59–010 

Calendar No. 33 

110TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 1st Session 110–8 

WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT 

AGREEMENTS ACT OF 2007 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. BINGAMAN, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 232] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 232) to make permanent the authorization for 

watershed restoration and enhancement agreements, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon without amendment 

and recommends that the bill do pass. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 232 is to make permanent the authorization 

for watershed restoration and enhancement agreements contained 

in section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1011 note). 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

In 1998, Congress included language in the Department of the 

Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 to authorize the Forest Service to use watershed restoration and enhancement agreements to spend appropriated funds on projects on private or public lands that benefit the resources of National Forest 

System lands. As a result, the Forest Service developed a very successful cooperative conservation watershed restoration program. 

Congress originally authorized the program only through fiscal 

year 2001. It reauthorized it in 2001 through fiscal year 2005, and 

again in 2005 through fiscal year 2011. S. 232 would permanently 

authorize the agreements. 

The projects authorized by the agreements have improved watershed health and fish habitats through the control of invasive spemstockstill on PROD1PC66 with HEARING

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cies, culvert replacement, and other riparian zone improvement 

projects. In addition to ecological restoration, use of the authority 

has improved cooperative relationships between the Forest Service, 

private land owners, State agencies, and other Federal agencies. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 232 was introduced by Senator Wyden on January 9, 2007. 

Similar legislation, S. 2003, also sponsored by Senator Wyden, was 

considered by the Committee during the 109th Congress. 

Section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (P.L. 105–277) authorized the cooperative watershed restoration and enhancement program through fiscal year 2001. Section 331 of the Department of the Interior and 

Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (P.L. 107–63) reauthorized the program through fiscal year 2005. And section 343 of the 

Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations 

Act, 2006 (P.L. 109–54) reauthorized the program through fiscal 

year 2011. 

The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests held a hearing 

on S. 2003 on May 10, 2006 (S. Hrg. 109–518). S. 2003 was ordered 

favorably reported by the Committee with an amendment in the 

nature of a substitute on May 24, 2006 (S. Rept. 109–302), and 

passed the Senate, by unanimous consent, on December 7, 2006. 

No further action occurred prior to the sine die adjournment of the 

109th Congress. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on January 31, 2007, by voice vote of a 

quorum present, recommends that the Senate pass S. 232. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title. 

Section 2(1) amends section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999, as previously 

amended, by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011’’ and 

inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’

Section 2(2) makes a conforming change. 

Section 2(3) adds a new subsection (d) to section 323 that clarifies that Chapter 63 of Title 31, United States Code (originally enacted as the 1977 Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act 

of 1977) shall not apply to the watershed restoration and enhancement agreements carried out under section 323 of the Department 

of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 

U.S.C. 1011 note; Public Law 105–277), or the cooperative agreement authority granted by the first section of Pubic Law 94–148 

(16 U.S.C. 565a–1). 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office: 

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S. 232—Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act 

of 2007 

S. 232 would make the authority of the Forest Service to use appropriated funds to execute certain cooperative agreements with 

nonfederal partners permanent. Those agreements are used to facilitate watershed restoration projects on public or private land. 

Under existing law, the authority to use appropriations for this 

purpose will expire after fiscal year 2011. CBO estimates that enacting S. 232, by itself, would have no impact on the federal budget. The bill would not authorize additional appropriations for watershed restoration projects and would not affect revenues or direct 

spending. 

S. 232 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates 

as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act. The bill would 

benefit state, local, or tribal governments that enter into cooperative agreements with the Forest Service to carry out activities for 

pollution abatement and watershed protection. Any costs they 

might incur would be incurred voluntarily. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director, Budget Analysis Division. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 232. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 232. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

Because S. 232 is identical to legislation passed by the Senate in 

the 109th Congress, the Committee did not request Executive 

Agency views on S. 232. The views of the Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on S. 

2003 on May 10, 2006, as follows: 

STATEMENT OF JOEL HOLTROP, U.S. FOREST SERVICE, DEPUTY CHIEF FOR NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT

OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today 

to provide the Department’s views on S. 906—Wildland 

Firefighter Safety Act of 2005, S. 2003—Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act of 2005, H.R. 

585—Gateway Communities Cooperation Act, and H.R. 

3981—involving Tahoe National Forest land exchanges. I 

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am Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, USDA Forest Service. 

