[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Pages S6127-S6128]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SA 1027. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to
amendment SA 948 proposed by Mr. Shelby to the bill H.R. 3055, making
appropriations for the Departments of Commerce and Justice, Science,
and Related Agencies for the fiscal year
[[Page S6128]]
ending September 30, 2020, and for other purposes; which was ordered to
lie on the table; as follows:
At the appropriate place in title IV of division C, insert
the following:
SEC. __. FOREST SERVICE LEGACY ROADS AND TRAILS REMEDIATION
PROGRAM.
Public Law 88-657 (16 U.S.C. 532 et seq.) (commonly known
as the ``Forest Roads and Trails Act'') is amended by adding
at the end the following:
``SEC. 8. FOREST SERVICE LEGACY ROADS AND TRAILS REMEDIATION
PROGRAM.
``(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date
of enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting through
the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish, and develop
a national strategy to carry out, a program, to be known as
the `Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation
Program', within the National Forest System (as defined in
section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources
Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a)))--
``(1) to carry out critical maintenance and urgent repairs
and improvements on National Forest System roads, trails, and
bridges;
``(2) to restore fish and other aquatic organism passages
by removing or replacing unnatural barriers to the passage of
fish and other aquatic organisms;
``(3) to decommission unneeded roads and trails; and
``(4) to carry out activities associated with the
activities described in paragraphs (1) through (3).
``(b) Priority.--In implementing the program under this
section, the Secretary shall give priority to any project
that protects or restores--
``(1) water quality;
``(2) a watershed that feeds a public drinking water
system; or
``(3) habitat for threatened, endangered, or sensitive fish
or wildlife species.
``(c) National Forest System.--Except as authorized under
section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related
Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1011a), each
project carried out under this section shall be on a National
Forest System road or trail.
``SEC. 9. ROAD SYSTEM ANALYSIS.
``(a) Definition of Decommission.--In this section, the
term `decommission' means, with respect to a road--
``(1) to restore, through active or passive means, natural
drainage, watershed function, or other ecological conditions
and processes that are disrupted or adversely impacted by the
road; and
``(2) to remove the road from the transportation system.
``(b) Identification of Minimum Road System.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date of
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall identify for
each unit of the National Forest System (as defined in
section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources
Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))) the minimum road
system necessary for--
``(A) safe and efficient travel within the National Forest
System; and
``(B) the administration, use, and protection of the
National Forest System.
``(2) Requirements.--Each minimum road system identified
under paragraph (1) for a unit of the National Forest System
shall--
``(A) meet the resource and other management objectives
adopted in the land and resource management plan applicable
to the unit;
``(B) meet all applicable statutory and regulatory
requirements;
``(C) be in accordance with long-term funding expectations;
and
``(D) minimize any adverse environmental impacts associated
with the construction, reconstruction, decommissioning, and
maintenance of the minimum road system.
``(c) Contents.--In identifying minimum road systems under
subsection (b)(1), the Secretary shall--
``(1) incorporate a science-based roads analysis at the
appropriate scale;
``(2) incorporate a long-term fiscal analysis that includes
an assessment of maintenance costs;
``(3) identify as unneeded any roads that--
``(A) are no longer necessary to meet forest resource
management objectives; and
``(B) may be decommissioned or considered for trails; and
``(4) consult with--
``(A) appropriate State, Tribal, and local governmental
entities; and
``(B) members of the public.
``(d) Unneeded Roads.--
``(1) In general.--The Secretary shall decommission any
roads identified as unneeded under subsection (c)(3) as soon
as practicable after making the identification under that
subsection.
``(2) Priority.--In decommissioning unneeded roads under
paragraph (1), the Secretary shall prioritize the
decommissioning of roads that pose the greatest risk--
``(A) to public safety; or
``(B) of environmental degradation.
``(e) Records.--The Secretary shall regularly update the
Infra database of the Secretary to record--
``(1) each road identified as unneeded under subsection
(c)(3); and
``(2) each road decommissioned under subsection (d)(1).
``(f) Revision.--The Secretary shall review, and may
revise, an identification made under subsection (b)(1) for a
unit of the National Forest System during a revision of the
land and resource management plan applicable to the unit.''.
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