II 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 3479 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 29, 2004 

Received 

AN ACT 

To provide for the control and eradication of the brown 

tree snake on the island of Guam and the prevention 

of the introduction of the brown tree snake to other 

areas of the United States, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Brown Tree Snake 

3 Control and Eradication Act of 2004’’. 

4 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

5 In this Act: 

6 (1) BROWN TREE SNAKE.—The term ‘‘brown 

7 tree snake’’ means the species of the snake Boiga 

8 irregularis. 

9 (2) COMPACT OF FREE ASSOCIATION.—The 

10 term ‘‘Compact of Free Association’’ means the 

11 Compacts of Free Association entered into between 

12 the United States and the governments of the Fed13 erated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the 

14 Marshall Islands, as approved by and contained in 

15 Public Law 108–188 (117 Stat. 2720; 48 U.S.C. 

16 1921 et seq.), and the Compact of Free Association 

17 entered into between the United States and the gov18 ernment of the Republic of Palau, as approved by 

19 and contained in Public Law 99–658 (100 Stat. 

20 3673; 48 U.S.C. 1931 et seq.). 

21 (3) FREELY ASSOCIATED STATES.—The term 

22 ‘‘Freely Associated States’’ means the Republic of 

23 Palau, the Federated States of Micronesia, and the 

24 Republic of the Marshall Islands. 

25 (4) INTRODUCTION.—The terms ‘‘introduce’’ 

26 and ‘‘introduction’’ refer to the expansion of the 
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1 brown tree snake outside of the range where this 

2 species is endemic. 

3 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary con4 cerned’’ means— 

5 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re6 spect to matters under the jurisdiction of the 

7 Department of the Interior; and 

8 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re9 spect to matters under the jurisdiction of the 

10 Department of Agriculture. 

11 (6) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

12 means both the Secretary of the Interior and the 

13 Secretary of Agriculture. 

14 (7) TECHNICAL WORKING GROUP.—The term 

15 ‘‘Technical Working Group’’ means Brown Tree 

16 Snake Technical Working Group established under 

17 the authority of section 1209 of the Nonindigenous 

18 Aquatic Nuisance Prevention and Control Act of 

19 1990 (16 U.S.C. 4728). 

20 (8) TERRITORIAL.—The term ‘‘territorial’’, 

21 when used to refer to a government, means the Gov22 ernment of Guam, the Government of American 

23 Samoa, and the Government of the Commonwealth 

24 of the Northern Mariana Islands, as well as autono-
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1 mous agencies and instrumentalities of such a gov2 ernment. 

3 (9) UNITED STATES.—The term ‘‘United 

4 States’’, when used in the geographic sense, means 

5 the several States, the District of Colombia, Amer6 ican Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

7 Northern Mariana Islands, the Commonwealth of 

8 Puerto Rico, the United States Virgin Islands, any 

9 other possession of the United States, and any wa10 ters within the jurisdiction of the United States. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING NEED FOR IM12 PROVED AND BETTER COORDINATED FED13 ERAL POLICY FOR BROWN TREE SNAKE IN14 TRODUCTION, CONTROL, AND ERADICATION. 

15 It is the sense of Congress that there exists a need 

16 for improved and better coordinated control, interdiction, 

17 research, and eradication of the brown tree snake on the 

18 part of the United States and other interested parties. 

19 SEC. 4. BROWN TREE SNAKE CONTROL, INTERDICTION, RE20 SEARCH AND ERADICATION. 

21 (a) FUNDING AUTHORITY.—Subject to the avail22 ability of appropriations to carry out this section, the Sec23 retaries shall provide funds to support brown tree snake 

24 control, interdiction, research, and eradication efforts car25 ried out by the Department of the Interior and the De-
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1 partment of Agriculture, other Federal agencies, States, 

2 territorial governments, local governments, and private 

3 sector entities. Funds may be provided through grants, 

4 contracts, reimbursable agreements, or other legal mecha5 nisms available to the Secretaries for the transfer of Fed6 eral funds. 

7 (b) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—Brown tree snake 

8 control, interdiction, research, and eradication efforts au9 thorized by this section shall include at a minimum the 

10 following: 

11 (1) Expansion of science-based eradication and 

12 control programs in Guam to reduce the undesirable 

13 impact of the brown tree snake in Guam and reduce 

14 the risk of the introduction or spread of any brown 

15 tree snake to areas in the United States and the 

16 Freely Associated States in which the brown tree 

17 snake is not established. 

18 (2) Expansion of interagency and intergovern19 mental rapid response teams in Guam, the Common20 wealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, 

21 and the Freely Associated States to assist the gov22 ernments of such areas with detecting the brown 

23 tree snake and incipient brown tree snake popu24 lations. 
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1 (3) Expansion of efforts to protect and restore 

2 native wildlife in Guam or elsewhere in the United 

3 States damaged by the brown tree snake. 

4 (4) Establishment and sustained funding for an 

5 Animal Plant and Health Inspection Service, Wild6 life Services, Operations Program State Office lo7 cated in Hawaii dedicated to vertebrate pest man8 agement in Hawaii and United States Pacific terri9 tories and possessions. Concurrently, the Animal 

10 Plant and Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Serv11 ices Operations Program shall establish and sustain 

12 funding for a District Office in Guam dedicated to 

13 brown tree snake control and managed by the Ha14 waii State Office. 

