[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1523 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1523

To establish mandatory procedures to be followed by the Forest Service 
 and the Bureau of Land Management in advance of the permanent closure 
 of any forest road so as to ensure local public participation in the 
                        decisionmaking process.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             April 22, 1999

   Mrs. Chenoweth (for herself, Mr. Young of Alaska, Mr. Duncan, Mr. 
   Schaffer, Mr. Hill of Montana, Mr. Doolittle, Mr. Radanovich, Mr. 
Herger, Mr. Pombo, Mr. Peterson of Pennsylvania, Mr. Walden of Oregon, 
    Mrs. Cubin, Mr. Taylor of North Carolina, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. 
 Nethercutt) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
      Committee on 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 establish mandatory procedures to be followed by the Forest Service 
 and the Bureau of Land Management in advance of the permanent closure 
 of any forest road so as to ensure local public participation in the 
                        decisionmaking process.

    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 ``Forest Roads-Community Right-To-Know 
Act''.

SECTION 2. FOREST SERVICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES FOR 
              PERMANENT CLOSURE OF FOREST ROADS.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Permanent closure.--The term ``permanent closure'', 
        with respect to a forest road, means the closure of the road to 
        vehicular traffic for a continuous period of more than one 
        year. The term includes a road closure of one year or less, or 
        of an unspecified duration, unless the Secretary concerned 
        certifies at the time of the closure that the closure will not 
        extend beyond one year.
            (2) Forest road.--The term ``forest road'' means any road 
        on Federal lands.
            (3) Federal lands.--The term ``Federal lands'' means--
                    (A) lands administered by the Bureau of Land 
                Management; and
                    (B) lands within units of the National Forest 
                System.
            (4) State and local government officials.--The term ``State 
        and local government officials'' means elected officials of 
        States and counties within which Federal lands are located.
            (5) Secretary concerned.--The term ``Secretary concerned'' 
        means--
                    (A) with respect to the Federal lands described in 
                paragraph (3)(A), the Secretary of the Interior; and
                    (B) with respect to the Federal lands described in 
                paragraph (3)(B), the Secretary of Agriculture.
    (b) Advance Notice of Permanent Road Closures to State and Local 
Government Officials.--
            (1) Purpose.--The purpose of this subsection is to ensure 
        that the Secretary concerned involves State and local 
        government officials in the process by which the Secretary 
        concerned considers and plans for the potential permanent 
        closure of forest roads on Federal lands.
            (2) Annual meetings required.--At least once each fiscal 
        year, the Secretary concerned shall meet with appropriate State 
        and local government officials to describe all agency plans or 
        proposals that, within the next two fiscal years, will or may 
        result in the permanent closure of forest roads on Federal 
        lands. Such agency plans or proposals include project 
        proposals, land management plan amendments or revisions, 
        resource management plan amendments or revisions, and regional 
        or subregional plans or proposals
            (3) Elements of notice.--At a meeting under paragraph (2), 
        the Secretary concerned shall provide information, using maps 
        and other means, that at a minimum--
                    (A) shows forest roads selected or proposed for 
                permanent closure;
                    (B) shows traffic patterns and volumes on the roads 
                over the previous five years; and
                    (C) explains how users of the roads will be 
                adversely affected with longer travel times or adverse 
                travel conditions by the permanent closure of the 
                roads.
            (4) Special rule for first meeting.--At the first meeting 
        conducted under paragraph (2) for a State or local government, 
        the Secretary concerned shall also provide information on all 
        forest roads that have been subject to permanent closure in 
        that State during the previous five years. The information 
        shall include a map showing the location of the forest roads 
        and a description of the methods and costs of the permanent 
        closure of the forest roads.
    (c) Public Notice and Comment Requirements.--
            (1) Local notice.--Before proceeding with the permanent 
        closure of a forest road, the Secretary concerned shall publish 
        an announcement describing the proposed closure in the local 
        newspaper of record for the area likely to be affected by the 
        permanent closure of the road. The announcement shall include a 
        description and map of the forest road selected or proposed for 
        permanent closure and a description of any comments generated 
        regarding the closure in meetings with State and local 
        government officials under subsection (b).
            (2) Comment period.--The permanent closure of a forest road 
        may not take effect until after the end of the 90-day period 
        beginning on the date that the announcement under paragraph (1) 
        was published regarding that road so as to permit the public to 
        submit comments regarding the decision to select or propose the 
        forest road for permanent closure.
    (d) Prohibition on Permanent Road Closures.--The permanent closure 
of a forest road is prohibited unless--
            (1) advance notice of the permanent closure of the road is 
        provided to the appropriate State and local government 
        officials in the manner provided in subsection (b); and
            (2) the Secretary complies with the public notice and 
        comment requirements under subsection (c).
    (e) Application of Requirements.--The requirements of this section 
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, except that 
the prohibition contained in subsection (d)(1) shall not apply to 
prohibit the permanent closure of any forest road implemented during 
the fiscal year in which this section is enacted.
    (f) Effect on Valid and Existing Rights.--Nothing in this section 
shall invalidate rights-of-way designated under section 2477 of the 
Revised Statutes of 1878 (43 U.S.C. 932) or other valid and existing 
rights, including rights of ingress and egress.
    (g) Compliance With State Laws.--In carrying out this section with 
respect to a forest road, the Secretary concerned shall comply with the 
applicable laws of the State in which the forest road is located.
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