[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3297 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 3297

   To suspend the continued development of a roadless area policy on 
   public domain units and other units of the National Forest System 
    pending adequate public participation and determinations that a 
     roadless area policy will not adversely affect forest health.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 26, 1998

 Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania (for himself, Mr. Oberstar, Mr. Young of 
    Alaska, Mrs. Chenoweth, Mr. Hansen, Mr. Riggs, Mr. Herger, Mr. 
 Radanovich, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Bob Schaffer, Mr. Skeen, Mr. Gibbons, 
Mr. Stump, Mr. Nethercutt, Mr. Hill, Mr. Pickering, Mr. Taylor of North 
     Carolina, Mr. Cox of California, Mr. Solomon, and Mrs. Cubin) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
   Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Resources, 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 suspend the continued development of a roadless area policy on 
   public domain units and other units of the National Forest System 
    pending adequate public participation and determinations that a 
     roadless area policy will not adversely affect forest health.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,
    (a) Implementation Delayed Pending Public Participation.--
            (1) No interim or final rule to suspend or to temporarily 
        suspend road construction activities in roadless areas, 
        including construction of temporary roads, on any public domain 
        units and other units of the National Forest System may be 
        issued except in accordance with this Act.
            (2) The interim or final rule referred to in paragraph (1) 
        includes but is not limited to the notice of proposed interim 
        rule published in the Federal Register on January 28, 1998 (63 
        Fed. Reg. 4351).
    (b) Exception After Public Participation.--Subsection (a) shall be 
effective until the Secretary of Agriculture--
            (1) conducts a public hearing on the interim or final rule 
        (at which the regional forester for the region in which the 
        national forest is located is in attendance or the Chief of the 
        Forest Service is in attendance) in each public domain or other 
        unit of the National Forest System;
            (2) issues a report based on the record of each hearing 
        conducted under paragraph (1) which concludes that the interim 
        or final rule will not--
                    (A) result in diminished forest health in such 
                public domain or other unit of the National Forest 
                System;
                    (B) adversely affect multiple use activities in 
                such public domain unit of the National Forest System 
                (including adverse economic effects on timber users and 
                adverse access effects on recreation users); and
                    (C) adversely affect (economically or otherwise) 
                State, county, and local government in or near such 
                public domain or other unit of the National Forest 
                System; and
            (3) submits such report to Congress.
    (c) Location and Purpose of Public Hearing.--
            (1) The public hearing for each public domain or other unit 
        of the National Forest System shall be held at a location in 
        the national forest unit that will facilitate the widest 
        possible public participation. If there is no suitable location 
        in a national forest unit for the public hearing, the Secretary 
        of Agriculture may hold the hearing at a suitable location near 
        the national forest unit.
            (2) The public hearing for a public domain or other unit of 
        the National Forest System shall serve as a forum to discuss 
        the potential impact of the suspension of road construction 
        activities on the public domain or other unit of the national 
        forest generally, on the multiple uses of the National Forest 
        System unit, on forest management and forest health, and on the 
        economic viability of States, counties, and townships dependent 
        on the public domain or other unit of the National Forest 
        System.
    (d) Effect of Issuance Before Enactment.--If the system rule 
described in subsection (a) is issued before the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of Agriculture shall immediately suspend the 
operation of the rule until the Secretary complies with the conditions 
specified in this Act.
    (e) Federal Obligation.--Any implementation or application of an 
interim or final rule referred to in paragraph (a) concerning 
roadbuilding in roadless areas in public domain or other units of the 
National Forest System shall not in any way affect Federal obligations, 
including but not limited to contracts, leases, and permits.
                                 <all>