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Union Calendar No. 190 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2720 

[Report No. 109–341, Part I] 

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. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 26, 2005 

Mr. PEARCE (for himself, Mr. OSBORNE, Mr. BONILLA, Mr. CONAWAY, Mr. 

HUNTER, Mr. SALAZAR, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, and Mrs. CUBIN) 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 

DECEMBER 13, 2005 

Reported from the Committee on Resources 

DECEMBER 13, 2005 

Additional sponsors: Mr. UDALL of New Mexico and Ms. HERSETH

DECEMBER 13, 2005 

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the Committee of the 

Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 

A BILL 

To further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Author-
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ization 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’’. 

6 SEC. 2. SALT CEDAR AND RUSSIAN OLIVE CONTROL DEM7 ONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

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

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

10 through the Commissioner of Reclamation and the Direc11 tor of the United States Geological Survey and in coopera12 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

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

14 Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) assessment and 

15 demonstration program— 

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

17 salt cedar and Russian olive trees in the western 

18 United States; 

19 (2) to demonstrate strategic solutions for— 

20 (A) the long-term management of salt 

21 cedar and Russian olive trees; and 
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1 (B) the reestablishment of native vegeta2 tion; and 

3 (3) to assess economic means to dispose of bio4 mass created as a result of removal of salt cedar and 

5 Russian olive trees. 

6 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—As soon 

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

8 Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into 

9 a memorandum of understanding providing for the admin10 istration of the program established under subsection (a). 

11 (c) ASSESSMENT.— 

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

13 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

14 out this Act, the Secretary shall complete an assess15 ment of the extent of salt cedar and Russian olive 

16 infestation on public and private land in the western 

17 United States. 

18 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to describing 

19 the acreage of and severity of infestation by salt 

20 cedar and Russian olive trees in the western United 

21 States, the assessment shall— 

22 (A) consider existing research on methods 

23 to control salt cedar and Russian olive trees; 
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1 (B) consider the feasibility of reducing 

2 water consumption by salt cedar and Russian 

3 olive trees; 

4 (C) consider methods of and challenges as5 sociated with the revegetation or restoration of 

6 infested land; and 

7 (D) estimate the costs of destruction of 

8 salt cedar and Russian olive trees, related bio9 mass removal, and revegetation or restoration 

10 and maintenance of the infested land. 

11 (3) REPORT.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall 

13 submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat14 ural Resources and the Committee on Agri15 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate 

16 and the Committee on Resources and the Com17 mittee on Agriculture of the House of Rep18 resentatives a report that includes the results of 

19 the assessment conducted under paragraph (1). 

20 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

21 under subparagraph (A) shall identify— 

22 (i) long-term management and fund23 ing strategies identified under subsection 

24 (d) that could be implemented by Federal, 

25 State, tribal, and private land managers 
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1 and owners to address the infestation by 

2 salt cedar and Russian olive; 

3 (ii) any deficiencies in the assessment 

4 or areas for additional study; and 

5 (iii) any field demonstrations that 

6 would be useful in the effort to control salt 

7 cedar and Russian olive. 

8 (d) LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.— 

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

10 and document long-term management and funding 

11 strategies that— 

12 (A) could be implemented by Federal, 

13 State, tribal, and private land managers in ad14 dressing infestation by salt cedar and Russian 

15 olive trees; and 

16 (B) should be tested as components of 

17 demonstration projects under subsection (e). 

18 (2) GRANTS.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 

20 provide grants to eligible entities to provide 

21 technical experience, support, and recommenda22 tions relating to the identification and docu23 mentation of long-term management and fund24 ing strategies under paragraph (1). 
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1 (B) ELIGIBLE ENTITIES.—Institutions of 

2 higher education and nonprofit organizations 

3 with an established background and expertise in 

4 the public policy issues associated with the con5 trol of salt cedar and Russian olive trees shall 

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

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

8 grant provided under subparagraph (A) shall be 

9 not less than $250,000. 

10 (e) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

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

12 after the date on which funds are made available to 

13 carry out this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

14 program that selects and funds not less than 5 

15 projects proposed by and implemented in collabora16 tion with Federal agencies, units of State and local 

17 government, national laboratories, Indian tribes, in18 stitutions of higher education, individuals, organiza19 tions, or soil and water conservation districts to 

20 demonstrate and evaluate the most effective methods 

21 of controlling salt cedar and Russian olive trees. 

