[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2605 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2605

 To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the development and 
  maintenance of an inventory of sites within former military ranges 
   known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance (UXO) or other 
abandoned military munitions that pose a threat to human health, human 
   safety, or the environment, to improve security at such sites and 
  public awareness of the dangers associated with such sites, and for 
                            other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 24, 2001

 Mr. Blumenauer (for himself, Mr. Riley, Mr. Evans, Mr. Manzullo, Mr. 
    Underwood, Mr. Ehlers, Mr. Farr of California, Mr. Walden, Mrs. 
    Tauscher, Mr. Herger, Mr. Thompson of California, Mr. Hill, Ms. 
     McKinney, Mr. Delahunt, Ms. Harman, Mr. Kind, Ms. Norton, Ms. 
  Velazquez, and Mr. Baird) introduced the following bill; which was 
              referred to the Committee on Armed Services

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To amend title 10, United States Code, to require the development and 
  maintenance of an inventory of sites within former military ranges 
   known or suspected to contain unexploded ordnance (UXO) or other 
abandoned military munitions that pose a threat to human health, human 
   safety, or the environment, to improve security at such sites and 
  public awareness of the dangers associated with such sites, 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 ``Ordnance and Explosives Risk 
Management Act''.

SEC. 2. SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT FOR POLICY AND BUDGETING ISSUES 
              REGARDING FORMER MILITARY RANGES.

    Section 2701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding 
at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(k) UXO Program Manager.--The Secretary of Defense shall 
establish a program manager for unexploded ordnance (UXO) and other 
abandoned military munitions who shall serve as the single point of 
contact in the Department of Defense for policy and budgeting issues 
involving the characterization, remediation, and management of 
explosive and related risks at former military ranges (as defined in 
section 2410 of this title) known or suspected to contain unexploded 
ordnance or other abandoned military munitions that pose a threat to 
human health or safety. The authority of the Secretary may not be 
further delegated, other than to the Secretary of the Army and the 
Under Secretary of the Army.''.

SEC. 3. INVENTORY OF EXPLOSIVE RISK SITES AT FORMER MILITARY RANGES.

    (a) Inventory Required.--(1) Chapter 160 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new section:
``Sec. 2710. Former military ranges: inventory of explosive risk sites; 
              use of inventory; public safety issues
    ``(a) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) The term `former military range' means a military 
        range presently located in the United States that--
                    ``(A) is or was owned by, leased to, or otherwise 
                possessed or used by the Federal Government;
                    ``(B) is designated as a closed, transferred, or 
                transferring military range (rather than as an active 
                or inactive range); or
                    ``(C) is or was used as a site for the disposal of 
                military munitions or for the use of military munitions 
                in training or research, development, testing, and 
                evaluation.
            ``(2) The term `abandoned military munitions' means 
        unexploded ordnance and other abandoned military munitions, 
        including components thereof and chemical weapons materiel, 
        that pose a threat to human health or safety.
            ``(3) The term `State' includes the District of Columbia, 
        the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the territories and 
        possessions.
            ``(4) The term `United States', in a geographic sense, 
        includes the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the territories 
        and possessions.
    ``(b) Inventory Required.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall 
develop and maintain an inventory of former military ranges that are 
known or suspected to contain abandoned military munitions.
    ``(2) The information for each former military range in the 
inventory shall include, at a minimum, the following:
            ``(A) A unique identifier for the range and its current 
        designation as either a closed, transferred, or transferring 
        range.
            ``(B) An appropriate record showing the location, 
        boundaries, and extent of the range, including identification 
        of the State and political subdivisions of the State in which 
        the range is located and any Tribal lands encompassed by the 
        range.
            ``(C) Known persons and entities, other than a military 
        department, with any current ownership interest or control of 
        lands encompassed by the range.
            ``(D) Any restrictions or other land use controls currently 
        in place that might affect the potential for public and 
        environmental exposure to abandoned military munitions.
    ``(c) Site Prioritization.--(1) With respect to each former 
military range included on the inventory, the Secretary of Defense 
shall assign the range a relative priority for response activities 
based on the overall conditions at the range. The level of response 
priority assigned the range shall be included with the information 
required by subsection (b)(2) to be maintained for the range.
    ``(2) In assigning the response priority for a former military 
range, the Secretary of Defense shall primarily consider factors 
relating to safety and environmental hazard potential, such as the 
following:
            ``(A) Whether there are known, versus suspected, abandoned 
        military munitions on all or any portion of the range and the 
        types of munitions present or suspected to be present.
            ``(B) Whether public access to the range is controlled, and 
        the effectiveness of these controls.
            ``(C) The potential for direct human contact with abandoned 
        military munitions at the range and evidence of people entering 
        the range.
            ``(D) Whether a response action has been or is being 
        undertaken at the range under the Formerly Used Defense Sites 
        program or other programs.
            ``(E) The planned or mandated dates for transfer of the 
        range from military control.
            ``(F) The extent of any documented incidents involving 
        abandoned military munitions at or from the range. In this 
        subparagraph, the term `incidents' means any or all of the 
        following: explosions, discoveries, injuries, reports, and 
        investigations.
            ``(G) The potential for drinking water contamination or the 
        release of weapon components into the air.
            ``(H) The potential for destruction of sensitive ecosystems 
        and damage to natural resources.
    ``(d) Updates and Availability.--(1) The Secretary of Defense shall 
annually update the inventory and site prioritization list to reflect 
new information that becomes available. The inventory shall be 
available in published and electronic form.
    ``(2) The Secretary of Defense shall work with adjacent communities 
to provide information concerning conditions at the former military 
range and response activities, and shall respond to inquiries. At a 
minimum, the Secretary shall notify immediately affected individuals, 
appropriate State, local, tribal, and Federal officials, and, when 
appropriate, civil defense or emergency management agencies.''.
    (2) The table of sections at the beginning of such chapter is 
amended by adding at the end the following new item:

