[Congressional Bills 107th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2868 Introduced in Senate (IS)]







107th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2868

    To direct the Secretary of the Army to carry out a research and 
   demonstration program concerning control of salt cedar and other 
                        nonnative phreatophytes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 1, 2002

Mr. Domenici (for himself, Mr. Campbell, and Mr. Allard) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                      Environment and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
    To direct the Secretary of the Army to carry out a research and 
   demonstration program concerning control of salt cedar and other 
                        nonnative phreatophytes.

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

SECTION 1. SALT CEDAR CONTROL.

    (a) Findings.--Congress finds that--
            (1) States are having increasing difficulty meeting their 
        obligations under interstate compacts to deliver water;
            (2) it is in the best interest of States to minimize the 
        impact of and eradicate invasive species that extort water in 
        the Rio Grande watershed, the Pecos River, and other bodies of 
        water in the Southwest, such as the salt cedar, a noxious and 
        nonnative plant that can use 200 gallons of water a day; and
            (3) as drought conditions and legal requirements relating 
        to water supply accelerate water shortages, innovative 
        approaches are needed to address the increasing demand for a 
        diminishing water supply.
    (b) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Control method.--
                    (A) In general.--The term ``control method'' means 
                a method of controlling salt cedar (Tamarix) or any 
                other nonnative phreatophyte.
                    (B) Inclusions.--The term ``control method'' 
                includes the use of herbicides, mechanical means, and 
                biocontrols such as goats and insects.
            (2) Demonstration project.--The term ``demonstration 
        project'' means a demonstration project carried out under this 
        section.
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Army, acting through the Chief of Engineers.
    (c) Program.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 1 year after the date on 
        which funds are made available to carry out this section, the 
        Secretary shall--
                    (A) complete a program of research, including a 
                review of past and ongoing research, concerning a 
                control method for use in--
                            (i) the Rio Grande watershed in the State 
                        of New Mexico;
                            (ii) the Pecos River in the State of New 
                        Mexico; and
                            (iii) other bodies of water in the States 
                        of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and 
                        Utah that are affected by salt cedar or other 
                        nonnative phreatophytes; and
                    (B) commence a demonstration program of the most 
                effective control methods.
            (2) Available expertise.--
                    (A) In general.--In carrying out the programs under 
                paragraph (1), the Secretary shall use the expertise of 
                institutions of higher education and nonprofit 
                organizations--
                            (i) that are located in the States referred 
                        to in paragraph (1)(A)(iii); and
                            (ii) that have been actively conducting 
                        research or carrying out other activities 
                        relating to the control of salt cedar.
                    (B) Inclusions.--Institutions of higher education 
                and nonprofit organizations under subparagraph (A) 
                include--
                            (i) Colorado State University;
                            (ii) Dine College in the State of New 
                        Mexico;
                            (iii) Mesa State College in the State of 
                        Colorado;
                            (iv) New Mexico State University;
                            (v) Northern Arizona University;
                            (vi) Texas A&M University;
                            (vii) University of Arizona;
                            (viii) Utah State University; and
                            (ix) WERC: A Consortium for Environmental 
                        Education and Technology Development.
    (d) Federal Expense.--The research and demonstration program under 
subsection (c) shall be carried out at full Federal expense.
    (e) Consultation.--The activities under this section shall be 
carried out in consultation with--
            (1) the Secretary of Agriculture;
            (2) the Secretary of the Interior;
            (3) the Governors of the States of Arizona, Colorado, New 
        Mexico, Texas, and Utah;
            (4) tribal governments; and
            (5) the heads of other Federal, State, and local agencies, 
        as appropriate.
    (f) Research.--To the maximum extent practicable, the research 
shall focus on--
            (1) supplementing and integrating information from past and 
        ongoing research concerning control of salt cedar and other 
        nonnative phreatophytes;
            (2) gathering experience from past eradication and control 
        projects;
            (3) arranging relevant data from available sources into 
        formats so that the information is accessible and can be 
        effectively brought to bear by land managers in the restoration 
        of the Rio Grande watershed;
            (4) using control methods to produce water savings; and
            (5) identifying long-term management and funding approaches 
        for control of salt cedar and watershed restoration.
    (g) Demonstration Projects.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall carry out not fewer 
        than 10 demonstration projects, of which not fewer than 2 shall 
        be carried out in each of the States referred to in subsection 
        (c)(1)(A)(iii).
            (2) Cost.--Each demonstration project shall be carried out 
        at a cost of not more than $7,000,000, including costs of 
        planning, design, and implementation.
            (3) Relationship to other control projects.--Each 
        demonstration project shall be coordinated with control 
        projects being carried out as of the date of enactment of this 
        Act by other Federal, State, tribal, or local entities.
            (4) Period of project implementation.--Each demonstration 
        project shall be carried out--
                    (A) during a period of not less than 2 but not more 
                than 5 years, depending on the control method selected; 
                and
                    (B) in a manner designed to determine the time 
                period required for optimum use of the control method.
            (5) Design.--
                    (A) Control methods.--Of the demonstration 
                projects--
                            (i) at least 1 demonstration project shall 
                        use primarily 1 or more herbicides;
                            (ii) at least 1 demonstration project shall 
                        use primarily mechanical means;
                            (iii) at least 1 demonstration project 
                        shall use a biocontrol such as goats or 
                        insects; and
                            (iv) each other demonstration project may 
                        use any 1 or more control methods.
                    (B) Measurement of costs and benefits.--Each 
                demonstration project shall be designed to measure all 
                costs and benefits associated with each control method 
                used by the demonstration project, including 
                measurement of water savings.
            (6) Monitoring and maintenance.--After completion, each 
        demonstration project shall be monitored and maintained for a 
        period of not more than 5 years, at a cost of not more than 
        $100,000 per demonstration project per year.
    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There are authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section--
            (1) $10,000,000 for fiscal year 2003; and
            (2) such sums as are necessary for each of fiscal years 
        2004 through 2007.
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