II 

Calendar No. 720 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2160 

To establish a pilot program under which the Chief of the Forest Service 

may use alternative dispute resolution in lieu of judicial review for 

certain projects. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 16, 2017 

Mr. DAINES (for himself, Mr. RISCH, and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

DECEMBER 5, 2018 

Reported by Ms. MURKOWSKI, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program under which the Chief of the 

Forest Service may use alternative dispute resolution 

in lieu of judicial review for certain projects. 

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 ‘‘Protect Collaboration 

5 for Healthier Forests Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PRO2 GRAM. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

4 (1) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ 

5 means an individual or entity that files an objection 

6 or scoping comments on a draft environmental docu7 ment with respect to a project that is subject to an 

8 objection at the project level under part 218 of title 

9 36, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu10 lations). 

11 (2) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot pro12 gram’’ means the pilot program established under 

13 subsection (b). 

14 (3) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

15 project described in subsection (c). 

16 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the 

18 Chief of the Forest Service. 

19 (b) ARBITRATION PILOT PROGRAM.—Not later than 

20 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall establish within Region 1 of the Forest Service 

22 an arbitration pilot program as an alternative dispute res23 olution process in lieu of judicial review for projects de24 scribed in subsection (c). 

25 (c) DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, at the sole 

2 discretion of the Secretary, may designate for arbi3 tration projects that— 

4 (A)(i) are developed through a collabo5 rative process (within the meaning of section 

6 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forest Restoration 

7 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C))); 

8 (ii) are carried out under the Collaborative 

9 Forest Landscape Restoration Program estab10 lished under section 4003 of the Omnibus Pub11 lic Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 

12 7303); or 

13 (iii) are identified in a community wildfire 

14 protection plan (as defined in section 101 of the 

15 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

16 U.S.C. 6511)); 

17 (B) have as a purpose— 

18 (i) hazardous fuels reduction; or 

19 (ii) mitigation of insect or disease in20 festation; and 

21 (C) are located, in whole or in part, in a 

22 wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 

23 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

24 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)). 


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1 (2) INCLUSION.—In designating projects for ar2 bitration, the Secretary may include projects that re3 ceive categorical exclusions for purposes of the Na4 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

5 4321 et seq.). 

6 (d) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PROJECTS.—The 

7 Secretary may not designate for arbitration under the 

8 pilot program more than 2 projects per calendar year. 

9 (e) ARBITRATORS.— 

10 (1) APPOINTMENT.—The Secretary shall de11 velop and publish a list of not fewer than 15 individ12 uals eligible to serve as arbitrators for the pilot pro13 gram. 

14 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be eligible to serve 

15 as an arbitrator under this subsection, an individual 

16 shall be— 

17 (A) certified by— 

18 (i) the American Arbitration Associa19 tion; or 

20 (ii) a State arbitration program; or 

21 (B) a fully retired Federal or State judge. 

22 (f) INITIATION OF ARBITRATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days after 

24 the date on which the Secretary issues the final deci25 sion with respect to a project, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (A) notify each applicable participant and 

2 the Clerk of the United States District Court 

3 for the district in which the project is located 

4 that the project has been designated for arbi5 tration in accordance with this Act; and 

6 (B) include in the decision document a 

7 statement that the project has been designated 

8 for arbitration. 

9 (2) INITIATION.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—A participant may ini11 tiate arbitration regarding a project that has 

12 been designated for arbitration under this Act 

13 in accordance with— 

14 (i) sections 571 through 584 of title 

15 5, United States Code; and 

16 (ii) this paragraph. 

17 (B) REQUIREMENTS.—A request to initiate 

18 arbitration under subparagraph (A) shall— 

19 (i) be filed not later than the date 

20 that is 30 days after the date of the notifi21 cation by the Secretary under paragraph 

22 (1); and 

23 (ii) include an alternative proposal for 

24 the applicable project that describes each 


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1 modification sought by the participant with 

2 respect to the project. 

3 (C) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A project for 

4 which arbitration is initiated under subpara5 graph (A) shall not be subject to judicial re6 view. 

7 (3) COMPELLED ARBITRATION.— 

8 (A) MOTION TO COMPEL ARBITRATION.— 

9 (i) IN GENERAL.—If a participant 

10 seeks judicial review of a final decision 

11 with respect to a project, the Secretary 

12 may file in the applicable court a motion to 

13 compel arbitration in accordance with this 

14 Act. 

15 (ii) FEES AND COSTS.—For any mo16 tion described in clause (i) for which the 

17 Secretary is the prevailing party, the appli18 cable court shall award to the Secretary— 

19 (I) court costs; and 

20 (II) attorney’s fees. 

