[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 674 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 674
To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain landscape-scale forest
restoration projects, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 31, 2023
Mr. Newhouse (for himself and Mr. Peters) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in
addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be
subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration
of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee
concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain landscape-scale forest
restoration projects, 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 ``Root and Stem Project Authorization
Act of 2023''.
SEC. 2. ROOT AND STEM PROJECTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Collaborative process.--The term ``collaborative
process'' means a process that--
(A) includes multiple interested persons
representing diverse interests; and
(B)(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or
(ii) meets the requirements for a resource advisory
committee under subsections (c) through (f) of section
205 of the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-
Determination Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125).
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means--
(A) land of the National Forest System (as defined
in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable
Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)));
and
(B) public lands (as defined in section 103 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43
U.S.C. 1702)).
(3) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned''
means, as applicable--
(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service; or
(B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting through
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) List of Contractors.--The Secretary concerned shall--
(1) maintain a list of non-Federal, third-party contractors
that the Secretary concerned can hire in each State to complete
the analysis described in subsection (c)(1); and
(2) not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of
this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, submit to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee
on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives a copy of
the list described in paragraph (1).
(c) Agreements.--If a person submits to the Secretary concerned a
proposal for a project on Federal land that was developed through a
collaborative process and that meets local and rural community needs,
the Secretary concerned may enter into an agreement with the person,
under which--
(1) the person initially provides to the Secretary
concerned all, or a portion of, the funding necessary to
complete any analysis that the Secretary concerned determines
to be necessary under Federal law, including the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and
the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.),
for the consideration of the proposed project;
(2) the Secretary concerned uses the funding provided under
paragraph (1) to pay a contractor included on the list
maintained under subsection (b)(1) to conduct the analysis
described in paragraph (1);
(3) on completion of the analysis described in paragraph
(1), if the Secretary concerned makes a decision to proceed
with the project, the Secretary concerned--
(A) solicits bids to carry out the project; and
(B) enters into a contract or agreement under
section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of
2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) to carry out the project; and
(4) using any receipts described in subsection (d)(1), the
Secretary concerned, to the maximum extent practicable, repays
to the person the funding initially provided under paragraph
(1).
(d) Additional Related Authorities.--
(1) Use of receipts.--Any receipts that are generated by a
project described in subsection (c) that are normally deposited
in the general fund of the Treasury shall be available for
expenditure by the Secretary concerned, without further
appropriation or fiscal year limitation, for the use described
in subsection (c)(4).
(2) Contractors.--The Secretary concerned may
noncompetitively hire a contractor included on the list
maintained under subsection (b)(1) to conduct the analysis
described in subsection (c)(1).
(e) Savings Clauses.--
(1) Authority of the secretary concerned.--The Secretary
concerned shall--
(A) determine the sufficiency of any documents
prepared by a contractor under subsection (c)(2); and
(B) retain responsibility for any authorizing
decision relating to a proposed project described in
subsection (c).
(2) Review and approval of independent third parties.--The
Secretary concerned shall verify that there is no conflict of
interest between--
(A) a person that submits a proposal under
subsection (c); and
(B) a contractor that the Secretary concerned hires
under paragraph (2) of that subsection to carry out an
analysis with respect to that proposal.
(3) Administrative costs.--The Secretary concerned--
(A) shall only use the funding provided to the
Secretary concerned under subsection (c)(1) to pay a
contractor pursuant to subsection (c)(2); and
(B) shall not use any portion of the funding
provided to the Secretary concerned under subsection
(c)(1) to cover any other expense or cost incurred by
the Secretary concerned, including administrative
costs.
(4) Limitations on reimbursements.--If insufficient
receipts are generated by a project described in subsection (c)
to reimburse the person that provided funding under paragraph
(1) of that subsection, the Secretary concerned shall not
provide additional funding to the person.
(f) Promotion.--Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment
of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall provide guidance to each
local field office of the Secretary concerned for--
(1) making stakeholders aware of the authority under this
Act; and
(2) encouraging use of that authority to meet land
management goals.
(g) Treatment of Collaborative Members.--For purposes of a civil
action relating to a project described in subsection (c), any person
that participated in the collaborative process to develop the proposal
for the project shall be--
(1) entitled to intervene, as of right, in any subsequent
civil action; and
(2) considered to be a full participant in any settlement
negotiation relating to the project.
(h) Sunset.--The requirements described in subsection (b) and the
authority to enter into an agreement under subsection (c) shall expire
on January 1, 2033.
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