[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 3324 Introduced in House (IH)]






108th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 3324

    To provide compensation to livestock operators who voluntarily 
 relinquish a grazing permit or lease on Federal lands, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            October 16, 2003

Mr. Shays (for himself, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. George Miller of California, 
 Mr. Hinchey, Mr. Blumenauer, Mr. Holt, Mr. Markey, and Mr. McDermott) 
 introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture and Armed 
Services, 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 provide compensation to livestock operators who voluntarily 
 relinquish a grazing permit or lease on Federal lands, 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 ``Voluntary Grazing Permit Buyout 
Act''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Commercial livestock grazing on Federal lands is 
        increasingly difficult for grazing permittees and lessees due 
        to growing conflicts with other legitimate multiple uses of 
        those lands, such as environmental protection and burgeoning 
        recreational use, and with congressionally mandated goals of 
        wildlife and habitat protection and improved water quality and 
        quantity.
            (2) The recreational use of Federal lands often leads to 
        conflicts with commercial livestock grazing on the same lands, 
        because some recreationists damage property related to the 
        grazing operations or disturb livestock, rendering many grazing 
        operations on Federal lands uneconomical.
            (3) A combination of sustained drought, foreign 
        competition, changing domestic markets, industry restructuring, 
        and individual ranch situations has resulted in grazing permits 
        and leases becoming stranded investments for many permittees 
        and lessees.
            (4) Many permittees and lessees would like to retire, but 
        do not have family members willing or able to take over ranch 
        operations.
            (5) Attempts to resolve grazing conflicts with other 
        multiple uses often require extensive range developments and 
        monitoring that greatly increases costs to both permittees and 
        lessees and taxpayers, far out of proportion to the benefit 
        received.
            (6) Certain grazing allotments on Federal lands have, or 
        are likely to become, unsuitable for livestock production as a 
        result of the combined effect of the aforementioned factors.
            (7) The cost of the Federal grazing program greatly exceeds 
        revenues to the Federal treasury from grazing receipts.
            (8) Many Federal grazing permittees and lessees have 
        indicated their desire to end their livestock grazing on 
        Federal lands in exchange for a one-time payment to reasonably 
        compensate them for the effort and investment that they have 
        made in a grazing allotment.
            (9) Compensating permittees and lessees who relinquish 
        their grazing permit or lease and end livestock grazing on 
        Federal lands would help recapitalize an ailing sector of rural 
        America, by providing economic options to permittees and 
        lessees that do not presently exist and allowing them to 
        restructure their ranch operations, start new businesses, 
        retire with security, or provide a family legacy.
            (10) Reasonable compensation for the relinquishment of a 
        grazing permit or lease will help alleviate the need for 
        permittees and lessees to sell or subdivide their private 
        lands.
            (11) A voluntary buyout program for grazing permits and 
        leases will help resolve growing conflicts between livestock 
        grazing and other multiple uses, and would be ecologically 
        imperative, economically rational, fiscally prudent, and 
        socially just.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) The term ``animal unit month'' means the amount of 
        forage needed to sustain one animal unit for one month, as 
        determined by the Secretary issuing the grazing permit or 
        lease.
            (2) The terms ``grazing permit or lease'' and ``grazing 
        permit and lease'' mean any document authorizing the use of 
        Federal lands for the purpose of grazing domestic livestock.
            (3) The term ``grazing allotment'' means the designated 
        portion of Federal land upon which domestic livestock are 
        permitted to graze by a grazing permit or lease.
            (4) The terms ``permittee or lessee'' and ``permittee and 
        lessee'' mean a livestock operator who holds a valid term 
        grazing permit or lease.
            (5) The term ``range developments'' means structures, 
        fences and other permanent fixtures placed on Federal lands for 
        the furtherance of the purpose of grazing domestic livestock. 
        The term does not include rolling stock, livestock and 
        diversions of water from Federal lands onto non-Federal lands.
            (6) The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary of 
        Agriculture, the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of 
        Energy, or the Secretary of Defense, as appropriate to the 
        administration of the grazing permit or lease at issue.

SEC. 4. VOLUNTARY GRAZING PERMIT BUYOUT PROGRAM.

