[Congressional Bills 112th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 2973 Introduced in House (IH)]

112th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 2973

  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to extend an exemption from 
 certain requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to protect 
                       public health and safety.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 20, 2011

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

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To direct the Secretary of the Interior to extend an exemption from 
 certain requirements of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to protect 
                       public health and safety.

    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 ``Protecting Public Safety and Sacred 
Sites from the Utah Prairie Dog Act of 2011''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds that--
            (1) habitation by the Utah prairie dog within the 
        boundaries of the Parowan City Airport in Parowan, Utah, 
        constitutes a serious threat to human health and safety;
            (2) the Utah prairie dog burrows beneath the surface of the 
        airport runways, causing sink holes to occur on the Parowan 
        Airport landing strip;
            (3) airport managers have expressed concern over the 
        possibility of an airplane wheel getting caught in holes caused 
        by Utah prairie dog burrows, at landing or during take-off, 
        which may cause an accident;
            (4) there is also serious concern that the burrows could 
        cause the asphalt on the airport runways to collapse under the 
        weight of stationary airplanes;
            (5) the Federal Aviation Administration has required a 
        37.5-foot safety zone to extend on each side of the Parowan 
        Airport runway;
            (6) airport managers and officials from the Utah Department 
        of Wildlife Resources have determined that Utah prairie dogs 
        create a serious hazard by their presence and activities in the 
        safety zone and runway at Parowan Airport;
            (7) Utah prairie dogs have been burrowing near and 
        interfering with airport runway lighting;
            (8) the habitation of the Utah prairie dog within the 
        boundaries of the cemetery in Paragonah, Utah, constitutes a 
        serious threat to an area of cultural sanctity and to public 
        health;
            (9) the Utah prairie dog burrows under and around 
        gravestones in the cemetery, causing significant damage to 
        property and heartache to grieving visitors;
            (10) it has also been discovered that Utah prairie dogs 
        have burrowed into coffins of the deceased within the cemetery, 
        disturbing human remains;
            (11) the disruption of funeral services and the emotional 
        distress of cemetery visitors caused by Utah prairie dogs at 
        the cemetery destroy the sanctity of the cemetery;
            (12) efforts are being made to prevent the Utah prairie dog 
        from gaining access to the Parowan City Airport;
            (13) a fence has been constructed around the Paragonah 
        cemetery and has failed to prevent Utah prairie dogs from 
        gaining access to the cemetery; and
            (14) Congress should provide for an exemption to permit 
        takings under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 
        1531 et seq.) as a last resort in situations in which the 
        presence of a threatened or endangered species constitutes a 
        grave public health or safety risk or disturbs the sanctity of 
        a burial site.

SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Practicable measures.--The term ``practicable 
        measures'' means, with respect to the Utah prairie dog--
                    (A) the construction of fences around areas in 
                which there is a public safety concern posed by the 
                presence of the Utah prairie dog; and
                    (B) translocation of Utah prairie dogs using 
                established methods used by--
                            (i) the United States Fish and Wildlife 
                        Service; or
                            (ii) the Utah Division of Wildlife 
                        Resources.
            (2) Satisfaction of the secretary.--The term ``satisfaction 
        of the Secretary'' means, with respect to a determination made 
        by the Secretary, that the determination is made taking into 
        consideration the expert opinions of biologists and project 
        managers of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service 
        typically used in the making of such a determination.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF EXEMPTION.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law (including regulations), 
the Secretary of the Interior shall amend the special rule of the 
Secretary contained in section 17.40(g) of title 50, Code of Federal 
Regulations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act), as 
necessary to permit the taking of the Utah prairie dog under the 
Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to include such 
a taking in any airport or cemetery in the range of the Utah prairie 
dog in which, as demonstrated by a State to the satisfaction of the 
Secretary--
            (1) the entry or existence of the Utah prairie dog will 
        cause or has caused a threat to public health and safety or to 
        the sanctity of a burial site; and
            (2) all practicable measures to eliminate that threat have 
        been carried out without success.
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