[Senate Report 113-179]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 406
113th Congress Report
SENATE
2d Session 113-179
======================================================================
STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING REAUTHORIZATION AND IMPROVEMENT
_______
June 2, 2014.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Ms. Landrieu, from the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1300]
The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was
referred the bill (S. 1300) to amend the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for the conduct of
stewardship end result contracting projects, having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon with amendments and
recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass.
The amendments are as follows:
1. On page 2, line 13, strike ``Until September 30, 2023,
the'' and insert ``The''.
2. On page 7, line 2, insert ``and section 2(a)(1) of the
Act of July 31, 1947 (commonly known as the `Materials Act of
1947') (30 U.S.C. 602(a)(1))'' after ``472a)''.
3. On page 7, line 2, insert ``and the Director'' after
``Chief''.
4. On page 11, strike lines 11 through 14 and insert the
following:
(c) Conforming Amendment.--
(1) In general.--Section 347 of the Department of the
Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999
(16 U.S.C. 2104 note; Public Law 105-277) is repealed.
(2) Effect of repeal.--Notwithstanding the amendment
made by paragraph (1), nothing in this Act or an
amendment made by this Act invalidates or otherwise
affects any stewardship contract entered into by the
Chief of the Forest Service or the Director of the
Bureau of Land Management that is in effect on the date
of enactment of this Act.
Purpose
The purpose of S. 1300 is to amend the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for the conduct of
stewardship end result contracting projects.
Background and Need
Stewardship end result contracting is a flexible set of
contracting tools designed to help federal land management
agencies and their partners restore public lands and provide
local community benefits. Congress created a pilot stewardship
contracting program for the Forest Service in the late 1990s.
In the Consolidated Resolution, 2003 (section 323 of Public Law
108-7), Congress significantly expanded stewardship
contracting. Congress extended the authority to both the Forest
Service and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and lifted the
limit on the number of contracts the agencies could enter into
over a 10-year period until September 30, 2013.
Stewardship contracting allows the BLM and the Forest
Service to address the total ecological needs of an area using
any combination of timber sale contracts, agreements,
integrated resource contracts and service contracts. The
agencies can enter into multi-year contracts for up to ten
years and work with communities to design and implement the
project with an added benefit of bringing jobs into the local
community. Furthermore, the agencies can use the value of any
products removed by the restoration or maintenance work to
offset the costs of the work. Stewardship contracting has
become an increasingly important means for the Forest Service
and BLM to undertake complex, long-term projects that seek to
restore ecosystems, reduce fire hazards, strengthen or develop
the infrastructure to utilize restoration byproducts, and
create local economic benefits. S. 1300 would permanently
reauthorize the program for the entire United States, with a
few modifications to the existing program as discussed below.
S. 1300 would permanently reauthorize stewardship
contracting authority for the Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management. S. 1300 would make two principal modifications to
the existing stewardship contracting program. First, the
legislation would allow excess receipts from the stewardship
contract to be used to pay any agency balances on cancellation
ceilings, which would also be authorized to be paid in stages
that are economically or programmatically viable rather than
upfront as is currently required. This change would be
consistent with how the Department of Defense handles
cancellation ceilings for multiyear acquisition contracts.
Second, the bill would modify the fire liability requirements
for stewardship service contracts to match those currently in
place for timber contracts. Timber contracts currently are able
to cap the fire liability assumed by the contractor for fires
caused by operations, assuming no gross negligence, but no such
authority exists for service contracts, which many bidders say
may make contracts uneconomical. S. 1300 also includes a
provision that requires the Chief of the Forest Service and
Director of the Bureau of Land Management to offset any direct
spending using any amounts that may be available for the
applicable fiscal year.
Legislative History
S. 1300 was introduced by Senator Flake, McCain, Crapo,
Risch, and Heller on July 16, 2013. Senators Baucus, Barrasso,
Heinrich, Enzi, Tester, and Udall of New Mexico were
subsequently added as cosponsors. A hearing was held by the
Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining on July 30,
2013 (S. Hrg. 113-85). At its business meeting on December 19,
2013, the measure was reported favorably with amendments.
