[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5342 Introduced in House (IH)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 5342

  To require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a demonstration 
  forest management project in the Black Hills National Forest in the 
                  States of South Dakota and Wyoming.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 5, 2002

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct a demonstration 
  forest management project in the Black Hills National Forest in the 
                  States of South Dakota and Wyoming.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

    (a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Black Hills 
Charter Forest Act of 2002''.
    (b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents for this Act is as 
follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
Sec. 3. Findings.
Sec. 4. Purpose.
Sec. 5. Demonstration forest management project, Black Hills National 
                            Forest, South Dakota and Wyoming.
Sec. 6. Independent scientific review and monitoring.
Sec. 7. Community management council.
Sec. 8. Predecisional review process for demonstration project.
Sec. 9. Stewardship contracting authority.
Sec. 10. Retention of demonstration project receipts.
Sec. 11. Relation to National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``council'' means the community management 
        council appointed under section 7.
            (2) The term ``demonstration project'' means the 
        demonstration forest management project for the Black Hills 
        National Forest in the States of South Dakota and Wyoming 
        required by this Act.
            (3) The term ``panel'' means the panel of non-Federal 
        scientists assembled by the Secretary under section 6.
            (4) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Service.

SEC. 3. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) The administrative body for the National Forest System, 
        the Forest Service, is plagued by ineffective public 
        involvement, management inefficiency, and protracted, 
        superfluous analyses.
            (2) The debilitations of the Forest Service have cultivated 
        an environment of mistrust and divisiveness in forest policy, 
        begetting a cumbersome, enfeebled process of resource 
        management in the Black Hills National Forest.
            (3) This state of affairs represents a grievous disservice 
        to the public and the environment and are indicative of an 
        administrative process in need of repair; and
            (4) it is in the public interest to explore a broad 
        spectrum of progressive solutions to improve forest management 
        for, and the condition of forests in, the Black Hills National 
        Forest.

SEC. 4. PURPOSE.

    The purpose of this Act is--
            (1) to increase community involvement in decisionmaking 
        regarding the management of the Black Hills National Forest;
            (2) to evaluate alternatives in reforming the current 
        Forest Service administrative appeals process for projects in 
        the Black Hills National Forest;
            (3) to provide the Black Hills National Forest with more 
        efficient and dynamic contracting mechanisms to accomplish land 
        and resource management plan objectives; and
            (4) to evaluate and implement procedural reform in the 
        Forest Service's administration of the National Environmental 
        Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) on forest projects 
        in the Black Hills National Forest, in keeping with the law's 
        substantive intent.

SEC. 5. DEMONSTRATION FOREST MANAGEMENT PROJECT, BLACK HILLS NATIONAL 
              FOREST, SOUTH DAKOTA AND WYOMING.

    (a) Demonstration Project Required.--The Secretary of Agriculture, 
acting through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall conduct a 
demonstration project in the Black Hills National Forest for the 
purpose of increasing community involvement in decisionmaking regarding 
the management of the Black Hills National Forest and evaluating 
various methods, described in this Act, to improve the management and 
condition of the Black Hills National Forest.
    (b) Commencement of Demonstration Project.--The Secretary shall 
commence the demonstration project upon the completion of the phase 2 
amendment, pending as of the date of the enactment of this Act, to the 
land and resource management plan for the Black Hills National Forest.
    (c) Duration.--The Secretary shall terminate the demonstration 
project at the end of the 10-year period beginning on the date the 
demonstration project is commenced pursuant to subsection (b).
    (d) Relation to Other National Forest System Laws.--Except as 
provided in this Act, during the term of the demonstration project, the 
Secretary shall continue to manage the Black Hills National Forest 
under all of the laws and regulations governing occupancy, use, and 
management of the National Forest System.

SEC. 6. INDEPENDENT SCIENTIFIC REVIEW AND MONITORING.

    (a) Review of Ecological, Social, and Economic Sustainability of 
Forest.--
            (1) Initial review.--The Secretary shall assemble an 
        independent panel of non-Federal scientists to conduct an 
        assessment, using accepted measures and indicators, of the 
        ecological, social, and economic sustainability of the Black 
        Hills National Forest, taking into consideration such factors 
        as forest health, susceptibility to catastrophic fire, 
        biological diversity, and the capability of the forest to 
        sustain communities and economies.
            (2) Submission of results.--Not later than one year after 
        the date of the enactment of this Act, the panel shall submit 
        to the Secretary and Congress a report containing the results 
        of the assessment conducted under this subsection.
    (b) Monitoring Plan for Demonstration Project.--The panel shall 
prepare a monitoring plan to be used to track the implementation of the 
demonstration project.
    (c) Revised Review; Resubmission of Results.--At the end of the 
first five years of the demonstration project and upon the completion 
of the demonstration project, the panel shall revise the assessment 
conducted under subsection (a) and resubmit it to the Secretary and 
Congress.
    (d) Effects of Demonstration Project.--Using the information 
collected from the monitoring plan, the panel shall include in each 
revised assessment an evaluation of the positive and negative impacts 
of the demonstration project on changes in the ecological, social, and 
economic sustainability of the Black Hills National Forest.

SEC. 7. COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL.

