[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 59 (Tuesday, May 12, 1998)]
[House]
[Pages H3032-H3033]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
GRANITE WATERSHED ENHANCEMENT AND PROTECTION ACT OF 1998
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 2886) to provide for a demonstration project in the
Stanislaus National Forest, California, under which a private
contractor will perform multiple resource management activities for
that unit of the National Forest system, as amended.
The Clerk read as follows:
H.R. 2886
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 ``Granite Watershed
Enhancement and Protection Act of 1998''.
SEC. 2. DEMONSTRATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PROJECT, STANISLAUS
NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA, TO ENHANCE AND
PROTECT THE GRANITE WATERSHED.
(a) Resource Management Contract Authorized.--The Secretary
of Agriculture may enter into a contract with a single
private contractor to perform multiple resource management
activities on Federal lands within the Stanislaus National
Forest in the State of California for the purpose of
demonstrating enhanced ecosystem health and water quality,
and significantly reducing the risk of catastrophic wildfire,
in the Granite watershed at a reduced cost to the Government.
The contract shall be for a term of five years.
(b) Authorized Management Activities.--The types of
resource management activities performed under the contract
shall include the following:
(1) Reduction of forest fuel loads through the use of
precommercial and commercial thinning and prescribed burns.
(2) Monitoring of ecosystem health and water quality in the
Granite watershed.
(3) Monitoring of the presence of wildlife in the area in
which management activities are performed and the effect of
the activities on wildlife presence.
(4) Such other resource management activities as the
Secretary considers appropriate to demonstrate enhanced
ecosystem health and water quality in the Granite watershed.
(c) Compliance With Federal Law and Spotted Owl
Guidelines.--All resource management activities performed
under the contract shall be performed in a manner consistent
with applicable Federal law and the standards and guidelines
for the conservation of the California spotted owl (as set
forth in the California Spotted Owl Sierran Province Interim
Guidelines or the subsequently issued final guidelines,
whichever is in effect).
(d) Funding.--
(1) Sources of funds.--To provide funds for the resource
management activities to be performed under the contract, the
Secretary may use--
(A) funds appropriated to carry out this section;
(B) funds specifically provided to the Forest Service to
implement projects to demonstrate enhanced water quality and
protect aquatic and upland resources;
(C) excess funds that are allocated for the administration
and management of the Stanislaus National Forest, California;
(D) hazardous fuels reduction funds allocated for Region 5
of the Forest Service; and
(E) a contract provision allowing the cost of performing
authorized management activities described in subsection (b)
to be offset by the values owed to the United States for any
forest products removed by the contractor.
(2) Prohibition on use of certain funds.--Except as
provided in paragraph (1), the Secretary may not carry out
the contract using funds appropriated for any other unit of
the National Forest System.
(3) Conditions on funds transfers.--Any transfer of funds
under paragraph (1) may be made only in accordance with the
procedures concerning notice to, and review by, the Committee
on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Appropriations of the Senate that are applied by
the Secretary in the case of a transfer of funds between
appropriations.
(e) Acceptance and Use of State Funds.--The Secretary may
accept and use funds provided by the State of California to
assist in the implementation of the contract under this
section.
(f) Reporting Requirements.--Not later than February 28 of
each year during the term of the contract, the Secretary
shall submit to Congress a report describing--
(1) the resource management activities performed under the
contract during the period covered by the report;
(2) the source and amount of funds used under subsection
(d) to carry out the contract; and
(3) the resource management activities to be performed
under the contract during the calendar year in which the
report is submitted.
(g) Relationship to Other Laws.--Nothing in this section
exempts the contract, or resource management activities to be
performed under the contract, from any Federal environmental
law.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth) and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth).
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mrs. CHENOWETH asked and was given permission to revise and extend
her remarks.)
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, the Granite Watershed Enhancement and
Protection Act is an excellent bill that will enable the Forest Service
to accomplish multiple resource objectives aimed at reducing fire risk
and improving water quality under a single contract. H.R. 2886 provides
for a pilot project on approximately 8,000 acres of National Forest
land located in and around the 1993 Granite Burn on the Groveland
District of the Stanislaus National Forest.
Major meadow restoration, thinning, fuels reductions and road
maintenance work is needed in order to improve watershed and runoff
conditions for this river canyon. Current law does not allow the Forest
Service to offer such a multiple services contract. The legislation
provides the necessary authority, and specifies that the project will
be subject to all applicable environmental rules and standards.
Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague, the gentleman from California
(Mr. Doolittle), for his work on this bill. He has done an admirable
job in moving the bill forward with the support of the administration.
