[B-85544]

Wildlife Refuges-Disposition of Rental Receipts and Collections for Custodial and Utility Services

In view of the specific requirement in section 321 of the act of June 30, 1932, that rentals from public buildings be deposited as miscellaneous receipts and the ejusdem generis rule of statutory construction, revenues derived from the rental of public buildings located on National Wildlife Refuges may not be regarded as receipts included within the term "other privileges" on refuges, a percentage of which is required by section 401 of the act of June 15, 1935, as amended, to be distributed to the county or counties in which the refuge is located, and, therefore, such revenues are for deposit into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. Inasmuch as collections for custodial and utility services rendered to industrial firms leasing premises at National Wildlife Refuges do not represent revenues of type enumerated in section 401 of the act of June 15, 1935, as amended, but constitute payments to the Government for the cost of such services, a percentage of such collections may not be distributed, pursuant to said section 401, to the county or counties in which the refuge is located; moreover, to so distribute such collections would constitute, in effect, an indirect appropriation of Federal funds to such counties-a result clearly not intended by the Congress or implied by the terms of the 1935 act.

Comptroller General Warren to the Secretary of the Interior, July 1, 1949:

Reference is made to your letter of April 13, 1949, concerning the disposition of receipts accruing from the operation of National Wildlife Refuges administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of your Department, particularly the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge near Carbondale, Illinois, and requesting a decision of this Office on the following questions:

(1) May the revenues accruing under leases for industrial usage of the buildings and facilities at the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge in consonance with the act of August 5, 1947 (61 Stat. 770) be treated as moneys accruing under the act of June 15, 1935 (16 U. S. C. 715s), and be disposed of accordingly? (2) May the collections for custodial and utility services rendered to industrial firms leasing premises at the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge be handled in the same way as the rental collections described in question (1)? (3) May the collections of rentals for buildings of all types at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge and other wildlife refuge areas be treated as moneys subject to the act of June 15, 1935 (16 U. S. C. 715s), and be disposed of accordingly?

It is explained that the two main types of revenue from the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge are derived from (a) rentals collected under leases of buildings and facilities for industrial usage to

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various commercial firms, and (b) collections for custodial and utility services rendered such firms, such as water, sewage disposal, heat and live steam, railroad switching service, and road maintenance.

Under the provisions of the act of August 5, 1947, 61 Stat. 770, the lands now designated as the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge were placed under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior for development of the most beneficial uses, including wildlife conservation, agricultural, recreational, industrial, and related purposes.

Relative to the lease of Government buildings, it is provided in section 321 of the act of June 30, 1932, 47 Stat. 412 (40 U. S. C. 303b), that

Hereafter, except as otherwise specifically provided by law, the leasing of buildings and properties of the United States shall be for a money consideration only, and there shall not be included in the lease any provision for the alteration, repair, or improvement of such buildings or properties as a part of the consideration for the rental to be paid for the use and occupation of the same. The moneys derived from such rentals shall be deposited and covered into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts.

In view of the above-quoted provision of law, and in the absence of legislation to the contrary, revenue collected by the Fish and Wildlife Service from the rental of Government-owned buildings must be deposited into the Treasury as miscellaneous receipts. It is contended, however, that section 401 of the act of June 15, 1935, 49 Stat. 383, directs that such collections shall be disposed of in accordance with the requirements of the said section 401, as amended (16 U. S. C. 715s), which reads in part as follows:

Twenty-five per centum of all money received during each fiscal year from the sale or other disposition of surplus wildlife, or of timber, hay, grass, or other spontaneous products of the soil, shell, sand, or gravel, and from other privileges on refuges established under sections 715-715 (d), 715 (e), 715 (f)-715 (k), and 715 (1)-715 (r) of this title, or under any other law, proclamation, or Executive order, administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Interior, shall be paid at the end of such year by the Secretary of the Treasury to the county or counties in which such refuge is situated, to be expended for the benefit of the public schools and roads in the county or counties in which such refuge is situated

In connection with such contention it is stated that

The act of June 15, 1935, was obviously directed at those lands administered by the Fish and Wildlife Service for wildlife conservation purposes. Its evident primary purpose was to secure to the counties in which such lands are located benefits through payments in lieu of taxes to the extent of 25 percent of the net proceeds of economic usage incidental to management of the areas for wildlife conservation purposes.

The law in question, passed subsequent to the act of June 30, 1932, is specific in its application to refuge areas. It would appear that the words "other privileges" as used in this act of June 15, 1935, should not be so restrictively interpreted as to exclude the occupancy and use of buildings from their meaning. Such an authorization to occupy and use buildings seems clearly to fall within the common concept of a privilege.