15 (5) Continuation, expansion, and provision of 

16 sustained research funding related to the brown tree 

17 snake, including research conducted at institutions 

18 located in areas affected by the brown tree snake. 

19 (6) Continuation, expansion, and provision of 

20 sustained research funding for the Animal Plant and 

21 Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Services, Na22 tional Wildlife Research Center of the Department 

23 of Agriculture related to the brown tree snake, in24 cluding the establishment of a field station in Guam 
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1 related to the control and eradication of the brown 

2 tree snake. 

3 (7) Continuation, expansion, and provision of 

4 sustained research funding for the Fort Collins 

5 Science Center of the United States Geological Sur6 vey related to the brown tree snake, including the 

7 establishment of a field station in Guam related to 

8 the control and eradication of the brown tree snake. 

9 (8) Expansion of long-term research into chem10 ical, biological, and other control techniques that 

11 could lead to large-scale reduction of brown tree 

12 snake populations in Guam or other areas where the 

13 brown tree snake might become established. 

14 (9) Expansion of short, medium, and long-term 

15 research, funded by all Federal agencies interested 

16 in or affected by the brown tree snake, into interdic17 tion, detection, and early control of the brown tree 

18 snake. 

19 (10) Provision of planning assistance for the 

20 construction or renovation of centralized multi-agen21 cy facilities in Guam to support Federal, State, and 

22 territorial brown tree snake control, interdiction, re23 search and eradication efforts, including office space, 

24 laboratory space, animal holding facilities, and snake 

25 detector dog kennels. 
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1 (11) Provision of technical assistance to the 

2 Freely Associated States on matters related to the 

3 brown tree snake through the mechanisms contained 

4 within a Compact of Free Association dealing with 

5 environmental, quarantine, economic, and human 

6 health issues. 

7 (c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

8 authorized to be appropriated to the Secretaries to carry 

9 out this section (other than subsection (b)(10)) the fol10 lowing amounts: 

11 (1) For activities conducted through the Animal 

12 and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Serv13 ices, Operations, not more than $2,600,000 for each 

14 of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

15 (2) For activities conducted through the Animal 

16 and Plant Health Inspection Service, Wildlife Serv17 ices, National Wildlife Research Center, Methods 

18 Development, not more than $1,500,000 for each of 

19 the fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

20 (3) For activities conducted through the Office 

21 of Insular Affairs, not more than $3,000,000 for 

22 each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 

23 (4) For activities conducted through the Fish 

24 and Wildlife Service, not more than $2,000,000 for 

25 each of the fiscal years 2006 through 2010. 
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1 (5) For activities conducted through the United 

2 States Geological Survey, Biological Resources, not 

3 more than $1,500,000 for each of the fiscal years 

4 2006 through 2010. 

5 (d) PLANNING ASSISTANCE.—There is authorized to 

6 be appropriated to the Secretary of Agriculture and the 

7 Secretary of the Interior such amounts as may be required 

8 to carry out subsection (b)(10). 

9 SEC. 5. ESTABLISHMENT OF QUARANTINE PROTOCOLS TO 

10 CONTROL THE INTRODUCTION AND SPREAD 

11 OF THE BROWN TREE SNAKE. 

12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF QUARANTINE PROTO13 COLS.—Not later than two years after the date of the en14 actment of this Act, but subject to the memorandum of 

15 agreement required by subsection (b) with respect to 

16 Guam, the Secretaries shall establish and cause to be oper17 ated at Federal expense a system of pre-departure quar18 antine protocols for cargo and other items being shipped 

19 from Guam and any other United States location where 

20 the brown tree snake may become established to prevent 

21 the introduction or spread of the brown tree snake. The 

22 Secretaries shall establish the quarantine protocols system 

23 by regulation. Under the quarantine protocols system, 

24 Federal quarantine, natural resource, conservation, and 

25 law enforcement officers and inspectors may enforce State 
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1 and territorial laws regarding the transportation, posses2 sion, or introduction of any brown tree snake. 

3 (b) COOPERATION AND CONSULTATION.—The activi4 ties of the Secretaries under subsection (a) shall be carried 

5 out in cooperation with other Federal agencies and the 

6 appropriate State and territorial quarantine, natural re7 source, conservation, and law enforcement officers. In the 

8 case of Guam, as a precondition on the establishment of 

9 the system of pre-departure quarantine protocols under 

10 such subsection, the Secretaries shall enter into a memo11 randum of agreement with the Government of Guam to 

12 obtain the assistance and cooperation of the Government 

13 of Guam in establishing the system of pre-departure quar14 antine protocols. 

15 (c) IMPLEMENTATION.—The system of pre-departure 

16 quarantine protocols to be established under subsection 

17 (a) shall not be implemented until funds are specifically 

18 appropriated for that purpose. 