The legislation reported by the Committee on Resources includes
language requested by the administration to clarify the contracting
authority, and it addresses concerns that were raised by the
environmental community in the district of the gentleman from
California (Mr. Doolittle). The meadow restoration, the thinning, the
fuels reduction and road maintenance work authorized by the bill will
greatly improve the conditions of the Granite watershed.
Now, 25 years after the Granite fire, I urge my colleagues to give
their support to H.R. 2886, so that this much-needed work can finally
be done.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
(Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Idaho
(Mrs. Chenoweth) for her management of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this bill which is sponsored by my
good
[[Page H3033]]
friend, the gentleman from California (Mr. Doolittle). The Forest
Service has requested the contracting authority set forth in this
legislation in order to more efficiently manage a restoration project
on 8,000 acres of land in the Granite Creek watershed of the Stanislaus
National Forest in California.
The details of the restoration work to be conducted pursuant to the
contract authorized by this bill will be determined after a public
process in compliance with NEPA. It is our understanding that the
Forest Service is contemplating restoration activities such as
thinning, controlled burning and road decommissioning in order to
improve forest conditions and water quality in the Granite watershed.
The legislation also provides that funds from the State of
California, including CALFED funds, may also be used by the Forest
Service to support these restoration activities in a watershed which is
part of the Bay-Delta system.
Mr. Speaker, it is important to recognize that this bill provides for
consolidated contract authority which is limited to the specific test
projects in California, but we on the minority side of the aisle are
not prepared to conclude that such authority is necessary or desirable
on a nationwide basis. It remains to be seen whether a single contract
will result in more efficient and effective restoration work, and we
would anticipate continued oversight concerning implementation of this,
should it be enacted into law.
The Forest Service has testified before the Committee on Resources in
support of consolidated contracting authority for the Granite Creek
project. They are satisfied with the bill's text as reported by the
committee.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance my time.
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from
California (Mr. Doolittle).
(Mr. DOOLITTLE asked and was given permission to revise and extend
his remarks.)
Mr. DOOLITTLE. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs.
Chenoweth), our chairman, and the gentleman from American Samoa (Mr.
Faleomavaega) for their kind remarks.
Mr. Speaker, this legislation, as has been indicated, will allow the
Forest Service to develop a resource management contract that evaluates
the landscape as a whole rather than, as is present practice, in
individual pieces, by streamlining the government contracting process
and reducing staff time spent developing a project, thereby saving
taxpayer dollars.
H.R. 2886 will provide the Forest Service with new innovative
contracting authority for the purpose of developing a comprehensive
land management contract for the Granite area. Conceptually, the
proposed project seeks to combine management activities, like forest
thinning, with road maintenance, wildlife monitoring, and repair and
maintenance, to improve erosion and runoff conditions.
This bill would allow the Forest Service to use the revenue generated
from the sale of commercial timber to offset the cost of conducting
nonrevenue producing watershed improvement work.
Existing Federal contracting authority prohibits the Forest Service
from offering a contract that bundles multiple resource activities
under one umbrella. While a combination of forest thinning and repair
and restoration work might be needed in an area to improve forest
health conditions, existing law requires the Forest Service to offer
separate contracts for this type of work.
These limitations often result in tremendous duplication of effort by
staff, unnecessary paperwork and higher preparation costs at the
expense of the taxpayer. In the end, the result is an overly
bureaucratic process that prevents the Forest Service from developing a
project that evaluates the landscape as a whole. This bill alters this
dynamic by allowing the Forest Service the opportunity to accomplish a
greater amount of resource work by simply streamlining the contracting
process.
H.R. 2886 looks to meet both environmental and commercial needs by
using a stewardship approach to managing our Federal lands and
watersheds. By allowing the Forest Service to implement a project that
saves taxpayer dollars, reduces the risks of catastrophic wildfire and
improves the quality of water flowing through our forest streams, this
project will serve as a learning model of how to coordinate and gain
efficiency in multipurpose restoration of forested watersheds.
Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan legislation passed unanimously out of
the Committee on Resources, and, as was indicated, it is supported by
the administration.
H.R. 2886 includes language that clarifies stewardship contracting
authorities of the Forest Service and addresses concerns raised by the
environmental community. I would ask for the support of my colleagues,
and urge them to pass this legislation today.
Mr. FALEOMAVAEGA. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, again I commend the gentleman from California (Mr.
Doolittle) for his sponsorship of this legislation. I also want to
commend the gentleman from California for his pronunciation of my
district. It is not ``Somalia,'' it is not ``Sam-o-a,'' it is ``Sa-
moa.'' I really appreciate that.
Again, I thank the gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth) for her
management of this legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back
the balance of my time.
Mrs. CHENOWETH. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from Idaho (Mrs. Chenoweth) that the House suspend the
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 2886, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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