21 (B) ARBITRATION COMPELLED BY

22 COURT.—If a participant seeks judicial review 

23 of a project, the applicable court shall compel 

24 arbitration in accordance with this Act. 


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1 (g) SELECTION OF ARBITRATOR.—For each arbitra2 tion commenced under this Act— 

3 (1) the Secretary shall propose 3 arbitrators 

4 from the list published under subsection (e)(1); and 

5 (2) the applicable participant shall select 1 arbi6 trator from the list of arbitrators proposed under 

7 paragraph (1). 

8 (h) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ARBITRATOR.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—An arbitrator selected under 

10 subsection (e)— 

11 (A) shall address all claims of each party 

12 seeking arbitration with respect to a project 

13 under this Act; but 

14 (B) may consolidate into a single arbitra15 tion all requests to initiate arbitration by all 

16 participants with respect to a project. 

17 (2) SELECTION OF PROPOSALS.—An arbitrator 

18 shall make a decision with respect to each applicable 

19 request for initiation of arbitration under this Act 

20 by— 

21 (A) selecting the project, as approved by 

22 the Secretary; 

23 (B) selecting an alternative proposal sub24 mitted by the applicable participant; or 


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1 (C) rejecting both projects described in 

2 subparagraphs (A) and (B). 

3 (3) LIMITATIONS.— 

4 (A) ADMINISTRATIVE RECORD.—The evi5 dence before an arbitrator under this subsection 

6 shall be limited solely to the administrative 

7 record for the project. 

8 (B) NO MODIFICATIONS TO PROPOSALS.— 

9 An arbitrator may not modify any proposal con10 tained in a request for initiation of arbitration 

11 of a participant under this Act. 

12 (i) INTERVENTION.—A party may intervene in an ar13 bitration under this Act if, with respect to the project to 

14 which the arbitration relates, the party— 

15 (1) meets the requirements of Rule 24(a) of the 

16 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (or a successor 

17 rule); or 

18 (2) participated in the applicable collaborative 

19 process referred to in clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 

20 (c)(1)(A). 

21 (j) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In carrying out arbitration 

22 for a project, the arbitrator shall set aside the agency ac23 tion, findings, and conclusions found to be arbitrary, ca24 pricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in acVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:07 Dec 05, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2160.RS S2160

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1 cordance with law, within the meaning of section 

2 706(2)(A) of title 5, United States Code. 

3 (k) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF ARBITRA4 TION.—Not later than 90 days after the date on which 

5 a request to initiate arbitration is filed under subsection 

6 (f)(2), the arbitrator shall make a decision with respect 

7 to the request to initiate arbitration. 

8 (l) EFFECT OF ARBITRATION DECISION.—A decision 

9 of an arbitrator under this Act— 

10 (1) shall not be considered to be a major Fed11 eral action; 

12 (2) shall be binding; and 

13 (3) shall not be subject to judicial review, ex14 cept as provided in section 10(a) of title 9, United 

15 States Code. 

16 (m) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

18 (A) be solely responsible for the profes19 sional fees of arbitrators participating in the 

20 pilot program; and 

21 (B) use funds made available to the Sec22 retary and not otherwise obligated to carry out 

23 subparagraph (A). 


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1 (2) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—No arbitrator may 

2 award attorney’s fees in any arbitration brought 

3 under this Act. 

4 (n) REPORTS.— 

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

6 the date on which the pilot program is established, 

7 and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall submit 

8 to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and 

9 Forestry and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

10 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat11 ural Resources of the House of Representatives, and 

12 publish on the website of Region 1 of the Forest 

13 Service, a report of not longer than 10 pages de14 scribing the implementation of the pilot program for 

15 the applicable year, including— 

16 (A) the reasons for selecting certain 

17 projects for arbitration; 

18 (B) an evaluation of the arbitration proc19 ess, including any recommendations for im20 provements to the process; 

21 (C) a description of the outcome of each 

22 arbitration; and 

23 (D) a summary of the impacts of each out24 come described in subparagraph (C) on the 


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1 timeline for implementation and completion of 

2 the applicable project. 

3 (2) GAO REVIEWS AND REPORTS.— 

4 (A) INITIAL REVIEW.—Not later than 2 

5 years after the date on which the pilot program 

6 is established, the Comptroller General of the 

7 United States shall review the implementation 

8 by the Secretary of the pilot program. 

