[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1497 Introduced in Senate (IS)]








109th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1497

  To require the Secretary of the Interior to provide incidental take 
permits to public electric utilities that adopt avian protection plans.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 26, 2005

 Ms. Murkowski (for herself and Mr. Stevens) introduced the following 
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Environment 
                            and Public Works

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To require the Secretary of the Interior to provide incidental take 
permits to public electric utilities that adopt avian protection plans.

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

SECTION 1. INCIDENTAL TAKE PERMITS FOR PUBLIC ELECTRIC UTILITIES WITH 
              AVIAN PROTECTION PLANS.

    (a) In General.--Notwithstanding the Act of June 8, 1940 (16 U.S.C. 
668 et seq.) (commonly known as the ``Bald and Golden Eagle Protection 
Act'') and the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 703 et seq.), the 
Secretary of the Interior shall provide an incidental take permit to a 
public electric utility that has adopted an avian protection plan, if 
the Secretary determines that the public utility has included in the 
plan specific measures to mitigate hazards to eagles and other 
migratory birds.
    (b) Penalties.--Any public utility that receives an incidental take 
permit under this section (including an officer, director, or employee 
of the public utility) shall not be subject to criminal or civil 
penalty under an Act referred to in subsection (a) for the incidental 
death by electrocution of a bird described in subsection (a)(1) by a 
power line of the public utility during the period the permit is in 
effect.
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