Park in accordance with— 21 (1) this title; and 22 (2) the laws generally applicable to units of the 23 National Park System, including section 100101(a), 24 chapter 1003, sections 100751(a), 100752, 100753, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 1891 IH and 102101, and chapter 3201 of title 54, United 1 States Code. 2 (f) WORLD HERITAGE LIST NOMINATION.— 3 (1) COUNTY CONCURRENCE.—The Secretary 4 shall not submit a nomination for the Park to be in- 5 cluded on the World Heritage List of the United 6 Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organi- 7 zation unless each county in which the Park is lo- 8 cated concurs in the nomination. 9 (2) ARMY NOTIFICATION.—Before submitting a 10 nomination for the Park to be included on the World 11 Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, 12 Scientific and Cultural Organization, the Secretary 13 shall notify the Secretary of the Army of the intent 14 of the Secretary to nominate the Park. 15 (g) EFFECT.—Nothing in this section affects— 16 (1) valid existing rights (including water 17 rights); 18 (2) permits or contracts issued by the Monu- 19 ment; 20 (3) existing agreements, including agreements 21 with the Department of Defense; 22 (4) the jurisdiction of the Department of De- 23 fense regarding the restricted airspace above the 24 Park; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 1891 IH (5) the airshed classification of the Park under 1 the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.). 2 TITLE II—MODIFICATION OF 3 BOUNDARIES OF WHITE 4 SANDS NATIONAL PARK AND 5 WHITE SANDS MISSILE 6 RANGE 7 SEC. 201. TRANSFERS OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION. 8 (a) TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION 9 TO THE SECRETARY.— 10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Administrative jurisdiction 11 over the land described in paragraph (2) is trans- 12 ferred from the Secretary of the Army to the Sec- 13 retary. 14 (2) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred 15 to in paragraph (1) is— 16 (A) the approximately 2,826 acres of land 17 identified as ‘‘To NPS, lands inside current 18 boundary’’ on the Map; and 19 (B) the approximately 5,766 acres of land 20 identified as ‘‘To NPS, new additions’’ on the 21 Map. 22 (b) TRANSFER OF ADMINISTRATIVE JURISDICTION 23 TO THE SECRETARY OF THE ARMY.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 1891 IH (1) IN GENERAL.—Administrative jurisdiction 1 over the land described in paragraph (2) is trans- 2 ferred from the Secretary to the Secretary of the 3 Army. 4 (2) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land referred 5 to in paragraph (1) is the approximately 3,737 acres 6 of land identified as ‘‘To DOA’’ on the Map. 7 SEC. 202. BOUNDARY MODIFICATIONS. 8 (a) PARK.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the Park is 10 revised to reflect the boundary depicted on the Map. 11 (2) MAP.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in co- 13 ordination with the Secretary of the Army, shall 14 prepare and keep on file for public inspection in 15 the appropriate office of the Secretary a map 16 and a legal description of the revised boundary 17 of the Park. 18 (B) EFFECT.—The map and legal descrip- 19 tion under subparagraph (A) shall have the 20 same force and effect as if included in this Act, 21 except that the Secretary may correct clerical 22 and typographical errors in the map and legal 23 description. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 1891 IH (3) BOUNDARY SURVEY.—As soon as prac- 1 ticable after the date of the establishment of the 2 Park and subject to the availability of funds, the 3 Secretary shall complete an official boundary survey 4 of the Park. 5 (b) MISSILE RANGE.— 6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The boundary of the missile 7 range and the Public Land Order are modified to 8 exclude the land transferred to the Secretary under 9 section 201(a) and to include the land transferred to 10 the Secretary of the Army under section 201(b). 11 (2) MAP.—The Secretary shall prepare a map 12 and legal description depicting the revised boundary 13 of the missile range. 14 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 2854 of 15 Public Law 104–201 (54 U.S.C. 320301 note) is repealed. 16 SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATION. 17 (a) PARK.—The Secretary shall administer the land 18 transferred under section 201(a) in accordance with laws 19 (including regulations) applicable to the Park. 20 (b) MISSILE RANGE.—Subject to subsection (c), the 21 Secretary of the Army shall administer the land trans- 22 ferred to the Secretary of the Army under section 201(b) 23 as part of the missile range. 24 (c) INFRASTRUCTURE; RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 1891 IH (1) RANGE ROAD 7.— 1 (A) INFRASTRUCTURE MANAGEMENT.—To 2 the maximum extent practicable, in planning, 3 constructing, and managing infrastructure on 4 the land described in subparagraph (C), the 5 Secretary of the Army shall apply low-impact 6 development techniques and strategies to pre- 7 vent impacts within the missile range and the 8 Park from stormwater runoff from the land de- 9 scribed in that subparagraph. 10 (B) RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.—The Sec- 11 retary of the Army shall— 12 (i) manage the land described in sub- 13 paragraph (C) in a manner consistent with 14 the protection of natural and cultural re- 15 sources within the missile range and the 16 Park and in accordance with section 17 101(a)(1)(B) of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 18 670a(a)(1)(B)), division A of subtitle III of 19 title 54, United States Code, and the Na- 20 tive American Graves Protection and Re- 21 patriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001 et seq.); 22 and 23 (ii) include the land described in sub- 24 paragraph (C) in the integrated natural 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 1891 IH and cultural resource management plan for 1 the missile range. 2 (C) DESCRIPTION OF LAND.—The land re- 3 ferred to in subparagraphs (A) and (B) is the 4 land that is transferred to the administrative 5 jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Army under 6 section 201(b) and located in the area east of 7 Range Road 7 in— 8 (i) T. 17 S., R. 5 E., sec. 31; 9 (ii) T. 18 S., R. 5 E.; and 10 (iii) T. 19 S., R. 5 E., sec. 5. 11 (2) FENCE.— 12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 13 Army shall continue to allow the Secretary to 14 maintain the fence shown on the Map until 15 such time as the Secretary determines that the 16 fence is unnecessary for the management of the 17 Park. 18 (B) REMOVAL.—If the Secretary deter- 19 mines that the fence is unnecessary for the 20 management of the Park under subparagraph 21 (A), the Secretary shall promptly remove the 22 fence at the expense of the Department of the 23 Interior. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1891.IH H1891 pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 1891 IH (d) RESEARCH.—The Secretary of the Army and the 1 Secretary may enter into an agreement to allow the Sec- 2 retary to conduct certain research in the area identified 3 as ‘‘Cooperative Use Research Area’’ on the Map. 4 (e) MILITARY MUNITIONS AND MUNITIONS DE- 5 BRIS.— 6 (1) RESPONSE ACTION.—With respect to any 7 Federal liability, the Secretary of the Army shall re- 8 main responsible for any response action addressing 9 military munitions or munitions debris on the land 10 transferred under section 201(a) to the same extent 11 as on the day before the date of enactment of this 12 Act. 13 (2) INVESTIGATION OF MILITARY MUNITIONS 14 AND MUNITIONS DEBRIS.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may re- 16 quest that the Secretary of the Army conduct 17 one or more investigations of military munitions 18 or munitions debris on any land transferred 19 under section 201(a). 20 (B) ACCESS.—The Secretary shall give ac- 21 cess to the Secretary of the Army to the land 22 covered by a request under subparagraph (A) 23 for the purposes of conducting the one or more 24 investigations under that subparagraph. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:05 Apr 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 000 [Text truncated for display. 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