Forest Roads-Community Right-To-Know Act (Introduced in the House)
HR 1523 IH
106th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 1523
To establish mandatory procedures to be followed by the Forest Service
and the Bureau of Land Management in advance of the permanent closure of
any forest road so as to ensure local public participation in the decisionmaking
process.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
April 22, 1999
Mrs. CHENOWETH (for herself, Mr. YOUNG of Alaska, Mr. DUNCAN, Mr. SCHAFFER,
Mr. HILL of Montana, Mr. DOOLITTLE, Mr. RADANOVICH, Mr. HERGER, Mr. POMBO,
Mr. PETERSON of Pennsylvania, Mr. WALDEN of Oregon, Mrs. CUBIN, Mr. TAYLOR
of North Carolina, Mr. SIMPSON, and Mr. NETHERCUTT) introduced the following
bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition
to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined
by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To establish mandatory procedures to be followed by the Forest Service
and the Bureau of Land Management in advance of the permanent closure of
any forest road so as to ensure local public participation in the decisionmaking
process.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Forest Roads-Community Right-To-Know
Act'.
SECTION 2. FOREST SERVICE AND BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES FOR
PERMANENT CLOSURE OF FOREST ROADS.
(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:
(1) PERMANENT CLOSURE- The term `permanent closure', with respect to
a forest road, means the closure of the road to vehicular traffic for a
continuous period of more than one year. The term includes a road closure
of one year or less, or of an unspecified duration, unless the Secretary
concerned certifies at the time of the closure that the closure will not
extend beyond one year.
(2) FOREST ROAD- The term `forest road' means any road on Federal lands.
(3) FEDERAL LANDS- The term `Federal lands' means--
(A) lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management; and
(B) lands within units of the National Forest System.
(4) STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS- The term `State and local
government officials' means elected officials of States and counties within
which Federal lands are located.
(5) SECRETARY CONCERNED- The term `Secretary concerned' means--
(A) with respect to the Federal lands described in paragraph (3)(A),
the Secretary of the Interior; and
(B) with respect to the Federal lands described in paragraph (3)(B),
the Secretary of Agriculture.
(b) ADVANCE NOTICE OF PERMANENT ROAD CLOSURES TO STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT
OFFICIALS-
(1) PURPOSE- The purpose of this subsection is to ensure that the Secretary
concerned involves State and local government officials in the process
by which the Secretary concerned considers and plans for the potential
permanent closure of forest roads on Federal lands.
(2) ANNUAL MEETINGS REQUIRED- At least once each fiscal year, the Secretary
concerned shall meet with appropriate State and local government officials
to describe all agency plans or proposals that, within the next two fiscal
years, will or may result in the permanent closure of forest roads on Federal
lands. Such agency plans or proposals include project proposals, land management
plan amendments or revisions, resource management plan amendments or revisions,
and regional or subregional plans or proposals
(3) ELEMENTS OF NOTICE- At a meeting under paragraph (2), the Secretary
concerned shall provide information, using maps and other means, that at
a minimum--
(A) shows forest roads selected or proposed for permanent closure;
(B) shows traffic patterns and volumes on the roads over the previous
five years; and
(C) explains how users of the roads will be adversely affected with
longer travel times or adverse travel conditions by the permanent closure
of the roads.
(4) SPECIAL RULE FOR FIRST MEETING- At the first meeting conducted
under paragraph (2) for a State or local government, the Secretary concerned
shall also provide information on all forest roads that have been subject
to permanent closure in that State during the previous five years. The
information shall include a map showing the location of the forest roads
and a description of the methods and costs of the permanent closure of
the forest roads.
(c) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT REQUIREMENTS-
(1) LOCAL NOTICE- Before proceeding with the permanent closure of a
forest road, the Secretary concerned shall publish an announcement describing
the proposed closure in the local newspaper of record for the area likely
to be affected by the permanent closure of the road. The announcement shall
include a description and map of the forest road selected or proposed for
permanent closure and a description of any comments generated regarding
the closure in meetings with State and local government officials under
subsection (b).
(2) COMMENT PERIOD- The permanent closure of a forest road may not
take effect until after the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date
that the announcement under paragraph (1) was published regarding that
road so as to permit the public to submit comments regarding the decision
to select or propose the forest road for permanent closure.
(d) PROHIBITION ON PERMANENT ROAD CLOSURES- The permanent closure of
a forest road is prohibited unless--
(1) advance notice of the permanent closure of the road is provided
to the appropriate State and local government officials in the manner provided
in subsection (b); and
(2) the Secretary complies with the public notice and comment requirements
under subsection (c).
(e) APPLICATION OF REQUIREMENTS- The requirements of this section shall
take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act, except that the prohibition
contained in subsection (d)(1) shall not apply to prohibit the permanent
closure of any forest road implemented during the fiscal year in which
this section is enacted.
(f) EFFECT ON VALID AND EXISTING RIGHTS- Nothing in this section shall
invalidate rights-of-way designated under section 2477 of the Revised Statutes
of 1878 (43 U.S.C. 932) or other valid and existing rights, including rights
of ingress and egress.
(g) COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAWS- In carrying out this section with respect
to a forest road, the Secretary concerned shall comply with the applicable
laws of the State in which the forest road is located.