[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 123 (Wednesday, September 27, 2006)]
[House]
[Pages H7657-H7659]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
RIO GRANDE NATURAL AREA ACT
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
Senate bill (S. 56) to establish the Rio Grande Natural Area in the
State of Colorado, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read as follows:
S. 56
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 ``Rio Grande Natural Area
Act''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Commission.--The term ``Commission'' means the Rio
Grande Natural Area Commission established by section 4(a).
(2) Natural Area.--The term ``Natural Area'' means the Rio
Grande Natural Area established by section 3(a).
(3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF RIO GRANDE NATURAL AREA.
(a) In General.--There is established the Rio Grande
Natural Area in the State of Colorado to conserve, restore,
and protect the natural, historic, cultural, scientific,
scenic, wildlife, and recreational resources of the Natural
Area.
(b) Boundaries.--The Natural Area shall include the Rio
Grande River from the southern boundary of the Alamosa
National Wildlife Refuge to the New Mexico State border,
extending \1/4\ mile on either side of the bank of the River.
(c) Map and Legal Description.--
(1) In general.--As soon as practicable after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall prepare a map and
legal description of the Natural Area.
(2) Effect.--The map and legal description of the Natural
Area shall have the same force and effect as if included in
this Act, except that the Secretary may correct any minor
errors in the map and legal description.
(3) Public availability.--The map and legal description of
the Natural Area shall be available for public inspection in
the appropriate offices of the Bureau of Land Management.
SEC. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Rio Grande
Natural Area Commission.
(b) Purpose.--The Commission shall--
(1) advise the Secretary with respect to the Natural Area;
and
(2) prepare a management plan relating to non-Federal land
in the Natural Area under section 6(b)(2)(A).
(c) Membership.--The Commission shall be composed of 9
members appointed by the Secretary, of whom--
(1) 1 member shall represent the Colorado State Director of
the Bureau of Land Management;
(2) 1 member shall be the manager of the Alamosa National
Wildlife Refuge, ex officio;
(3) 3 members shall be appointed based on the
recommendation of the Governor of Colorado, of whom--
(A) 1 member shall represent the Colorado Division of
Wildlife;
(B) 1 member shall represent the Colorado Division of Water
Resources; and
(C) 1 member shall represent the Rio Grande Water
Conservation District; and
(4) 4 members shall--
(A) represent the general public;
(B) be citizens of the local region in which the Natural
Area is established; and
(C) have knowledge and experience in the fields of interest
relating to the preservation, restoration, and use of the
Natural Area.
(d) Terms of Office.--
(1) In general.--Except for the manager of the Alamosa
National Wildlife Refuge, the term of office of a member of
the Commission shall be 5 years.
(2) Reappointment.--A member may be reappointed to the
Commission on completion of the term of office of the member.
(e) Compensation.--A member of the Commission shall serve
without compensation for service on the Commission.
(f) Chairperson.--The Commission shall elect a chairperson
of the Commission.
(g) Meetings.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall meet at least
quarterly at the call of the chairperson.
(2) Public meetings.--A meeting of the Commission shall be
open to the public.
(3) Notice.--Notice of any meeting of the Commission shall
be published in advance of the meeting.
(h) Technical Assistance.--The Secretary and the heads of
other Federal agencies shall, to the maximum extent
practicable, provide any information and technical services
requested by the Commission to assist in carrying out the
duties of the Commission.
SEC. 5. POWERS OF THE COMMISSION.
(a) Hearings.--The Commission may hold such hearings, meet
and act at such times and places, take such testimony, and
receive such evidence as the Commission considers advisable
to carry out this Act.
(b) Cooperative Agreements.--
(1) In general.--For purposes of carrying out the
management plan on non-Federal land in the Natural Area, the
Commission may enter into a cooperative agreement with the
State of Colorado, a political subdivision of the State, or
any person.