Similar legislation was also introduced during the 113th
Congress by Senator Reid (section 8204 of S. 10, the
Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs Act of 2013), Senator Udall
of Colorado (S. 816, the Stewardship End Result Contracting
Project Act), Senator Bennet (S. 849, the Permanent Stewardship
Contracting Authority Act of 2013), and Senator Stabenow
(section 8204 of S. 954, the Agriculture Reform, Food, and Jobs
Act of 2013), all of which except S. 816 were referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry. The
Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry reported S.
954 on September 4, 2013 (S. Rept. 113-88).
Similar legislation was subsequently enacted as section
8205 of the Agricultural Act of 2014, Public Law 113-79 (H.R.
2642) on February 7, 2014. That legislation did not include the
cancellation ceiling modifications to stewardship contracting.
Committee Recommendation
The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in
open business session on December 19, 2013, by a voice vote of
a quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 1300, if
amended as described herein.
Committee Amendments
During its consideration of S. 1300, the Committee adopted
four amendments. The first strikes the provision terminating
the program on September 30, 2023. The second and third clarify
that the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, as well as
the Chief of the Forest Service, may enter into stewardship
contracts. The fourth holds harmless any existing stewardship
contracts that remain in effect and were issued pursuant to
previous authority.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1 contains the short title, the ``Stewardship
Contracting Reauthorization and Improvement Act.''
Section 2 amends Title VI of the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591) and inserts a new
section, Section 602, ``Stewardship End Result Contracting
Projects.''
Section 602(a) establishes definitions for the section.
Subsection (b) gives the Chief of the Forest Service and
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management the authority to
enter into stewardship contracts permanently.
Subsection (c) authorizes certain land management goals of
a stewardship contract.
Section 602(d)(1) establishes certain legal perimeters for
stewardship contracts, including the awarding of contracts on a
best-value basis. Paragraph (2) is a change in existing law
which gives the Secretary of Agriculture discretion to consider
stewardship contracts as a contract for the sale of property
under such terms as the Secretary may prescribe without regard
to any other provision of law. Paragraph (3) sets the terms of
stewardship contracts to be no longer than 10 years. Paragraph
(4) authorizes the use of goods for services in stewardship
contracts and establishes methods of appraising the value of
timber of other forest products. Paragraph (5) allows excess
receipts from the stewardship contract to be used to pay any
agency balances on cancellation ceilings, which would also be
authorized to be paid in stages that are economically or
programmatically viable rather than upfront as is currently
required. Paragraph (6) exempts stewardship contracts from
subsections (d) and (g) of section 14 of the National Forest
Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a). Paragraph (7)
authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of
Agriculture to determine the appropriate contracting officer to
enter into stewardship contracts, notwithstanding any other
provision of law. Paragraph (8) requires the Chief of the
Forest Service and the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management, within 90 days of enactment, to issue requirements
that would modify the fire liability requirements for
stewardship contracts to match those currently in place for
timber contracts.
Subsection (e) authorizes the Chief of the Forest Service
and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to collect
monies from stewardship contracts, but the collection is to be
a secondary objective in negotiating a contract.
Subsection (f) authorizes the Chief of the Forest Service
to collect deposits from a contractor covering the costs of
removal of timber or other forest products, notwithstanding the
fact that the contractor did not harvest the timber.
Subsection (g) authorizes the Chief of the Forest Service
and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to require
performance and payment bonds.
Subsection (h) requires the Chief of the Forest Service and
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management to establish a
multiparty monitoring and evaluation process.
Subsection (i) requires the Chief of the Forest Service and
the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, within one year
of enactment, to submit an annual report to Congress on the
status of the stewardship contracting program.
Cost and Budgetary Considerations
The following estimate of costs of this measure has been
provided by the Congressional Budget Office:
S. 1300--Stewardship Contracting Reauthorization and Improvement Act
S. 1300 would permanently reauthorize the Forest Service
and the Department of the Interior to enter into special
contracts known as stewardship contracts. Because similar
provisions were enacted in Public Law 113-79, the Agriculture
Act of 2014, those provisions of S. 1300 would have no impact
on the budget.
