109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 225

AN ACT

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake a program to reduce the risks from and mitigate the effects

of avalanches on recreational users of public land.

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

3 SEC. 1. SHORT TITLE.

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Land Rec5 reational Visitor Protection Act of 2005’’.
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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means

4 the avalanche protection program established under

5 section 3(a).

6 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means

7 the Secretary of Agriculture.

8 SEC. 3. AVALANCHE PROTECTION PROGRAM.

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, in consulta10 tion with the Secretary of the Interior, shall establish a

11 coordinated avalanche protection program—

12 (1) to provide early identification of the poten13 tial for avalanches that could endanger the safety of

14 recreational users of public land, including skiers,

15 backpackers, snowboarders, and campers and visi16 tors to units of the National Park System; and

17 (2) to reduce the risks and mitigate the effects

18 of avalanches on visitors, recreational users, neigh19 boring communities, and transportation corridors.

20 (b) COORDINATION.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing and imple22 menting the program, the Secretary shall consult

23 with the Secretary of the Interior, and coordinate

24 the program, to ensure adequate levels of protection

25 for recreational users of public land under the juris26 diction of the Secretary of the Interior, including
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1 units of the National Park System, National Recre2 ation Areas, wilderness and backcountry areas, com3 ponents of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Sys4 tem, and other areas that are subject to the poten5 tial threat of avalanches.

6 (2) RESOURCES.—In carrying out this section,

7 the Secretary and the Secretary of the Interior—

8 (A) shall, to the maximum extent prac9 ticable, use the resources of the National Ava10 lanche Center of the Forest Service; and

11 (B) may use such other resources as the

12 Secretary has available in the development and

13 implementation of the program.

14 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec16 retary of the Interior shall jointly establish an advi17 sory committee to assist in the development and im18 plementation of the program.

19 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Advisory Com21 mittee shall consist of 11 members, appointed

22 by the Secretaries, who represent authorized

23 users of artillery, other military weapons, or

24 weapons alternatives used for avalanche control.
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1 (B) REPRESENTATIVES.—The membership

2 of the Advisory Committee shall include rep3 resentatives of—

4 (i) Federal land management agencies

5 and concessionaires or permittees that are

6 exposed to the threat of avalanches;

7 (ii) State departments of transpor8 tation that have experience in dealing with

9 the effects of avalanches; and

10 (iii) Federal- or State-owned railroads

11 that have experience in dealing with the ef12 fects of avalanches.

13 (d) CENTRAL DEPOSITORY.—The Secretary, the Sec14 retary of the Interior, and the Secretary of the Army shall

15 establish a central depository for weapons, ammunition,

16 and parts for avalanche control purposes, including an in17 ventory that can be made available to Federal and non18 Federal entities for avalanche control purposes under the

19 program.

20 (e) GRANTS.—

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the Sec22 retary of the Interior may make grants to carry out

23 projects and activities under the program—

24 (A) to assist in the prevention, forecasting,

25 detection, and mitigation of avalanches for the
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1 safety and protection of persons, property, and

2 at-risk communities;

3 (B) to maintain essential transportation

4 and communications affected or potentially af5 fected by avalanches;

6 (C) to assist avalanche artillery users to

7 ensure the availability of adequate supplies of

8 artillery and other unique explosives required

9 for avalanche control in or affecting—

10 (i) units of the National Park System;

11 and

12 (ii) other Federal land used for recre13 ation purposes; and

14 (iii) adjacent communities, and essen15 tial transportation corridors, that are at

16 risk of avalanches; and

17 (D) to assist public or private persons and

18 entities in conducting research and development

19 activities for cost-effective and reliable alter20 natives to minimize reliance on military weap21 ons for avalanche control.

22 (2) PRIORITY.—For each fiscal year for which

23 funds are made available under section 4, the Sec24 retary shall give priority to projects and activities

25 carried out in avalanche zones—
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1 (A) with a high frequency or severity of

2 avalanches; or

3 (B) in which deaths or serious injuries to

4 individuals, or loss or damage to public facilities

5 and communities, have occurred or are likely to

6 occur.

7 (f) SURPLUS ORDNANCE.—Section 549(c)(3) of title

8 40, United States Code, is amended—

9 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ after

10 the semicolon at the end;

11 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period

12 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and

13 (3) by adding at the end the following:

14 ‘‘(C) in the case of surplus artillery ord15 nance that is suitable for avalanche control pur16 poses, to a user of such ordnance.’’.

17 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out

19 this Act $15,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2006 through

20 2010.

Passed the Senate July 26, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 225

AN ACT

To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to undertake

public land.the effects of avalanches on recreational users ofa program to reduce the risks from and mitigate