109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 263

AN ACT

To provide for the protection of paleontological resources

on Federal lands, 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 ‘‘Paleontological Re5 sources Preservation Act’’.
 †

2

S 263 ES

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 As used in this Act:

3 (1) CASUAL COLLECTING.—The term ‘‘casual

4 collecting’’ means the collecting of a reasonable

5 amount of common invertebrate and plant paleon6 tological resources for non-commercial personal use,

7 either by surface collection or the use of non-pow8 ered hand tools resulting in only negligible disturb9 ance to the Earth’s surface and other resources. As

10 used in this paragraph, the terms ‘‘reasonable

11 amount’’, ‘‘common invertebrate and plant paleon12 tological resources’’ and ‘‘negligible disturbance’’

13 shall be determined by the Secretary.

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

15 the Secretary of the Interior with respect to lands

16 controlled or administered by the Secretary of the

17 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect

18 to National Forest System Lands controlled or ad19 ministered by the Secretary of Agriculture.

20 (3) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal

21 lands’’ means—

22 (A) lands controlled or administered by the

23 Secretary of the Interior, except Indian lands;

24 or
†

3

S 263 ES

1 (B) National Forest System lands con2 trolled or administered by the Secretary of Ag3 riculture.

4 (4) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’

5 means lands of Indian tribes, or Indian individuals,

6 which are either held in trust by the United States

7 or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed

8 by the United States.

9 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the fifty

10 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth

11 of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession

12 of the United States.

13 (6) PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term

14 ‘‘paleontological resource’’ means any fossilized re15 mains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in

16 or on the earth’s crust, that are of paleontological

17 interest and that provide information about the his18 tory of life on earth, except that the term does not

19 include—

20 (A) any materials associated with an ar21 chaeological resource (as defined in section 3(1)

22 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act

23 of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb(1)); or
†

4

S 263 ES

1 (B) any cultural item (as defined in section

2 2 of the Native American Graves Protection

3 and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)).

4 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage and

6 protect paleontological resources on Federal lands using

7 scientific principles and expertise. The Secretary shall de8 velop appropriate plans for inventory, monitoring, and the

9 scientific and educational use of paleontological resources,

10 in accordance with applicable agency laws, regulations,

11 and policies. These plans shall emphasize interagency co12 ordination and collaborative efforts where possible with

13 non-Federal partners, the scientific community, and the

14 general public.

15 (b) COORDINATION.—To the extent possible, the Sec16 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture

17 shall coordinate in the implementation of this Act.

18 SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION PROGRAM.

19 The Secretary shall establish a program to increase

20 public awareness about the significance of paleontological

21 resources.

22 SEC. 5. COLLECTION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES.

23 (a) PERMIT REQUIREMENT.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this

25 Act, a paleontological resource may not be collected
†

5

S 263 ES

1 from Federal lands without a permit issued under

2 this Act by the Secretary.

3 (2) CASUAL COLLECTING EXCEPTION.—The

4 Secretary may allow casual collecting without a per5 mit on Federal lands controlled or administered by

6 the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of

7 Reclamation, and the Forest Service, where such col8 lection is consistent with the laws governing the

9 management of those Federal lands and this Act.

10 (3) PREVIOUS PERMIT EXCEPTION.—Nothing in

11 this section shall affect a valid permit issued prior

12 to the date of enactment of this Act.

13 (b) CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT.—The

14 Secretary may issue a permit for the collection of a paleon15 tological resource pursuant to an application if the Sec16 retary determines that—

17 (1) the applicant is qualified to carry out the

18 permitted activity;

19 (2) the permitted activity is undertaken for the

20 purpose of furthering paleontological knowledge or

21 for public education;

22 (3) the permitted activity is consistent with any

23 management plan applicable to the Federal lands

24 concerned; and
†

6

S 263 ES

1 (4) the proposed methods of collecting will not

2 threaten significant natural or cultural resources.

3 (c) PERMIT SPECIFICATIONS.—A permit for the col4 lection of a paleontological resource issued under this sec5 tion shall contain such terms and conditions as the Sec6 retary deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this

7 Act. Every permit shall include requirements that—

8 (1) the paleontological resource that is collected

9 from Federal lands under the permit will remain the

10 property of the United States;

11 (2) the paleontological resource and copies of

12 associated records will be preserved for the public in

13 an approved repository, to be made available for sci14 entific research and public education; and

15 (3) specific locality data will not be released by

16 the permittee or repository without the written per17 mission of the Secretary.

18 (d) MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, AND REVOCATION

19 OF PERMITS.—

20 (1) The Secretary may modify, suspend, or re21 voke a permit issued under this section—

22 (A) for resource, safety, or other manage23 ment considerations; or
†

7

S 263 ES

1 (B) when there is a violation of term or

2 condition of a permit issued pursuant to this

3 section.

4 (2) The permit shall be revoked if any person

5 working under the authority of the permit is con6 victed under section 7 or is assessed a civil penalty

7 under section 8.

8 (e) AREA CLOSURES.—In order to protect paleon9 tological or other resources and to provide for public safe10 ty, the Secretary may restrict access to or close areas

11 under the Secretary’s jurisdiction to the collection of pale12 ontological resources.

