I 

109TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5172 

To improve the effectiveness of Department of Defense programs for the 

remediation of unexploded ordnance on former defense sites, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

APRIL 25, 2006 

Mr. BLUMENAUER (for himself, Mr. FARR, Mr. PALLONE, Mr. MCDERMOTT, 

and Mr. CASE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Armed Services 

A BILL 

To improve the effectiveness of Department of Defense programs for the remediation of unexploded ordnance on 

former defense sites, 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 AND TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Military Range Legacy Act of 2006’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Definitions.


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Sec. 3. Department of Defense implementation of requirements regarding 

unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, and munitions constituents. 

Sec. 4. Wide-area assessment of suspected UXO sites. 

Sec. 5. Detection instrument technology research. 

Sec. 6. Single Munitions Response Program. 

Sec. 7. Inventory.

Sec. 8. Public database of incidents involving unexploded ordnance or discarded military munitions. 

Sec. 9. Sense of Congress regarding procurement and use of munitions. 

Sec. 10. Report on defense site cleanup at military installations closed or realigned under base closure law. 

Sec. 11. Comptroller General study on adequacy of funding, staffing, and organization of military munitions response program. 

Sec. 12. Comptroller General study on defense land management and transfer. 

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act— 

3 (1) The term ‘‘unexploded ordnance’’ has the 

4 meaning given such term in sections 101(e)(5) of 

5 title 10, United States Code. 

6 (2) The terms ‘‘defense site’’, ‘‘discarded mili7 tary munitions’’, and ‘‘munitions constituents’’ have 

8 the meanings given such terms in sections 2710(e) 

9 of such title. 

10 (3) The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary 

11 of Defense. 

12 (4) The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means the Committee on Armed Services of 

14 the House of Representatives and the Committee on 

15 Armed Services of the Senate. 


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1 SEC. 3. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE IMPLEMENTATION OF 

2 REQUIREMENTS REGARDING UNEXPLODED 

3 ORDNANCE, DISCARDED MILITARY MUNI4 TIONS, AND MUNITIONS CONSTITUENTS. 

5 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of De6 fense should fully implement, within the shortest possible 

7 time-frame, all of the requirements of— 

8 (1) chapter 160, United States Code, related to 

9 all previous Congressional directives related to the 

10 inventorying, characterization, remediation, and 

11 management of explosive and related risks with re12 spect to unexploded ordnance, discarded military 

13 munitions, and munitions constituents at defense 

14 sites; and 

15 (2) section 313 of the National Defense Author16 ization Act for Fiscal Year 2002 (Public Law 107– 

17 107; 10 U.S.C. 2706 note) related to the assessment 

18 of environmental remediation of unexploded ord19 nance, discarded military munitions, and munitions 

20 constituents at defense sites. 

21 SEC. 4. WIDE-AREA ASSESSMENT OF SUSPECTED UXO 

22 SITES. 

23 Section 2710 of title 10, United States Code, is 

24 amended by adding at the end the following new sub25 section: 


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1 ‘‘(f) WIDE-AREA ASSESSMENT.—(1) The Secretary 

2 shall establish a program (to be known as the ‘wide-area 

3 assessment program’) to conduct an assessment of for4 merly used defense sites that are known or suspected to 

5 contain unexploded ordnance, discarded military muni6 tions, or munitions constituents using archival searches of 

7 existing records, visual site inspections, airborne wide-area 

8 screening, and related technologies, for the purpose of de9 lineating which areas within those sites do not contain 

10 unexploded ordnance and discarded military munitions. 

11 ‘‘(2) The wide-area assessment program shall be com12 pleted by the end of the fifth complete fiscal year begin13 ning after the date of the enactment of the Military Range 

14 Legacy Act of 2006. 

15 ‘‘(3) There is authorized to be appropriated a total 

16 of $1,000,000,000 during fiscal years 2007 through 2011 

17 to carry out the wide-area assessment program. Amounts 

18 appropriated pursuant to this authorization of appropria19 tions shall remain available until expended. 

20 ‘‘(4) The Secretary shall include as part of the annual 

21 inventory and site-prioritization list required by subsection 

22 (c) a review of the progress of the wide-area assessment 

23 program.’’ 


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1 SEC. 5. DETECTION INSTRUMENT TECHNOLOGY RE2 SEARCH. 

3 (a) RESEARCH PROGRAM REQUIRED.—The Secretary 

4 shall establish a program for the research, development, 

5 testing, and evaluation of unexploded ordnance detection 

6 instrument technology. The research shall be done in con7 sultation with appropriate munitions developers in order 

8 to encourage the development of complementary munitions 

9 and detection technologies. 

