SOAR Act

II 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1229 To modify the procedures for issuing special recreation permits for certain public land units, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES APRIL 20, 2021 Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mrs. CAPITO, Mr. DAINES, Mr. RISCH, Ms. COR- TEZ MASTO, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. KING, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. WYDEN, Mrs. MURRAY, Ms. SINEMA, Mr. BENNET, Mr. TESTER, Mr. ROUNDS, and Mr. BURR) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To modify the procedures for issuing special recreation permits for certain public land units, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Simplifying Outdoor 4 Access for Recreation Act’’ or the ‘‘SOAR Act’’. 5 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 6 In this Act: 7 (1) ASSOCIATED AGENCY.—The term ‘‘associ- 8 ated agency’’ means the Federal land management 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •S 1229 IS agency, other than the lead agency, that manages a 1 public land unit that is the subject of a single joint 2 special recreation permit under section 7(a). 3 (2) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY.— 4 The term ‘‘Federal land management agency’’ has 5 the meaning given the term in section 802 of the 6 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 7 U.S.C. 6801). 8 (3) LEAD AGENCY.—With respect to a single 9 joint special recreation permit application submitted 10 under section 7(a), the term ‘‘lead agency’’ means 11 the Federal land management agency designated to 12 administer the single joint special recreation permit 13 under section 7(a)(2). 14 (4) LONG-TERM SPECIAL RECREATION PER- 15 MIT.—The term ‘‘long-term special recreation per- 16 mit’’ means— 17 (A) for a public land unit managed by the 18 Forest Service, a priority use permit; and 19 (B) for a public land unit managed by the 20 Bureau of Land Management, a multiyear spe- 21 cial recreation permit. 22 (5) MULTIJURISDICTIONAL TRIP.—The term 23 ‘‘multijurisdictional trip’’ means a trip that— 24 (A) uses 2 or more public land units; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •S 1229 IS (B) is under the jurisdiction of 2 or more 1 Federal land management agencies. 2 (6) PUBLIC LAND UNIT.—The term ‘‘public 3 land unit’’ means— 4 (A) a unit of the National Forest System; 5 (B) a unit of the National Park System; 6 (C) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge 7 System; 8 (D) a district of the Bureau of Land Man- 9 agement; and 10 (E) a project of the Bureau of Reclama- 11 tion. 12 (7) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 13 term ‘‘recreation service provider’’ has the meaning 14 given the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands 15 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 16 (8) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 17 retary concerned’’ means— 18 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 19 spect to a public land unit described in para- 20 graph (6)(A); and 21 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 22 spect to a public land unit described in sub- 23 paragraph (B), (C), (D), or (E) of paragraph 24 (6). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •S 1229 IS (9) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The term 1 ‘‘special recreation permit’’ has the meaning given 2 the term in section 802 of the Federal Lands Recre- 3 ation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801). 4 SEC. 3. SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE. 5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 802 of the Federal Lands 6 Recreation Enhancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6801) is amend- 7 ed— 8 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘section 3(f)’’ 9 and inserting ‘‘section 803(f)’’; 10 (2) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘section 3(g)’’ 11 and inserting ‘‘section 803(g)’’; 12 (3) in paragraph (6), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 13 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 14 (4) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 15 and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 16 (5) in paragraph (12), by striking ‘‘section 7’’ 17 and inserting ‘‘section 807’’; 18 (6) in paragraph (13), by striking ‘‘section 19 3(h)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 803(h)’’; 20 (7) by redesignating paragraphs (1), (3), (4), 21 (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10), (11), and (13) as para- 22 graphs (15), (1), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (11), 23 (10), and (14), respectively, and moving the para- 24 graphs so as to appear in numerical order; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 5 •S 1229 IS (8) by inserting after paragraph (8) (as so re- 1 designated) the following: 2 ‘‘(9) RECREATION SERVICE PROVIDER.