II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 177 

To further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment 

and demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian olive, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 26, 2005 

Mr. DOMENICI (for himself, Mr. BINGAMAN, Mr. ALLARD, Mr. BAUCUS, and 

Mr. ENSIGN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL

To further the purposes of the Reclamation Projects Authorization and Adjustment Act of 1992 by directing the 

Secretary of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of Reclamation, to carry out an assessment and 

demonstration program to control salt cedar and Russian 

olive, 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 ‘‘Salt Cedar and Rus5 sian Olive Control Demonstration Act’’. 
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1 SEC. 2. SALT CEDAR AND RUSSIAN OLIVE CONTROL DEM2 ONSTRATION PROGRAM. 

3 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of the Interior 

4 (referred to in this Act as the ‘‘Secretary’’), acting 

5 through the Commissioner of Reclamation and in coopera6 tion with the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary 

7 of Defense, shall carry out a salt cedar (Tamarix spp) and 

8 Russian olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia) assessment and 

9 demonstration program— 

10 (1) to assess the extent of the infestation by 

11 salt cedar and Russian olive trees in the western 

12 United States; 

13 (2) to demonstrate strategic solutions for— 

14 (A) the long-term management of salt 

15 cedar and Russian olive trees; and 

16 (B) the reestablishment of native vegeta17 tion; and 

18 (3) to assess economic means to dispose of bio19 mass created as a result of removal of salt cedar and 

20 Russian olive trees. 

21 (b) ASSESSMENT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

23 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

24 out this Act, the Secretary shall complete an assess25 ment of the extent of salt cedar and Russian olive 
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1 infestation on public and private land in the western 

2 United States. 

3 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In addition to describing 

4 the acreage of and severity of infestation by salt 

5 cedar and Russian olive trees in the western United 

6 States, the assessment shall— 

7 (A) consider existing research on methods 

8 to control salt cedar and Russian olive trees; 

9 (B) consider the feasibility of reducing 

10 water consumption by salt cedar and Russian 

11 olive trees; 

12 (C) consider methods of and challenges as13 sociated with the revegetation or restoration of 

14 infested land; and 

15 (D) estimate the costs of destruction of 

16 salt cedar and Russian olive trees, related bio17 mass removal, and revegetation or restoration 

18 and maintenance of the infested land. 

19 (c) LONG-TERM MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall identify 

21 and document long-term management and funding 

22 strategies that— 

23 (A) could be implemented by Federal, 

24 State, and private land managers in addressing 
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1 infestation by salt cedar and Russian olive 

2 trees; and 

3 (B) should be tested as components of 

4 demonstration projects under subsection (d). 

5 (2) GRANTS.—The Secretary shall provide 

6 grants to institutions of higher education to develop 

7 public policy expertise in, and assist in developing a 

8 long-term strategy to address, infestation by salt 

9 cedar and Russian olive trees. 

10 (d) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

12 after the date on which funds are made available to 

13 carry out this Act, the Secretary shall establish a 

14 program that selects and funds not less than 5 

15 projects proposed by and implemented in collabora16 tion with Federal agencies, units of State and local 

17 government, national laboratories, Indian tribes, in18 stitutions of higher education, individuals, organiza19 tions, or soil and water conservation districts to 

20 demonstrate and evaluate the most effective methods 

21 of controlling salt cedar and Russian olive trees. 

22 (2) PROJECT REQUIREMENTS.—The demonstra23 tion projects under paragraph (1) shall— 
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1 (A) be carried out over a time period and 

2 to a scale designed to fully assess long-term 

3 management strategies; 

4 (B) implement salt cedar or Russian olive 

5 tree control using 1 or more methods for each 

6 project in order to assess the full range of con7 trol methods, including— 

8 (i) airborne application of herbicides; 

9 (ii) mechanical removal; and 

10 (iii) biocontrol methods, such as the 

11 use of goats or insects; 

12 (C) individually or in conjunction with 

13 other demonstration projects, assess the effects 

14 of and obstacles to combining multiple control 

15 methods and determine optimal combinations of 

16 control methods; 

17 (D) assess soil conditions resulting from 

18 salt cedar and Russian olive tree infestation 

19 and means to revitalize soils; 

20 (E) define and implement appropriate final 

21 vegetative states and optimal revegetation 

22 methods, with preference for self-maintaining 

23 vegetative states and native vegetation, and tak24 ing into consideration downstream impacts, 

25 wildfire potential, and water savings; 
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1 (F) identify methods for preventing the re2 growth and reintroduction of salt cedar and 

3 Russian olive trees; 

4 (G) monitor and document any water sav5 ings from the control of salt cedar and Russian 

6 olive trees, including impacts to both ground7 water and surface water; 

8 (H) assess wildfire activity and manage9 ment strategies; 

10 (I) assess changes in wildlife habitat; 

11 (J) determine conditions under which re12 moval of biomass is appropriate (including opti13 mal methods for the disposal or use of bio14 mass); and 

15 (K) assess economic and other impacts as16 sociated with control methods and the restora17 tion and maintenance of land. 