10 (b) RESEARCH APPROACHES.—The Secretary may 

11 carry out the program through— 

12 (1) grants, contracts or other financial arrange13 ments in accordance with other applicable law to pri14 vate companies, academic and research institutions, 

15 or other appropriate nongovernmental entities; or 

16 (2) by utilizing an existing Federal agency, lab17 oratory or research entity, as appropriate. 

18 (c) APPLICATION OF TECHNOLOGY TO DETECTION

19 OF IMPROVISED EXPLOSIVE DEVICES.—Up to 10 percent 

20 of the total amount appropriated to carry out the program 

21 may be obligated for research into applying unexploded 

22 ordnance detection instrument technology to the detection 

23 of improvised explosive devices in theaters of combat. 

24 (d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

25 authorized to be appropriated $30,000,000 for each of fis26 cal years 2007 through 2011 to carry out the program. 


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1 Amounts appropriated pursuant to this authorization of 

2 appropriations shall remain available until expended. 

3 (e) TECHNOLOGY TRANSFER.—The Secretary shall 

4 review impediments to the transition of new unexploded 

5 ordnance detection instrument technologies to regular op6 eration in remediation programs and the transfer of such 

7 technologies to private companies involved in the detection 

8 of unexploded ordnance. The Secretary shall conduct the 

9 review in consultation with appropriate private companies 

10 and Federal contracting agencies and submit, not later 

11 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

12 a report to the appropriate congressional committees de13 scribing efforts to improve the transfer of such technology. 

14 SEC. 6. SINGLE MUNITIONS RESPONSE PROGRAM. 

15 (a) PROGRAM MANAGER.—Subsection (k) of section 

16 2701 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read 

17 as follows: 

18 ‘‘(k) UXO PROGRAM MANAGER.—(1) The Secretary 

19 of Defense shall establish a program manager who shall 

20 serve as the single point of contact in the Department of 

21 Defense for policy and budgeting issues involving the char22 acterization, remediation, research and management of 

23 military munitions response at defense sites (as defined 

24 in section 2710 of this title). 


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1 ‘‘(2) The program manager shall be the single point 

2 of contact for military departments and defense agencies 

3 with munitions response responsibilities. The program 

4 manager shall report to the Assistant Deputy Under Sec5 retary of Defense (Environment, Safety, and Occupational 

6 Health). 

7 ‘‘(3) The program manager shall establish an inde8 pendent advisory and review panel that may include rep9 resentatives of the National Academy of Sciences, non10 governmental organizations with expertise regarding 

11 unexploded ordnance, discarded military munitions, or 

12 munitions constituents, the Environmental Protection 

13 Agency, States (as defined in section 2710 of this title), 

14 and tribal governments. The panel shall report annually 

15 to Congress on progress made by the Department of De16 fense to address unexploded ordnance, discarded military 

17 munitions, or munitions constituents at defense sites and 

18 make such recommendations as the panel considers appro19 priate. 

20 ‘‘(4) The program manager shall be responsible for 

21 the execution of the funds appropriated with regard to the 

22 program element established pursuant to section 2703(b) 

23 of this title and for carrying out the program element for 

24 ordnance remediation.’’. 


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1 (b) MILITARY MUNITIONS RESPONSE ACCOUNT.— 

2 Section 2703 of such title is amended— 

3 (1) by inserting at the end of subsection (a) the 

4 following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(6) An account to be known as the ‘Military 

6 Munitions Response Account’.’’; and 

7 (2) by striking subsection (b) and inserting the 

8 following new subsection: 

9 ‘‘(b) PROGRAM ELEMENT FOR ORDNANCE REMEDI10 ATION.—The Secretary of Defense shall establish a pro11 gram element for remediation of unexploded ordnance (as 

12 defined in section 101(e)(5) of this title) and discarded 

13 military munitions and munitions constituents (as defined 

14 in section 2710(e) of this title) within the account estab15 lished under subsection (a)(6).’’. 

16 SEC. 7. INVENTORY. 

17 Section 2710 of title 10, United States Code, is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (a), by striking paragraph (1) 

20 and inserting the following new paragraph: 

21 ‘‘(1) The Secretary of Defense shall develop and 

22 maintain an inventory of defense sites that are known or 

23 suspected to contain unexploded ordnance, discarded mili24 tary munitions, munitions constituents, or offshore chem25 ical munitions.’’; and 


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1 (2) in subsection (b)(2), by adding at the end 

2 the following new subparagraph: 

3 ‘‘(I) The potential economic value of the site 

4 after transfer of the defense site from military con5 trol.’’. 

