[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3213 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3213

 To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire and manage lands 
  in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to provide for the protection of 
critical aquifers and watersheds that serve as a principal water supply 
                for Puerto Rico, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            November 1, 2001

  Mr. Acevedo-Vila (for himself, Ms. McKinney, Mr. Faleomavaega, Mrs. 
Christensen, Mr. Gutierrez, Mr. Towns, and Mr. Menendez) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire and manage lands 
  in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico to provide for the protection of 
critical aquifers and watersheds that serve as a principal water supply 
                for Puerto Rico, 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 ``Puerto Rico Karst Conservation Act 
of 2001''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS, PURPOSES, AND DEFINITIONS.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
            (1) The Karst Region of Puerto Rico is a unique geological 
        formation that is critical to the maintenance of aquifers and 
        watersheds which constitute a principal water supply for much 
        of Puerto Rico.
            (2) The Karst Region is threatened by development, which, 
        if unchecked, could permanently damage aquifers supplying fresh 
        water and cause irreparable damage to natural and environmental 
        assets that are unique to the United States and Puerto Rico.
            (3) Puerto Rico has one of the highest population densities 
        in the United States, which further makes the protection of the 
        Karst Region an imperative for the maintenance of the public 
        health and welfare of the citizens of Puerto Rico.
            (4) The Karst Region possesses extraordinary ecological 
        diversity, including the habitats of several endangered and 
        threatened species and tropical migrants and is, therefore, an 
        area of critical value to research in tropical forest 
        management.
            (5) Coordinated efforts at land protection by the Federal 
        Government and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico will be 
        necessary to conserve the environmentally critical Karst 
        Region.
    (b) Purposes.--The purposes of this Act are to authorize the 
Secretary of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Commonwealth of 
Puerto Rico, to undertake a program of land conservation, acquisition, 
and research to protect and manage the geological and ecological values 
of the Karst Region, with particular emphasis on the maintenance of 
biodiversity within a tropical forest ecosystem and protection of the 
aquifers which are vital to the health and well being of the citizens 
of Puerto Rico.
    (c) Definitions.--In this Act:
            (1) Karst region.--The term ``Karst Region'' means those 
        areas in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico generally depicted on 
        the map entitled ``Karst Region Conservation Area'' and dated 
        March 2001. The map shall be on file and available for public 
        inspection in the Office of the Secretary, Puerto Rico 
        Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, and the 
        Office of the Chief of the Forest Service.
            (2) Land.--The term ``land'' includes lands, waters, and 
        interests in lands and waters.
            (3) Fund.--The term ``Fund'' means the Puerto Rico Karst 
        Conservation Fund'' established by section 4.
            (4) Forest legacy program.--The term ``Forest Legacy 
        Program'' means the program established pursuant to section 7 
        of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 
        2103c).
            (5) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.

SEC. 3. KARST REGION CONSERVATION ACTIVITIES.

    (a) Land Acquisition.--
            (1) Authorization.--In furtherance of the purposes of this 
        Act, the Secretary may acquire land in the Karst Region or 
        immediately adjacent to the Karst Region.
            (2) Willing sellers.--All acquisitions of land by the 
        Secretary on behalf of the United States under paragraph (1) 
        shall be for fair market value on a willing seller basis.
            (3) Funding Source.--The Secretary may carry out land 
        acquisition activities under paragraph (1) using amounts in the 
        Fund, amounts appropriated for the Forest Legacy Program, 
        amounts in the Land and Water Conservation Fund, and any other 
        moneys made available for such purpose.
    (b) Management.--The Secretary shall manage land acquired under 
subsection (a) pursuant to this Act, the Forest and Rangeland Renewable 
Resources Research Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 620 et seq.), and the laws 
and regulations applicable to the National Forest System.
    (c) Cooperative Approach.--The Secretary may make grants to and 
enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with the Commonwealth 
of Puerto Rico, other Federal agencies, organizations, and corporations 
for the acquisition, protection, and management of Federal and non-
Federal land in the Karst Region.
    (d) Relation to Other Authorities.--Nothing in this Act shall 
diminish any other authority that the Secretary may have to acquire, 
protect, and manage natural resources in Puerto Rico.

SEC. 4. PUERTO RICO KARST CONSERVATION FUND.

    (a) Establishment.--There is hereby established on the books of the 
Treasury an interest bearing account to be known as the ``Puerto Rico 
Karst Conservation Fund''.
    (b) Credits to Funds.--There shall be credited to the Fund the 
following:
            (1) Amounts authorized for and appropriated to the Fund.
            (2) All moneys generated from the Caribbean National 
        Forest, except the following:
                    (A) Amounts required to be paid to the Commonwealth 
                of Puerto Rico pursuant to the sixth paragraph under 
                the heading ``FOREST SERVICE'' in the Act of May 23, 
                1908, or section 13 of the Act of March 1, 1911 (16 
                U.S.C. 500).
                    (B) Amounts required to be retained for the 
                construction and maintenance of roads and trails 
                pursuant to the fourteenth paragraph under the heading 
                ``FOREST SERVICE'' in the Act of March 4, 1913 (16 
                U.S.C. 501).
                    (C) Amounts collected under the Recreation Fee 
                Demonstration Program authorized pursuant to section 
                315 of the Department of the Interior and Related 
                Agencies Appropriations Act, 1996 (as contained in 
                section 101(c) of Public Law 104-134; 16 U.S.C. 460l-6a 
                note).
            (3) All moneys received by the Administrator of General 
        Services from the disposal of surplus real property in Puerto 
        Rico pursuant to the Federal Property and Administrative 
        Services Act of 1949 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.).
            (4) Interest derived from amounts in the Fund and any other 
        moneys donated for deposit in the Fund.
    (c) Use of Fund.--Amounts in the Fund shall be available to the 
Secretary until expended, without further appropriation, for the 
purchase of land in the Karst Region and related acquisition management 
expenses as authorized by section 3.

SEC. 5. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS.

    (a) Donations.--The Secretary may accept for deposit in the Fund 
donations made by public and private agencies, corporations, 
organizations, and individuals in furtherance of the purposes of this 
Act. The Secretary may accept such donations even though the donor 
conducts business with or is regulated by the Department of Agriculture 
or any other department or agency of the United States.
    (b) Relation to Forest Legacy Program.--
            (1) In general.--All lands in the Karst Region shall be 
        eligible for inclusion in the Forest Legacy Program.
            (2) Cost sharing.--The Secretary may credit donations made 
        under subsection (a) to satisfy any cost sharing requirements 
        of the Forest Legacy Program.

SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 to be credited 
to the Fund.
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