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115th Congress } { Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2d Session } { 115-855
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MILL SPRINGS BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT ACT
_______
July 23, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Bishop of Utah, from the Committee on Natural Resources, submitted
the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany H.R. 5979]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 5979) to establish the Mill Springs Battlefield
National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a unit of the
National Park System, 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.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mill Springs Battlefield National
Monument Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Map.--The term ``Map'' means the map entitled ``Mill
Springs Battlefield National Monument, Nancy, Kentucky''
numbered 297/145513, and dated June 2018.
(2) Monument.--The term ``Monument'' means the Mill Springs
Battlefield National Monument established by section 3(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of
the Interior, acting through the Director of the National Park
Service.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF MILL SPRINGS BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT.
(a) Establishment.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), there is
established, as a unit of the National Park System, the Mill
Springs Battlefield National Monument in the State of Kentucky,
to preserve, protect, and interpret for the benefit of present
and future generations the nationally significant historic
resources of the Mill Springs Battlefield and its role in the
American Civil War.
(2) Conditions.--The Monument shall not be established until
the Secretary--
(A) has entered into a written agreement with the
owner of any private or non-Federal land within the
Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument boundary as
depicted on the Map, providing that such property shall
be donated to the United States for inclusion in the
Monument to be managed consistently with the purposes
of the Monument; and
(B) has determined that sufficient land or interests
in land have been acquired within the boundary of the
Monument to constitute a manageable unit.
(b) Boundaries.--The boundaries of the Monument shall be the
boundaries generally depicted on the Map.
(c) Availability of Map.--The Map shall be on file and available for
public inspection in the appropriate offices of the National Park
Service.
(d) Acquisition Authority.--The Secretary may only acquire land or an
interest in land located within the boundary of the Monument by--
(1) donation;
(2) purchase with donated funds; or
(3) exchange.
(e) Administration.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall administer the Monument
in accordance with--
(A) this Act; and
(B) the laws generally applicable to units of the
National Park System, including--
(i) section 100101(a), chapter 1003, and
sections 100751(a), 100752, 100753, and 102101
of title 54, United States Code; and
(ii) chapter 3201 of title 54, United States
Code.
(2) Management plan.--
(A) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the
date on which funds are first made available to the
Secretary for this purpose, the Secretary shall prepare
a general management plan for the Monument in
accordance with section 100502 of title 54, United
States Code.
(B) Submit to congress.--On completion of the general
management plan, the Secretary shall submit it to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate.
(f) Private Property Protection.--No private property or non-Federal
public property shall be managed as part of the Monument without the
written consent of the owner of such property.
(g) No Buffer Zones.--Nothing in this Act, the establishment of the
Monument, or the management of the Monument shall be construed to
create buffer zones outside of the Monument. The fact that an activity
or use can be seen, heard, or detected from within the Monument shall
not preclude the conduct of that activity or use outside of the
Monument.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 5979 is to establish the Mill Springs
Battlefield National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a
unit of the National Park System.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
The battle of Mill Springs, one of the Kentucky's largest
Civil War clashes, occurred on January 19, 1862. Kentucky held
high strategic importance for both the Confederacy and the
Union. The Confederacy needed to hold the Cumberland Gap and
the Union saw southern Kentucky as an entrance to Confederate
strongholds in Tennessee.\1\
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\1\``Disaster on the Cumberland''. Experience Mill Springs
Battlefield. Mill Springs Battlefield Association website. http://
www.millsprings.net/index.php/2013-10-01-18-24-22/battle-of-mill-
springs.
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In October 1861, Confederate troops set up winter camp on
the banks of the Cumberland River in south central Kentucky. In
January 1862, three Union regiments arrived with the intention
of driving the Confederate troops from their position. After a
series of attacks, the Confederate forces finally retreated,
leaving behind equipment, horses, and artillery.\2\ The battle
resulted in the loss of 155 Confederate troops and 55 Union
troops.
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\2\Id.
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The Battle of Mill Springs bolstered the Union's morale as
it was the first major victory of the war following the
disastrous defeat at First Manassas. Winning the battle enabled
the Union to push all Confederate powers out of Kentucky by
February 1862 and advance into middle Tennessee.\3\
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\3\Id.
