II 

Calendar No. 420 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2720 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 3, 2006 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 

AN ACT 

To further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the 

Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and 

demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian 

olive, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Salt Cedar and Rus5 sian Olive Control Demonstration Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. SALT CEDAR AND RUSSIAN OLIVE CONTROL DEM2 ONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

4 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting 

5 through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Direc6 tor of the United States Geological Survey and in coopera7 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

8 of Defense, shall carry out a salt cedar (Tamarix spp) and 

9 Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) assessment and 

10 demonstration program— 

11 (1) to assess the extent of the infestation by 

12 salt cedar and Russian olive trees in the western 

13 United States; 

14 (2) to demonstrate strategic solutions for— 

15 (A) the long-term management of salt 

16 cedar and Russian olive trees; and 

17 (B) the reestablishment of native vegeta18 tion; and 

19 (3) to assess economic means to dispose of bio20 mass created as a result of removal of salt cedar and 

21 Russian olive trees. 

22 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—As soon 

23 as practicable after the date of enactment of this Act, the 

24 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into 

25 a memorandum of understanding providing for the admin26 istration of the program established under subsection (a). 


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1 (c) ASSESSMENT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

3 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

4 out this Act, the Secretary shall complete an assess5 ment of the extent of salt cedar and Russian olive 

6 infestation on public and private land in the western 

7 United States. 

8 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to describing 

9 the acreage of and severity of infestation by salt 

10 cedar and Russian olive trees in the western United 

11 States, the assessment shall— 

12 (A) consider existing research on methods 

13 to control salt cedar and Russian olive trees; 

14 (B) consider the feasibility of reducing 

15 water consumption by salt cedar and Russian 

16 olive trees; 

17 (C) consider methods of and challenges as18 sociated with the revegetation or restoration of 

19 infested land; and 

20 (D) estimate the costs of destruction of 

21 salt cedar and Russian olive trees, related bio22 mass removal, and revegetation or restoration 

23 and maintenance of the infested land. 

24 (3) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

2 submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat3 ural Resources and the Committee on Agri4 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 

5 and the Committee on Resources and the Com6 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep7 resentatives a report that includes the results of 

8 the assessment conducted under paragraph (1). 

9 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

10 under subparagraph (A) shall identify— 

11 (i) long-term management and fund12 ing strategies identified under subsection 

13 (d) that could be implemented by Federal, 

14 State, tribal, and private land managers 

15 and owners to address the infestation by 

16 salt cedar and Russian olive; 

17 (ii) any deficiencies in the assessment 

18 or areas for additional study; and 

19 (iii) any field demonstrations that 

20 would be useful in the effort to control salt 

21 cedar and Russian olive. 

22 (d) LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall identify 

24 and document long-term management and funding 

25 strategies that— 


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1 (A) could be implemented by Federal, 

2 State, tribal, and private land managers in ad3 dressing infestation by salt cedar and Russian 

4 olive trees; and 

5 (B) should be tested as components of 

6 demonstration projects under subsection (e). 

7 (2) GRANTS.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

9 provide grants to eligible entities to provide 

10 technical experience, support, and recommenda11 tions relating to the identification and docu12 mentation of long-term management and fund13 ing strategies under paragraph (1). 

14 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Institutions of 

15 higher education and nonprofit organizations 

16 with an established background and expertise in 

17 the public policy issues associated with the con18 trol of salt cedar and Russian olive trees shall 

19 be eligible for a grant under subparagraph (A). 

20 (C) MINIMUM AMOUNT.—The amount of a 

21 grant provided under subparagraph (A) shall be 

22 not less than $250,000. 

23 (e) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date on which funds are made available to 


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1 carry out this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

2 program that selects and funds not less than 5 

3 projects proposed by and implemented in collabora4 tion with Federal agencies, units of State and local 

5 government, national laboratories, Indian tribes, in6 stitutions of higher education, individuals, organiza7 tions, or soil and water conservation districts to 

8 demonstrate and evaluate the most effective methods 

9 of controlling salt cedar and Russian olive trees. 

10 (2) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The demonstra11 tion projects under paragraph (1) shall— 

12 (A) be carried out over a time period and 

13 to a scale designed to fully assess long-term 

14 management strategies; 

15 (B) implement salt cedar or Russian olive 

16 tree control using 1 or more methods for each 

17 project in order to assess the full range of con18 trol methods, including— 

19 (i) airborne application of herbicides; 

20 (ii) mechanical removal; and 

21 (iii) biocontrol methods, such as the 

22 use of goats or insects; 

23 (C) individually or in conjunction with 

24 other demonstration projects, assess the effects 

25 of and obstacles to combining multiple control 


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1 methods and determine optimal combinations of 

2 control methods; 

3 (D) assess soil conditions resulting from 

4 salt cedar and Russian olive tree infestation 

5 and means to revitalize soils; 

