As ordered reported by the House Committee on Natural Resources on September 18, 2014
H.R. 706 would establish the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park in and around the existing Blackstone River Valley National Heritage Corridor in the states of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Under the legislation, land for the proposed park unit could only be acquired through donation or exchange.
Based on information provided by the National Park Service (NPS), CBO estimates that implementing the bill would cost $8 million over the 2015-2019 period, assuming appropriation of the necessary amounts. That estimate includes costs to rehabilitate sites and operate the new historical park and assumes the park would consist of approximately 1,400 acres. Those costs would vary depending on the acreage acquired for the park. Pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply to this legislation because it would not affect direct spending or revenues.
H.R. 706 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act; any costs incurred by state, local, or tribal governments, including matching contributions, would result from participation in a voluntary federal program.
On June 20, 2013, CBO transmitted a cost estimate for S. 371, the Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park Establishment Act, as ordered reported by the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on May 16, 2013. The two bills have one major difference: H.R. 706 would authorize NPS to acquire land only through donation or exchange, while S. 371 would authorize NPS to use appropriated funds to acquire land. Therefore, CBO estimates that the land acquired under H.R. 706 would be roughly half the size of the land acquired under S. 371. CBO estimated that implementing S. 371 would cost about $26 million over the 2015-2019 period because the NPS would purchase more land for the park and the larger size of the park would require more operating and rehabilitation spending than under H.R. 706.