19 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

20 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section the 

21 following amounts: 

22 (1) To the Secretary of Agriculture, not more 

23 than $3,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 

24 through 2010. 
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1 (2) To the Secretary of the Interior, not more 

2 than $1,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 

3 through 2010. 

4 SEC. 6. TREATMENT OF BROWN TREE SNAKES AS NON5 MAILABLE MATTER. 

6 A brown tree snake constitutes nonmailable matter 

7 under section 3015 of title 39, United States Code. 

8 SEC. 7. ROLE OF BROWN TREE SNAKE TECHNICAL WORK9 ING GROUP. 

10 (a) PURPOSE.—The Technical Working Group shall 

11 ensure that Federal, State, territorial, and local agency 

12 efforts concerning the brown tree snake are coordinated, 

13 effective, complementary, and cost-effective. 

14 (b) SPECIFIC DUTIES AND ACTIVITIES.—The Tech15 nical Working Group shall be responsible for the following: 

16 (1) The evaluation of Federal, State, and terri17 torial activities, programs and policies that are likely 

18 to cause or promote the introduction or spread of 

19 the brown tree snake in the United States or the 

20 Freely Associated States and the preparation of rec21 ommendations for governmental actions to minimize 

22 the risk of introduction or further spread of the 

23 brown tree snake. 

24 (2) The preparation of recommendations for ac25 tivities, programs, and policies to reduce and eventu-
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1 ally eradicate the brown tree snake in Guam or 

2 other areas within the United States where the 

3 snake may be established and the monitoring of the 

4 implementation of those activities, programs, and 

5 policies. 

6 (3) Any revision of the Brown Tree Snake Con7 trol Plan, originally published in June 1996, which 

8 was prepared to coordinate Federal, State, terri9 torial, and local government efforts to control, inter10 dict, eradicate or conduct research on the brown tree 

11 snake. 

12 (c) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

13 (1) REPORT.—Subject to the availability of ap14 propriations for this purpose, the Technical Working 

15 Group shall prepare a report describing— 

16 (A) the progress made toward a large-scale 

17 population reduction or eradication of the 

18 brown tree snake in Guam or other sites that 

19 are infested by the brown tree snake; 

20 (B) the interdiction and other activities re21 quired to reduce the risk of introduction of the 

22 brown tree snake or other nonindigenous snake 

23 species in Guam, the Commonwealth of the 

24 Northern Mariana Islands, Hawaii, American 

25 Samoa, and the Freely Associated States; 
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1 (C) the applied and basic research activi2 ties that will lead to improved brown tree snake 

3 control, interdiction and eradication efforts con4 ducted by Federal, State, territorial, and local 

5 governments; and 

6 (D) the programs and activities for brown 

7 tree snake control, interdiction, research and 

8 eradication that have been funded, imple9 mented, and planned by Federal, State, terri10 torial, and local governments. 

11 (2) PRIORITIES.—The Technical Working 

12 Group shall include in the report a list of priorities, 

13 ranked in high, medium, and low categories, of Fed14 eral, State, territorial, and local efforts and pro15 grams in the following areas: 

16 (A) Control. 

17 (B) Interdiction. 

18 (C) Research. 

19 (D) Eradication. 

20 (3) ASSESSMENTS.—Technical Working Group 

21 shall include in the report the following assessments: 

22 (A) An assessment of current funding 

23 shortfalls and future funding needs to support 

24 Federal, State, territorial, and local government 
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1 efforts to control, interdict, eradicate, or con2 duct research on the brown tree snake. 

3 (B) An assessment of regulatory limita4 tions that hinder Federal, State, territorial, and 

5 local government efforts to control, interdict, 

6 eradicate or conduct research on the brown tree 

7 snake. 

8 (4) SUBMISSION.—Subject to the availability of 

9 appropriations for this purpose, the Technical Work10 ing Group shall submit the report to Congress not 

11 later than one year after the date of the enactment 

12 of this Act. 

13 (d) MEETINGS.—The Technical Working Group shall 

14 meet at least annually. 

15 (e) INCLUSION OF GUAM.—The Secretaries shall en16 sure that adequate representation is afforded to the gov17 ernment of Guam in the Technical Working Group. 

18 (f) SUPPORT.—To the maximum extent practicable, 

19 the Secretaries shall make adequate resources available to 

20 the Technical Working Group to ensure its efficient and 

21 effective operation. The Secretaries may provide staff to 

22 assist the Technical Working Group in carrying out its 

23 duties and functions. 

24 (g) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated to each of the Secretaries 
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1 not more than $450,000 for each of the fiscal years 2006 

2 through 2010 to carry out this section. 

3 SEC. 8. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 

4 (a) AVAILABILITY OF APPROPRIATED FUNDS.— 

5 Amounts appropriated under this Act shall remain avail6 able until expended. 

7 (b) ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES.—Of the amounts 

8 appropriated to carry out this Act for a fiscal year, the 

9 Secretaries may expend not more than five percent to 

10 cover the administrative expenses necessary to carry out 

11 this Act. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 28, 

2004. 

Attest: JEFF TRANDAHL, 

Clerk.