9 (B) REVIEW ON TERMINATION.—On termi10 nation of the pilot program under subsection 

11 (o), the Comptroller General of the United 

12 States shall review the implementation by the 

13 Secretary of the pilot program. 

14 (C) REPORT.—On completion of the review 

15 described in subparagraph (A) or (B), the 

16 Comptroller General of the United States shall 

17 submit to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutri18 tion, and Forestry and the Committee on En19 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 

20 the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

21 House of Representatives a report describing 

22 the results of the applicable review. 

23 (o) TERMINATION.—The pilot program shall termi24 nate on the date that is 5 years after the date. 


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1 (p) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act affects the respon2 sibility of the Secretary to comply with— 

3 (1) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

4 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); or 

5 (2) the National Environmental Policy Act of 

6 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

7 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

8 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protect Collaboration 

9 for Healthier Forests Act’’. 

10 SEC. 2. ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PILOT PRO11 GRAM. 

12 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this Act: 

13 (1) ARBITRATOR.—The term ‘‘arbitrator’’ means 

14 a person— 

15 (A) selected by the Secretary under sub16 section (d)(1); and 

17 (B) that meets the qualifications under sub18 section (d)(2). 

19 (2) LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.— 

20 The term ‘‘land and resource management plan’’ 

21 means a plan developed under section 6 of the Forest 

22 and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 

23 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604). 


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1 (3) PARTICIPANT.—The term ‘‘participant’’ 

2 means an individual or entity that, with respect to 

3 a project— 

4 (A) has exhausted the administrative review 

5 process under part 218 of title 36, Code of Fed6 eral Regulations (or successor regulations); or 

7 (B) in the case of a project that is categori8 cally excluded for purposes of the National Envi9 ronmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

10 seq.), has participated in a collaborative process 

11 under clause (i) or (ii) of subsection (c)(1)(A). 

12 (4) PILOT PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘pilot program’’ 

13 means the pilot program implemented under sub14 section (b)(1). 

15 (5) PROJECT.—The term ‘‘project’’ means a 

16 project described in subsection (c). 

17 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

18 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

19 of the Forest Service. 

20 (b) ARBITRATION PILOT PROGRAM.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

23 issue a final rule to implement an arbitration pilot 

24 program, to be carried out in the States of Idaho, 

25 Montana, and Wyoming, as an alternative dispute 


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1 resolution in lieu of judicial review for projects de2 scribed in subsection (c). 

3 (2) LIMITATION ON NUMBER OF PROJECTS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may not 

5 designate for arbitration under the pilot pro6 gram more than 2 projects per calendar year. 

7 (B) EXCEPTION.—If the Secretary des8 ignates a project for arbitration under the pilot 

9 program, and no participant initiates arbitra10 tion under subsection (e)(2), that project shall 

11 not count against the limitation on the number 

12 of projects under subparagraph (A). 

13 (3) APPLICABLE PROCESS.—Except as otherwise 

14 provided in this Act, the pilot program shall be car15 ried out in accordance with subchapter IV of chapter 

16 5 of title 5, United States Code. 

17 (4) EXCLUSIVE MEANS OF REVIEW.—The alter18 native dispute resolution process under the pilot pro19 gram for a project designated for arbitration under 

20 the pilot program shall be the exclusive means of re21 view for the project. 

22 (5) NO JUDICIAL REVIEW.—A project that the 

23 Secretary has designated for arbitration under the 

24 pilot program shall not be subject to judicial review. 

25 (c) DESCRIPTION OF PROJECTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, at the sole dis2 cretion of the Secretary, may designate for arbitra3 tion projects that— 

4 (A)(i) are developed through a collaborative 

5 process (within the meaning of section 

6 603(b)(1)(C) of the Healthy Forest Restoration 

7 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591b(b)(1)(C))); 

8 (ii) are carried out under the Collaborative 

9 Forest Landscape Restoration Program estab10 lished under section 4003 of the Omnibus Public 

11 Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); 

12 or 

13 (iii) are identified in a community wildfire 

14 protection plan (as defined in section 101 of the 

15 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

16 U.S.C. 6511)); 

17 (B) have as a purpose— 

18 (i) reducing hazardous fuels; or 

19 (ii) reducing the risk of, or mitigating, 

20 insect or disease infestation; and 

21 (C) are located, in whole or in part, in a 

22 wildland-urban interface (as defined in section 

23 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

24 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)). 


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1 (2) INCLUSION.—In designating projects for ar2 bitration, the Secretary may include projects that are 

3 categorically excluded for purposes of the National 

4 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

5 seq.). 

6 (d) ARBITRATORS.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall develop 

8 and publish a list of not fewer than 15 individuals 

9 eligible to serve as arbitrators for the pilot program. 

