To provide for the indefinite duration of certain military land withdrawals, to improve the management of lands currently subject to such withdrawals, to make the management of such lands more transparent, and for other purposes.

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 2945 To provide for the indefinite duration of certain military land withdrawals, to improve the management of lands currently subject to such with- drawals, to make the management of such lands more transparent, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 23, 2019 Mr. BISHOP of Utah introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Armed Services, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speak- er, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the ju- risdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To provide for the indefinite duration of certain military land withdrawals, to improve the management of lands currently subject to such withdrawals, to make the man- agement of such lands more transparent, 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 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 2945 IH SECTION 1. INDEFINITE DURATION OF CERTAIN MILITARY 1 LAND WITHDRAWALS AND RESERVATIONS 2 AND IMPROVED MANAGEMENT OF WITH- 3 DRAWN AND RESERVED LANDS. 4 (a) IMPROVING MANAGEMENT OF CURRENT STATU- 5 TORY LAND WITHDRAWALS AND RESERVATIONS AND 6 MAKING MANAGEMENT MORE TRANSPARENT.— 7 (1) ROLE OF SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR.— 8 Section 101(a)(2) of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 9 670a(a)(2)) is amended— 10 (A) by striking ‘‘, acting through the Di- 11 rector of the United States Fish and Wildlife 12 Service,’’; and 13 (B) by adding at the end the following new 14 sentence: ‘‘In the case of a military installation 15 or State-owned National Guard installation in 16 Alaska, cooperation with the Secretary of the 17 Interior under this paragraph shall be obtained 18 through the Director of the United States Fish 19 and Wildlife Service.’’. 20 (2) ADDITIONAL ELEMENT OF INTEGRATED 21 NATURAL RESOURCES MANAGEMENT PLAN.—Section 22 101(b) of the Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a(b)) is 23 amended— 24 (A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of para- 25 graph (2); 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 2945 IH (B) by redesignating paragraph (3) as 1 paragraph (4); and 2 (C) by inserting after paragraph (2) the 3 following new paragraph: 4 ‘‘(3) for purposes of paragraph (2), except in 5 the case of a military installation or State-owned 6 National Guard installation in Alaska, shall be re- 7 viewed— 8 ‘‘(A) jointly by the Secretary of the mili- 9 tary department and the Secretary of the Inte- 10 rior; and 11 ‘‘(B) in a manner that provides affected 12 States and Indian tribes and the public a mean- 13 ingful opportunity to comment on any signifi- 14 cant revisions to the plan that may be proposed; 15 and’’. 16 (b) EL CENTRO NAVAL AIR FACILITY RANGES.— 17 (1) ELIMINATION OF TERMINATION DATE AND 18 CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The El Centro Naval 19 Air Facility Ranges Withdrawal Act (subtitle B of 20 title XXIX of Public Law 104–201; 110 Stat. 2813) 21 is amended— 22 (A) in section 2921(b)(3), by striking ‘‘, 23 before the termination date specified in section 24 2925,’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 2945 IH (B) in section 2924(a), by striking the 1 third sentence; 2 (C) by striking sections 2925 and 2927; 3 and 4 (D) in section 2928(a), by striking ‘‘speci- 5 fied in section 2925’’. 6 (2) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY 7 NEED FOR WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION AND 8 PUBLIC REPORTS.—The El Centro Naval Air Facil- 9 ity Ranges Withdrawal Act (subtitle B of title XXIX 10 of Public Law 104–201; 110 Stat. 2813) is further 11 amended by inserting after section 2926 the fol- 12 lowing new section: 13 ‘‘SEC. 2927. DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY 14 NEED FOR WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION 15 AND PUBLIC REPORTS. 16 ‘‘(a) PUBLIC REPORTS.— 17 ‘‘(1) CHANGES IN LAND CONDITIONS.—(A) 18 Concurrent with each review as to operation and ef- 19 fect of an integrated natural resources management 20 plan covering lands withdrawn and reserved under 21 this title, as required by section 101(b)(2) of the 22 Sikes Act (16 U.S.C. 670a(b)(2)), the Secretary of 23 the Navy and the Secretary of the Interior shall 24 jointly prepare and issue a report describing any 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 2945 IH changes in the condition of the lands withdrawn and 1 reserved under this subtitle since the later of the 2 date of any previous report under this paragraph or 3 the date of the environmental analysis prepared to 4 support the actions that changed the condition of 5 the lands. 