22 (2) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The demonstra23 tion projects under paragraph (1) shall— 
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1 (A) be carried out over a time period and 

2 to a scale designed to fully assess long-term 

3 management strategies; 

4 (B) implement salt cedar or Russian olive 

5 tree control using 1 or more methods for each 

6 project in order to assess the full range of con7 trol methods, including— 

8 (i) airborne application of herbicides; 

9 (ii) mechanical removal; and 

10 (iii) biocontrol methods, such as the 

11 use of goats or insects; 

12 (C) individually or in conjunction with 

13 other demonstration projects, assess the effects 

14 of and obstacles to combining multiple control 

15 methods and determine optimal combinations of 

16 control methods; 

17 (D) assess soil conditions resulting from 

18 salt cedar and Russian olive tree infestation 

19 and means to revitalize soils; 

20 (E) define and implement appropriate final 

21 vegetative states and optimal revegetation 

22 methods, with preference for self-maintaining 

23 vegetative states and native vegetation, and tak24 ing into consideration downstream impacts, 

25 wildfire potential, and water savings; 
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1 (F) identify methods for preventing the re2 growth and reintroduction of salt cedar and 

3 Russian olive trees; 

4 (G) monitor and document any water sav5 ings from the control of salt cedar and Russian 

6 olive trees, including impacts to both ground7 water and surface water; 

8 (H) assess wildfire activity and manage9 ment strategies; 

10 (I) assess changes in wildlife habitat; 

11 (J) determine conditions under which re12 moval of biomass is appropriate (including opti13 mal methods for the disposal or use of bio14 mass); and 

15 (K) assess economic and other impacts as16 sociated with control methods and the restora17 tion and maintenance of land. 

18 (f) DISPOSITION OF BIOMASS.— 

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

20 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

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

22 Secretary of Agriculture, shall complete an analysis 

23 of economic means to use or dispose of biomass cre24 ated as a result of removal of salt cedar and Russian 

25 olive trees. 
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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The analysis shall— 

2 (A) determine conditions under which re3 moval of biomass is economically viable; 

4 (B) consider and build upon existing re5 search by the Department of Agriculture and 

6 other agencies on beneficial uses of salt cedar 

7 and Russian olive tree fiber; and 

8 (C) consider economic development oppor9 tunities, including manufacture of wood prod10 ucts using biomass resulting from demonstra11 tion projects under subsection (e) as a means of 

12 defraying costs of control. 

13 (g) COSTS.— 

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

15 activities carried out under this Act— 

16 (A) the assessment under subsection (c) 

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

18 $4,000,000; 

19 (B) the identification and documentation 

20 of long-term management strategies under sub21 section (d)(1) and the provision of grants under 

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

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

24 (C) each demonstration project under sub25 section (e) shall be carried out at a Federal cost 
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1 of not more than $7,000,000 (including costs of 

2 planning, design, implementation, maintenance, 

3 and monitoring); and 

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

5 be carried out at a cost of not more than 

6 $3,000,000. 

7 (2) COST-SHARING.— 

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The assessment under 

9 subsection (c), the identification and docu10 mentation of long-term management strategies 

11 under subsection (d), a demonstration project 

12 or portion of a demonstration project under 

13 subsection (e) that is carried out on Federal 

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

15 be carried out at full Federal expense. 

16 (B) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS CARRIED

17 OUT ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.— 

18 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

19 of the costs of any demonstration project 

20 funded under subsection (e) that is not 

21 carried out on Federal land shall not ex22 ceed 75 percent. 

23 (ii) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL

24 SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the 

25 costs of a demonstration project that is not 
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1 carried out on Federal land may be pro2 vided in the form of in-kind contributions, 

3 including services provided by a State 

4 agency or any other public or private part5 ner. 

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

7 under subsection (c), the demonstration projects under 

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

9 Secretary shall cooperate with and use the expertise of 

10 Federal agencies and the other entities specified in sub11 section (e)(1) that are actively conducting research on or 

12 implementing salt cedar and Russian olive tree control ac13 tivities. 

14 (i) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

15 subject to independent review— 

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

17 (2) the identification and documentation of 

18 long-term management strategies under subsection 

19 (d); 

20 (3) the demonstration projects under subsection 

21 (e); and 

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

23 (j) REPORTING.— 

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

25 to Congress an annual report that describes the re-
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1 sults of carrying out this Act, including a synopsis 

2 of any independent review under subsection (i) and 

3 details of the manner and purposes for which funds 

4 are expended. 

5 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall fa6 cilitate public access to all information that results 

7 from carrying out this Act. 

8 (k) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

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

10 appropriated to carry out this Act— 

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

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

13 2007 through 2010. 

14 (2) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—Not more 15 

15 percent of amounts made available under paragraph 

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

17 carrying out the program established under sub18 section (a). 

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

20 authority provided by this Act terminate on the date that 

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

Union Calendar No. 190 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2720 

[Report No. 109–341, Part I] 

A BILL 

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 

DECEMBER 13, 2005 

Reported from the Committee on Resources 

DECEMBER 13, 2005 

Committee on Agriculture discharged; committed to the 

Union and ordered to be printed Committee of the Whole House on the State of the