10 (2) QUALIFICATIONS.—To be eligible to serve as 

11 an arbitrator under this subsection, an individual 

12 shall be— 

13 (A) recognized by— 

14 (i) the American Arbitration Associa15 tion; or 

16 (ii) a State arbitration program; or 

17 (B) a fully retired Federal or State judge. 

18 (e) INITIATION OF ARBITRATION.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 7 days after 

20 the date on which the Secretary issues the applicable 

21 decision notice or decision memo with respect to a 

22 project, the Secretary shall— 

23 (A) notify each applicable participant and 

24 the Clerk of the United States District Court for 

25 the district in which the project is located that 


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1 the project has been designated for arbitration 

2 under the pilot program; and 

3 (B) include in the applicable decision notice 

4 or decision memo a statement that the project 

5 has been designated for arbitration. 

6 (2) INITIATION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—A participant that has 

8 received a notification under paragraph (1) and 

9 is seeking to initiate arbitration for the applica10 ble project under the pilot program shall file a 

11 request for arbitration with the Secretary not 

12 later than 30 days after the date of receipt of the 

13 notification. 

14 (B) REQUIREMENT.—The request under 

15 subparagraph (A) shall include an alternative 

16 proposal for the applicable project that— 

17 (i) describes each modification sought 

18 by the participant with respect to the 

19 project; and 

20 (ii) is consistent with the goals and ob21 jectives of the applicable land and resource 

22 management plan, all applicable laws, reg23 ulations, legal precedent and policy direc24 tives, and the purpose and need for the 

25 project. 


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1 (C) FAILURE TO MEET REQUIREMENTS.—A 

2 participant who fails to meet the requirements of 

3 subparagraphs (A) and (B) shall be considered to 

4 have forfeited their standing to initiate arbitra5 tion under this paragraph. 

6 (3) COMPELLED ARBITRATION.— 

7 (A) IN GENERAL.—For any request for judi8 cial review with respect to a project that the Sec9 retary has designated for arbitration under the 

10 pilot program— 

11 (i) the Secretary shall file in the appli12 cable court a motion to compel arbitration 

13 in accordance with this Act; and 

14 (ii) the applicable court shall compel 

15 arbitration in accordance with this Act. 

16 (B) FEES AND COSTS.—For any motion de17 scribed in subparagraph (A) for which the Sec18 retary is the prevailing party, the applicable 

19 court shall award to the Secretary— 

20 (i) full or partial court costs; and 

21 (ii) full or partial attorney’s fees. 

22 (f) SELECTION OF ARBITRATOR.—For each arbitration 

23 initiated under this Act— 

24 (1) each applicable participant shall propose 2 

25 arbitrators; and 


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1 (2) the Secretary shall select 1 arbitrator from 

2 the list of arbitrators proposed under paragraph (1). 

3 (g) RESPONSIBILITIES OF ARBITRATOR.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—An arbitrator— 

5 (A) shall address all claims or modifica6 tions sought by each party seeking arbitration 

7 with respect to a project under this Act; but 

8 (B) may consolidate into a single arbitra9 tion all requests to initiate arbitration by all 

10 participants with respect to a project. 

11 (2) CONSIDERATION OF PROPOSED PROJECTS

12 AND DECISION.—For each project for which arbitra13 tion has been initiated under this Act, the arbitrator 

14 shall make a decision with respect to the project by— 

15 (A) selecting the project, as approved by the 

16 Secretary; 

17 (B) selecting the alternative proposal sub18 mitted by the applicable participant in the re19 quest for initiation of arbitration for the project 

20 filed under subsection (e)(2)(A); or 

21 (C) rejecting both options described in sub22 paragraphs (A) and (B). 

23 (3) CONVENE HEARINGS.—In carrying out para24 graph (2), the arbitrator may convene the Secretary 


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1 and the participant, including by telephone con2 ference or other electronic means to consider— 

3 (A) the administrative record; 

4 (B) arguments and evidence submitted by 

5 the Secretary and the participant; 

6 (C) the project, as approved by the Sec7 retary; and 

8 (D) the alternative proposal submitted by 

9 the applicable participant in the request for ini10 tiation of arbitration for the project filed under 

11 subsection (e)(2)(A). 

12 (4) LIMITATIONS.—An arbitrator may not mod13 ify any project or alternative proposal contained in 

14 a request for initiation of arbitration of a participant 

15 under this Act. 

16 (h) INTERVENTION.—A party may intervene in an ar17 bitration under this Act if, with respect to the project to 

18 which the arbitration relates, the party— 

19 (1) meets the requirements of Rule 24(a) of the 

20 Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (or a successor rule); 

21 or 

22 (2) participated in the applicable collaborative 

23 process referred to in clause (i) or (ii) of subsection 

24 (c)(1)(A). 