The bill also would allow the Forest Service and the
Department of the Interior to determine the amount of
appropriated funds they reserve to pay for the costs of
canceling certain stewardship contracts. Under the
Antideficiency Act, federal agencies cannot spend funds in
excess of amounts specifically made available to the agency.
Because, under S. 1300, the agencies might reserve insufficient
funds to cover all the costs of canceled contracts, the bill
would effectively allow them to obligate sums greater than the
appropriations they have available when they enter into the
contracts--thus creating direct spending authority. However,
based on information provided by the Forest Service regarding
the total amount of potential cancellation costs for all
stewardship contracts entered into over the 2004-2013 period,
CBO estimates that enacting this provision would have at most a
negligible impact on direct spending.
S. 1300 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Assistant Director
for Budget Analysis.
Regulatory Impact Evaluation
In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following
evaluation of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in
carrying out S. 1300.
The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of
imposing Government-established standards or significant
economic responsibilities on private individuals and
businesses.
No personal information would be collected in administering
the program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal
privacy.
Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the
enactment of S. 1300, as ordered reported.
Congressionally Directed Spending
S. 1300, as reported, does not contain any congressionally
directed spending items, limited tax benefits, or limited
tariff benefits as defined in rule XLIV of the Standing Rules
of the Senate.
Executive Communications
The testimony provided by Forest Service and Bureau of Land
Management at the July 30, 2013, Subcommittee on Public Lands,
Forests, and Mining hearing on S. 1300 follows:
Statement of Leslie Weldon, Deputy Chief, National Forest System,
Forest Service, Department of Agriculture
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, thank you for
the opportunity to present the views of the U.S. Department of
Agriculture (USDA) regarding S. 1300, the ``Stewardship
Contracting Reauthorization and Improvement Act.'' The Forest
Service supports reauthorization of stewardship contracting and
could support the bill if amended.
Stewardship contracting is a critical tool that allows the
Forest Service to more efficiently complete restoration
activities. Reauthorizing stewardship contracting authority and
expanding the use of this tool are crucial to our ability to
restore landscapes collaboratively. The authority allows the
government to carry out restoration work at a reduced cost by
offsetting the value of the services received with the value of
forest products removed. In fiscal year 2012, approximately 25
percent of all timber volume sold on National Forest System
lands was under a stewardship contract. The stewardship
contracting authority has proved to be a valuable tool in many
locations to implement restoration activities and meet multiple
land management objectives including hazardous fuels reduction,
wildlife habitat improvement, forest health improvement, and
non-native invasive plant species control.
S. 1300 would repeal the existing stewardship contracting
authority in section 347 of the Department of the Interior and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 and replace it with a
provision that would be added to the Healthy Forests
Restoration Act of 2003. That provision would reauthorize
stewardship contracting for 10 years and provide authority that
is substantively the same as the existing authority with a few
exceptions. The bill contains new authority that would:
Clarify the contracting procedure for
stewardship contracting by making clear that the
various statutes that apply to normal Federal
procurement actions do not apply to these activities;
Modify the requirement to obligate funds to
cover any potential cancellation or termination costs
to allow the obligation of funds in economically or
programmatically viable stages, providing advance
notification of Congress and OMB;
Require the Chief and Director to modify the
fire liability provisions for all stewardship contracts
and agreements to mirror the fire liability provisions
currently contained in the Forest Service Integrated
Resource Timber Contract and Forest Service Timber Sale
contracts which limit the contractor's liability for
non-negligent fire;
Allow the Chief and the Director to use
excess receipts to satisfy outstanding liabilities for
cancelled stewardship agreements and contracts; and
Allow the Chief and Director to offset
spending on stewardship contracting using any
additional amounts that may be made available to the
Chief or the Director for the applicable fiscal year.
Consistent with the purposes of S. 1300, the Forest Service
supports efforts to increase the amount of forest restoration
work on NFS lands. However, the Forest Service would like to
work with the Committee on several aspects of the language
related to the offset for stewardship contracts and agreements
in this bill as well as to rethink provisions that would waive
current acquisition laws and practices and not require
potential termination and cancellation costs to be fully
funded.