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Since 1992 the nonprofit Mill Springs Battlefield
Association (MSBA) has spent over $13 million to preserve and
interpret the battlefield.\4\ In 1994 the battlefield was
designated as a National Historic Landmark. The boundary was
expanded in 2008 and now encompasses roughly 1,500 acres. The
MSBA currently owns over 900 acres of battlefield land and
operates a 10,000 square foot visitor center, built in 2006, at
the site.\5\ At the direction of Congress, the National Park
Service initiated a special resource study of the Mill Springs
Battlefield for potential inclusion as a unit of the National
Park System (Public Law 113-291).\6\
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\4\Statement of William R. Neikirk, Founder, Mill Springs
Battlefield Association. Subcommittee on Federal Lands Legislative
Hearing July 17, 2018. https://naturalresources.house.gov/
uploadedfiles/7.17_testimony_neikirk.pdf.
\5\Mudpuppy & Waterdog, Inc. (2010). ``Interpretive Plan for Mill
Springs Battlefield, Pulaski and Wayne Counties, Kentucky--Part 1''.
Prepared for the Mill Springs Battlefield Association. http://
www.millsprings.net/images/PDF/
Interpretive%20Plan%20for%20the%20Mill%20Springs
%20Battlefield_Draft_Part%201.pdf.
\6\``Mill Springs Battlefield Special Resource Study''. National
Park Service. https://parkplanning.nps.gov/
projectHome.cfm?projectID=58557.
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H.R. 5979 establishes the Mill Springs Battlefield National
Monument as a unit of the National Park System. The proposed
Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument would be
approximately 1,500 acres. The MSBA will donate 900 acres
within the proposed boundary to the National Park Service and
will continue to support preservation of the battlefield.
A companion bill has been introduced in the Senate, S.
3176, by Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY).
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 5979 was introduced on May 25, 2018, by Congressman
Harold Rogers (R-KY). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
on Federal Lands. On July 18, 2018, the Natural Resources
Committee met to consider the bill. The Subcommittee was
discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Tom McClintock (R-
CA) offered an amendment designated #1; it was adopted by
unanimous consent. No additional amendments were offered, and
the bill, as amended, 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 Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII AND CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET ACT
1. Cost of Legislation and the Congressional Budget Act.
With respect to the requirements of clause 3(c)(2) and (3) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and
sections 308(a) and 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of
1974, the Committee has received the following estimate for the
bill from the Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, July 20, 2018.
Hon. Rob Bishop,
Chairman, Committee on Natural Resources,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5979, the Mill
Springs Battlefield National Monument Act.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Janani
Shankaran.
Sincerely,
Mark P. Hadley
(For Keith Hall, Director).
Enclosure.
H.R. 5979--Mill Springs Battlefield National Monument Act
H.R. 5979 would establish the Mill Springs Battlefield
National Monument in Nancy, Kentucky. Under the bill, the site
would become a unit of the National Park System and would be
owned and operated by the National Park Service (NPS). The bill
would direct the NPS to acquire land for the monument by means
of donation, purchase using donated funds, or through a land
exchange. Based on the experience of creating other system
units, CBO expects that the monument would not be formally
established for several years.
Using information from the NPS on the costs of operating
new system units, CBO estimates that the agency would incur
about $200,000 annually in administrative costs in the
monument's early years. The bill also would require the NPS to
develop a general management plan for the monument. Based on
the costs of similar projects, CBO estimates that developing
the plan would cost less than $500,000. In total, CBO estimates
that implementing H.R. 5979 would cost about $1 million over
the 2019-2023 period; such spending would be subject to the
availability of appropriated funds.
Enacting H.R. 5979 would not affect direct spending or
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5979 would not increase
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
H.R. 5979 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Janani
Shankaran. The estimate was reviewed by H. Samuel Papenfuss,
Deputy Assistant Director for Budget Analysis.
2. 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 establish the Mill Springs
Battlefield National Monument in the State of Kentucky as a
unit of the National Park System.
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. This bill does not contain any
directed rule makings.
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 to existing
law.
[all]
