117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3046 

AN ACT 

To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture and 

the Secretary of the Interior to conduct certain landscape-scale forest restoration projects, 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, 
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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Root and Stem Project 

3 Authorization Act of 2022’’. 

4 SEC. 2. ROOT AND STEM PROJECTS. 

5 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

6 (1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col7 laborative process’’ means a process that— 

8 (A) includes multiple interested persons 

9 representing diverse interests; and 

10 (B)(i) is transparent and nonexclusive; or 

11 (ii) meets the requirements for a resource 

12 advisory committee under subsections (c) 

13 through (f) of section 205 of the Secure Rural 

14 Schools and Community Self-Determination Act 

15 of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 7125). 

16 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) land of the National Forest System (as 

19 defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 

20 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

21 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); and 

22 (B) public lands (as defined in section 103 

23 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

24 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 

25 (3) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec26 retary concerned’’ means, as applicable— 
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1 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

2 through the Chief of the Forest Service; or 

3 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, acting 

4 through the Director of the Bureau of Land 

5 Management. 

6 (b) LIST OF CONTRACTORS.—The Secretary con7 cerned shall— 

8 (1) maintain a list of non-Federal, third-party 

9 contractors that the Secretary concerned can hire in 

10 each State to complete the analysis described in sub11 section (c)(1); and 

12 (2) not later than 180 days after the date of 

13 enactment of this Act, and every 3 years thereafter, 

14 submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

15 Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Nat16 ural Resources of the House of Representatives a 

17 copy of the list described in paragraph (1). 

18 (c) AGREEMENTS.—If a person submits to the Sec19 retary concerned a proposal for a project on Federal land 

20 that was developed through a collaborative process and 

21 that meets local and rural community needs, the Secretary 

22 concerned may enter into an agreement with the person, 

23 under which— 

24 (1) the person initially provides to the Secretary 

25 concerned all, or a portion of, the funding necessary 
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1 to complete any analysis that the Secretary con2 cerned determines to be necessary under Federal 

3 law, including the National Environmental Policy 

4 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the En5 dangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et 

6 seq.), for the consideration of the proposed project; 

7 (2) the Secretary concerned uses the funding 

8 provided under paragraph (1) to pay a contractor in9 cluded on the list maintained under subsection 

10 (b)(1) to conduct the analysis described in para11 graph (1); 

12 (3) on completion of the analysis described in 

13 paragraph (1), if the Secretary concerned makes a 

14 decision to proceed with the project, the Secretary 

15 concerned— 

16 (A) solicits bids to carry out the project; 

17 and 

18 (B) enters into a contract or agreement 

19 under section 604 of the Healthy Forests Res20 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c) to 

21 carry out the project; and 

22 (4) using any receipts described in subsection 

23 (d)(1), the Secretary concerned, to the maximum ex24 tent practicable, repays to the person the funding 

25 initially provided under paragraph (1). 
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1 (d) ADDITIONAL RELATED AUTHORITIES.— 

2 (1) USE OF RECEIPTS.—Any receipts that are 

3 generated by a project described in subsection (c) 

4 that are normally deposited in the General Fund of 

5 the Treasury shall be available for expenditure by 

6 the Secretary concerned, without further appropria7 tion or fiscal year limitation, for the use described 

8 in subsection (c)(4). 

9 (2) CONTRACTORS.—The Secretary concerned 

10 may noncompetitively hire a contractor included on 

11 the list maintained under subsection (b)(1) to con12 duct the analysis described in subsection (c)(1). 

13 (e) SAVINGS CLAUSES.— 

14 (1) AUTHORITY OF THE SECRETARY CON15 CERNED.—The Secretary concerned shall— 

16 (A) determine the sufficiency of any docu17 ments prepared by a contractor under sub18 section (c)(2); and 

19 (B) retain responsibility for any author20 izing decision relating to a proposed project de21 scribed in subsection (c). 

22 (2) REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF INDEPENDENT

23 THIRD PARTIES.—The Secretary concerned shall 

24 verify that there is no conflict of interest between— 
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1 (A) a person that submits a proposal 

2 under subsection (c); and 

3 (B) a contractor that the Secretary con4 cerned hires under paragraph (2) of that sub5 section to carry out an analysis with respect to 

6 that proposal. 

7 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE COSTS.—The Secretary 

8 concerned— 

9 (A) shall only use the funding provided to 

10 the Secretary concerned under subsection (c)(1) 

11 to pay a contractor pursuant to subsection 

12 (c)(2); and 

13 (B) shall not use any portion of the fund14 ing provided to the Secretary concerned under 

15 subsection (c)(1) to cover any other expense or 

16 cost incurred by the Secretary concerned, in17 cluding administrative costs. 

18 (4) LIMITATIONS ON REIMBURSEMENTS.—If in19 sufficient receipts are generated by a project de20 scribed in subsection (c) to reimburse the person 

21 that provided funding under paragraph (1) of that 

22 subsection, the Secretary concerned shall not provide 

23 additional funding to the person. 

24 (f) PROMOTION.—Not later than 60 days after the 

25 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned 
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1 shall provide guidance to each local field office of the Sec2 retary concerned for— 

3 (1) making stakeholders aware of the authority 

4 under this Act; and 

5 (2) encouraging use of that authority to meet 

6 land management goals. 

7 (g) TREATMENT OF COLLABORATIVE MEMBERS.— 

8 For purposes of a civil action relating to a project de9 scribed in subsection (c), any person that participated in 

10 the collaborative process to develop the proposal for the 

11 project shall be— 

12 (1) entitled to intervene, as of right, in any sub13 sequent civil action; and 

14 (2) considered to be a full participant in any 

15 settlement negotiation relating to the project. 

16 (h) SUNSET.—The requirements described in sub17 section (b) and the authority to enter into an agreement 

18 under subsection (c) shall expire on January 1, 2033. 

Passed the Senate December 22, 2022. 

Attest: 

Secretary. 
117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3046 

AN ACT 

To codify the authority of the Secretary of Agriprojects, and for other purposes. duct certain landscape-scale forest restoration culture and the Secretary of the Interior to con-