[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2907 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 2907

To establish a coordinated avalanche protection program, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                           December 18, 2009

  Ms. Murkowski (for herself, Mr. Begich, and Mr. Udall of Colorado) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
               Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To establish a coordinated avalanche protection program, 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 ``Federal Land Avalanche Protection 
Act of 2009''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Program.--The term ``program'' means the avalanche 
        protection program established under section 3(a).
            (2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of Agriculture.

SEC. 3. AVALANCHE PROTECTION PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary, acting through the Chief of the 
Forest Service, shall establish a coordinated avalanche protection 
program to--
            (1) identify the potential for avalanches on Federal lands 
        and inform the public, including users of those lands and other 
        potentially affected parties, about the probability of such 
        avalanches and their potential adverse effects on neighboring 
        communities and on transportation and utility corridors;
            (2) carry out ongoing research regarding the causes of 
        avalanche development, so as to improve forecasting of 
        avalanche events; and
            (3) reduce the risks of avalanches on Federal lands and 
        mitigate their effects on users of those lands, neighboring 
        communities, and transportation and utility corridors.
    (b) Coordination.--
            (1) In general.--In developing and implementing the 
        program, the Secretary shall consult with the Secretary of the 
        Interior, and coordinate the program to ensure adequate levels 
        of protection for recreational users of public land under the 
        jurisdiction of such Secretary.
            (2) Resources.--In carrying out this section, the 
        Secretary--
                    (A) shall, to the maximum extent practicable, use 
                the resources of the National Avalanche Center of the 
                Forest Service; and
                    (B) may use such other resources as the Secretary 
                has available in the development and implementation of 
                the program.
    (c) Advisory Committee.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary shall establish an advisory 
        committee of 15 members, appointed by the Secretary, to assist 
        in the development and implementation of the program.
            (2) Membership.--The membership of the advisory committee 
        established pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include 
        representatives of--
                    (A) Federal land management agencies and 
                concessionaires or permittees that are exposed to the 
                threat of avalanches;
                    (B) State departments of transportation that have 
                experience in dealing with the effects of avalanches;
                    (C) the Alaska railroad;
                    (D) the United States Geological Survey;
                    (E) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
                Administration;
                    (F) the National Weather Service;
                    (G) entities with interest in the program that the 
                Secretary considers appropriate for representation on 
                the board;
                    (H) authorized users of artillery, other military 
                weapons, or weapons alternatives used for avalanche 
                control; and
                    (I) such other members as the Secretary considers 
                appropriate.
    (d) Central Depository.--The Secretary, the Secretary of 
Transportation, and the Secretary of the Army shall establish a central 
depository for weapons, ammunition, and parts for avalanche control 
purposes, including an inventory that can be made available to Federal 
and non-Federal entities for avalanche control purposes under the 
program.
    (e) Grants.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may make grants to carry out 
        projects and activities under the program--
                    (A) to assist in the prevention, forecasting, 
                detection, and mitigation of avalanches for the safety 
                and protection of persons, property, and at-risk 
                communities;
                    (B) to maintain essential transportation, 
                utilities, and communications affected or potentially 
                affected by avalanches;
                    (C) to assist avalanche artillery users to ensure 
                the availability of adequate supplies of artillery and 
                other unique explosives required for avalanche control 
                in or affecting--
                            (i) Federal land used for recreation 
                        purposes; and
                            (ii) adjacent communities, and essential 
                        transportation corridors, that are at risk of 
                        avalanches; and
                    (D) to assist public or private persons and 
                entities in public education regarding avalanches and 
                in conducting research and development activities for 
                cost-effective and reliable alternatives to minimize 
                reliance on military weapons for avalanche control.
            (2) Priority.--For each fiscal year for which funds are 
        made available under section 4, the Secretary shall give 
        priority to projects and activities carried out in avalanche 
        zones--
                    (A) with a high frequency or severity of 
                avalanches; or
                    (B) in which deaths or serious injuries to 
                individuals, or loss or damage to public facilities and 
                communities, have occurred or are likely to occur.
    (f) Surplus Ordinance.--Section 549(c)(3) of title 40, United 
States Code, is amended--
            (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ``or'' after the 
        semicolon at the end;
            (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period at the end 
        and inserting ``; or''; and
            (3) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(C) in the case of surplus artillery ordinance 
                that is suitable for avalanche control purposes, to a 
                user of such ordinance.''.

SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
$4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 2014.

SEC. 5. LIMITATION.

    Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require use of artillery 
or any other avalanche-related actions affecting any unit of the 
National Park System or any other Federal lands or to limit the 
applicability of any Federal law or regulation with respect to any such 
actions on such lands.
                                 <all>