To facilitate rehabilitation efforts on the Kootenia and Flathead National Forests.

SA 1772. Mr. BURNS proposed an amendment to the bill H.R. 2691, making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes; as follows:

Immediately following Title III of the bill insert the following new Title:

TITLE IV--THE FLATHEAD AND KOOTENAI NATIONAL FOREST REHABILITATION ACT

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This act may be cited as the “Flathead and Kootenai National Forest Rehabilitation Act of 2003”.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.

(a) Findings.--Congress finds that--

(1) The Robert Fire and Wedge Fire of 2003 caused extensive resource damage in the Flathead National Forest;

(2) The fires of 2000 caused extensive resource damage on the Kootenai National Forest and implementation of rehabilitation and recovery projects developed by the agency for the Forest is critical;

(3) The environmental planning and analysis to restore areas affected by the Robert and Wedge Fire will be completed through a collaborative community process;

(4) The rehabilitation of burned areas needs to be completed in a timely manner in order to reduce the long-term environmental impacts; and

(5) Wildlife and watershed resource values will be maintained in areas affected by the Robert and Wedge Fire while exempting the rehabilitation effort from certain applications of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Clean Water Act (CWA).

(b) The purpose of this Act is to accomplish in a collaborative environment, the planning and rehabilitation of the Robert and Wedge Fire and to ensure timely implementation of recovery and rehabilitation projects on the Kootenai National Forest.

SEC. 3. REHABILITATION PROJECTS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary of Agriculture (in this Act referred to as the “Secretary”) may conduct projects that the Secretary determines are necessary to rehabilitate and restore, and may conduct salvage harvests on, National Forest System lands in the North Fork drainage on the Flathead National Forest, as generally depicted on a map entitled “North Fork Drainage” which shall be on file and available for public inspection in the Office of Chief, Forest Service, Washington, D.C.

(b) Procedure.--

(1) In general.--Except as otherwise provided by this Act, the Secretary shall conduct projects under this Act in accordance with--

(A) the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and

(B) other applicable laws.

(2) Environmental assessment or impact statement.--If an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement (pursuant to section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) is required for a project under this Act, the Secretary shall not be required to study, develop, or describe any alternative to the proposed agency action in the environmental assessment or the environmental impact statement.

(3) Public collaboration.--To encourage meaningful participation during preparation of a project under this Act, the Secretary shall facilitate collaboration among the State of Montana, local governments, and Indian tribes, and participation of interested persons, during the preparation of each project in a manner consistent with the Implementation Plan for the 10-year Comprehensive Strategy of a Collaborative Approach for Reducing Wildland Fire Risks to Communities and the Environment, dated May 2002, which was developed pursuant to the conference report for the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2001 (House Report 106-646).

(4) Compliance with clean water act.--Consistent with the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) and Montana Code 75-5-703(10)(b), the Secretary is not prohibited from implementing projects under this Act due to the lack of a Total Maximum Daily Load as provided for under section 303(d) of the Clean Water Act (33 U.S.C. 1313(d)), except that the Secretary shall comply with any best management practices required by the State of Montana.

(5) Endangered species act consultation.--If consultation is required under section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (16 U.S.C. 1536) for a project under this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall expedite and give precedence to such consultation over any similar requests for consultation by the Secretary.

(6) Administrative appeals.--Section 322 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1993 (Public Law 102-381; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note) and section 215 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations shall apply to projects under this Act, except that--

(A) to be eligible to file an appeal, an individual or organization shall submit specific and substantive written comments during the comment period; and

(B) a determination that an emergency situation exists pursuant to section 215.10 of title 36, Code of Federal Regulations, shall be made where it is determined that implementation of all or part of a decision for a project under this Act is necessary for relief from--

(i) adverse affects on soil stability and water quality resulting from vegetation loss; or

(ii) loss of fish and wildlife habitat.

SEC. 4. CONTRACTING AND COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS.

(a) In General.--Notwithstanding chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, the Secretary may enter into contract or cooperative agreements to carry out a project under this Act.

(b) Exemption.--Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary may limit competition for a contract or a cooperative agreement under subsection (a).

SEC. 5. MONITORING REQUIREMENTS.

(a) In General.--The Secretary shall establish a multi-party monitoring group consisting of a representative number of interested parties, as determined by the Secretary, to monitor the performance and effectiveness of projects conducted under this Act.

(b) Reporting Requirements.--The multi-party monitoring group shall prepare annually a report to the Secretary on the progress of the projects conducted under this Act in rehabilitating and restoring the North Fork drainage. The Secretary shall submit the report to the Senate Subcommittee on Interior Appropriations of the Senate Committee on Appropriations.

SEC. 6. SUNSET.

The authority for the Secretary to issue a decision to carry out a project under this Act shall expire 5 years from the date of enactment.

SEC. 7. IMPLEMENTATION OF RECORDS OF DECISION.

The Secretary of Agriculture shall publish new information regarding forest wide estimates of old growth from volume 103 of the administrative record in the case captioned Ecology Center v. Castaneda, CV-02-200-M-DWM (D. Mont.) for public comment for a 30 day period. The Secretary shall review any comments received during the comment period and decide whether to modify the Records of Decision (hereinafter referred to as the “ROD's”) for the Pinkham, White Pine, Kelsey-Beaver, Gold/Boulder/Sullivan, and Pink Stone projects on the Kootenai National Forest. The ROD's, whether modified or not, shall not be deemed arbitrary and capricious under the NFMA, NEPA or other applicable law as long as each project area retains 10% designated old growth in the project area.