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1 (i) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In carrying out arbitration 

2 for a project, the arbitrator shall set aside the agency action, 

3 findings, and conclusions found to be arbitrary, capricious, 

4 an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with 

5 law, within the meaning of section 706(2)(A) of title 5, 

6 United States Code. 

7 (j) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION OF ARBITRATION.— 

8 Not later than 90 days after the date on which arbitration 

9 is initiated for a project under the pilot program, the arbi10 trator shall make a decision with respect to all claims or 

11 modifications sought by the participant that initiated the 

12 arbitration. 

13 (k) EFFECT OF ARBITRATION DECISION.—A decision 

14 of an arbitrator under this Act— 

15 (1) shall not be considered to be a major Federal 

16 action; 

17 (2) shall be binding; and 

18 (3) shall not be subject to judicial review, except 

19 as provided in section 10(a) of title 9, United States 

20 Code. 

21 (l) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

23 (A) be solely responsible for the professional 

24 fees of arbitrators participating in the pilot pro25 gram; and 


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1 (B) use funds made available to the Sec2 retary and not otherwise obligated to carry out 

3 subparagraph (A). 

4 (2) TRAVEL COSTS.—The Secretary— 

5 (A) shall be solely responsible for reasonable 

6 travel costs associated with the participation of 

7 an arbitrator in any meeting conducted under 

8 subsection (g)(3); and 

9 (B) shall not be responsible for the travel 

10 costs of a participant under subsection (g)(3). 

11 (3) ATTORNEY’S FEES.—No arbitrator may 

12 award attorney’s fees in any arbitration brought 

13 under this Act. 

14 (m) REPORTS.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 2 years after 

16 the date on which the Secretary issues a final rule to 

17 implement the pilot program under subsection (b)(1), 

18 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Agri19 culture, Nutrition, and Forestry and the Committee 

20 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 

21 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

22 Representatives, and publish on the website of the 

23 Forest Service, a report describing the implementa24 tion of the pilot program, including— 


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1 (A) the reasons for selecting certain projects 

2 for arbitration; 

3 (B) an evaluation of the arbitration process, 

4 including any recommendations for improve5 ments to the process; 

6 (C) a description of the outcome of each ar7 bitration; and 

8 (D) a summary of the impacts of each out9 come described in subparagraph (C) on the 

10 timeline for implementation and completion of 

11 the applicable project. 

12 (2) GAO REVIEWS AND REPORTS.— 

13 (A) REVIEW ON TERMINATION.—On termi14 nation of the pilot program under subsection (n), 

15 the Comptroller General of the United States 

16 shall review the implementation by the Secretary 

17 of the pilot program, including— 

18 (i) the reasons for selecting certain 

19 projects for arbitration under the pilot pro20 gram; 

21 (ii) the location and types of projects 

22 that were arbitrated under the pilot pro23 gram; 


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1 (iii) a description of the outcomes of 

2 the projects that were arbitrated under the 

3 pilot program; 

4 (iv) a description of the participants 

5 who initiated arbitration under the pilot 

6 program; 

7 (v) a description and survey of the ar8 bitrators who participated in the pilot pro9 gram; 

10 (vi) the type and outcome of any re11 quests for judicial review with respect to a 

12 project that the Secretary designated for ar13 bitration under the pilot program; and 

14 (vii) any other items the Comptroller 

15 General of the United States may find ap16 plicable for evaluating the pilot program. 

17 (B) REPORT.—After completion of the re18 view described in subparagraph (A) and not 

19 later than 1 year after termination of the pilot 

20 program under subsection (n), the Comptroller 

21 General of the United States shall submit to the 

22 Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and For23 estry and the Committee on Energy and Natural 

24 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on 

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1 tives a report, describing the results of the appli2 cable review. 

3 (n) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may not designate 

4 a project for arbitration under the pilot program on or after 

5 the date that is 5 years after the date on which the Secretary 

6 issues a final rule to implement the pilot program under 

7 subsection (b)(1). 

8 (o) EFFECT.—Nothing in this Act affects the responsi9 bility of the Secretary to comply with— 

10 (1) the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 

11 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); 

12 (2) the National Environmental Policy Act of 

13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); or 

14 (3) other applicable laws. 


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Calendar No. 720 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2160 

A BILL 

To establish a pilot program under which the Chief 

projects. resolution in lieu of judicial review for certain of the Forest Service may use alternative dispute 

DECEMBER 5, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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