I want to thank the Committee for its interest, leadership,
and commitment to stewardship contracting, our national forests
and their surrounding communities. This concludes my prepared
statement and I would be pleased to answer any questions you
may have.
----------
Statement of Ned Farquhar, Deputy Assistant Secretary, Land and
Minerals Management, Department of the Interior
Thank you for the opportunity to testify on S. 1300, the
Stewardship Contracting Reauthorization and Improvement Act.
This legislation would provide for the reauthorization of
stewardship contracting authority for the Bureau of Land
Management and the U.S. Forest Service. The Department supports
the reauthorization of stewardship contracting authority, would
support this legislation if amended, and would appreciate the
opportunity to work with the sponsor to address a few technical
concerns.
background
Stewardship contracting authority was established for the
BLM in the FY 2003 Omnibus Appropriations Act and expires at
the end of FY 2013. The authority allows the BLM to award
contracts for forest health and restoration treatments,
including hazardous fuels reductions, for a period of up to ten
years and to use the value of timber or other forest products
removed as an offset against the cost of services received. The
BLM has enjoyed many successes in using stewardship contracting
authority, thereby achieving goals for forest and woodland
restoration and conducting both hazardous fuels reduction and
habitat restoration treatments. In addition, stewardship
contracts create jobs and revenue growth for local communities
and help to protect local communities from wildland fire. From
2003 through 2012, the BLM entered into over 400 stewardship
contracts on approximately 108,000 acres of BLM-managed lands.
The BLM's future strategy for stewardship projects includes
increasing the size and duration of these projects.
s. 1300
S. 1300 extends until 2023 the authorization of stewardship
contracting to achieve land management goals. The BLM supports
stewardship contracting authority, as it provides the BLM with
needed flexibility to work with contractors to achieve the
agency's land and forest health goals, and saves taxpayer
resources because the value of forest products removed are used
to offset the cost of the management action. In addition,
changing the requirement to obligate cancellation costs upfront
is inconsistent with budgeting principles and would understate
the Government's liability under the contract. Finally, the
Administration has concerns about broad waivers of long-
standing acquisition laws.
conclusion
The Department looks forward to working with the sponsor
and the Subcommittee on technical amendments. Thank you again
for the opportunity to testify, and I would be glad to answer
any questions.
Changes in Existing Law
In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by
the bill S. 1300 as ordered reported, are shown as follows
(existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black
brackets, new matter is printed in italic, existing law in
which no change is proposed is shown in roman):
HEALTHY FORESTS RESTORATION ACT OF 2003
PUBLIC LAW 108-148
AN ACT To improve the capacity of the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior to conduct hazardous fuels reduction projects
on National Forest System lands and Bureau of Land Management lands
aimed at protecting communities, watersheds, and certain other at-risk
lands from catastrophic wildfire, to enhance efforts to protect
watersheds and address threats to forest and rangeland health,
including catastrophic wildfire, across the landscape, and for other
purposes.
* * * * * * *
TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS
SEC. 601. FOREST STANDS INVENTORY AND MONITORING PROGRAM TO IMPROVE
DETECTION OF AND RESPONSE TO ENVIRONMENTAL THREATS.
* * * * * * *
SEC. 602. STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING PROJECTS.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Chief.--The term ``Chief'' means the Chief of the
Forest Service.
(2) Director.--The term ``Director'' means the
Director of the Bureau of Land Management.
(b) Projects.--The Chief and the Director, via agreement or
contract as appropriate, may enter into stewardship contracting
projects with private persons or other public or private
entities to perform services to achieve land management goals
for the national forests and the public lands that meet local
and rural community needs.
(c) Land Management Goals.--The land management goals of a
project under subsection (b) may include--
(1) road and trail maintenance or obliteration to
restore or maintain water quality;
(2) soil productivity, habitat for wildlife and
fisheries, or other resource values;
(3) setting of prescribed fires to improve the
composition, structure, condition, and health of stands
or to improve wildlife habitat;
(4) removing vegetation or other activities to
promote healthy forest stands, reduce fire hazards, or
achieve other land management objectives;
(5) watershed restoration and maintenance;
(6) restoration and maintenance of wildlife and fish;
or
(7) control of noxious and exotic weeds and
reestablishing native plant species.
