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cost estimate
May 24, 2013
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As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on April 24, 2013
H.R. 1157 would require the Secretary of the Interior to provide access to the summit of Rattlesnake Mountain in the Hanford Reach National Monument in the state of Washington. The legislation would authorize the Secretary of the Interior to enter into cooperative agreements with the Secretary of Energy, the state of Washington, and other entities to maintain an access road and to provide guided tours to the summit.
H.R. 1157 does not specifically authorize appropriations, but it may affect when a public access road to the summit opens. Rattlesnake Mountain is eligible for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places. Therefore, public access to the site is currently being evaluated by the Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) in compliance with section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.
The cost to provide public access to the mountain summit under current law will depend on the outcome of that evaluation and other ongoing FWS studies. There is an existing road to the summit; however, providing public access to it may require road improvements that would cost a few million dollars according to the agency. The legislation could influence the magnitude and timing of such expenditures; however, CBO expects that any change in costs relative to those expected under current law would be minimal. Furthermore, any such costs would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds. H.R. 1157 would not affect direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
H.R. 1157 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.