49–010 

Calendar No. 545 

109TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! SENATE 2d Session 109–302 

WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT 

AGREEMENTS ACT OF 2006 

JULY 31, 2006.—Ordered to be printed 

Mr. DOMENICI, from the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources, submitted the following 

R E P O R T 

[To accompany S. 2003] 

The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, to which was 

referred the bill (S. 2003) to make permanent the authorization for 

watershed restoration and enhancement agreements, having considered the same, reports favorably thereon with an amendment 

and recommends that the bill, as amended, do pass. 

The amendment is as follows: 

Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert in lieu thereof 

the following: 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act of 2006’’. 

SEC. 2. WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT AGREEMENTS. 

Section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1011 note; Public Law 105–277), is amended— 

(1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011’’ and 

inserting ‘‘fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter’’; 

(2) by redesignating subsection (d) as subsection (e); and 

(3) by inserting after subsection (c) the following: 

‘‘(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, shall not apply 

to— 

‘‘(1) a watershed restoration and enhancement agreement entered into under 

this section; or 

‘‘(2) an agreement entered into under the first section of Public Law 94–148 

(16 U.S.C. 565a–1).’’. 

PURPOSE OF THE MEASURE

The purpose of S. 2003 is to make permanent the authorization 

for watershed restoration and enhancement agreements contained 


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in section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1011). 

BACKGROUND AND NEED

In 1998, Congress included language in the Fiscal Year 1999 

Omnibus Appropriations Act to use appropriated Forest Service 

funds for watershed restoration and enhancement agreements on 

private or public lands that benefit the resources of National Forest 

System lands. As a result, the Forest Service developed a very successful cooperative conservation watershed restoration program. 

Congress originally authorized the program only through fiscal 

year 2001. It reauthorized it in 2001 through fiscal year 2005, and 

again last year through fiscal year 2011. S. 2003 would permanently authorize these agreements. 

The projects authorized by these agreements have improved watershed health and fish habitats through the control of invasive 

species, culvert replacement, and other riparian zone improvement 

projects. In addition to ecological restoration, use of the authority 

has improved cooperative relationships between the Forest Service, 

private land owners, State agencies, and other Federal agencies. 

LEGISLATIVE HISTORY

S. 2003 was introduced on November 14, 2005, by Senator 

Wyden. Section 323 of the Department of the Interior and Related 

Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1011) authorized the 

cooperative watershed program through fiscal year 2001. Section 

331 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2002 (P.L. 107–63) reauthorized the program 

through fiscal year 2005. And section 343 of the Department of the 

Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2006 Interior 

Appropriations bill (P.L. 109–54) reauthorized the program through 

fiscal year 2011. The Subcommittee on Public Lands and Forests 

held a hearing on May 10, 2006, on S. 2003. The Committee on Energy and Natural Resources ordered S. 2003 favorably reported 

with an amendment in the nature of a substitute on May 24, 2006. 

COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, in 

open business session on May 24, 2006, by a unanimous voice vote 

of a quorum present recommends that the Senate pass S. 2003, if 

amended as described herein. 

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT

The Committee adopted an amendment in the nature of a substitute that clarifies that the 1977 Federal Grant and Cooperative 

Agreement Act shall not apply to the watershed restoration and enhancement agreements carried out under the authority granted by 

this Act or the cooperative agreement authority granted by the first 

section of Public Law 94–148. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS

Section 1 provides the short title. 


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Section 2 amends section 323 of the Department of the Interior 

and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 as previously 

amended, by striking ‘‘ each of fiscal years 2006 through 2011’’ and 

inserting ‘‘ fiscal year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter.’’ Subsection 2(d)—clarifies that Chapter 63 of Title 31, United 

States Code (originally enacted as the 1977 Federal Grant and Cooperative Agreement Act of 1977 shall not apply to the watershed 

restoration and enhancement agreements carried out under section 

323 of the Department of the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1999 (16 U.S.C. 1011 note; Public Law 105–277), or 

the cooperative agreement authority granted by the first section of 

Public Law 94–148 (16 U.S.C. 565a–1). 

COST AND BUDGETARY CONSIDERATIONS

The following estimate of costs of this measure has been provided 

by the Congressional Budget Office. 

S. 2003—Watershed Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act 

of 2006 

S. 2003 would make the authority of the Forest Service to use 

appropriated funds to execute certain cooperative agreements with 

nonfederal partners permanent. Those agreements are used to facilitate watershed restoration projects on public or private land. 

Under existing law, the authority to use appropriations for this 

purpose will expire after fiscal year 2011. CBO estimates that enacting S. 2003, by itself, would have no impact on the federal budget. The bill would not authorize additional appropriations for watershed restoration projects and would not affect revenues or direct 

spending. 

The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

impose no costs on the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Deborah Reis. This estimate was approved by Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant Director, Budget Analysis Division. 

REGULATORY IMPACT EVALUATION

In compliance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, the Committee makes the following evaluation 

of the regulatory impact which would be incurred in carrying out 

S. 2003. 

The bill is not a regulatory measure in the sense of imposing 

Government-established standards or significant economic responsibilities on private individuals and businesses. 

No personal information would be collected in administering the 

program. Therefore, there would be no impact on personal privacy. 

Little, if any, additional paperwork would result from the enactment of S. 2003. 

EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS

The views of the Administration were included in testimony received by the Committee at a hearing on the bill on May 10, 2006, 

as follows: 


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STATEMENT OF JOEL HOLTROP, DEPUTY CHIEF FOR

NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM, DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee: 

Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today 

to provide the Department’s views on S. 2003—Watershed 

Restoration and Enhancement Agreements Act of 2005. I 

am Joel Holtrop, Deputy Chief for the National Forest System, USDA Forest Service. 