(d) Agreements or Contracts.--
(1) Procurement procedure.--A source for performance
of an agreement or contract under subsection (b) shall
be selected on a best-value basis, including
consideration of source under other public and private
agreements or contracts.
(2) Contract for sale of property.--A contract
entered into under this section may, at the discretion
of the Secretary of Agriculture, be considered a
contract for the sale of property under such terms as
the Secretary may prescribe without regard to any other
provision of law.
(3) Term.--
(A) In general.--Except as provided in
subparagraph (B), the Chief and the Director
may enter into a contract under subsection (b)
in accordance with section 3903 of title 41,
United States Code.
(B) Maximum.--The period of the contract
under subsection (b) may exceed 5 years but may
not exceed 10 years.
(4) Offsets.--
(A) In general.--The Chief and the Director
may apply the value of timber or other forest
products removed as an offset against the cost
of services received under the agreement or
contract described in subsection (b).
(B) Methods of appraisal.--The value of
timber or other forest products used as an
offset under subparagraph (A)--
(i) shall be determined using
appropriate methods of appraisal
commensurate with the quantity of
products to be removed; and
(ii) may--
(I) be determined using a
unit of measure appropriate to
the contracts; and
(II) may include valuing
products on a per-acre basis.
(5) Cancellation ceilings.--
(A) In general.--The Chief and the Director
may obligate funds to cover any potential
cancellation or termination costs for an
agreement or contract under subsection (b) in
stages that are economically or
programmatically viable.
(B) Notice.--
(i) Submission to congress.--Not
later than 30 days before entering into
a multiyear agreement or contract under
subsection (b) that includes a
cancellation ceiling in excess of
$25,000,000, but does not include
proposed funding for the costs of
cancelling the agreement or contract up
to the cancellation ceiling established
in the agreement or contract, the Chief
and the Director shall submit to the
Committee on Energy and Natural
Resources of the Senate and the
Committee on Natural Resources of the
House of Representatives a written
notice that includes--
(I)(aa) the cancellation
ceiling amounts proposed for
each program year in the
agreement or contract; and
(bb) the reasons for the
cancellation ceiling amounts
proposed under item (aa);
(II) the extent to which the
costs of contract cancellation
are not included in the budget
for the agreement or contract;
and
(III) a financial risk
assessment of not including
budgeting for the costs of
agreement or contract
cancellation.
(ii) Transmittal to omb.--At least 14
days before the date on which the Chief
and Director enter into an agreement or
contract under subsection (b), the
Chief and Director shall transmit to
the Director of the Office of
Management and Budget a copy of the
written notice submitted under clause
(i).
(6) Relation to other laws.--Notwithstanding
subsections (d) and (g) of section 14 of the National
Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) and
section 2(a)(1) of the Act of July 31, 1947 (commonly
known as the ``Materials Act of 1947'') (30 U.S.C.
602(a)(1)), the Chief and the Director may enter into
an agreement or contract under subsection (b).
(7) Contracting officer.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary or the Secretary of the
Interior may determine the appropriate contracting
officer to enter into and administer an agreement or
contract under subsection (b).
(8) Fire liability provisions.--Not later than 90
days after the date of enactment of this section, the
Chief and the Director shall issue for use in all
contracts and agreements under subsection (b) fire
liability provisions that are in substantially the same
form as the fire liability provisions contained in--
(A) integrated resource timber contracts, as
described in the Forest Service contract
numbered 2400-13, part H, section H.4; and
(B) timber sale contracts conducted pursuant
to section 14 of the National Forest Management
Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a).
(e) Receipts.--
(1) In general.--The Chief and the Director may
collect monies from an agreement or contract under
subsection (b) if the collection is a secondary
objective of negotiating the contract that will best
achieve the purposes of this section.
(2) Use.--Monies from an agreement or contract under
subsection (b)--
(A) may be retained by the Chief and the
Director; and
(B) shall be available for expenditure
without further appropriation at the project
site from which the monies are collected or at
another project site.