6 (E) define and implement appropriate final 

7 vegetative states and optimal revegetation 

8 methods, with preference for self-maintaining 

9 vegetative states and native vegetation, and tak10 ing into consideration downstream impacts, 

11 wildfire potential, and water savings; 

12 (F) identify methods for preventing the re13 growth and reintroduction of salt cedar and 

14 Russian olive trees; 

15 (G) monitor and document any water sav16 ings from the control of salt cedar and Russian 

17 olive trees, including impacts to both ground18 water and surface water; 

19 (H) assess wildfire activity and manage20 ment strategies; 

21 (I) assess changes in wildlife habitat; 

22 (J) determine conditions under which re23 moval of biomass is appropriate (including opti24 mal methods for the disposal or use of bio25 mass); and 


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1 (K) assess economic and other impacts as2 sociated with control methods and the restora3 tion and maintenance of land. 

4 (f) DISPOSITION OF BIOMASS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

6 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

7 out this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the 

8 Secretary of Agriculture, shall complete an analysis 

9 of economic means to use or dispose of biomass cre10 ated as a result of removal of salt cedar and Russian 

11 olive trees. 

12 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The analysis shall— 

13 (A) determine conditions under which re14 moval of biomass is economically viable; 

15 (B) consider and build upon existing re16 search by the Department of Agriculture and 

17 other agencies on beneficial uses of salt cedar 

18 and Russian olive tree fiber; and 

19 (C) consider economic development oppor20 tunities, including manufacture of wood prod21 ucts using biomass resulting from demonstra22 tion projects under subsection (e) as a means of 

23 defraying costs of control. 

24 (g) COSTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to projects and 

2 activities carried out under this Act— 

3 (A) the assessment under subsection (c) 

4 shall be carried out at a cost of not more than 

5 $4,000,000; 

6 (B) the identification and documentation 

7 of long-term management strategies under sub8 section (d)(1) and the provision of grants under 

9 subsection (d)(2) shall be carried out at a cost 

10 of not more than $2,000,000; 

11 (C) each demonstration project under sub12 section (e) shall be carried out at a Federal cost 

13 of not more than $7,000,000 (including costs of 

14 planning, design, implementation, maintenance, 

15 and monitoring); and 

16 (D) the analysis under subsection (f) shall 

17 be carried out at a cost of not more than 

18 $3,000,000. 

19 (2) COST-SHARING.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The assessment under 

21 subsection (c), the identification and docu22 mentation of long-term management strategies 

23 under subsection (d), a demonstration project 

24 or portion of a demonstration project under 

25 subsection (e) that is carried out on Federal 


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1 land, and the analysis under subsection (f) shall 

2 be carried out at full Federal expense. 

3 (B) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS CARRIED

4 OUT ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.— 

5 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

6 of the costs of any demonstration project 

7 funded under subsection (e) that is not 

8 carried out on Federal land shall not ex9 ceed 75 percent. 

10 (ii) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL

11 SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the 

12 costs of a demonstration project that is not 

13 carried out on Federal land may be pro14 vided in the form of in-kind contributions, 

15 including services provided by a State 

16 agency or any other public or private part17 ner. 

18 (h) COOPERATION.—In carrying out the assessment 

19 under subsection (c), the demonstration projects under 

20 subsection (e), and the analysis under subsection (f), the 

21 Secretary shall cooperate with and use the expertise of 

22 Federal agencies and the other entities specified in sub23 section (e)(1) that are actively conducting research on or 

24 implementing salt cedar and Russian olive tree control ac25 tivities. 


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1 (i) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

2 subject to independent review— 

3 (1) the assessment under subsection (c); 

4 (2) the identification and documentation of 

5 long-term management strategies under subsection 

6 (d); 

7 (3) the demonstration projects under subsection 

8 (e); and 

9 (4) the analysis under subsection (f). 

10 (j) REPORTING.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

12 to Congress an annual report that describes the re13 sults of carrying out this Act, including a synopsis 

14 of any independent review under subsection (I) and 

15 details of the manner and purposes for which funds 

16 are expended. 

17 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall fa18 cilitate public access to all information that results 

19 from carrying out this Act. 

20 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—There are authorized to be 

22 appropriated to carry out this Act— 

23 (A) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

24 (B) $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

25 2007 through 2010. 


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1 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 15 

2 percent of amounts made available under paragraph 

3 (1) shall be used to pay the administrative costs of 

4 carrying out the program established under sub5 section (a). 

6 (l) TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.—This Act and the 

7 authority provided by this Act terminate on the date that 

8 is 5 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives May 2, 2006. 

Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, 

Clerk. 


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Calendar No. 420 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 2720 

AN ACT 

To further the purposes of the Reclamation 

and for other purposes. program to control salt cedar and Russian olive, to carry out an assessment and demonstration acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, 1992 by directing the Secretary of the Interior, Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 

MAY 3, 2006 

Received; read twice and placed on the calendar 


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