PLANT Act

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the Inyo National Forest Land Exchange Act.

This legislation will facilitate a land exchange between the operators of the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area in the Eastern Sierra Nevada region of California and the Inyo National Forest. Enactment of this bill will allow the ski resort to redevelop the parcel of land it currently leases from Forest Service, while providing the Forest Service with a combination of high resource value lands and a cash payment equal to the value of the exchanged land.

Since the Mammoth Mountain Ski Area, LLC, MMSA, began operations in 1953, Mammoth Mountain has grown to be one of the most popular ski areas in the United States, attracting up to two million visitors a year.

However, the Main Lodge area, which is located on approximately 21 acres of land leased by MMSA, has become outdated and inadequate to meet visitor needs. The Main Lodge building and Mammoth Mountain Inn are now more than 50 years old and require significant improvements and upgrades. Insufficient employee housing, parking and guest amenities must be corrected and skier staging and lift line queuing areas must be modernized. In order to make the necessary long-term investments, resort operators are seeking fee title to the land and have been working with the Inyo National Forest since 1998 to complete a land exchange.

Equal-value land exchanges involving Forest Service land are permitted under the Exchange Act. However, the typical land exchange procedures do not conform well to this particular exchange due to the complexity, size and scarcity of large, high resource value parcels in the Inyo National Forest. Consequently, this legislation would authorize a one-time exception to the Exchange Act to accomplish the proposed land exchange. Specifically, the bill would require the Secretary of Agriculture to acquire two parcels of private land outside, totaling approximately 1,500 acres, the boundary the Inyo National Forest in exchange for the conveyance of the 21 acre parcel within the forest currently leased to MMSA; accept a cash equalization payment in excess of the 25 percent value of the federal lands to fully compensate the Forest Service for the exchanged lands; and use the cash payment to acquire land or interests in land for additions to the National Forest System as such lands become available.

This bill will provide both economic and environmental benefits. The new construction that this bill will help facilitate will not only create new construction jobs during renovations, but will also allow the Ski Area to expand and improve its operations, creating more sustainable and permanent jobs. Additionally, the land MMSA will be transferring to the Forest Service includes high resource value lands that have long been desired for protection by local environmentalists and the Forest Service. This includes lands within the view shed of the Mono Basin

National Scenic Area, the first designated National Scenic Area and a place of incredible natural beauty.

This legislation has bipartisan support. The bill was first introduced by Rep. Buck McKeon in June 2011 and passed the House in April 2012 by a vote of 376--2. It was reintroduced by Rep. Paul Cook earlier this year with the support of both Democratic and Republican cosponsors and passed the House a second time on December 3, 2013.

Local government and community organizations also support this legislation, including the Mono County Board of Supervisors, the Mammoth Lakes Town Council, the Mammoth Lakes Chamber of Commerce, Mammoth Lakes Tourism, the Mono Lake Committee, and the Eastern Sierra Land Trust.

This trade has long been supported by noted environmentalists, including the late Andrea Mead Lawrence, after whom Congress earlier this year named a mountain in the nearby Sierra Nevada.

I urge my colleagues to support this legislation. Enactment of this bill will ensure the long term success of one of the Nation's top ski resorts and benefit the local and regional economy, while allowing the Forest Service to acquire high resource value lands that will be enjoyed by Americans for generations to come.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking or PLANT Act of 2013 with my colleague and friend, Senator Orrin Hatch.

This bill, which is similar to House legislation introduced by Representative Jared Huffman, will help curb the severe environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana grows. I thank my friend and fellow Californian, Representative Huffman, for his leadership on this issue.

Across our Nation, but especially in California, drug traffickers cultivate marijuana with zero regard for the environmental destruction it causes. Motivated solely by profits, these criminals illegally divert streams, poison wildlife, pollute watersheds and destroy the natural heritage that we have worked so hard to protect.

Recognizing the destructive ecological impact of illegal marijuana cultivation, this legislation directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend Federal sentencing guidelines to account for the environmental crimes drug traffickers commit on public and trespassed lands.