—The 3 term ‘recreation service provider’ means an indi- 4 vidual or entity that— 5 ‘‘(A) provides outfitting, guiding, or other 6 recreation services; or 7 ‘‘(B) conducts recreational or competitive 8 events, including incidental sales.’’; and 9 (9) by inserting after paragraph (12) the fol- 10 lowing: 11 ‘‘(13) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The 12 term ‘special recreation permit’ means a permit 13 issued by a Federal land management agency for 14 specialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 15 reational lands and waters, including— 16 ‘‘(A) for outfitting, guiding, or other recre- 17 ation services; 18 ‘‘(B) for recreation or competitive events, 19 which may include incidental sales; 20 ‘‘(C) for the use of— 21 ‘‘(i) a special area; or 22 ‘‘(ii) an area in which use is allocated; 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 6 •S 1229 IS ‘‘(D) for motorized recreational vehicle use 1 in compliance with an applicable travel manage- 2 ment plan or other regulation; and 3 ‘‘(E) for a group activity or event.’’. 4 (b) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.—Sec- 5 tion 803 of the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement 6 Act (16 U.S.C. 6802) is amended— 7 (1) in subsection (b)(5), by striking ‘‘section 8 4(d)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 804(d)’’; and 9 (2) by striking subsection (h) and inserting the 10 following: 11 ‘‘(h) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT AND FEE.— 12 ‘‘(1) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT.—The Sec- 13 retary may issue a special recreation permit for spe- 14 cialized individual or group uses of Federal rec- 15 reational lands and waters. 16 ‘‘(2) SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE.— 17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 18 charge a special recreation permit fee in con- 19 nection with the issuance of a special recreation 20 permit under paragraph (1). 21 ‘‘(B) FEES FOR CERTAIN LANDS.— 22 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Subject to clauses 23 (ii) and (iii), a special recreation permit fee 24 under subparagraph (A) for use of Federal 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 7 •S 1229 IS recreational lands and waters managed by 1 the Forest Service, the Bureau of Land 2 Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, 3 or the United States Fish and Wildlife 4 Service shall not exceed the difference be- 5 tween— 6 ‘‘(I) the sum of— 7 ‘‘(aa) 3 percent of the an- 8 nual gross revenue of the recre- 9 ation service provider for all ac- 10 tivities authorized by the special 11 recreation permit; and 12 ‘‘(bb) any applicable revenue 13 addition; and 14 ‘‘(II) any applicable revenue ex- 15 clusion. 16 ‘‘(ii) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN REVE- 17 NUES AND PAYMENTS.—In calculating the 18 amount of a fee for a special recreation 19 permit under clause (i), the Secretary shall 20 exclude— 21 ‘‘(I) revenue from goods, services, 22 souvenirs, merchandise, gear, food, 23 and activities provided or sold by a 24 special recreation permit holder in a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 8 •S 1229 IS location other than the Federal rec- 1 reational lands and waters covered by 2 the permit, including transportation 3 costs, lodging, and any other service 4 before or after a trip; and 5 ‘‘(II) revenue from any rec- 6 reational services provided by a spe- 7 cial recreation permit holder for ac- 8 tivities on Federal recreational lands 9 and waters for which a separate per- 10 mit is issued. 11 ‘‘(iii) ALTERNATIVE PER-PERSON 12 FEE.— 13 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—For Federal 14 recreational lands and waters man- 15 aged by the Forest Service, the Bu- 16 reau of Land Management, the Bu- 17 reau of Reclamation, or the United 18 States Fish and Wildlife Service, the 19 Secretary may charge a per-person fee 20 in connection with the issuance of a 21 special recreation permit under para- 22 graph (1). 23 ‘‘(II) AMOUNT OF FEE.—The 24 total amount charged by the Secretary 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 9 •S 1229 IS in connection with the issuance of a 1 special recreation permit under para- 2 graph (1) using a per-person fee 3 under subclause (I) shall be com- 4 parable to the amount the Secretary 5 may charge for a special recreation 6 permit fee under subparagraph (A) 7 and clauses (i) and (ii). 8 ‘‘(iv) EFFECT.—Nothing in this sub- 9 paragraph affects any fee for a commercial 10 use authorization for use of Federal rec- 11 reational lands and waters managed by the 12 National Park Service. 13 ‘‘(C) DISCLOSURE OF FEES.—A special 14 recreation permit holder may inform customers 15 of any fee charged by the Secretary under this 16 section. 