    (a) Waiver of Existing Grazing Permit or Lease.--A permittee or 
lessee may waive to the Secretary, at any time, a valid existing 
grazing permit or lease authorizing livestock grazing on Federal lands.
    (b) Cancellation of Waived Grazing Permit or Lease.--The Secretary 
shall cancel grazing permits and leases waived under this section and 
permanently retire the associated allotments from domestic livestock 
grazing use notwithstanding any other provision of law.
    (c) Waiver Priority.--If funds available to carry out this Act are 
insufficient to meet all of the offers for the waiver of grazing 
permits and leases, the Secretary shall give priority to the waiver of 
grazing permits and leases that authorize grazing on the following 
Federal lands:
            (1) National Wilderness Preservation System unit.
            (2) National Wild and Scenic River System unit.
            (3) National Park System unit.
            (4) National Wildlife Refuge System unit.
            (5) An allotment that includes a trail within the National 
        Trails System.
            (6) National Landscape Conservation System unit.
            (7) Designated critical habitat for species listed under 
        the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
            (8) Designated wilderness study area.
            (9) Roadless and undeveloped areas identified in Forest 
        Service, Roadless Area Conservation EIS, vol. 2 (Nov. 2000).
            (10) Designated Bureau of Land Management Area of Critical 
        Environmental Concern.
            (11) Designated Research Natural Area.
            (12) An allotment that includes a ``water quality limited'' 
        stream listed under section 303(d) of the Federal Water 
        Pollution Control Act.
            (13) Stream segments identified as a ``study river'' under 
        section 5(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
            (14) Stream segments identified by the Secretary under 
        section 5(d)(1) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
            (15) An allotment featuring other scientific, ecological, 
        scenic, watershed or recreation values.
    (d) Relation to Eminent Domain.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
interpreted to authorize the use of eminent domain for the purpose of 
acquiring a Federal grazing permit or lease.

SEC. 5. COMPENSATION FOR WAIVED GRAZING PERMIT OR LEASE.

    (a) Compensation Required; Amount.--A permittee or lessee who 
waives a grazing permit or lease to the Secretary under section 4(a) 
shall be compensated at $175 per animal unit month, based on the 
average grazing use over the preceding 10 years the allotment was 
grazed, as stipulated by the grazing permit or lease and paid for by 
the permittee or lessee or the predecessors of the permittee or lessee. 
Years of grazing nonuse are excluded from this average. In the case 
that a permittee or lessee is in arrears of Federal grazing fees, the 
amount of fees in arrears shall be deducted from the amount of 
compensation otherwise due the permittee or lessee under this section.
    (b) Effects of Issuance of Certain Permits or Leases.--A permittee 
or lessee who seeks to waive a grazing permit or lease under section 4 
for a grazing allotment that was vacant or vacated as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act shall only be eligible for compensation under 
this section based on the average grazing use over the last ten years, 
including any years of grazing nonuse.
    (c) Donation of Existing Permit or Lease.--A permittee or lessee 
may at any time waive their claim to compensation under this section 
and donate to the Secretary a valid existing grazing permit or lease 
authorizing livestock grazing on Federal lands. The Secretary shall 
cancel donated grazing permits or leases and permanently retire the 
associated allotments from domestic livestock grazing use, 
notwithstanding any other provision of law.
    (d) Relation to Other Authority.--Nothing in this Act shall be 
construed to affect the Secretary's authority to otherwise modify or 
terminate grazing permits or leases without compensation. Compensation 
disbursed pursuant to this section shall not create a property right in 
grazing permittees or lessees.

SEC. 6. EFFECT OF WAIVER OR DONATION OF GRAZING PERMIT OR LEASE.

    (a) Effect on Range Developments.--A permittee or lessee who waives 
a grazing permit or lease to the Secretary under section 4 and receives 
compensation under section 5, or donates a grazing permit or lease 
under section 6, shall be deemed to have waived any claim to all range 
developments on the subject grazing allotments, notwithstanding any 
other provision of law.
    (b) Securing Retired Allotments Against Unauthorized Use.--The 
Secretary shall ensure that allotments retired from grazing under this 
Act are rendered reasonably secure from trespass grazing by livestock.
    (c) Relation to Other Valid Existing Rights.--Nothing in this Act 
affects the allocation, ownership, interest or control, in existence on 
the date of enactment of this Act, of any water, water right, or any 
other valid existing right held by the United States, Indian tribe, 
State, or private individual, partnership or corporation.

SEC. 7. RETIREMENT OF GRAZING ALLOTMENTS FOR WHICH NO VALID GRAZING 
              PERMIT OR LEASE EXISTS.

    The Secretary shall not issue grazing permits or leases for grazing 
allotments for which no valid permit or lease exists as of the date of 
the enactment of this Act, and shall permanently retire the allotments 
from domestic livestock grazing use notwithstanding any other provision 
of law.

SEC. 8. EFFECT OF NONUSE OR REDUCED USE.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a permittee or lessee 
may opt not to graze a grazing allotment or to graze the grazing 
allotment at less than the minimum permitted level and still retain the 
grazing permit or lease for the remainder of its term. Such nonuse 
shall be considered to be in compliance with the terms of the grazing 
permit or lease when it becomes due for renewal.

SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATION.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretaries 
$100,000,000, to remain available until expended, to provide 
compensation to permittees and lessees under section 5. None of the 
funds appropriated pursuant to this section shall be used by any 
Federal agency for administrative costs related to the purposes of this 
Act.
                                 <all>