6 SEC. 8. PUBLIC DATABASE OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING 

7 UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE OR DISCARDED 

8 MILITARY MUNITIONS. 

9 Section 2710 of title 10, United States Code, is 

10 amended by inserting after subsection (f), as added by sec11 tion 4, the following new subsection: 

12 ‘‘(g) PUBLIC DATABASE OF INCIDENTS INVOLVING

13 UNEXPLODED ORDNANCE OR DISCARDED MILITARY MU14 NITIONS.—(1) The Secretary shall establish and maintain 

15 a database of incidents and accidents since January 1, 

16 1917, in which unexploded ordnance or discarded military 

17 munitions have— 

18 ‘‘(A) been discovered by a person in the United 

19 States in an area other than a defense site included 

20 in the inventory; or 

21 ‘‘(B) caused harm or death to a person within 

22 the United States. 

23 ‘‘(2) The database shall be developed from a review 

24 of Department of Defense and other appropriate Federal 

25 and State records and media reports and include details 


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1 of each incident and accident. The Secretary shall make 

2 the database available to the entities specified in sub3 section (c)(2) and the public in electronic and printed 

4 form.’’. 

5 SEC. 9. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING PROCUREMENT 

6 AND USE OF MUNITIONS. 

7 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of each 

8 of the military departments should— 

9 (1) develop methods to account for the full life10 cycle cost of munitions, including the impact of fail11 ure rate on the cost of disposal, in procurement deci12 sions; and 

13 (2) undertake a review of live-fire practices for 

14 the purpose of reducing unexploded ordnance and 

15 munitions-constituent contamination without imped16 ing military readiness. 

17 SEC. 10. REPORT ON DEFENSE SITE CLEANUP AT MILITARY 

18 INSTALLATIONS CLOSED OR REALIGNED 

19 UNDER BASE CLOSURE LAW. 

20 (a) REPORT AND STRATEGY.—Not later than one 

21 year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary shall submit to Congress a report containing the 

23 strategy of the Department of Defense to complete the en24 vironmental remediation of all military installations ap25 proved for closure or realignment under title II of the DeVerDate Aug 31 2005 04:05 May 02, 2006 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5172.IH H5172

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1 fense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and 

2 Realignment Act (Public Law 100–526; 10 U.S.C. 2687 

3 note). The report shall include an estimate of the amount 

4 of funds that will be necessary each fiscal year to complete 

5 the environmental remediation under the strategy. 

6 (b) CONSULTATION.—The strategy shall be developed 

7 in consultation with interested persons in the locality of 

8 each installation covered by the report. 

9 (c) FUNDING SOURCE.—There is authorized to be ap10 propriated to the Secretary from funds in the Department 

11 of Defense Base Closure Account 1990 not more than 

12 $1,000,000 to permit the Secretary to prepare the report 

13 and strategy. 

14 SEC. 11. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON ADEQUACY 

15 OF FUNDING, STAFFING, AND ORGANIZATION 

16 OF MILITARY MUNITIONS RESPONSE PRO17 GRAM. 

18 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General 

19 shall conduct a study assessing the adequacy of the fund20 ing, staffing, and organization of the Military Munitions 

21 Response Program, an assessment of the mechanisms for 

22 accountability, reporting and monitoring of progress, and 

23 methods to reduce the length of time of munitions re24 sponse projects. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS OF STUDY.—Not later 

2 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

3 the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress, the 

4 Secretary, and the advisory and review panel established 

5 by section 2701(k)(3) of title 10, United States Code, as 

6 amended by section 6, a report containing the results of 

7 the study conducted under subsection (a). 

8 SEC. 12. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON DEFENSE 

9 LAND MANAGEMENT AND TRANSFER. 

10 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Comptroller General 

11 shall conduct a study assessing the effectiveness of current 

12 procedures and institutions for the management and 

13 transfer of former defense land. The study shall also in14 clude an assessment of the potential benefits and dis15 advantages of the establishment of— 

16 (1) a centralized Department of Defense office 

17 for land management and transfer; or 

18 (2) a Federal Government Corporation for dis19 position of Department of Defense land. 

20 (b) SUBMISSION OF RESULTS OF STUDY.—Not later 

21 than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

22 the Comptroller General shall submit to Congress and the 

23 Secretary a report containing the results of the study con24 ducted under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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