13 SEC. 6. CURATION OF RESOURCES.

14 Any paleontological resource, and any data and

15 records associated with the resource, collected under a per16 mit, shall be deposited in an approved repository. The Sec17 retary may enter into agreements with non-Federal reposi18 tories regarding the curation of these resources, data, and

19 records.

20 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS; CRIMINAL PENALTIES.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—A person may not—

22 (1) excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise

23 alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, dam24 age, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological
†

8

S 263 ES

1 resources located on Federal lands unless such activ2 ity is conducted in accordance with this Act;

3 (2) exchange, transport, export, receive, or offer

4 to exchange, transport, export, or receive any pale5 ontological resource if, in the exercise of due care,

6 the person knew or should have known such resource

7 to have been excavated or removed from Federal

8 lands in violation of any provisions, rule, regulation,

9 law, ordinance, or permit in effect under Federal

10 law, including this Act; or

11 (3) sell or purchase or offer to sell or purchase

12 any paleontological resource if, in the exercise of due

13 care, the person knew or should have known such re14 source to have been excavated, removed, sold, pur15 chased, exchanged, transported, or received from

16 Federal lands.

17 (b) FALSE LABELING OFFENSES.—A person may not

18 make or submit any false record, account, or label for,

19 or any false identification of, any paleontological resource

20 excavated or removed from Federal lands.

21 (c) PENALTIES.—A person who knowingly violates or

22 counsels, procures, solicits, or employs another person to

23 violate subsection (a) or (b) shall, upon conviction, be

24 fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or

25 imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both; but if the
†

9

S 263 ES

1 sum of the commercial and paleontological value of the

2 paleontological resources involved and the cost of restora3 tion and repair of such resources does not exceed $500,

4 such person shall be fined in accordance with title 18,

5 United States Code, or imprisoned not more than one

6 year, or both.

7 (d) GENERAL EXCEPTION.—Nothing in subsection

8 (a) shall apply to any person with respect to any paleon9 tological resource which was in the lawful possession of

10 such person prior to the date of the enactment of this Act.

11 SEC. 8. CIVIL PENALTIES.

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—

13 (1) HEARING.—A person who violates any pro14 hibition contained in an applicable regulation or per15 mit issued under this Act may be assessed a penalty

16 by the Secretary after the person is given notice and

17 opportunity for a hearing with respect to the viola18 tion. Each violation shall be considered a separate

19 offense for purposes of this section.

20 (2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—The amount of

21 such penalty assessed under paragraph (1) shall be

22 determined under regulations promulgated pursuant

23 to this Act, taking into account the following factors:
†

10

S 263 ES

1 (A) The scientific or fair market value,

2 whichever is greater, of the paleontological re3 source involved, as determined by the Secretary.

4 (B) The cost of response, restoration, and

5 repair of the resource and the paleontological

6 site involved.

7 (C) Any other factors considered relevant

8 by the Secretary assessing the penalty.

9 (3) MULTIPLE OFFENSES.—In the case of a

10 second or subsequent violation by the same person,

11 the amount of a penalty assessed under paragraph

12 (2) may be doubled.

13 (4) LIMITATION.—The amount of any penalty

14 assessed under this subsection for any one violation

15 shall not exceed an amount equal to double the cost

16 of response, restoration, and repair of resources and

17 paleontological site damage plus double the scientific

18 or fair market value of resources destroyed or not

19 recovered.

20 (b) PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW; COLLECTION

21 OF UNPAID ASSESSMENTS.—

22 (1) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person against

23 whom an order is issued assessing a penalty under

24 subsection (a) may file a petition for judicial review

25 of the order in the United States District Court for
†

11

S 263 ES

1 the District of Columbia or in the district in which

2 the violation is alleged to have occurred within the

3 30-day period beginning on the date the order mak4 ing the assessment was issued. Upon notice of such

5 filing, the Secretary shall promptly file such a cer6 tified copy of the record on which the order was

7 issued. The court shall hear the action on the record

8 made before the Secretary and shall sustain the ac9 tion if it is supported by substantial evidence on the

10 record considered as a whole.

11 (2) FAILURE TO PAY.—If any person fails to

12 pay a penalty under this section within 30 days—

13 (A) after the order making assessment has

14 become final and the person has not filed a pe15 tition for judicial review of the order in accord16 ance with paragraph (1); or

17 (B) after a court in an action brought in

18 paragraph (1) has entered a final judgment up19 holding the assessment of the penalty, the Sec20 retary may request the Attorney General to in21 stitute a civil action in a district court of the

22 United States for any district in which the per23 son if found, resides, or transacts business, to

24 collect the penalty (plus interest at currently

25 prevailing rates from the date of the final order
†

12

S 263 ES

1 or the date of the final judgment, as the case

2 may be). The district court shall have jurisdic3 tion to hear and decide any such action. In

4 such action, the validity, amount, and appro5 priateness of such penalty shall not be subject

6 to review. Any person who fails to pay on a

7 timely basis the amount of an assessment of a

8 civil penalty as described in the first sentence of

9 this paragraph shall be required to pay, in addi10 tion to such amount and interest, attorneys fees

11 and costs for collection proceedings.