(3) Relation to other laws.--
(A) In general.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the value of services
received by the Chief or the Director under a
stewardship contract project conducted under
this section, and any payments made or
resources provided by the contractor, Chief, or
Director shall not be considered monies
received from the National Forest System or the
public lands.
(B) Knutson-vanderberg act.--The Act of June
9, 1930 (commonly known as the ``Knutson-
Vanderberg Act'') (16 U.S.C. 576 et seq.) shall
not apply to any agreement or contract under
subsection (b).
(f) Costs of Removal.--Notwithstanding the fact that a
contractor did not harvest the timber, the Chief may collect
deposits from a contractor covering the costs of removal of
timber or other forest products under--
(1) the Act of August 11, 1916 (16 U.S.C. 490); and
(2) the Act of June 30, 1914 (16 U.S.C. 498).
(g) Performance and Payment Guarantees.--
(1) In general.--The Chief and the Director may
require performance and payment bonds under sections
28.103-2 and 28.103-3 of the Federal Acquisition
Regulation, in an amount that the contracting officer
considers sufficient to protect the investment in
receipts by the Federal Government generated by the
contractor from the estimated value of the forest
products to be removed under a contract under
subsection (b).
(2) Excess offset value.--If the offset value of the
forest products exceeds the value of the resource
improvement treatments, the Chief and the Director
shall--
(A) use the excess to satisfy any outstanding
liabilities for cancelled agreements or
contracts; or
(B) if there are no outstanding liabilities
under subparagraph (A), apply the excess to
other authorized stewardship projects.
(h) Monitoring and Evaluation.--
(1) In general.--The Chief and the Director shall
establish a multiparty monitoring and evaluation
process that accesses the stewardship contracting
projects conducted under this section.
(2) Participants.--Other than the Chief and Director,
participants in the process described in paragraph (1)
may include--
(A) any cooperating governmental agencies,
including tribal governments; and
(B) any other interested groups or
individuals.
(i) Reporting.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, the Chief
and the Director shall report to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural
Resources of the House of Representatives on--
(1) the status of development, execution, and
administration of agreements or contracts under
subsection (b);
(2) the specific accomplishments that have resulted;
and
(3) the role of local communities in the development
of agreements or contract plans.
----------
DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT,
1999
PUBLIC LAW 105-277
AN ACT Making omnibus consolidated and emergency appropriations for
fiscal year ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes
* * * * * * *
DIVISION A--OMNIBUS CONSOLIDATED APPROPRIATIONS
That the following sums are appropriated out of any money
in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, for the several
departments, agencies, corporations and other organizational
units of the Government for the fiscal year 1999, and for other
purposes, namely:
SEC. 101.
* * * * * * *
(e) For programs, projects or activities in the Department
of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999,
provided as follows, to be effective as if it had been enacted
into law as the regular appropriations Act:
* * * * * * *
TITLE III--GENERAL PROVISIONS
* * * * * * *
[SEC. 347. STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT.
[(a) In General.--Until September 30, 2014, the Forest
Service and the Bureau of Land Management, via agreement or
contract as appropriate, may enter into stewardship contracting
projects with private persons or other public or private
entities to perform services to achieve land management goals
for the national forests and the public lands that meet local
and rural community needs.
[(b) Land Management Goals.--The land management goals of a
project under subsection (a) may include, among other things--
[(1) road and trail maintenance or obliteration to
restore or maintain water quality;
[(2) soil productivity, habitat for wildlife and
fisheries, or other resource values;
[(3) setting of prescribed fires to improve the
composition, structure, condition, and health of stands
or to improve wildlife habitat;
[(4) removing vegation or other activities to promote
healthy forest stands, reduce fire hazards, or achieve
other land management objectives;
[(5) watershed restoration and maintenance;
[(6) restoration and maintenance of wildlife and fish
habitat; and
[(7) control of noxious and exotic weeds and
reestablishing native plant species.
[(c) Agreements or Contracts.--
[(1) Procurement procedures.--A source for
performance of an agreement or contract under
subsection (a) shall be selected on a best-value basis,
including consideration of source under other public
and private agreements or contracts.