``2710. Former military ranges: inventory of explosive risk sites; use 
                            of inventory; public safety issues.''.
    (b) Initial Inventory.--The inventory required by section 2710 of 
title 10, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall be 
completed and made available not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 4. SEPARATE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE ACCOUNT FOR REMOVAL AND CLEANUP 
              OF ABANDONED MILITARY MUNITIONS.

    (a) Establishment and Use.--Section 2703 of title 10, United States 
Code, is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a), by adding at the end the following 
        new paragraph:
            ``(6) An account to be known as the `Abandoned Military 
        Munitions Account, Defense'.''; and
            (2) in subsection (b)(1)--
                    (A) by striking ``and'' at the end of subparagraph 
                (A);
                    (B) by striking the period at the end of 
                subparagraph (B) and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following new 
                subparagraph:
            ``(C) in the case of the account established under 
        subsection (a)(6), to carry out the activities required under 
        section 2710 of this title and to provide for the removal of, 
        and cleanup associated with the presence of, abandoned military 
        munitions at former military ranges (as such terms are defined 
        in subsection (a) of such section).''.
    (b) Budget Request.--Subsection (c) of such section is amended by 
adding before the period at the end the following: ``and the amounts 
requested for deposit in the account established under subsection 
(a)(6) for use as provided in subsection (b)(1)(C)''.

SEC. 5. ENHANCED SECURITY MEASURES AT FORMER MILITARY RANGES AND PUBLIC 
              AWARENESS EFFORTS REGARDING DANGERS ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH 
              RANGES.

    Section 2710 of title 10, United States Code, as added by section 
3, is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection:
    ``(e) Site Security Plan.--(1) Not later than 18 months after the 
inclusion of a former military range on the inventory, the Secretary of 
Defense shall prepare a site security plan for the range describing the 
measures (such as patrols, signs and other informational materials, 
maps, and fencing and other physical barriers) to be used--
            ``(A) to restrict public access to abandoned military 
        munitions at or from the range; and
            ``(B) to inform and educate the public as to the risks of 
        handling abandoned military munitions and related items.
    ``(2) The Secretary of Defense is encouraged to cooperate with 
property owners (including Federal land management agencies), State, 
Federal, and tribal governments, private industry, institutions of 
higher education, non-governmental organizations, and other interested 
persons in developing the site security plan for a former military 
range.
    ``(3) The Secretary of Defense may enter into a memorandum of 
agreement with a Federal agency, and cooperative agreements with non-
Federal entities referred to in paragraph (2), to support the 
implementation of specific elements of the site security plan for a 
former military range.''.

SEC. 6. INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT PANEL.

    The Program Manager for UXO shall establish an independent advisory 
and review panel that shall include the National Academy of Sciences, 
one nongovernmental organization with expertise in UXO, the 
Environmental Protection Agency, and a representative of the States. 
The panel shall be responsible for reporting annually to Congress on 
progress made by the Department of Defense and make recommendations for 
UXO program improvement.
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