[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 139 (Wednesday, August 4, 2021)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5863-S5864]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

  SA 2517. Mr. LEE submitted an amendment intended to be proposed to 
amendment SA 2137 proposed by Mr. Schumer (for Ms. Sinema (for herself, 
Mr. Portman, Mr. Manchin, Mr. Cassidy, Mrs. Shaheen, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
Tester, Ms. Murkowski, Mr. Warner, and Mr. Romney)) to the bill H.R. 
3684, to authorize funds for Federal-aid highways, highway safety 
programs, and transit programs, and for other purposes; which was 
ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

        Strike section 40801 of division D and insert the 
     following:

     SEC. 40801. FOREST SERVICE LEGACY ROAD AND TRAIL REMEDIATION 
                   PROGRAM.

       (a) Establishment.--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 ROAD AND TRAIL REMEDIATION 
                   PROGRAM.

       ``(a) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish the 
     Forest Service Legacy Road and Trail Remediation Program 
     (referred to in this section as the `Program').
       ``(b) Activities.--In carrying out the Program, the 
     Secretary shall, taking into account foreseeable changes in 
     weather and hydrology--
       ``(1) restore passages for fish and other aquatic species 
     by--
       ``(A) improving, repairing, or replacing culverts and other 
     infrastructure; and
       ``(B) removing barriers, as the Secretary determines 
     appropriate, from the passages;
       ``(2) prepare previously closed National Forest System 
     roads for long-term storage, in accordance with subsections 
     (c)(1) and (d), in a manner that--
       ``(A) prevents motor vehicle use, as appropriate to conform 
     to route designations;
       ``(B) prevents the roads from damaging adjacent resources, 
     including aquatic and wildlife resources;
       ``(C) reduces or eliminates the need for road maintenance; 
     and
       ``(D) preserves the roads for future use;
       ``(3) decommission previously closed National Forest System 
     roads and trails in accordance with subsections (c)(1) and 
     (d);
       ``(4) relocate National Forest System roads and trails--
       ``(A) to increase resilience to extreme weather events, 
     flooding, and other natural disasters; and
       ``(B) to respond to changing resource conditions and public 
     input;
       ``(5) convert National Forest System roads to National 
     Forest System trails, while allowing for continued use for 
     motorized and nonmotorized recreation, to the extent the use 
     is compatible with the management status of the road or 
     trail;
       ``(6) decommission temporary roads--
       ``(A) that were constructed before the date of enactment of 
     this section--
       ``(i) for emergency operations; or
       ``(ii) to facilitate a resource extraction project;
       ``(B) that were designated as a temporary road by the 
     Secretary; and
       ``(C)(i) in violation of section 10(b) of the Forest and 
     Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 
     1608(b)), on which vegetation cover has not been 
     reestablished; or
       ``(ii) that have not been fully decommissioned; and
       ``(7) carry out projects on National Forest System roads, 
     trails, and bridges to improve resilience to extreme weather 
     events, flooding, or other natural disasters.
       ``(c) Project Selection.--
       ``(1) Project eligibility.--
       ``(A) In general.--The Secretary may only fund under the 
     Program a project described in paragraph (2) or (3) of 
     subsection (b) if the Secretary previously and separately--
       ``(i) solicited public comment for changing the management 
     status of the applicable National Forest System road or 
     trail--

       ``(I) to close the road or trail to access; and
       ``(II) to minimize impacts to natural resources; and

       ``(ii) has closed the road or trail to access as described 
     in clause (i)(I).
       ``(B) Requirement.--Each project carried out under the 
     Program shall be on a National Forest System road or trail, 
     except with respect to a project carried out on a watershed 
     for which the Secretary has entered into a cooperative 
     agreement under section 323 of the Department of the Interior 
     and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 
     1011a).
       ``(2) Annual selection of projects for funding.--The 
     Secretary shall--
       ``(A) establish a process for annually selecting projects 
     for funding under the Program, consistent with the 
     requirements of this section;
       ``(B) solicit and consider public input regionally in the 
     ranking of projects for funding under the Program;
       ``(C) give priority for funding under the Program to 
     projects that would--
       ``(i) protect or improve water quality in public drinking 
     water source areas;
       ``(ii) restore the habitat of a threatened, endangered, or 
     sensitive fish or wildlife species; or
       ``(iii) maintain future access to the adjacent area for the 
     public, contractors, permittees, or firefighters; and
       ``(D) publish on the website of the Forest Service--
       ``(i) the selection process established under subparagraph 
     (A); and
       ``(ii) a list that includes a description and the proposed 
     outcome of each project funded under the Program in each 
     fiscal year.
       ``(d) Implementation.--In implementing the Program, the 
     Secretary shall ensure that--
       ``(1) the system of roads and trails on the applicable unit 
     of the National Forest System--
       ``(A) is adequate to meet any increasing demands for 
     timber, recreation, and other uses;
       ``(B) provides for intensive use, protection, development, 
     and management of the land under principles of multiple use 
     and sustained yield of products and services;
       ``(C) does not damage, degrade, or impair adjacent 
     resources, including aquatic and wildlife resources, to the 
     extent practicable;
       ``(D) reflects long-term funding expectations; and

[[Page S5864]]

       ``(E) is adequate for supporting emergency operations, such 
     as evacuation routes during wildfires, floods, and other 
     natural disasters; and
       ``(2) all projects funded under the Program are consistent 
     with any applicable forest plan or travel management plan.
       ``(e) Savings Clause.--A decision to fund a project under 
     the Program shall not affect any determination made 
     previously or to be made in the future by the Secretary with 
     regard to road or trail closures.''.
       (b) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized 
     to be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture to carry 
     out section 8 of Public Law 88-657 (commonly known as the 
     ``Forest Roads and Trails Act'') $250,000,000 for the period 
     of fiscal years 2022 through 2026.
                                 ______