[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 363 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 363

  To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to 
 insure the stockpiling and replacement of topsoil on public lands and 
  other lands which are moved or covered by surface mining projects, 
    reclamation projects, and other Federal and federally assisted 
                   projects, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

  Mr. Smith of Iowa introduced the following bill; which was referred 
     jointly to the Committees on Agriculture and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to 
 insure the stockpiling and replacement of topsoil on public lands and 
  other lands which are moved or covered by surface mining projects, 
    reclamation projects, and other Federal and federally assisted 
                   projects, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled, That this Act may be 
cited as the ``National Topsoil Preservation Act of 1993''.
    Sec. 2. The Congress finds and declares that--
            (1) topsoil is a valuable, unique, and peculiar natural 
        resource upon which future generations will be dependent and 
        that while ownership of land in the United States, both 
        privately and under the control of government agencies, 
        provides those in control with certain rights, it also carries 
        with it a responsibility not to destroy the topsoil or so 
        intermingle or bury it that it will not be easily and 
        economically accessible for use at a later date;
            (2) in order to promote the general welfare and to protect 
        the natural resources of the Nation for both present and future 
        generations, it is necessary in the use and management of the 
        Nation's land resources to provide minimum standards which 
        incorporate environmental, ecological, social, esthetic, 
        economic, conservation, and other factors and prevent the 
        destruction of topsoil and unnecessary interruption of plant 
        reproduction and soil-building processes; and
            (3) failure to establish minimum standards for the use of 
        land which will protect against the loss of topsoil in and of 
        itself causes those using inadequate standards to move to areas 
        where destructive practices are permitted and therefore such 
        failure to establish such minimum standards affect and is a 
        burden upon commerce among the States.
    Sec. 3. Each project or activity which is carried out on Federal 
land (including lands under the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the 
Interior), for which any direct or indirect Federal assistance is 
provided, or which is carried out by the Secretary of the Interior or 
any other agency or instrumentality of the United States, and which 
involves the moving or covering of topsoil in changing an area of land 
from its natural state shall be subject to this Act. Such projects and 
activities shall hereinafter in this Act be referred to as 
``projects''.
    Sec. 4. (a) There is hereby established a National Land Resources 
Protection Commission, hereinafter in this Act referred to as ``the 
Commission'', which shall be composed of the Secretary of the Interior 
and four other members. The President shall designate the Secretary of 
the Interior as Chairman of the Commission.
    (b) Members of the Commission shall be appointed by the President, 
by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, for terms of four 
years beginning July 1 of the year following each Presidential 
election. Vacancies on the Commission shall be filled in the same 
manner as original appointments but only for the unexpired term and any 
member of the Commission may be removed by the President at any time. 
Each member shall receive compensation at the rate of $67,500 per 
annum.
    (c) The Commission is authorized, subject to the civil service and 
classification laws, to select, appoint, employ, and fix the 
compensation of such officers and employees as are necessary to carry 
out the provisions of this Act and to prescribe their authority and 
duties.
    (d) The Commission shall hold such meetings, conduct such hearings, 
and establish such rules and regulations in accordance with chapter 5, 
title 5, United States Code, relating to administrative procedure, as 
may be reasonably necessary to enable it to carry out the provisions of 
this Act.
    (e) The Commission may delegate responsibilities hereunder within 
any particular State to a commission or commissions within that State 
under terms and conditions assuring that at least the Federal minimum 
standards established under the provisions of this Act will be adhered 
to in such State. In each State where responsibilities have been 
delegated hereunder, the Commission shall exercise a continuing 
oversight to assure that the purposes of this Act are being constantly 
carried out and the Commission is also authorized to cancel such 
delegation of authority at any time.
    (f) The Commission or any member may administer oaths or 
affirmations or take evidence; and may by a majority vote subpoena and 
compel the attendance of witnesses or the production of materials.
    Sec. 5. (a) The Commission shall establish minimum standards for 
all projects which assure that a minimum of twelve inches of topsoil or 
such lesser amount of topsoil as may exist shall be stockpiled from 
those areas of each project where the shape or contour of the land is 
changed or where the land is covered. Such topsoil shall not be 
