[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3954 Referred in Senate (RFS)]
2d Session
H. R. 3954
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
May 8, 2002
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
AN ACT
To designate certain waterways in the Caribbean National Forest in the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico as components of the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Caribbean National Forest Wild and
Scenic Rivers Act of 2002''.
SEC. 2. WILD AND SCENIC RIVER DESIGNATIONS, CARIBBEAN NATIONAL FOREST,
PUERTO RICO.
(a) Findings.--The Congress finds the following:
(1) In the revised land and resource management plan for
the Caribbean National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest,
approved April 17, 1997, and the environmental impact statement
prepared as part of the plan, the Secretary of Agriculture
examined the suitability of rivers within the Caribbean
National Forest/Luquillo Experimental Forest for inclusion in
the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
(2) Based on such examination, the Rio Icacos, Rio Mameyes,
and Rio de La Mina were found to be free flowing waterways and
to possess outstandingly remarkable scenic, recreational,
geological, hydrological, biological, historical, and cultural
values, and, therefore, to qualify for addition to the National
Wild and Scenic Rivers System.
(b) Designations.--Section 3(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act
(16 U.S.C. 1274(a)) is amended by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(____) Rivers of Caribbean National Forest, Puerto Rico.--
``(A) Rio mameyes.--The segment of approximately 4.5 miles
from its headwaters in the Bano de Oro Research Natural Area to
the boundary of the Caribbean National Forest, to be
administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as follows:
``(i) As a wild river from its headwaters in the
Bano de Oro Research Natural Area to the crossing point
of Trail No. 24/11 (approximately 500 feet upstream
from the confluence with the Rio de La Mina), a total
of approximately 2.1 miles.
``(ii) As a scenic river from the crossing point of
Trail No. 24/11 to the access point of Trail No. 7, a
total of approximately 1.4 miles.
``(iii) As a recreational river from the access
point of Trail No. 7 to the national forest boundary, a
total of approximately 1.0 miles.
``(B) Rio de la mina.--The segment of approximately 2.1
miles from its headwaters to its confluence with the Rio
Mameyes, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as
follows:
``(i) As a recreational river from its headwaters
in the El Yunque Recreation Area downstream to La Mina
Falls, a total of approximately 0.9 miles.
``(ii) As a scenic river from La Mina falls
downstream to its confluence with the Rio Mameyes, a
total of approximately 1.2 miles.
``(C) Rio icacos.--The segment of approximately 2.3 miles
from its headwaters to the boundary of the Caribbean National
Forest, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture as a
scenic river.''.
(c) Special Management Considerations.--
(1) Certain permitted activities.--Subject to paragraph
(2), the amendment made by the subsection (b) and the
applicability of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1271
et seq.) to the river segments added to the National Wild and
Scenic Rivers System by the amendment shall not be construed to
prevent any of the following activities within the boundaries
of the river segments:
(A) Installation and maintenance of hydrologic,
meteorological, climatological, or atmospheric data
collection and transmission facilities, or any
combination of such facilities, when the Secretary of
Agriculture determines that such facilities are
essential to the scientific research purposes of the
Luquillo Experimental Forest.
(B) Construction and maintenance of nesting
structures, observation blinds, and population
monitoring platforms for threatened and endangered
species.
(C) Construction and maintenance of trails to such
facilities as necessary for research purposes and for
the recovery of threatened and endangered species.
(2) Conditions.--The activities authorized by paragraph (1)
shall be subject to such conditions as the Secretary considers
desirable. The Secretary shall ensure that the scale and scope
of such activities within the boundaries of a river segment
added to the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System by the
amendment made by the subsection (b) are not detrimental to the
characteristics of the river segment that merited its
designation as a wild, scenic, or recreational river.
(d) Preservation of Commonwealth Authority.--Nothing in this
section or the amendment made by this section shall be construed to
limit the authority of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico over waters and
natural channels of public domain pursuant to the laws of the
Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.
Passed the House of Representatives May 7, 2002.
Attest:
JEFF TRANDAHL,
Clerk.