    (a) Establishment and Purposes.--The Secretary shall establish a 
community management council as part of the demonstration project for 
the purpose of--
            (1) advising the Secretary and the Supervisor of the Black 
        Hills National Forest on the broad array of environmental, 
        economic, and social issues related to the management, 
        occupancy, and use of the Black Hills National Forest; and
            (2) advising the Secretary and the Supervisor in the 
        development of binding priorities for management activities on 
        the Black Hills National Forest.
    (b) Appointment and Members.--The council shall consist of 13 
members, appointed by the Secretary in consultation with the Governors 
and congressional delegations of the States of South Dakota and 
Wyoming. Members shall meet the following criteria:
            (1) Members shall represent an equitable cross-section of 
        forest policy stakeholders.
            (2) Members shall reside in the seven counties that 
        encompass the Black Hills National Forest:
                    (A) Pennington, Lawrence, Meade, Custer, and Fall 
                River Counties of South Dakota.
                    (B) Crook and Weston Counties of Wyoming.
            (3) Members shall have demonstrated a willingness to seek 
        compromise on complex forest issues through respectful and 
        reasonable discourse.
            (4) Members shall have demonstrated an ability to respect 
        values, cultures, and points of view other than their own.
    (c) Forest Supervisor.--The Supervisor of the Black Hills National 
Forest shall serve as an ex officio member of the council.
    (d) Vacancies; Geographic Representation.--Vacancies on the council 
shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.
    (e) Compensation.--Members of the council who are not Federal 
employees shall serve without compensation.
    (f) Other Council Authorities and Requirements.--
            (1) Staff assistance.--The council may request the 
        Secretary to provide staff assistance to the council from 
        Federal employees under the jurisdiction of the Secretary.
            (2) Meetings.--All meetings of the council shall be 
        announced at least one week in advance in a local newspaper of 
        record and shall be open to the public.
            (3) Records.--The council shall maintain records of the 
        meetings of the council and make the records available for 
        public inspection.
            (4) Relation to other law.--The council shall be exempt 
        from the provisions of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (5 
        U.S.C. App.).

SEC. 8. PREDECISIONAL REVIEW PROCESS FOR DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.

    (a) In General.--The Secretary shall promulgate rules to establish 
a predecisional review process that would be used during the term of 
the demonstration project in connection with site-specific projects in 
the Black Hills National Forest that require approval by a Forest 
Service official in a decision notice or record of decision.
    (b) Relation to Required Environmental Analysis.--The predecisional 
review process shall not be construed to alter or waive any 
environmental analysis otherwise required as part of the planning or 
implementation of a project in the Black Hills National Forest.
    (c) Required Elements of Predecisional Review.--
            (1) Notice.--The rules required by subsection (a) shall 
        provide for notice of a proposed decision and an opportunity to 
        request review before a final decision on a site-specific 
        project is made.
            (2) Right to request a predecisional review.--For a period 
        not to exceed 30 days from the date notice is provided pursuant 
        to paragraph (1), review of a proposed decision may be 
        requested by any individual or entity, but only if the 
        individual or entity submitted written comments during the 
        preparation stage of the project on the issue or issues for 
        which predecisional review is sought.
            (3) Completion of review.--The review of a request for 
        predecisional review shall be completed before issuance of a 
        final decision regarding the project at issue. The review shall 
        be completed within 30 days after the date the request was 
        submitted.
    (d) Exemption.--The Secretary may exempt a proposed decision 
responding to an unexpected or serious event that would provide relief 
from hazards threatening human health and safety or natural resources, 
or provide for rehabilitation and recovery of forest resources, from 
the predecisional review rules prescribed under this section.
    (e) Exhaustion of Predecisional Review Process.--Notwithstanding 
any other provision of law, an individual or entity must exhaust the 
predecisional review process before the individual or entity may bring 
an action in court challenging a site-specific project under the 
demonstration project.
    (f) Presumption.--In any predecisional review or litigation of a 
management activity under the demonstration project, the responsible 
official, administrative entity, or court shall give deference to the 
expert judgment of the Secretary in identifying and interpreting the 
scientific data that is the basis for the management activity.
    (g) Relation to Forest Service Decisionmaking and Appeals Reform.--
Section 322 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note), 
shall not apply to activities conducted under the demonstration 
project.

SEC. 9. STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING AUTHORITY.

    (a) Use of Existing Demonstration Authority.--During the term of 
the demonstration project, the Secretary may enter into stewardship and 
end result contracts for the Black Hills National Forest in accordance 
with section 347 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies 
Appropriations Act, 1999 (as contained in section 101(e) of division A 
of Public Law 105-277; 16 U.S.C. 2104 note), to accomplish the land 
management goals specified in subsection (b) of such section.
    (b) Additional Contracts.--The contracts entered into under the 
authority of subsection (a) shall be in addition to the contracts 
authorized under such section 347 or under section 338 of the 
Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 
2001 (Public Law 106-291; 16 U.S.C. 2104 note).

SEC. 10. RETENTION OF DEMONSTRATION PROJECT RECEIPTS.

    (a) Retention.--During the term of the demonstration project, the 
Secretary shall retain the monetary proceeds from commercial timber 
sales and special use permit fees derived from the Black Hills National 
Forest. The retained receipts shall be in addition to such other funds 
appropriated or otherwise made available for the operation of the Black 
Hills National Forest, and the receipts shall not be subject to 
overhead assessment.
    (b) Use.--The Secretary shall use the retained receipts for 
projects in the Black Hills National Forest, with priority placed on 
projects related to forest health, restoration, hazardous fuels 
reduction, and disease and invasive species control.
    (c) Role of Council.--The Secretary shall consult with the council 
in selecting projects under this section.

SEC. 11. RELATION TO NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969.

    In conducting the demonstration project, the Secretary shall 
continue to comply with the substantive requirements of the National 
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4331 et seq.) and its 
implementing rules. Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall promulgate rules regarding 
implementation of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 in the 
Black Hills National Forest during the demonstration project, being 
careful to provide maximum latitude to line officers and the council 
consistent with the substantive requirements of that Act.
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