(2) Requirements.--A cooperative agreement entered into
under paragraph (1) shall establish procedures for providing
notice to the Commission of any action proposed by
[[Page H7658]]
the State of Colorado, a political subdivision of the State,
or any person that may affect the implementation of the
management plan on non-Federal land in the Natural Area.
(3) Effect.--A cooperative agreement entered into under
paragraph (1) shall not enlarge or diminish any right or duty
of a Federal agency under Federal law.
(c) Prohibition of Acquisition of Real Property.--The
Commission may not acquire any real property or interest in
real property.
(d) Implementation of Management Plan.--
(1) In general.--The Commission shall assist the Secretary
in implementing the management plan by carrying out the
activities described in paragraph (2) to preserve and
interpret the natural, historic, cultural, scientific,
scenic, wildlife, and recreational resources of the Natural
Area.
(2) Authorized activities.--In assisting with the
implementation of the management plan under paragraph (1),
the Commission may--
(A) assist the State of Colorado in preserving State land
and wildlife within the Natural Area;
(B) assist the State of Colorado and political subdivisions
of the State in increasing public awareness of, and
appreciation for, the natural, historic, scientific, scenic,
wildlife, and recreational resources in the Natural Area;
(C) encourage political subdivisions of the State of
Colorado to adopt and implement land use policies that are
consistent with--
(i) the management of the Natural Area; and
(ii) the management plan; and
(D) encourage and assist private landowners in the Natural
Area in the implementation of the management plan.
SEC. 6. MANAGEMENT PLAN.
(a) In General.--Not later than 4 years after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Commission, in
coordination with appropriate agencies in the State of
Colorado, political subdivisions of the State, and private
landowners in the Natural Area, shall prepare management
plans for the Natural Area as provided in subsection (b).
(b) Duties of Secretary and Commission.--
(1) Secretary.--The Secretary shall prepare a management
plan relating to the management of Federal land in the
Natural Area.
(2) Commission.--
(A) In general.--The Commission shall prepare a management
plan relating to the management of the non-Federal land in
the Natural Area.
(B) Approval or disapproval.--
(i) In general.--The Commission shall submit to the
Secretary the management plan prepared under subparagraph (A)
for approval or disapproval.
(ii) Action following disapproval.--If the Secretary
disapproves the management plan submitted under clause (i),
the Secretary shall--
(I) notify the Commission of the reasons for the
disapproval; and
(II) allow the Commission to submit to the Secretary
revisions to the management plan submitted under clause (i).
(3) Cooperation.--The Secretary and the Commission shall
cooperate to ensure that the management plans relating to the
management of Federal land and non-Federal land are
consistent.
(c) Requirements.--The management plans shall--
(1) take into consideration Federal, State, and local plans
in existence on the date of enactment of this Act to present
a unified preservation, restoration, and conservation plan
for the Natural Area;
(2) with respect to Federal land in the Natural Area--
(A) be developed in accordance with section 202 of the
Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C.
1712);
(B) be consistent, to the maximum extent practicable, with
the management plans adopted by the Director of the Bureau of
Land Management for land adjacent to the Natural Area; and
(C) be considered to be an amendment to the San Luis
Resource Management Plan of the Bureau of Land Management;
and
(3) include--
(A) an inventory of the resources contained in the Natural
Area (including a list of property in the Natural Area that
should be preserved, restored, managed, developed,
maintained, or acquired to further the purposes of the
Natural Area); and
(B) a recommendation of policies for resource management,
including the use of intergovernmental cooperative
agreements, that--
(i) protect the resources of the Natural Area; and
(ii) provide for solitude, quiet use, and pristine natural
values of the Natural Area.
(d) Publication.--The Secretary shall publish notice of the
management plans in the Federal Register.
SEC. 7. ADMINISTRATION OF NATURAL AREA.