18 (e) DISPOSITION OF BIOMASS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

20 the date on which funds are made available to carry 

21 out this Act, the Secretary, in cooperation with the 

22 Secretary of Agriculture, shall complete an analysis 

23 of economic means to use or dispose of biomass cre24 ated as a result of removal of salt cedar and Russian 

25 olive trees. 
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1 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—The analysis shall— 

2 (A) determine conditions under which re3 moval of biomass is economically viable; 

4 (B) consider and build upon existing re5 search by the Department of Agriculture and 

6 other agencies on beneficial uses of salt cedar 

7 and Russian olive tree fiber; and 

8 (C) consider economic development oppor9 tunities, including manufacture of wood prod10 ucts using biomass resulting from demonstra11 tion projects under subsection (d) as a means 

12 of defraying costs of control. 

13 (f) COSTS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—With respect to projects and 

15 activities carried out under this Act— 

16 (A) the assessment under subsection (b) 

17 shall be carried out at a cost of not more than 

18 $4,000,000; 

19 (B) the identification and documentation 

20 of long-term management strategies under sub21 section (c) shall be carried out at a cost of not 

22 more than $2,000,000; 

23 (C) each demonstration project under sub24 section (d) shall be carried out at a Federal 

25 cost of not more than $7,000,000 (including 
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1 costs of planning, design, implementation, 

2 maintenance, and monitoring); and 

3 (D) the analysis under subsection (e) shall 

4 be carried out at a cost of not more than 

5 $3,000,000. 

6 (2) COST-SHARING.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—The assessment under 

8 subsection (b), the identification and docu9 mentation of long-term management strategies 

10 under subsection (c), a demonstration project or 

11 portion of a demonstration project under sub12 section (d) that is carried out on Federal land, 

13 and the analysis under subsection (e) shall be 

14 carried out at full Federal expense. 

15 (B) DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS CARRIED

16 OUT ON NON-FEDERAL LAND.— 

17 (i) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share 

18 of the costs of any demonstration project 

19 funded under subsection (d) that is not 

20 carried out on Federal land shall not ex21 ceed— 

22 (I) 75 percent for each of the 

23 first 5 years of the demonstration 

24 project; and 
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1 (II) for the purpose of long-term 

2 monitoring, 100 percent for each of 

3 such 5-year extensions as the Sec4 retary may grant. 

5 (ii) FORM OF NON-FEDERAL

6 SHARE.—The non-Federal share of the 

7 costs of a demonstration project that is not 

8 carried out on Federal land may be pro9 vided in the form of in-kind contributions, 

10 including services provided by a State 

11 agency or any other public or private part12 ner. 

13 (g) COOPERATION.—In carrying out the assessment 

14 under subsection (b), the demonstration projects under 

15 subsection (d), and the analysis under subsection (e), the 

16 Secretary shall cooperate with and use the expertise of 

17 Federal agencies and the other entities specified in sub18 section (d)(1) that are actively conducting research on or 

19 implementing salt cedar and Russian olive tree control ac20 tivities. 

21 (h) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The Secretary shall 

22 subject to independent review— 

23 (1) the assessment under subsection (b); 
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1 (2) the identification and documentation of 

2 long-term management strategies under subsection 

3 (c); 

4 (3) the demonstration projects under subsection 

5 (d); and 

6 (4) the analysis under subsection (e). 

7 (i) REPORTING.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall submit 

9 to Congress an annual report that describes the re10 sults of carrying out this Act, including a synopsis 

11 of any independent review under subsection (h) and 

12 details of the manner and purposes for which funds 

13 are expended. 

14 (2) PUBLIC ACCESS.—The Secretary shall fa15 cilitate public access to all information that results 

16 from carrying out this Act. 

17 (j) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

18 are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act— 

19 (1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2006; and 

20 (2) $15,000,000 for each subsequent fiscal 

21 year.

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