I

104TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION H. R. 3297

To provide for improved access to and use of the Boundary Waters Canoe

Area Wilderness, and for other purposes.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 23, 1996

Mr. OBERSTAR introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for improved access to and use of the Boundary

Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, 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. MOTORBOATS IN BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE

4 AREA WILDERNESS.

5 (a) BASSWOOD, SAGANAGA, AND BIRCH LAKES.—

6 Section 4(c) of Public Law 95–495 (92 Stat. 1650) is

7 amended—

8 (1) in paragraph (1)—
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1 (A) by striking ‘‘Basswood, except’’ and all

2 that follows through ‘‘Washington Island;’’ and

3 inserting ‘‘Basswood, Lake County;’’;

4 (B) by striking ‘‘, except for that portion

5 west of American Point’’; and

6 (C) by inserting ‘‘Birch, Lake County;’’

7 after ‘‘Moose, Lake County;’’; and

8 (2) by striking paragraph (4).

9 (b) LAC LA CROIX.—Section 4(d) of Public Law 95–

10 495 (92 Stat. 1651) is amended by striking ‘‘that portion

11 of the Lac La Croix, Saint Louis County, south of Snow

12 Bay and east of Wilkins Bay’’ and inserting ‘‘and Lac la

13 Croix, Saint Louis County’’.

14 (c) SEAGULL LAKE.—Section 4(c) of Public Law 95–

15 495 (92 Stat. 1650) is amended—

16 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘, that portion

17 generally east of Threemile Island, Cook County’’;

18 and

19 (2) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘Sea Gull,

20 Cook County, that portion generally west of

21 Threemile Island, until January 1, 1999;’’.

22 SEC. 2. GUESTS.

23 The second proviso of section 4(f) of Public Law 95–

24 495 (92 Stat. 1651) is amended—
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1 (1) by striking ‘‘homeowners and their guests

2 and resort owners and their guests’’ and inserting in

3 lieu thereof ‘‘homeowners and resort owners and the

4 day and overnight guests of homeowners and resort

5 owners who buy or rent goods and services’’; and

6 (2) by inserting ‘‘or chain of lakes’’ after ‘‘shall

7 have access to that particular lake’’.

8 SEC. 3. MOTORIZED PORTAGES.

9 Section 4(g) of Public Law 95–495 (92 Stat. 1651)

10 is amended to read as follows:

11 ‘‘(g) Nothing in this Act shall be construed to prevent

12 the operation of motorized vehicles and associated equip13 ment which is necessary to assist in the transport of boats

14 across the portages from Moose Lake Chain to Basswood

15 Lake, from Fall Lake to Basswood Lake, and from Lake

16 Vermilion to Trout Lake.’’.

17 SEC. 4. BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS

18 INTERGOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL.

19 Public Law 95–495 (92 Stat. 1650) is amended by

20 adding at the end the following new section:

21 ‘‘SEC. 22. BOUNDARY WATERS CANOE AREA WILDERNESS

22 INTERGOVERNMENTAL COUNCIL.

23 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—

24 ‘‘(1) MEMBERSHIP.—There is hereby estab25 lished the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness
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1 Intergovernmental Council (hereafter in this section

2 referred to as the ‘‘Council’’). The Council shall be

3 composed of 11 members, as follows:

4 ‘‘(A) The Under Secretary for Natural Re5 sources and Environment, Department of Agri6 culture, ex officio, or his designee.

7 ‘‘(B) Three individuals, appointed by the

8 Secretary after consideration of recommenda9 tions by the Governor, to represent the Min10 nesota Department of Natural Resources, the

11 Minnesota Environmental Quality Board, and

12 the Minnesota Office of Tourism.

13 ‘‘(C) One individual appointed by the Sec14 retary to represent the Minnesota Historical

15 Society.

16 ‘‘(D) The Chair of the St. Louis County

17 Commissioners, or the designee of the Chair, ex

18 officio.

19 ‘‘(E) The Chair of the Lake County Com20 missioners, or the designee of the Chair, ex

21 officio.

22 ‘‘(F) The Chair of Cook County Commis23 sioners, or the designee of the Chair, ex officio.
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1 ‘‘(G) The State Senator, who represents

2 the area in which the wilderness is located, or

3 the designee of the State Senator, ex officio.

4 ‘‘(H) The State Representative, who rep5 resents the area in which the wilderness is lo6 cated, or the designee of the State Representa7 tive, ex officio.

8 ‘‘(I) One member of the Native American

9 community to represent the 1854 Treaty Au10 thority.

11 ‘‘(2) TERMS.—The term of the members ap12 pointed to the Council under paragraph (1), other

13 than ex officio members, shall be two years. Any

14 member of the Council appointed for a definite term

15 may serve after the expiration of his term until his

16 successor is appointed.