12 (c) HEARINGS.—Hearings held during proceedings

13 instituted under subsection (a) shall be conducted in ac14 cordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code.

15 (d) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.—Penalties col16 lected under this section shall be available to the Secretary

17 and without further appropriation may be used only as

18 follows:

19 (1) To protect, restore, or repair the paleon20 tological resources and sites which were the subject

21 of the action, or to acquire sites with equivalent re22 sources, and to protect, monitor, and study the re23 sources and sites. Any acquisition shall be subject to

24 any limitations contained in the organic legislation

25 for such Federal lands.
†

13

S 263 ES

1 (2) To provide educational materials to the

2 public about paleontological resources and sites.

3 (3) To provide for the payment of rewards as

4 provided in section 9.

5 SEC. 9. REWARDS AND FORFEITURE.

6 (a) REWARDS.—The Secretary may pay from pen7 alties collected under section 7 or 8—

8 (1) consistent with amounts established in regu9 lations by the Secretary; or

10 (2) if no such regulation exists, an amount

11 equal to the lesser of one-half of the penalty or

12 $500, to any person who furnishes information

13 which leads to the finding of a civil violation, or the

14 conviction of criminal violation, with respect to

15 which the penalty was paid. If several persons pro16 vided the information, the amount shall be divided

17 among the persons. No officer or employee of the

18 United States or of any State or local government

19 who furnishes information or renders service in the

20 performance of his official duties shall be eligible for

21 payment under this subsection.

22 (b) FORFEITURE.—All paleontological resources with

23 respect to which a violation under section 7 or 8 occurred

24 and which are in the possession of any person, and all

25 vehicles and equipment of any person that were used in
†

14

S 263 ES

1 connection with the violation, shall be subject to civil for2 feiture, or upon conviction, to criminal forfeiture. All pro3 visions of law relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and con4 demnation of property for a violation of this Act, the dis5 position of such property or the proceeds from the sale

6 thereof, and remission or mitigation of such forfeiture, as

7 well as the procedural provisions of chapter 46 of title 18,

8 United States Code, shall apply to the seizures and forfeit9 ures incurred or alleged to have incurred under the provi10 sions of this Act.

11 (c) TRANSFER OF SEIZED RESOURCES.—The Sec12 retary may transfer administration of seized paleontolog13 ical resources to Federal or non-Federal educational insti14 tutions to be used for scientific or educational purposes.

15 SEC. 10. CONFIDENTIALITY.

16 Information concerning the nature and specific loca17 tion of a paleontological resource the collection of which

18 requires a permit under this Act or under any other provi19 sion of Federal law shall be exempt from disclosure under

20 section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and any other

21 law unless the Secretary determines that disclosure

22 would—

23 (1) further the purposes of this Act;
†

15

S 263 ES

1 (2) not create risk of harm to or theft or de2 struction of the resource or the site containing the

3 resource; and

4 (3) be in accordance with other applicable laws.

5 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS.

6 As soon as practical after the date of the enactment

7 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as

8 are appropriate to carry out this Act, providing opportuni9 ties for public notice and comment.

10 SEC. 12. SAVINGS PROVISIONS.

11 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to—

12 (1) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional

13 restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac14 tivities permitted at any time under the general min15 ing laws, the mineral or geothermal leasing laws,

16 laws providing for minerals materials disposal, or

17 laws providing for the management or regulation of

18 the activities authorized by the aforementioned laws

19 including but not limited to the Federal Land Policy

20 Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701–1784), Public

21 Law 94–429 (commonly known as the ‘‘Mining in

22 the Parks Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), the Sur23 face Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977

24 (30 U.S.C. 1201–1358), and the Organic Adminis25 tration Act (16 U.S.C. 478, 482, 551);
†

16

S 263 ES

1 (2) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional

2 restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac3 tivities permitted at any time under existing laws

4 and authorities relating to reclamation and multiple

5 uses of Federal lands;

6 (3) apply to, or require a permit for, casual col7 lecting of a rock, mineral, or invertebrate or plant

8 fossil that is not protected under this Act;

9 (4) affect any lands other than Federal lands or

10 affect the lawful recovery, collection, or sale of pale11 ontological resources from lands other than Federal

12 lands;

13 (5) alter or diminish the authority of a Federal

14 agency under any other law to provide protection for

15 paleontological resources on Federal lands in addi16 tion to the protection provided under this Act; or

17 (6) create any right, privilege, benefit, or enti18 tlement for any person who is not an officer or em19 ployee of the United States acting in that capacity.

20 No person who is not an officer or employee of the

21 United States acting in that capacity shall have

22 standing to file any civil action in a court of the

23 United States to enforce any provision or amend24 ment made by this Act.
†

17

S 263 ES

1 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums

3 as may be necessary to carry out this Act.

Passed the Senate July 26, 2005.

Attest:

Secretary.
109TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 263

AN ACT

To provide for the protection of paleontological

resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes.