FINDINGS AND PURPOSES.

SEC. 3172. FINDINGS AND PURPOSES. (a) Findings.—Congress finds the following: (1) The Federal Government, through the Atomic Energy Commission, acquired the Rocky Flats site in 1951 and began operations there in 1952. The site remains a Department of Energy facility. Since 1992, the mission of the Rocky Flats site has changed from the production of nuclear weapons components to cleanup and closure in a manner that is safe, environmentally and socially responsible, physically secure, and cost-effective. (2) The majority of the Rocky Flats site has generally remained undisturbed since its acquisition by the Federal Government. (3) The State of Colorado is experiencing increasing growth and development, especially in the metropolitan Denver Front Range area in the vicinity of the Rocky Flats site. That growth and development reduces the amount of open space and thereby diminishes for many metropolitan Denver communities the vistas of the striking Front Range mountain backdrop. 115 STAT. 1380 (4) Some areas of the Rocky Flats site contain contamination and will require further response action. The national interest requires that the ongoing cleanup and closure of the entire site be completed safely, effectively, and without unnecessary delay and that the site thereafter be retained by the United States and managed so as to preserve the value of the site for open space and wildlife habitat. (5) The Rocky Flats site provides habitat for many wildlife species, including a number of threatened and endangered species, and is marked by the presence of rare xeric tallgrass prairie plant communities. Establishing the site as a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System will promote the preservation and enhancement of those resources for present and future generations. (b) Purposes.—The purposes of this subtitle are— (1) to provide for the establishment of the Rocky Flats site as a national wildlife refuge following cleanup and closure of the site; (2) to create a process for public input on the management of the refuge referred to in paragraph (1) before transfer of administrative jurisdiction to the Secretary of the Interior; and (3) to ensure that the Rocky Flats site is thoroughly and completely cleaned up.