Specifically, the bill instructs the Sentencing Commission to put in place sentencing guidelines that increase penalties for individuals who engage in any of the following activities while cultivating illegal drugs on Federal lands or while trespassing on another person's property:

Use of poisons or hazardous chemicals, such as pesticides and rodenticides; the diversion, redirection, obstruction, draining or impoundment of local aquifers, rivers or bodies of water; or significant removal of vegetation or clear cutting of timber.

In addition to environmental concerns, this legislation addresses the safety of our public lands. It directs the Sentencing Commission to provide guidelines increasing penalties on drug traffickers who use or possess a firearm while producing illegal drugs on federal or trespassed lands.

Last year alone, over 900,000 marijuana plants were eradicated at 471 sites on National Forest Lands. Sadly, this represents only a fraction of the total marijuana illegally grown in our National Parks, Forests and other public lands. In California, Operation Pristine, a recent effort to combat the environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana production, resulted in the removal of over 8,700 tons of trash including pesticides, batteries, fertilizers and propane tanks from environmentally sensitive lands.

Drug traffickers often use illegal pesticides smuggled in from Mexico, such as carbofuran, which contaminate California's water resources. They also use pesticides and rodenticides in an illegal manner, often on protected lands. These poisons are having a devastating impact on California's wildlife, including the Pacific Fisher, a member of the Weasel family being considered for listing as an endangered species.

Taxpayers are also being hit hard by the millions of dollars needed to clean up the environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana grows. Estimates put the cost of reclaiming land damaged by illicit marijuana growth at approximately $15,000 per acre. As you might expect, drug traffickers are not setting aside funds for this work, and the cost is passed on to the American people.

Illicit marijuana cultivation also damages the economy and hurts legitimate businesses. Timber companies, farmers and ranchers have had their operations disrupted by criminals growing marijuana illegally. Marijuana growers on agricultural lands, particularly in the Central Valley, divert thousands of gallons of scarce water from legitimate agriculture. In 2013 alone, California has identified over 1,800 grow sites in the Central Valley, including 406 in Tulare County and 537 in Fresno as of November.

As Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control and also as a Senator who has worked to safeguard our country's natural resources, I believe that we cannot allow drug traffickers to destroy our public lands, pollute our waters and kill our wildlife with impunity. It is time that sentencing guidelines take into account the environmental damage that drug traffickers all too often cause. This legislation, directing the Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines, will do just that.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, I rise to introduce the Protecting Lands Against Narcotics Trafficking or PLANT Act of 2013 with my colleague and friend, Senator Orrin Hatch.

This bill, which is similar to House legislation introduced by Representative Jared Huffman, will help curb the severe environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana grows. I thank my friend and fellow Californian, Representative Huffman, for his leadership on this issue.

Across our Nation, but especially in California, drug traffickers cultivate marijuana with zero regard for the environmental destruction it causes. Motivated solely by profits, these criminals illegally divert streams, poison wildlife, pollute watersheds and destroy the natural heritage that we have worked so hard to protect.

Recognizing the destructive ecological impact of illegal marijuana cultivation, this legislation directs the United States Sentencing Commission to review and amend Federal sentencing guidelines to account for the environmental crimes drug traffickers commit on public and trespassed lands.

Specifically, the bill instructs the Sentencing Commission to put in place sentencing guidelines that increase penalties for individuals who engage in any of the following activities while cultivating illegal drugs on Federal lands or while trespassing on another person's property:

Use of poisons or hazardous chemicals, such as pesticides and rodenticides; the diversion, redirection, obstruction, draining or impoundment of local aquifers, rivers or bodies of water; or significant removal of vegetation or clear cutting of timber.

In addition to environmental concerns, this legislation addresses the safety of our public lands. It directs the Sentencing Commission to provide guidelines increasing penalties on drug traffickers who use or possess a firearm while producing illegal drugs on federal or trespassed lands.

Last year alone, over 900,000 marijuana plants were eradicated at 471 sites on National Forest Lands. Sadly, this represents only a fraction of the total marijuana illegally grown in our National Parks, Forests and other public lands. In California, Operation Pristine, a recent effort to combat the environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana production, resulted in the removal of over 8,700 tons of trash including pesticides, batteries, fertilizers and propane tanks from environmentally sensitive lands.