(a) In General.--The Secretary shall administer the Federal
land in the Natural Area--
(1) in accordance with--
(A) the laws (including regulations) applicable to public
land; and
(B) the management plan; and
(2) in a manner that provides for--
(A) the conservation, restoration, and protection of the
natural, historic, scientific, scenic, wildlife, and
recreational resources of the Natural Area;
(B) the continued use of the Natural Area for purposes of
education, scientific study, and limited public recreation in
a manner that does not substantially impair the purposes for
which the Natural Area is established;
(C) the protection of the wildlife habitat of the Natural
Area;
(D) a prohibition on the construction of water storage
facilities in the Natural Area; and
(E) the reduction in the use of or removal of roads in the
Natural Area and, to the maximum extent practicable, the
reduction in or prohibition against the use of motorized
vehicles in the Natural Area (including the removal of roads
and a prohibition against motorized use on Federal land in
the area on the western side of the Rio Grande River from
Lobatos Bridge south to the New Mexico State line).
(b) Changes in Streamflow.--The Secretary is encouraged to
negotiate with the State of Colorado, the Rio Grande Water
Conservation District, and affected water users in the State
to determine if changes in the streamflow that are beneficial
to the Natural Area may be accommodated.
(c) Private Land.--The management plan prepared under
section 6(b)(2)(A) shall apply to private land in the Natural
Area only to the extent that the private landowner agrees in
writing to be bound by the management plan.
(d) Withdrawal.--Subject to valid existing rights, all
Federal land in the Natural Area is withdrawn from--
(1) all forms of entry, appropriation, or disposal under
the public land laws;
(2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
(3) disposition under the mineral leasing laws (including
geothermal leasing laws).
(e) Acquisition of Land.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary may acquire from willing
sellers by purchase, exchange, or donation land or an
interest in land in the Natural Area.
(2) Administration.--Any land or interest in land acquired
under paragraph (1) shall be administered in accordance with
the management plan and this Act.
(f) Applicable Law.--Section 5(d)(1) of the Wild and Scenic
Rivers Act (16 U.S.C. 1276(d)(1)) shall not apply to the
Natural Area.
SEC. 8. EFFECT.
Nothing in this Act--
(1) amends, modifies, or is in conflict with the Rio Grande
Compact, consented to by Congress in the Act of May 31, 1939
(53 Stat. 785, ch. 155);
(2) authorizes the regulation of private land in the
Natural Area;
(3) authorizes the imposition of any mandatory streamflow
requirements;
(4) creates an express or implied Federal reserved water
right;
(5) imposes any Federal water quality standard within or
upstream of the Natural Area that is more restrictive than
would be applicable had the Natural Area not been
established; or
(6) prevents the State of Colorado from acquiring an
instream flow through the Natural Area under the terms,
conditions, and limitations of State law to assist in
protecting the natural environment to the extent and for the
purposes authorized by State law.
SEC. 9. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated such sums as are
necessary to carry out this Act.
SEC. 10. TERMINATION OF COMMISSION.
The Commission shall terminate on the date that is 10 years
after the date of enactment of this Act.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Texas (Mr. Gohmert) and the gentleman from Wisconsin (Mr. Kind) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Texas.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
S. 56 would restore and protect the riparian zone of the Rio Grande
River in southern Colorado without creating a management structure that
would conflict with long-standing water uses and agricultural uses in
the San Luis Valley. Federal, State and community groups, as well as
private property owners, have worked collaboratively to develop a
proposal for a Federal designation that protects the resources of
concern, property rights and existing uses. S. 56 will establish a 33-
mile natural area along the river consistent with these goals.
I urge the passage of this bill.
Madam Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. KIND. Madam Speaker, I, too, support passage of this legislation
and encourage its adoption this evening, and I yield back the remainder
of our time.
Mr. GOHMERT. Madam Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
[[Page H7659]]
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Texas (Mr. Gohmert) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the Senate bill, S. 56.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor
thereof) the rules were suspended and the Senate bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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