[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4554 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4554

  To reform Federal land management activities relating to endangered 
                         species conservation.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 11, 1998

  Mr. Thomas introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                         Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To reform Federal land management activities relating to endangered 
                         species conservation.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; REFERENCES.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Endangered Species 
Land Management Reform Act''.
    (b) References to Endangered Species Act of 1973.--Except as 
otherwise expressly provided, whenever in this Act an amendment or 
repeal is expressed in terms of an amendment to, or repeal of, a 
section or other provision, the reference shall be considered to be 
made to that section or provision of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
(16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.).

SEC. 2. RIGHT TO COMPENSATION.

    (a) In General.--Section 13 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 
is amended to read as follows:

                        ``right to compensation

    ``Sec. 13. (a) Prohibition.--No agency may take an action under 
this Act affecting privately owned property that results in the 
diminishment of the value of any portion of that property by an amount 
equal to or greater than 50 percent of the value of that portion unless 
compensation is offered in accordance with this section.
    ``(b) Compensation for Diminishment.--Any agency that takes an 
action referred to in subsection (a)--
            ``(1) shall compensate the property owner for the 
        diminution in value of any portion of that property resulting 
        from the action; or
            ``(2) at the option of the owner, shall buy that portion of 
        the property by paying the fair market value of the portion, 
        determined based on the value of the property before the 
        diminution and without regard to the presence on the property 
        of a species listed under section 4(c), or the use of the 
        property by such a species.
    ``(c) Request of Owner.--A property owner seeking compensation 
under this section shall make a written request for compensation to the 
agency whose action would limit the otherwise lawful use of property. 
The request shall, at a minimum, identify the affected portion of the 
property, the nature of the diminution, and the amount of compensation 
claimed.
    ``(d) Choice of Remedies.--If the parties have not reached an 
agreement on compensation within 180 days after the written request is 
made, the owner may elect binding arbitration through alternative 
dispute resolution or seek compensation due under this section in a 
civil action. The parties may by mutual agreement extend the period of 
negotiation on compensation beyond the 180-day period without loss of 
remedy to the owner under this section. In the event the extension 
period lapses the owner may elect binding arbitration through 
alternative dispute resolution or seek compensation due under this 
section in a civil action.
    ``(e) Alternative Dispute Resolution.--
            ``(1) In general.--In the administration of this section--
                    ``(A) arbitration procedures shall be in accordance 
                with the alternative dispute resolution procedures 
                established by the American Arbitration Association; 
                and
                    ``(B) in no event shall arbitration be a condition 
                precedent or an administrative procedure to be 
                exhausted before the filing of a civil action under 
                this section.
            ``(2) Review of arbitration.--
                    ``(A) Appeal of decision.--Appeal from arbitration 
                decisions shall be to the United States District Court 
                for the district in which the property is located or 
                the United States Court of Federal Claims in the manner 
                prescribed by law for the claim under this section.
                    ``(B) Rules of enforcement of award.--The 
                provisions of title 9, United States Code (relating to 
                arbitration), shall apply to enforcement of awards 
                rendered under this section.
    ``(f) Civil Action.--An owner who prevails in a civil action 
against any agency pursuant to this section shall be entitled to, and 
such agency shall be liable for, just compensation, plus reasonable 
attorney's fees and other litigation costs, including appraisal fees.
    ``(g) Source of Payments.--Any payment made under this section 
shall be paid from the responsible agency's annual appropriation 
supporting the agency's activities giving rise to the claim for 
compensation. If insufficient funds are available to the agency in the 
fiscal year in which the award becomes final the agency shall pay the 
award from appropriations available in the next fiscal year.
    ``(h) Definitions.--For the purposes of this section--
            ``(1) the term `agency' has the meaning given that term in 
        section 551 of title 5, United States Code;
            ``(2) the term `agency action' means any action or decision 
        taken by any agency that at the time of such action or decision 
        adversely affects private property rights;
            ``(3) the term `fair market value' means the likely price 
        at which property would change hands, in a competitive and open 
        market under all conditions requisite to fair sale, between a 
        willing buyer and willing seller, neither being under any 
        compulsion to buy or sell and both having reasonable knowledge 
        of relevant facts, prior to occurrence of the agency action;
            ``(4) the term `just compensation'--
                    ``(A) means compensation equal to the full extent 
                of a property owner's loss, including the fair market 
                value of the private property taken, whether the taking 
                is by physical occupation or through regulation, 
                exaction, or other means; and
                    ``(B) shall include compounded interest calculated 
                from the date of the taking until the date the United 
                States tenders payment;
            ``(5) the term `owner' means the owner or possessor of 
        property or rights in property at the time the taking occurs, 
        including when--
                    ``(A) the statute, regulation, rule, order, 
                guideline, policy, or action is passed or promulgated; 
                or
                    ``(B) the permit, license, authorization, or 
                governmental permission is denied or suspended;
            ``(6) the term `property' means land, an interest in land, 
        proprietary water rights, and any personal property that is 
        subject to use by the Federal Government or to a restriction on 
        use;
            ``(7) the term `private property' or `property' means all 
        interests constituting real property, as defined by Federal or 
        State law, protected under the fifth amendment to the United 
        States Constitution, any applicable Federal or State law, or 
        this section, and more specifically constituting--
                    ``(A) real property, whether vested or unvested, 
                including--
                            ``(i) estates in fee, life estates, estates 
                        for years, or otherwise;
                            ``(ii) inchoate interests in real property 
                        such as remainders and future interests;
                            ``(iii) personalty that is affixed to or 
                        appurtenant to real property;
                            ``(iv) easements;
                            ``(v) leaseholds;
                            ``(vi) recorded liens; and
                            ``(vii) contracts or other security 
                        interests in, or related to, real property;
                    ``(B) the right to use water or the right to 
                receive water, including any recorded liens on such 
                water right; or
                    ``(C) rents, issues, and profits of land, including 
                minerals, timber, fodder, crops, oil and gas, coal, or 
                geothermal energy.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents at the end of the 
first section is amended by striking the item relating to section 13 
and inserting the following:

