I 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 4407 

To establish a coordinated avalanche protection program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 16, 2009 

Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on 

Oversight and Government Reform and 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 establish a coordinated avalanche protection program, 

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 ‘‘Federal Land Ava5 lanche Protection Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

2 the avalanche protection program established under 

3 section 3(a). 

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

5 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

6 SEC. 3. AVALANCHE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

7 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

8 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish 

9 a coordinated avalanche protection program to— 

10 (1) identify the potential for avalanches on Fed11 eral lands and inform the public, including users of 

12 those lands and other potentially affected parties, 

13 about the probability of such avalanches and their 

14 potential adverse effects on neighboring communities 

15 and on transportation and utility corridors; 

16 (2) carry out ongoing research regarding the 

17 causes of avalanche development, so as to improve 

18 forecasting of avalanche events; and 

19 (3) reduce the risks of avalanches on Federal 

20 lands and mitigate their effects on users of those 

21 lands, neighboring communities, and transportation 

22 and utility corridors. 

23 (b) COORDINATION.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing and imple25 menting the program, the Secretary shall consult 


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1 with the Secretary of the Interior, and coordinate 

2 the program to ensure adequate levels of protection 

3 for recreational users of public land under the juris4 diction of such Secretary. 

5 (2) RESOURCES.—In carrying out this section, 

6 the Secretary— 

7 (A) shall, to the maximum extent prac8 ticable, use the resources of the National Ava9 lanche Center of the Forest Service; and 

10 (B) may use such other resources as the 

11 Secretary has available in the development and 

12 implementation of the program. 

13 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 an advisory committee of 15 members, appointed by 

16 the Secretary, to assist in the development and im17 plementation of the program. 

18 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the ad19 visory committee established pursuant to paragraph 

20 (1) shall include representatives of— 

21 (A) Federal land management agencies 

22 and concessionaires or permittees that are ex23 posed to the threat of avalanches; 


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1 (B) State departments of transportation 

2 that have experience in dealing with the effects 

3 of avalanches; 

4 (C) the Alaska railroad; 

5 (D) the United States Geological Survey; 

6 (E) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration; 

8 (F) the National Weather Service; 

9 (G) entities with interest in the program 

10 that the Secretary considers appropriate for 

11 representation on the board; 

12 (H) authorized users of artillery, other 

13 military weapons, or weapons alternatives used 

14 for avalanche control; and 

15 (I) such other members as the Secretary 

16 considers appropriate. 

17 (d) CENTRAL DEPOSITORY.—The Secretary, the Sec18 retary of Transportation, and the Secretary of the Army 

19 shall establish a central depository for weapons, ammuni20 tion, and parts for avalanche control purposes, including 

21 an inventory that can be made available to Federal and 

22 non-Federal entities for avalanche control purposes under 

23 the program. 

24 (e) GRANTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

2 grants to carry out projects and activities under the 

3 program— 

4 (A) to assist in the prevention, forecasting, 

5 detection, and mitigation of avalanches for the 

6 safety and protection of persons, property, and 

7 at-risk communities; 

8 (B) to maintain essential transportation, 

9 utilities, and communications affected or poten10 tially affected by avalanches; 

11 (C) to assist avalanche artillery users to 

12 ensure the availability of adequate supplies of 

13 artillery and other unique explosives required 

14 for avalanche control in or affecting— 

15 (i) Federal land used for recreation 

16 purposes; and 

17 (ii) adjacent communities, and essen18 tial transportation corridors, that are at 

19 risk of avalanches; and 

20 (D) to assist public or private persons and 

21 entities in public education regarding ava22 lanches and in conducting research and develop23 ment activities for cost-effective and reliable al24 ternatives to minimize reliance on military 

25 weapons for avalanche control. 


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1 (2) PRIORITY.—For each fiscal year for which 

2 funds are made available under section 4, the Sec3 retary shall give priority to projects and activities 

4 carried out in avalanche zones— 

5 (A) with a high frequency or severity of 

6 avalanches; or 

7 (B) in which deaths or serious injuries to 

8 individuals, or loss or damage to public facilities 

9 and communities, have occurred or are likely to 

10 occur. 

11 (f) SURPLUS ORDNANCE.—Section 549(c)(3) of title 

12 40, United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

14 the semicolon at the end; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

16 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

17 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of surplus artillery ord19 nance that is suitable for avalanche control pur20 poses, to a user of such ordnance.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

23 this Act $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

24 2014. 


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1 SEC. 5. LIMITATION. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require use 

3 of artillery or any other avalanche-related actions affecting 

4 any unit of the National Park System or any other Fed5 eral lands or to limit the applicability of any Federal law 

6 or regulation with respect to any such actions on such 

7 lands. 

Æ 


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