* * * * * * * 

S. 2003 ‘‘WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT ACT

OF 2005’’

This bill would amend Section 323 of the Department of 

the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 

1999 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Wyden amendment’’), 

to permanently authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 

use Forest Service appropriations to enter into cooperative 

watershed restoration and enhancement agreements with 

governments or private nonprofit entities and landowners 

to carry out activities on NFS lands or on non-Federal 

lands within the same watersheds. Agreements are authorized for the protection, restoration, and enhancement 

of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources and/or the 

reduction of risk from natural disaster on public or private 

land to benefit resources in the watershed. The current authorization includes provisions on terms and conditions regarding technical assistance, sharing of costs, ensuring 

that expenditures are in the public interest, and that the 

public investment on non-Federal lands is protected. 

The Department supports enactment of S. 2003, and 

would like to work with the Subcommittee on a short 

amendment to provide additional authority to more fully 

implement its provisions. 

The Forest Service has successfully used the Wyden 

amendment since its original enactment and subsequent 

reauthorizations. Benefits include improved, maintained 

and protected ecosystem conditions through collaborative 

administration and implementation of projects as well as 

increased operational effectiveness and efficiency through 

coordination of efforts, services, and products to accomplish the highest priority work. 

Of the many possible examples, work on the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon illustrates the benefits of working 

across landscapes using this authority. Since 1998, the forest has implemented 26 projects, leveraging $321,000 in 

Federal investments with $387,000 in partner contributions to restore floodplains, riparian areas, and estuaries; 

install in-stream structures; monitor activities; and share 

information. Strategic use of this tool has brought a tremendous benefit to watersheds affecting National Forest 

System lands. 

Two bills have been introduced in the 109th Congress 

that contain similar language to this provision. Last September, the Department testified in strong support of H.R. 

3818, which includes authority for watershed restoration 

and enhancement agreements as part of a comprehensive 

Forest Service partnership bill. H.R. 3818, entitled the 

‘‘Forest Service Partnership Enhancement Act’’, was based 

on the Administration’s draft legislation transmitted to 

Congress under the same title. A similar bill, also with the 

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same title, S. 2676, has recently been introduced by Senators Crapo and Lincoln. 

These bills contain authority—not included in S. 2003— that would be important to the Forest Service’s future success to cooperatively carry out watershed restoration and 

enhancement agreements. That authority clarifies that watershed restoration and enhancement agreements are mutual benefit agreements. While the Department supports 

enactment of S. 2003, we would like the Subcommittee to 

consider the benefits of providing express authority for 

mutual benefit agreements as proposed by the Administration. 

* * * * * * * 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill S. 

232, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 

printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is 

shown in roman): 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES 

APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999 

(16 U.S.C. 1011; Public Law 105–277, Div. A, 101(e)) 

SEC. 323. (a) WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT

AGREEMENTS.—For øeach of fiscal years 2006 through 2011¿ fiscal 

year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter, to the extent funds are 

otherwise available, appropriations for the Forest Service may be 

used by the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of entering 

into cooperative agreements with willing Federal, tribal, State and 

local governments, private and nonprofit entities and landowners 

for the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife 

habitat, and other resources on public or private land, the reduction of risk from natural disaster where public safety is threatened, 

or a combination thereof or both that benefit these resources within 

the watershed. 

* * * * * * * 

(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—In order for the Secretary, to enter 

into a watershed restoration and enhancement agreement—

(1) the agreement shall—

(A) include such terms and conditions mutually agreed 

to by the Secretary and the landowner, state and local government, or private or nonprofit entity; 

(B) improve the viability of and otherwise benefit the 

fish, wildlife, and other resources on national forests lands 

within the watershed; 

(C) authorize the provision of technical assistance by the 

Secretary in the planning of management activities what 

will further the purposes of the agreement; 

(D) provide for the sharing of costs of implementing the 

agreement among the Federal Government, the landmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with HEARING

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owner(s), and other entities, as mutually agreed on by the 

affected interests; and 

(E) ensure that any expenditure by the Secretary pursuant to the agreement is determined by the Secretary to be 

in the public interest; and 

(2), the Secretary may require such other terms and conditions as are necessary to protect the public investment on nonFederal lands, provided such terms and conditions are mutually agreed to by the Secretary and other landowners State and 

local governments or both. 

(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code 

shall not apply to— (1) a watershed restoration and enhancement agreement entered into under this section; or 

(2) an agreement entered into under the first section of Public 

Law 94–148 (16 U.S.C. 565a–1). 

ød¿ (e). REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than December 31 

1999, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate, which contains—

(1) A concise description of each project, including the project 

purpose, location on federal and non-federal land key activities, 

and all parties to the agreement. 

(2) the funding and/or other contributions provided by each 

party for each project agreement. 

Æ 

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