II

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION S. 729

To ensure that Congress and the public have the right to participate in

the declaration of national monuments on Federal land.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

MARCH 25, 1999

Mr. CRAIG (for himself, Mr. MURKOWSKI, Mr. LOTT, Mr. STEVENS, Mr.

BURNS, Mr. SMITH of Oregon, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. SHELBY, Mr. HAGEL,

and Mr. BENNETT) introduced the following bill; which was read twice

and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources

A BILL

To ensure that Congress and the public have the right to

participate in the declaration of national monuments on

Federal land.

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 ‘‘National Monument

5 Public Participation Act of 1999’’.

6 SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

7 The purpose of this Act is to ensure that Congress

8 and the public have the right and opportunity to partici-
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1 pate in decisions to declare national monuments on Fed2 eral land.

3 SEC. 3. CLARIFICATION OF CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC

4 ROLES IN DECLARATION OF NATIONAL

5 MONUMENTS.

6 The Act entitled ‘‘An Act for the preservation of

7 American antiquities’’, approved June 8, 1906 (commonly

8 known as the ‘‘Antiquities Act of 1906’’) (16 U.S.C. 431

9 et seq.), is amended by adding at the end the following:

10 ‘‘SEC. 5. CONGRESSIONAL AND PUBLIC ROLES IN NA11 TIONAL MONUMENT DECLARATIONS.

12 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior

13 and the Secretary of Agriculture shall promulgate regula14 tions that establish procedures to ensure that Federal,

15 State, and local governments and the public have the right

16 to participate in the formulation of plans relating to the

17 declaration of a national monument on Federal land on

18 or after the date of enactment of this section, including

19 procedures—

20 ‘‘(1) to provide the public with adequate notice

21 and opportunity to comment on and participate in

22 the declaration of a national monument on Federal

23 land; and
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1 ‘‘(2) for public hearings, when appropriate, on

2 the declaration of a national monument on Federal

3 land.

4 ‘‘(b) OTHER DUTIES.—Prior to making any rec5 ommendations for declaration of a national monument in

6 an area, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary

7 of Agriculture shall—

8 ‘‘(1) ensure, to the maximum extent prac9 ticable, compliance with all applicable Federal land

10 management and environmental laws, including the

11 completion of a programmatic environmental impact

12 statement under the National Environmental Policy

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

14 ‘‘(2) cause mineral surveys to be conducted by

15 the Geological Survey to determine the mineral val16 ues, if any, that may be present in the area;

17 ‘‘(3) cause an assessment of the surface re18 source values of the land to be completed and made

19 available by the appropriate agencies;

20 ‘‘(4) identify all existing rights held on Federal

21 land contained within the area by type and acreage;

22 and

23 ‘‘(5) identify all State and private land con24 tained within the area.
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1 ‘‘(c) RECOMMENDATIONS.—On completion of the re2 views and mineral surveys required under subsection (b),

3 the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agri4 culture shall submit to the President recommendations as

5 to whether any area on Federal land warrants declaration

6 as a national monument.

7 ‘‘(d) FEDERAL ACTION.—Any study or recommenda8 tion under this section shall be considered a federal action

9 for purposes of the National Environmental Policy Act of

10 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).

11 ‘‘(e) REPORTS.—Not later than 2 years after the re12 ceipt of a recommendation under subsection (c), the Presi13 dent shall—

14 ‘‘(1) advise the President of the Senate and the

15 Speaker of the House of Representatives of the

16 President’s recommendation with respect to whether

17 each area evaluated should be declared a national

18 monument; and

19 ‘‘(2) provide a map and description of the

20 boundaries of each area evaluated for declaration to

21 the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the

22 House of Representatives.

23 ‘‘(f) DECLARATION AFTER EFFECTIVE DATE.—A

24 recommendation of the President for declaration of a na25 tional monument that is made after the effective date of
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1 this section shall become effective only if the declaration

2 is approved by Act of Congress.’’.

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