Drug traffickers often use illegal pesticides smuggled in from Mexico, such as carbofuran, which contaminate California's water resources. They also use pesticides and rodenticides in an illegal manner, often on protected lands. These poisons are having a devastating impact on California's wildlife, including the Pacific Fisher, a member of the Weasel family being considered for listing as an endangered species.

Taxpayers are also being hit hard by the millions of dollars needed to clean up the environmental damage caused by illegal marijuana grows. Estimates put the cost of reclaiming land damaged by illicit marijuana growth at approximately $15,000 per acre. As you might expect, drug traffickers are not setting aside funds for this work, and the cost is passed on to the American people.

Illicit marijuana cultivation also damages the economy and hurts legitimate businesses. Timber companies, farmers and ranchers have had their operations disrupted by criminals growing marijuana illegally. Marijuana growers on agricultural lands, particularly in the Central Valley, divert thousands of gallons of scarce water from legitimate agriculture. In 2013 alone, California has identified over 1,800 grow sites in the Central Valley, including 406 in Tulare County and 537 in Fresno as of November.

As Chairman of the Senate Caucus on International Narcotics Control and also as a Senator who has worked to safeguard our country's natural resources, I believe that we cannot allow drug traffickers to destroy our public lands, pollute our waters and kill our wildlife with impunity. It is time that sentencing guidelines take into account the environmental damage that drug traffickers all too often cause. This legislation, directing the Sentencing Commission to review and amend its guidelines, will do just that.

Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill be printed in the Record.

Mr. President, today I am introducing a bill addressing an issue important to Maine veterans who served at Canadian Forces Base, CFB, Gagetown. Veterans who served there may have suffered from adverse health impacts due to exposure to the herbicide Agent Orange, which was used at CFB Gagetown in 1966 and 1967. This bill would require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, VA, to establish a registry of U.S. veterans who served or trained at CFB Gagetown between 1956 and 2006 and have subsequently experienced health issues, which may have resulted from exposure to these chemicals. It also directs the VA to commission an independent study investigating any possible linkage between the spraying of Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown and subsequent health problems among the American soldiers who served or trained there. The legislation I am offering with Senator King is similar to another bill that has been introduced by Congressman Mike Michaud in the House of Representatives.

Protecting the health of those who have served our Nation is a solemn responsibility. I have heard from veterans in Maine about how they have suffered from diabetes, cancers, and respiratory illnesses. Many of these veterans fear their illnesses are linked to the use of Agent Orange in the 1960s. These veterans, however, have had difficulty in persuading the VA that their health problems are related to this chemical exposure.

By requiring the VA to establish a registry of these veterans, we recognize these widespread concerns and provide veterans with a way to make their claims known to the VA and to identify commonalities among their shared experiences. It also provides the VA with the ability to reach out to veterans on this issue of critical importance.

Last month, I personally raised this issue with the Canadian Minister of Defence. Many Canadian veterans who served or trained at CFB Gagetown voiced similar concerns with their government. He described how the Government of Canada found a way to appropriately compensate service members affected by the toxic chemicals used at Gagetown. Ultimately, the Canadian government approved one-time ex gratia payments of $20,000 for qualifying veterans who demonstrated that they were at CFB Gagetown during the days when the toxic agents were sprayed.

A crucial provision in this legislation requires the VA to commission an independent study that investigates the connection between health problems and exposure to Agent Orange at CFB Gagetown. Previously, I requested that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry conduct an investigation into whether Maine veterans were exposed to toxic chemicals while training at CFB Gagetown. A significant deficiency with the CDC report, however, was that it relied solely on existing Canadian government studies on this subject rather than conducting interviews of those who trained there. Many Maine veterans feel strongly that they suffered negative consequences from exposure to Agent Orange while training at Gagetown. The United States Government should conduct its own independent study with interviews.

This legislation keeps faith with our veterans by demonstrating that our government takes the allegations of exposure to Agent Orange seriously. The bill will help identify and bring together the shared experience of those who trained at CFB Gagetown. This bill will make it easier for the VA to conduct outreach on this issue pending any new developments. I look forward to working with Senator King and all of my colleagues to pass this important bill.