[(2) Term.--A multiyear contract may be entered into
under subsection (a) in accordance with section 304B of
the Federal Property and Administrative Services Act of
1949 (41 U.S.C. 254c), except that the period of the
contract may exceed 5 years but may not exceed 10
years.
[(3) Offsets.--
[(A) In general.--In connection with
agreements or contracts under subsection (a),
the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land
Management may apply the value of timber or
other forest products removed as an offset
against the cost of services received.
[(B) Methods of appraisal.--The value of
timber or other forest products used as offsets
under subparagraph (A)--
[(i) shall be determined using
appropriate methods of appraisal
commensurate with the quality of
products to be removed;
[(ii) may be determined using a unit
of measure appropriate to the
contracts; and
[(iii) may include valuing products
on a per-acre basis.
[(4) Relation to other laws.--The Forest Service may
enter into contracts under subsection (a),
notwithstanding subsections (d) and (g) of section 14
of the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16
U.S.C. 72a).
[(5) Contracting officer.--Notwithstanding any other
provision of law, the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior may determine the appropriate
contracting officer to enter into and administer an
agreement or contract under subsection (a).
[(d) Receipts.--
[(1) In general.--The Forest Service and the Bureau
of Land Management may collect monies from an agreement
or contract under subsection(a) so long as such
collection is a secondary objective of negotiating contracts that will
best achieve the purposes of this section.
[(2) Use.--Monies from an agreement or contract under
subsection (a) may be retained by the Forest Service
and the Bureau of Land Management and shall be
available for expenditure without further appropriation
at the project site from which the monies are collected
or at another project site.
[(3) Relation to other laws.--The value of services
received by the Forest Service or the Bureau of Land
Management under a stewardship contract project
conducted under this section, and any payments made or
resources provided by the contractor or the Forest
Service or Bureau of Land Management under such a
project, shall not be considered to be monies received
from the National Forest System or the public lands
under any provison of law. The Act of June 9, 1930 (16
U.S.C. 576 et seq.; commonly known as the Knutson-
Vandenberg Act), shall not apply to stewardship
contracts entered into under this section.
[(e) Costs of Removal.--The Forest Service may collect
deposits from contractors covering the costs of removal of
timber or other forest products pursuant to the Act of August
11, 1916 (39 Stat. 462, chapter 313; 16 U.S.C. 490); and the
next to the last paragraph under the heading ``Forest
Service.'' under the heading ``Department of Agriculture'' in
the Act of June 30, 1914 (38 Stat. 430, chapter 131; 16 U.S.C.
498); notwithstanding the fact that the timber purchasers did
not harvest the timber.
[(f) Performance and Payment Guarantees.--
[(1) In general.--The Forest Service and the Bureau
of Land Management may require performance and payment
bonds, in accordance with sections 103-2 and 103-3 of
part 28 of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (48
C.F.R. 28.103.2, 28.103-3), in an amount that the
contracting officer considers sufficient to protect the
Government's investment in receipts generated by the
contractor from the estimated value of the forest
products to be removed under contract under subsection
(a).
[(2) Excess offset value.--If the offset value of the
forest products exceeds the value of the resource
improvement treatments, the Forest Service and the
Bureau of Land Management may--
[(A) collect any residual receipts pursuant
to the Act of June 9, 1930 (46 Stat. 527,
chapter 416; 16 U.S.C. 576b); and
[(B) apply the excess to other authorized
stewardship demonstration projects.
[(g) Monitoring, Evaluation and Reporting.--The Forest
Service and the Bureau of Land Management shall establish a
multiparty monitoring and evaluation process that accesses the
stewardship contracting projects conducted under this section.
Besides the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management,
participants in this process may include any cooperating
governmental agencies, including tribal governments, and any
interested groups or individuals. The Forest Service and the
Bureau of Land Management shall report annually to the
Committee on Approprations of the House of Representatives and
the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate on--
[(1) the status of development, execution, and
administration of contracts under subsection (a);
[(2) the specific accomplishments that have resulted;
and
[(3) the role of local communities in development of
contract plans.]
* * * * * * *