17 ‘‘(3) COMPENSATION.—Members of the Council

18 who are not employed by the Federal Government

19 shall serve without pay. While away from their

20 homes or regular places of business in the perform21 ance of services of the Council, members of the

22 Council shall be allowed travel expenses, including

23 per diem in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner

24 as persons employed intermittently in Federal Gov-
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1 ernment service are allowed expenses under section

2 5703 of title 5, United States Code.

3 ‘‘(b) PROVISIONS RELATING TO THE CONDUCT OF

4 COUNCIL BUSINESS.—

5 ‘‘(1) QUORUM.—Eight members of the Council

6 shall constitute a quorum.

7 ‘‘(2) CHAIRPERSON.—The members of the

8 Council shall elect a chairperson of the Council from

9 among the members of the Council.

10 ‘‘(3) VACANCY.—Any vacancy in the Council

11 shall be filled in the same manner in which the origi12 nal appointment was made.

13 ‘‘(4) MEETINGS.—The Council shall meet at

14 the call of the chairperson or a majority of the mem15 bers.

16 ‘‘(5) STAFF.—The Secretary shall provide the

17 Council with such staff and technical assistance as

18 the Secretary, after consultation with the Council,

19 considers appropriate to enable the Council to carry

20 out its duties. Upon request of the Secretary, any

21 Federal agency may provide information, personnel,

22 property, and services, on a reimbursable basis, to

23 the Council to assist in carrying out its duties under

24 this section. The Secretary may accept the services

25 of personnel detailed from the State of Minnesota or
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1 any political subdivision of the State and may reim2 burse the State or such political subdivision for such

3 services.

4 ‘‘(6) PROCEDURAL MATTERS.—

5 ‘‘(A) FACA.—The Federal Advisory Com6 mittee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not apply to

7 the Council.

8 ‘‘(B) GUIDELINES FOR CONDUCT OF BUSI9 NESS.—The following guidelines apply with re10 spect to the conduct of business at meetings of

11 the Council:

12 ‘‘(i) Each regular meeting and each

13 emergency meeting shall be open to the

14 public.

15 ‘‘(ii) Emergency meetings shall be

16 held at the call of the chair or equivalent

17 presiding officer.

18 ‘‘(iii) Timely public notice of each reg19 ular meeting and each emergency meeting,

20 including the time, place, and agenda of

21 the meeting, shall be published in local

22 newspapers and such notice may be given

23 by such other means as will result in wide

24 publicity.
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1 ‘‘(iv) Interested persons shall be per2 mitted to present oral or written state3 ments regarding the matters on the agenda

4 at meetings.

5 ‘‘(v) Minutes of each meeting shall be

6 kept and shall contain a record of the per7 sons present, an accurate description of

8 matters discussed and conclusions reached,

9 and copies of all statements filed.

10 ‘‘(vi) The administrative record, in11 cluding minutes required under clause (v),

12 of each meeting, and records or other doc13 uments which were made available to or

14 prepared for or by the Council incident to

15 the meeting, shall be available for public

16 inspection and copying at a single location

17 in the offices of the Council.

18 ‘‘(C) NEW INFORMATION.—At any time

19 when the Council determines it appropriate to

20 consider new information from a State or Fed21 eral agency or from a Council advisory body,

22 the Council shall give comparable consideration

23 to new information offered at that time by in24 terested members of the public. Interested par25 ties shall have a reasonable opportunity to re-
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1 spond to new data or information before the

2 Council takes final action on management

3 measures.

4 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—The Council shall, in accordance

5 with the provisions of this Act—

6 ‘‘(1) prepare and submit to the Secretary draft

7 amendments to the management plan and, from

8 time to time, such additional amendments to the

9 plan as are necessary, which provides for as broad

10 a range of sustainable land and water uses and sce11 nic and recreational activities as are compatible with

12 the laws and regulations governing the wilderness

13 and other local, State, or Federal public lands, as

14 may be decided upon in the plan;

15 ‘‘(2) after considering public comment and com16 ment from the Secretary, prepare and submit to the

17 Secretary revisions of the management plan when

18 appropriate for the purposes of making regularly

19 scheduled management plan revisions under section

20 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources

21 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604);

22 ‘‘(3) consult with and provide comments to the

23 Secretary regarding the environmental impact of

24 major Federal actions significantly affecting the
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1 quality of the human environment which are pro2 posed by the Secretary;

3 ‘‘(4) analyze the economic and environmental

4 costs and benefits of implementing sustainable prac5 tices for the wilderness;

6 ‘‘(5) conduct public hearings, at appropriate

7 times and in appropriate locations, so as to allow all

8 interested persons an opportunity to be heard in the

9 development of the amendments to and revisions of

10 the management plan, in the development of major

11 Federal actions referred to in paragraph (3), and

12 with respect to the administration and implementa13 tion of the provisions of this Act;

14 ‘‘(6) establish an ongoing process of review and

15 evaluation of local, State, and Federal actions,

16 plans, ordinances, regulations, laws, and land use

17 decisions for the purpose of assessing their effect on

18 the long-term sustainability of the economic and en19 vironmental values and resources of the region;

20 ‘‘(7) submit to the Secretary such periodic re21 ports as the Council deems appropriate, and any

22 other relevant report which may be requested by the

23 Secretary; and

24 ‘‘(8) conduct other activities which are required

25 by, or provided for in, this Act or which are nec-
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1 essary and appropriate to the functions specified in

2 paragraphs (1) through (7).

