I 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2172 

To facilitate the development of wind energy resources on Federal lands. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 14, 2011 

Mrs. NOEM (for herself, Mr. HASTINGS of Washington, Mr. LAMBORN, Mr. 

BROUN of Georgia, Mr. DUNCAN of Tennessee, and Mr. WITTMAN) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 

Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period 

to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee 

concerned 

A BILL 

To facilitate the development of wind energy resources on 

Federal lands. 

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 at the ‘‘Utilizing America’s 

5 Federal Lands for Wind Energy Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ONSHORE METEOROLOGICAL SITE TESTING AND 

2 MONITORING PROJECT. 

3 (a) DEFINITION OF METEOROLOGICAL SITE TEST4 ING AND MONITORING PROJECT.—In this section, the 

5 term ‘‘meteorological site testing and monitoring project’’ 

6 means a project carried out on land administered by the 

7 Bureau of Land Management or the Forest Service to test 

8 or monitor weather (including wind and solar energy) 

9 using towers or other devices, that— 

10 (1) causes— 

11 (A) less than 1 acre of soil or vegetation 

12 disruption at the location of each meteorological 

13 tower or other device; and 

14 (B) not more than 5 acres of soil or dis15 ruption within the proposed right-of-way for the 

16 project; 

17 (2) is installed— 

18 (A) to the maximum extent practicable, 

19 using existing access roads; 

20 (B) in a manner that does not require off21 road motorized access other than 1 installation 

22 activity and 1 decommissioning activity along 

23 an identified off-road route approved by the Di24 rector of the Bureau of Land Management or 

25 Chief of the Forest Service; 


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1 (C) without construction of new roads 

2 other than upgrading of existing minor drain3 age crossings for safety purposes; and 

4 (D) without the use of digging or drilling 

5 equipment vehicles other than rubber-tired vehi6 cles with gross weight ratings under 8,500 

7 pounds; 

8 (3) is decommissioned not more than 5 years 

9 after the date of commencement of the project, in10 cluding— 

11 (A) removal of any towers, devices, or 

12 other surface infrastructure from the site; and 

13 (B) restoration of the site to approximately 

14 the condition that existed at the time the 

15 project began; and 

16 (4) provides meteorological information ob17 tained by the permitted project to the Bureau of 

18 Land Management and the Forest Service. 

19 (b) NEPA EXCLUSION.—Section 102(2)(C) of the 

20 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4321 et seq.) shall not apply with respect to a meteorolog22 ical site testing and monitoring project. 

23 (c) PERMIT TIMELINE.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director of the Bureau 

25 of Land Management or Chief of the Forest Service, 


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1 as applicable, shall decide whether to issue a permit 

2 for a project that is a meteorological site testing and 

3 monitoring project within 30 days after receiving an 

4 application for the permit. 

5 (2) DENIAL OF APPLICATION.—If the applica6 tion is denied, the Director or Chief, respectively, 

7 shall provide the applicant— 

8 (A) in writing, clear and comprehensive 

9 reasons why the application was not approved 

10 and detailed information concerning any defi11 ciencies, and 

12 (B) an opportunity to remedy any defi13 ciencies. 

14 (d) PROTECTION OF INFORMATION.—The informa15 tion provided to the Bureau of Land Management and the 

16 Forest Service pursuant to subsection (a)(4) shall be 

17 treated by such agency as proprietary information and 

18 protected against disclosure. 

Æ 


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