17 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.— 18 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 19 make available to holders of special recreation 20 permits under paragraph (1) and the public an 21 annual report describing the use of fees col- 22 lected by the Secretary under paragraph (2). 23 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The report under 24 subparagraph (A) shall include a description of 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 10 •S 1229 IS how the fees are used in each public land unit 1 (as defined in section 2 of the SOAR Act) ad- 2 ministered by the Secretary, including an iden- 3 tification of the amounts used for specific ac- 4 tivities within the public land unit.’’. 5 (c) USE OF SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT REV- 6 ENUE.—Section 808 of the Federal Lands Recreation En- 7 hancement Act (16 U.S.C. 6807) is amended— 8 (1) in subsection (a)(3)(F), by striking ‘‘section 9 6(a)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 806(a)’’; 10 (2) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘section 5’’ 11 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘section 805’’; 12 (3) by redesignating subsections (b) through (d) 13 as subsections (c) through (e), respectively; and 14 (4) by inserting after subsection (a) the fol- 15 lowing: 16 ‘‘(b) USE OF SPECIAL RECREATION PERMIT FEE 17 REVENUE.—Revenue from a special recreation permit fee 18 may be used for— 19 ‘‘(1) the purposes described in subsection (a); 20 and 21 ‘‘(2) expenses— 22 ‘‘(A) associated with processing applica- 23 tions for special recreation permits; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 11 •S 1229 IS ‘‘(B) incurred in the improvement of the 1 operation of the special recreation permit sys- 2 tem.’’. 3 (d) PERMANENT AUTHORIZATION.—Section 810 of 4 the Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (16 5 U.S.C. 6809) is amended— 6 (1) by striking ‘‘The authority’’ and inserting 7 the following: 8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in subsection 9 (b), the authority’’; and 10 (2) by adding at the end the following: 11 ‘‘(b) APPLICABILITY.—Subsection (a) shall not apply 12 to— 13 ‘‘(1) section 802; 14 ‘‘(2) subsection (d)(2) or (h) of section 803; or 15 ‘‘(3) subsection (a), (b), or (c) of section 808.’’. 16 SEC. 4. PERMITTING PROCESS IMPROVEMENTS. 17 (a) IN GENERAL.—To simplify the process of the 18 issuance and renewal of special recreation permits and re- 19 duce the cost of administering special recreation permits, 20 the Secretary concerned shall— 21 (1) not later than 180 days after the date of 22 enactment of this Act— 23 (A) evaluate the special recreation permit- 24 ting process; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 12 •S 1229 IS (B) identify opportunities— 1 (i) to eliminate duplicative processes; 2 (ii) to reduce costs; and 3 (iii) to decrease processing times; and 4 (2) not later than 180 days after the date on 5 which the Secretary concerned completes the evalua- 6 tion and identification processes under paragraph 7 (1), revise, as necessary, relevant agency regulations 8 and policy statements to implement the improve- 9 ments identified under paragraph (1)(B). 10 (b) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSIONS.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 12 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary con- 13 cerned shall— 14 (A) evaluate whether 1 or more additional 15 categorical exclusions developed in compliance 16 with the National Environmental Policy Act of 17 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) would reduce 18 processing times or costs for the issuance or re- 19 newal of special recreation permits without sig- 20 nificantly affecting the human environment; 21 and 22 (B) if the Secretary concerned determines 23 under subparagraph (A) that 1 or more addi- 24 tional categorical exclusions would reduce proc- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:59 May 13, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1229.IS S1229 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 13 •S 1229 IS essing times or costs for the issuance or re- 1 newal of special recreation permits without sig- 2 nificantly affecting the human environment— 3 (i) establish those categorical exclu- 4 sions in compliance with the National En- 5 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 6 4321 et seq.); 7 (ii) fully document that a category of 8 actions will not individually or cumulatively 9 have a significant effect on the human en- 10 vironment; and 11 (iii) revise relevant agency regulations 12 and policy statements to implement those 13 categorical exclusions. 14 (2) ADMINISTRATION.— 15 (A) IN GENERAL.—In administering a cat- 16 egorical exclusion established under paragraph 17 (1)(B), the Secre [Text truncated for display. 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