Yosemite National Park Equal Access and Fairness Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 177 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 177

To amend the Act of December 19, 1913 (38 Stat. 242), to expand access
    to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Lake Eleanor Basin areas for
             recreational purposes, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 3, 2025

Mr. McClintock (for himself, Mr. Calvert, Mr. LaMalfa, and Mr. Valadao)
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To amend the Act of December 19, 1913 (38 Stat. 242), to expand access
    to the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Lake Eleanor Basin areas for
             recreational purposes, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Yosemite National Park Equal Access
and Fairness Act''.

SEC. 2. EXPANSION OF ACCESS TO HETCH HETCHY RESERVOIR AND LAKE ELEANOR
              BASIN AREAS FOR RECREATIONAL PURPOSES.

    (a) In General.--The Act of December 19, 1913 (38 Stat. 242), is
amended--
            (1) in section 7--
                    (A) in the first sentence--
                            (i) by striking ``$30,000'' and inserting
                        ``$2,000,000''; and
                            (ii) by inserting ``and adjusted annually
                        to reflect increases in the Consumer Price
                        Index for All Urban Consumers'' after ``July of
                        each year'';
                    (B) by inserting ``The grantee may not recoup said
                sums from wholesale water or power customers of the
                grantee.'' after the first sentence; and
                    (C) in the second sentence, by inserting ``and
                wildfire mitigation activities'' after ``other
                improvements''; and
            (2) by inserting after section 11 the following:

``SEC. 12. RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior, acting through
the Director of the National Park Service (in this section referred to
as the `Secretary'), shall administer the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and
Lake Eleanor Basin areas--
            ``(1) for public recreation, benefit, and use;
            ``(2) to the extent practicable, in a manner that will
        preserve, develop, and enhance the public recreation capacity
        of each such area; and
            ``(3) in a manner that will preserve the features of each
        such area that are scenic, historic, scientific, or otherwise
        important.
    ``(b) Recreational Activities.--Subject to such limitations,
conditions, and regulations as the Secretary determines necessary, the
following activities shall be allowed within the Hetch Hetchy Reservoir
and Lake Eleanor Basin areas for recreational purposes if such
activities are not inconsistent with the designated primary or
recreational use of each such area:
            ``(1) Swimming.
            ``(2) Use of non-motorized watercraft.
            ``(3) Camping in and around each such area if such camping
        is not below the respective ordinary high-water marks of each
        such area.
            ``(4) Picnicking in and around each such area.
            ``(5) Other recreational activities the Secretary
        determines appropriate.
            ``(6) Use by motorized and non-motorized vehicles of roads
        required to access each such area to conduct activities
        described in this subsection if such use has no negative effect
        on the operation or maintenance of any facility associated with
        a dam within each such area.''.
    (b) Report.--Not later than 1 year after the date of the enactment
of this section, the Secretary of the Interior, acting through the
Director of the National Park Service, shall submit to the appropriate
congressional committees a report that includes the following:
            (1) An analysis of whether the original intent in the Act
        of December 19, 1913 (38 Stat. 242), regarding access to the
        Hetch Hetchy Reservoir and Lake Eleanor Basin areas for
        recreational purposes has been followed since such areas were
        created.
            (2) An analysis of how revenue collection and the
        allocation of funds related to the administration of the Hetch
        Hetchy Reservoir and Lake Eleanor Basin areas can be carried
        out to best provide equitable access to such areas for
        recreational purposes by the public, including consideration
        of--
                    (A) maintenance and support costs of such areas,
                including--
                            (i) trail maintenance;
                            (ii) road improvements; and
                            (iii) wildfire prevention and suppression;
                        and
                    (B) ways to mitigate such costs, including--
                            (i) adjusting the prices charged for water
                        and power generated by the Hetch Hetchy Water
                        and Power System created by the Act of December
                        19, 1913 (38 Stat. 242);
                            (ii) treating the City of San Francisco as
                        a concessioner; and
                            (iii) adding to the annual rental fee
                        charged to the City of San Francisco by section
                        7 of the Act of December 19, 1913 (38 Stat.
                        242), the annual monetary value of the benefits
                        that would be lost if such areas had not been
                        created, including consideration of--
                                    (I) recreational activities; and
                                    (II) flood control.
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