6 ‘‘(B) A report under subparagraph (A) shall in- 7 clude a summary of current military use of the lands 8 withdrawn and reserved under this subtitle, any 9 changes in military use of the lands since the pre- 10 vious report, and efforts related to the management 11 of natural and cultural resources and environmental 12 remediation of the lands during the previous five 13 years. 14 ‘‘(2) COMBINATION WITH OTHER REPORTS.—A 15 report under this subsection may be combined with, 16 or incorporate by reference, any contemporary report 17 required by any other provision of law regarding the 18 lands withdrawn and reserved under this subtitle. 19 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—(A) Be- 20 fore the finalization of a report under this sub- 21 section, the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary 22 of the Interior shall invite interested members of the 23 public to review and comment on the report, and 24 shall hold at least one public meeting concerning the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 2945 IH report in a location or locations reasonably accessible 1 to persons who may be affected by management of 2 the lands withdrawn and reserved under this sub- 3 title. 4 ‘‘(B) Each public meeting under subparagraph 5 (A) shall be announced not less than 15 days before 6 the date of the meeting by advertisements in local 7 newspapers of general circulation, notices on the 8 internet, including the website of El Centro, and any 9 other means considered necessary or desirable by the 10 Secretaries. 11 ‘‘(4) DISTRIBUTION OF REPORT.—The Sec- 12 retary of the Navy shall make the final version of a 13 report under this subsection available to the public 14 and shall submit the final version of such a report 15 to the Committees on Armed Services and Energy 16 and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Com- 17 mittees on Armed Services and Natural Resources of 18 the House of Representatives. 19 ‘‘(b) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILITARY 20 NEED.—With each report prepared pursuant to sub- 21 section (a), the Secretary of the Navy shall attach the Sec- 22 retary’s determination regarding whether there will be a 23 continuing military need for any or all the withdrawn and 24 reserved lands for the following 5 years.’’. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 2945 IH (c) JUNIPER BUTTE RANGE.— 1 (1) ELIMINATION OF TERMINATION DATE AND 2 CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Juniper Butte 3 Range Withdrawal Act (title XXIX of Public Law 4 105–261; 112 Stat. 2226) is amended— 5 (A) in section 2915— 6 (i) in the section heading, by striking 7 ‘‘Duration’’ and inserting ‘‘Relin- 8 quishment’’; 9 (ii) in subsection (a), by striking 10 ‘‘TERMINATION.—’’ and all that follows 11 through ‘‘At the time of termination’’ and 12 inserting ‘‘EFFECT OF RELINQUISHMENT 13 ON OPERATION OF GENERAL LAND 14 LAWS.—Upon relinquishment of Depart- 15 ment of the Air Force jurisdiction over 16 lands withdrawn and reserved by this 17 title’’; 18 (iii) in subsection (b)— 19 (I) in the subsection heading, by 20 inserting ‘‘PROCESS’’ after ‘‘RELIN- 21 QUISHMENT’’; 22 (II) in paragraph (1), by striking 23 ‘‘under subsection (c)’’; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 2945 IH (III) in paragraph (3), by strik- 1 ing ‘‘before the date of termination, 2 as provided for in subsection (a)(1)’’; 3 and 4 (iv) by striking subsection (c); and 5 (B) in section 2916— 6 (i) in the section heading, by striking 7 ‘‘or upon termination of with- 8 drawal’’; 9 (ii) in subsection (a)(1), by striking 10 ‘‘and in all cases not later than 2 years be- 11 fore the date of termination of withdrawal 12 and reservation,’’; 13 (iii) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘en- 14 vironmental remediation’’ and all that fol- 15 lows through the end of the subsection and 16 inserting ‘‘environmental remediation be- 17 fore relinquishing, to the Secretary of the 18 Interior, jurisdiction over any lands identi- 19 fied in a notice of intent to relinquish 20 under section 2915(b).’’; and 21 (iv) in subsection (d)— 22 (I) in the subsection heading, by 23 striking ‘‘TERMINATES’’ and inserting 24 ‘‘RELINQUISHED’’; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 2945 IH (II) by striking ‘‘termination 1 date’’ both places it appears and in- 2 serting ‘‘relinquishment date’’; and 3 (III) in paragraph (2), by strik- 4 ing ‘‘termination’’ and inserting ‘‘re- 5 linquishment’’. 