Panel wants arbitrator to decide Park Service dispute

A House Resources subcommittee voted for a measure (H.R. 3241) Thursday that would allow Ft. Sumter Tours, Inc., to use a binding arbitration process to settle a long-running dispute with the National Park Service.

The Park Service runs the Ft. Sumter National Monument, which is located on an island near Charleston, South Carolina. Ft. Sumter Tours is a private company that operates boats that ferry tourists to the island. In 1986, the company and the Park Service signed a 15-year contract calling for the company to pay the Park Service four percent of its annual profits in exchange for the concession to take tourists to the National Monument.

The contract was subject to review after five years, and, in 1991, the Park Service increased the fee to 12 percent of Ft. Sumter Tours' profits. The company protested, and litigation ensued.

The bill, which was sponsored by Rep. Mark Sanford, R-S.C., allows Ft. Sumter Tours to take advantage of the binding arbitration process established by Congress in 1998 to settle similar disputes. The company has been unable to use binding arbitration previously because its relationship with the Park Service pre-dates the 1998 law.

The subcommittee on national parks and public lands approved the bill.