S. 2003—WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT

AGREEMENTS ACT OF 2005

This bill would amend Section 323 of the Department of 

the Interior and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 

1999 (commonly referred to as the ‘‘Wyden amendment’’), 

to permanently authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to 

use Forest Service appropriations to enter into cooperative 

watershed restoration and enhancement agreements with 

governments or private nonprofit entities and landowners 

to carry out activities on NFS lands or on non-Federal 

lands within the same watersheds. Agreements are authorized for the protection, restoration, and enhancement 

of fish and wildlife habitat and other resources and/or the 

reduction of risk from natural disaster on public or private 

land to benefit resources in the watershed. The current authorization includes provisions on terms and conditions regarding technical assistance, sharing of costs, ensuring 

that expenditures are in the public interest, and that the 

public investment on non-Federal lands is protected. 

The Department supports enactment of S. 2003, and 

would like to work with the Subcommittee on a short 

amendment to provide additional authority to more fully 

implement its provisions. 

The Forest Service has successfully used the Wyden 

amendment since its original enactment and subsequent 

reauthorizations. Benefits include improved, maintained 

and protected ecosystem conditions through collaborative 

administration and implementation of projects as well as 

increased operational effectiveness and efficiency through 

coordination of efforts, services, and products to accomplish the highest priority work. 

Of the many possible examples, work on the Siuslaw National Forest in Oregon illustrates the benefits of working 

across landscapes using this authority. Since 1998, the forest has implemented 26 projects, leveraging $321,000 in 

Federal investments with $387,000 in partner contributions to restore floodplains, riparian areas, and estuaries; 

install in-stream structures; monitor activities; and share 

information. Strategic use of this tool has brought a tremendous benefit to watersheds affecting National Forest 

System lands. 

Two bills have been introduced in the 109th Congress 

that contain similar language to this provision. Last September, the Department testified in strong support of H.R. 

3818, which includes authority for watershed restoration 


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and enhancement agreements as part of a comprehensive 

Forest Service partnership bill. H.R. 3818, entitled the 

‘‘Forest Service Partnership Enhancement Act,’’ was based 

on the Administration’s draft legislation transmitted to 

Congress under the same title. A similar bill, also with the 

same title, S. 2676, has recently been introduced by Senators Crapo and Lincoln. 

These bills contain authority—not included in S. 2003—

that would be important to the Forest Service’s future success to cooperatively carry out watershed restoration and 

enhancement agreements. That authority clarifies that watershed restoration and enhancement agreements are mutual benefit agreements. While the Department supports 

enactment of S. 2003, we would like the Subcommittee to 

consider the benefits of providing express authority for 

mutual benefit agreements as proposed by the Administration. 

CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW

In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 

Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill S. 

2003, as ordered reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new matter is 

printed in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is 

shown in roman): 

DEPARTMENT OF INTERIOR AND RELATED AGENCIES 

APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1999 

(16 U.S.C. 1011; PUBLIC LAW 105–277, DIV. A, § 101(E)) 

SEC. 323. (a) WATERSHED RESTORATION AND ENHANCEMENT

AGREEMENTS.—For øeach of fiscal years 2006 through 2011¿ fiscal 

year 2006 and each fiscal year thereafter, to the extent funds are 

otherwise available, appropriations for the Forest Service may be 

used by the Secretary of Agriculture for the purpose of entering 

into cooperative agreements with willing Federal, tribal, State and 

local governments, private and nonprofit entities and landowners 

for the protection, restoration and enhancement of fish and wildlife 

habitat, and other resources on public or private land, the reduction of risk from natural disaster where public safety is threatened, 

or a combination thereof or both that benefit these resources within 

the watershed. 

* * * * * * * 

(c) TERMS AND CONDITIONS.—In order for the Secretary to enter 

into a watershed restoration and enhancement agreement—

(1) the agreement shall—

(A) include such terms and conditions mutually agreed 

to by the Secretary and the landowner, state and local government, or private or nonprofit entity; 

(B) improve the viability of and otherwise benefit the 

fish, wildlife, and other resources on national forests lands 

within the watershed; 


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(C) authorize the provision of technical assistance by the 

Secretary in the planning of management activities what 

will further the purposes of the agreement; 

(D) provide for the sharing of costs of implementing the 

agreement among the Federal Government, the landowner(s), and other entities, as mutually agreed on by the 

affected interests; and 

(E) ensure that any expenditure by the Secretary pursuant to the agreement is determined by the Secretary to be 

in the public interest; and 

(2) the Secretary may require such other terms and conditions as are necessary to protect the public investment on nonFederal lands, provided such terms and conditions are mutually agreed to by the Secretary and other landowners, State 

and local governments or both. 

(d) APPLICABLE LAW.—Chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code, 

shall not apply to—

(1) a watershed restoration and enhancement agreement entered into under this section; or 

(2) an agreement entered into under the first section of Public 

Law 94–148 (16 U.S.C. 565a–1). 

ød¿ (e) REPORTING REQUIREMENTS.—Not later than December 31, 

1999, the Secretary shall submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations of the House and Senate, which contains— (1) A concise description of each project, including the project 

purpose, location on federal and non-federal land, key activities, and all parties to the agreement. 

(2) the funding and/or other contributions provided by each 

party for each project agreement. 

Æ 


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