6 (2) DETERMINATIONS OF CONTINUING MILI- 7 TARY NEED FOR WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION 8 AND PUBLIC REPORTS.—Section 2909 of the Juni- 9 per Butte Range Withdrawal Act (title XXIX of 10 Public Law 105–261; 112 Stat. 2230) is amended 11 by adding at the end the following new subsection: 12 ‘‘(d) PUBLIC REPORTS.— 13 ‘‘(1) CHANGES IN LAND CONDITIONS.—(A) 14 Concurrent with each review of an integrated nat- 15 ural resources management plan developed under 16 this section, the Secretary of the Air Force and the 17 Secretary of the Interior shall jointly prepare and 18 issue a report describing any changes in the condi- 19 tion of the lands withdrawn and reserved by this 20 title since the later of the date of any previous re- 21 port under this paragraph or the date of the envi- 22 ronmental analysis prepared to support the actions 23 that changed the condition of the lands. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 2945 IH ‘‘(B) A report under subparagraph (A) shall in- 1 clude a summary of current military use of the lands 2 withdrawn and reserved by this title, any changes in 3 military use of the lands since the previous report, 4 and efforts related to the management of natural 5 and cultural resources and environmental remedi- 6 ation of the lands during the previous 5 years. 7 ‘‘(2) COMBINATION WITH OTHER REPORTS.—A 8 report under this subsection may be combined with, 9 or incorporate by reference, any contemporary report 10 required by any other provision of law regarding the 11 lands withdrawn and reserved by this title. 12 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—(A) Be- 13 fore the finalization of a report under this sub- 14 section, the Secretary of the Air Force and the Sec- 15 retary of the Interior shall invite interested members 16 of the public to review and comment on the report, 17 and shall hold at least one public meeting concerning 18 the report in a location or locations reasonably ac- 19 cessible to persons who may be affected by manage- 20 ment of the lands withdrawn and reserved by this 21 title. 22 ‘‘(B) Each public meeting under subparagraph 23 (A) shall be announced not less than 15 days before 24 the date of the meeting by advertisements in local 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 2945 IH newspapers of general circulation, notices on the 1 internet, including the website of the Juniper Butte 2 Range (if one exists), and any other means consid- 3 ered necessary or desirable by the Secretaries. 4 ‘‘(4) DETERMINATION OF CONTINUING MILI- 5 TARY NEED.—With each report prepared pursuant 6 to this subsection, the Secretary of the Air Force 7 shall attach the Secretary’s determination regarding 8 whether there will be a continuing military need for 9 any or all the withdrawn and reserved lands for the 10 following 5 years. 11 ‘‘(5) DISTRIBUTION OF REPORT.—The Sec- 12 retary of the Air Force shall make the final version 13 of a report under this subsection available to the 14 public and shall submit the final version of such a 15 report to the Committees on Armed Services and 16 Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 17 the Committees on Armed Services and Natural Re- 18 sources of the House of Representatives.’’. 19 (d) RANGES COVERED BY SUBTITLE A OF MILITARY 20 LANDS WITHDRAWAL ACT OF 1999.— 21 (1) ELIMINATION OF TERMINATION DATE AND 22 CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Military Lands 23 Withdrawal Act of 1999 (title XXX of Public Law 24 106–65; 113 Stat. 885) is amended— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2945.IH H2945 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 2945 IH (A) in section 3015— 1 (i) by striking subsection (a) and in- 2 serting the following new subsection: 3 ‘‘(a) TERMINATION OF FORT GREELY AND FORT 4 WAINWRIGHT WITHDRAWAL AND RESERVATION.—The 5 withdrawal and reservation of lands by section 3011(c) 6 shall terminate on November 6, 2026.’’; 7 (B) in section 3016— 8 (i) by striking ‘‘this subtitle’’ each 9 place it appears (other than the second 10 place it appears in subsection (c)) and in- 11 serting ‘‘section 3011(c)’’; 12 (ii) in subsection (c), by striking ‘‘this 13 subtitle’’ the second place it appears and 14 inserting ‘‘section 3015’’; and 15 (iii) in subsection (d), by striking ‘‘by 16 section 3011’’ and inserting ‘‘under such 17 section’’; 18 (C) by adding at the end the following new 19 section: 20 ‘‘SEC. 3024. RELINQUISHMENT OF CERTAIN LANDS. 21 ‘‘(a) NOTICE OF INTENT REGARDING RELINQUISH- 22 MENT.— 23 ‘‘(1) GENERAL RULE.—Except as provided in 24 paragraph (2), if the Secretary of the military de- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:04 Jun 06, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]