3 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There

4 are authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be

5 necessary to carry out this section.’’.

6 SEC. 5. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

7 Public Law 95–495 (92 Stat. 1650), as amended by

8 section 4 of this Act, is further amended by adding at the

9 end the following new section:

10 ‘‘SEC. 23. MANAGEMENT PLAN.

11 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The provisions of this section

12 shall apply when the Secretary is amending and revising

13 management plans for the wilderness or considering deci14 sions that require public involvement and notification

15 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969.

16 ‘‘(b) MANAGEMENT PLAN.—

17 ‘‘(1) RECEIVED FROM COUNCIL.—The Sec18 retary shall receive the draft amendments to the re19 visions of the management plan prepared and sub20 mitted by the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilder21 ness Intergovernmental Council under section 22(c),

22 together with public comments on the draft amend23 ments or revisions, and shall review and, if nec24 essary, submit to the Council such recommendations
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1 as the Secretary determines appropriate for revising

2 the draft amendments or revisions.

3 ‘‘(2) REVISIONS.—The Secretary shall accept a

4 revised drafts prepared and submitted by the Coun5 cil by reason of paragraph (1).

6 ‘‘(3) FINAL PLAN.—

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary deter8 mines that the amendments to or revisions of

9 the management plan are not inconsistent with

10 other provisions of this Act or applicable laws,

11 treaties, executive orders, and that the amended

12 or revised management plan is in the public in13 terest, the Secretary shall adopt the amended

14 or revised management plan.

15 ‘‘(B) MANAGEMENT PLAN BOARD.—

16 ‘‘(i) If the Secretary decides not to

17 adopt the revised amendments to the man18 agement plan, the amendments to the

19 management plan shall be made by the

20 Secretary in accordance with clause (iii)

21 pursuant to recommendations made by a

22 management plan board appointed under

23 clause (ii).
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1 ‘‘(ii) The management plan board

2 shall consist of three members, appointed

3 as follows:

4 ‘‘(I) One member appointed by

5 the Secretary,

6 ‘‘(II) One member appointed by

7 the Secretary from a list of 5 or more

8 individuals submitted by the Bound9 ary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness

10 Intergovernmental Council, by major11 ity vote. The Secretary may request

12 additional lists.

13 ‘‘(III) One member appointed by

14 the Secretary from a list of 5 or more

15 individuals submitted by the two

16 members appointed under subclauses

17 (I) and (II). The Secretary may re18 quest additional lists.

19 Members of a management plan board who

20 are not employed by the Federal Govern21 ment shall serve without pay. While away

22 from their homes or regular places of busi23 ness in the performance of services of the

24 board, members of the board shall be al25 lowed travel expenses, including per diem
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1 in lieu of subsistence, in the same manner

2 as persons employed intermittently in Fed3 eral Government service are allowed ex4 penses under section 5703 of title 5, Unit5 ed States Code. The Federal Advisory

6 Committee Act (5 U.S.C. App.) shall not

7 apply to a management plan board.

8 ‘‘(iii) The management plan board

9 shall review the revised amendments to the

10 management plan submitted by the Council

11 to the Secretary under section 22(c), and

12 such comments on the revised amendments

13 and recommendations for such amend14 ments as the Secretary submits to the

15 board. Following such review, the board

16 shall submit to the Secretary such amend17 ments as the board finds to be appropriate

18 under the provisions of this Act. The Sec19 retary shall revise the management plan in

20 a manner based on the amendments sub21 mitted by the board.

22 ‘‘(4) NOT ACCEPTED.—If the Secretary deter23 mines not to adopt the amendments to or revisions

24 of the management plan under subparagraph (A),

25 the Secretary shall notify the Council in writing
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1 within 95 days of the determination and shall make

2 recommendations for further action by the Council.

3 No amendment to the management plan shall be im4 plemented by the Secretary until the Secretary com5 plies with paragraphs (1), (2), and (3).

6 ‘‘(5) FAILURE OF COUNCIL TO ACT.—If the

7 Council declines to submit to the Secretary a revised

8 management plan, or amendments to a revised plan,

9 the Secretary may make such revisions as the Sec10 retary considers necessary or appropriate and imple11 ment the plan.

12 ‘‘(c) MAJOR FEDERAL ACTIONS.—The Secretary

13 shall seek the comment of the Council when considering

14 major Federal actions that require public involvement and

15 notification under the National Environmental Policy Act

16 of 1969.

17 ‘‘(d) STATUS QUO.—The management plan of the

18 wilderness may not be changed except in accordance with

19 this section.’’.

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