``Sec. 13. Right to compensation.''.

SEC. 3. SPECIES CONSERVATION TRUST FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 14 of the Endangered Species Act of 
1973 is amended to read as follows:

                      ``species conservation fund

    ``Sec. 14. (a) Establishment of Fund.--There is established in the 
Treasury a separate account, which shall be known as the Species 
Conservation Fund (in this section revered to as the `Fund').
    ``(b) Contents.--The Fund shall consist of such amounts as are 
appropriated to the Fund.
    ``(c) Use.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the 
Secretary, without further appropriation, to carry out projects on 
privately owned land to conserve species included in lists published 
under section 4(c) and their habitats, including for acquiring real 
property, waters, or interests therein.''.
    (b) Conforming Amendment.--The table of contents at the end of the 
first section is amended by striking the item relating to section 14 
and inserting the following:

``Sec. 14. Species Conservation Fund.''.

SEC. 4. LIMITATION ON MITIGATION REQUIREMENTS.

    Section 10 (16 U.S.C. 1539) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
    ``(k) Limitation on Mitigation Requirements.--(1) If the Secretary 
requires that mitigation be carried out as a condition of any approval 
or other action by the Secretary under any provision of this Act with 
respect to an activity, then the scope and scale of mitigation required 
may not exceed the scope and scale of the activity for which mitigation 
is required.
    ``(2) With respect to activities affecting land--
            ``(A) the area of land on which the mitigation is required 
        may not exceed the area of land subject to impacts for which 
        mitigation is required; and
            ``(B) the mitigation required may not require expenditures 
        greater than the cost of fencing and preserving the current 
        condition of the land on which the activity is conducted.''.
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