intermingled with other materials or buried so that it will not be 
easily and economically accessible for use at a later date; and, to the 
extent it is sufficient or adequate to do so, such topsoil shall be 
used to form a top layer of uniform depth and a minimum of twelve 
inches deep on all areas of the completed project where soil will be 
exposed to natural elements. Any excess topsoil from such stockpile 
which is not so used or needed to cover such exposed areas to a depth 
of twelve inches or more shall be stockpiled permanently in a place 
where it will improve plant production or be easily and economically 
accessible for use at a later date.
    (b) Where sufficient subsoil which is nontoxic to plantlife will 
not otherwise be available on the exposed areas of a completed project 
and to the extent available from the project, the Commission shall 
require the separate stockpiling and replacement in a sublayer of 
sufficient quantities of appropriate soil to provide such a nontoxic 
layer of subsoil as if necessary for the production of such plantlife 
as is normally considered environmentally, ecologically, esthetically, 
and economically acceptable to the area.
    (c) The overriding objective of this section is to require that the 
areas of a completed project where the earth is normally exposed shall 
be left in at least substantially as good a condition to sustain 
vegetation as existed prior to the beginning of the project and to 
protect against the destruction of the productive capacity of existing 
topsoil which has currently been exposed to the elements or used to 
sustain plantlife; and the Commission shall establish rules and 
regulations and provide interpretations consistent with such objective.
    (d) For the purposes of this Act, the term ``topsoil'' shall mean 
the surface layer of soil, commonly known as the A-horizon, which 
contains organic and mineral matter in such quantities as are needed to 
provide the fertility necessary for the production of vegetation.
    Sec. 6. The Commission shall establish minimum standards to assure 
that projects covered by this Act will not cause pollution of existing 
streams, land slides, flooding or substantially change the volume of 
water to be carried by natural waterways on land adjoining the 
immediate construction area except where such change is consistent with 
an approved State or Federal water resource policy or law.
    Sec. 7. No soil shall be moved on any project where the moving or 
covering of topsoil covers an area in excess of one hundred thousand 
square feet until a license or letter of approval to do so has been 
issued by the Commission or by a commission to whom authority has been 
delegated under section 4(e) of this Act. A letter of approval from the 
director of the appropriate State soil conservation service shall be 
deemed sufficient for purposes of the preceding sentence with regard to 
any agricultural lands being restructured for the purpose of increased 
productivity, soil conservancy, water conservancy, or reduction of air 
or water pollution.
    Sec. 8. On all projects where the Commission deems it necessary to 
assure the fulfillment of the purposes of this Act, the Commission may 
require prior to the beginning of any moving of earth, the submission 
of a plan prepared by a professional engineer or surveyor. Where 
appropriate, aerial photographs showing details in sufficient contour 
to the satisfaction of the Commission or a United States Department of 
the Interior Geological Survey topographic map may be substituted to 
show the area in its current state. Such plan may require the showing 
of boundaries of the area of land affected and the elevation involved, 
drainage plans below, above, and away from the area of land affected 
both before and after construction, the topography of the land involved 
and its relationship to adjoining property, the direct flow of the 
water and its relationship to natural waterways, a definite and 
detailed plan in accordance with section 5 herein for removing and 
stockpiling and replacing the soil from the land in separate layers and 
a segregated state so as to assure that it will be kept and replaced in 
a usable condition for sustaining vegetation, and such other 
information as the Commission deems necessary to assure that the 
particular project will not violate the minimum standards established 
under this Act. The Commission may also require the posting of such 
bond or deposit of cash or securities as it deems necessary to assure 
that such standards will be met prior to completion of the project and 
within a reasonable time during the completion of various stages of the 
project.
    Sec. 9. The Commission shall submit a report to the Congress by 
July 31 of each year setting forth the activities of the Commission and 
shall also submit to the Congress such other reports as may be 
requested by committees of the Congress established by either the 
United States Senate or the United States House of Representatives.
    Sec. 10. There is authorized to be appropriated not more than 
$6,000,000 annually for the administration of this Act for each fiscal 
year commencing after September 30, 1993.

                       compliance with budget act

    Sec. 11. No authority under this Act to enter into contracts or to 
make payments shall be effective except to the extent and in such 
amounts as provided in advance in appropriations Acts. Any provision of 
this Act which, directly or indirectly, authorizes the enactment of new 
budget authority shall be effective only for fiscal years beginning 
after September 30, 1993.

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