II

105TH CONGRESS

2D SESSION S. 1896

To transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Land Between the Lakes

National Recreation Area to the Secretary of Agriculture.

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

APRIL 1, 1998

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

referred to the Committee on Environment and Public Works

A BILL

To transfer administrative jurisdiction over the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area to the Secretary of Agriculture.

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS.

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be referred to as

5 ‘‘The Land Between the Lakes Protection Act of 1998’’.

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

7 this Act is as follows:

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.

Sec. 2. Definitions.

Sec. 3. Purposes.
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TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT, ADMINISTRATION, AND JURISDICTION

Sec. 101. Establishment.

Sec. 102. Civil and criminal jurisdiction.

Sec. 103. Payments to States and counties.

Sec. 104. Forest highways.

TITLE II—MANAGEMENT PROVISIONS

Sec. 201. Land and resource management plan.

Sec. 202. Advisory Board.

Sec. 203. Fees.

Sec. 204. Disposition of receipts.

Sec. 205. Special use authorizations.

Sec. 206. Cooperative authorities and gifts.

Sec. 207. Designation of national recreation trail.

Sec. 208. Cemeteries.

Sec. 209. Resource management.

Sec. 210. Dams and impoundments.

Sec. 211. Trust Fund.

Sec. 212. Electricity.

TITLE III—TRANSFER PROVISIONS

Sec. 301. Effective date of transfer.

Sec. 302. Statement of policy.

Sec. 303. Memorandum of agreement.

Sec. 304. Records.

Sec. 305. Transfer of personal property.

Sec. 306. Compliance with environmental laws.

Sec. 307. Personnel.

TITLE IV—FUNDING

Sec. 401. Tennessee Valley Authority transitional funding.

Sec. 402. Authorization of appropriations.

1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

2 In this Act:

3 (1) ADMINISTRATOR.—The term ‘‘Adminis4 trator’’ means the Administrator of the Environ5 mental Protection Agency.

6 (2) ADVISORY BOARD.—The term ‘‘Advisory

7 Board’’ means the Land Between the Lakes Advi8 sory Board established under section 202.
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1 (3) CHAIRMAN.—The term ‘‘Chairman’’ means

2 the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Ten3 nessee Valley Authority.

4 (4) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEE.—The term ‘‘eligible

5 employee’’ means a person that was, on the date of

6 enactment of this Act, a full-time employee of the

7 Tennessee Valley Authority at the Recreation Area.

8 (5) ENVIRONMENTAL LAW.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘environ10 mental law’’ means all applicable Federal,

11 State, and local laws (including regulations)

12 and requirements related to protection of

13 human health, natural and cultural resources,

14 or the environment.

15 (B) INCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘environ16 mental law’’ includes—

17 (i) the Comprehensive Environmental

18 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act

19 of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.);

20 (ii) the Solid Waste Disposal Act (42

21 U.S.C. 6901 et seq.);

22 (iii) the Federal Water Pollution Con23 trol Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.);

24 (iv) the Clean Air Act (42 U.S.C.

25 7401 et seq.);
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1 (v) the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide,

2 and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et

3 seq.);

4 (vi) the Toxic Substances Control Act

5 (15 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.); and

6 (vii) the Safe Drinking Water Act (42

7 U.S.C. 300f et seq.).

8 (6) FOREST HIGHWAY.—The term ‘‘forest high9 way’’ has the meaning given the term in section

10 101(a) of title 23, United States Code.

11 (7) GOVERNMENTAL UNIT.—The term ‘‘govern12 mental unit’’ means an agency of the Federal Gov13 ernment or a State or local government, local gov14 ernmental unit, public or municipal corporation, or

15 unit of a State university system.

16 (8) HAZARDOUS SUBSTANCE.—The term ‘‘haz17 ardous substance’’ has the meaning given the term

18 in section 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental

19 Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980

20 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

21 (9) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ has the

22 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Com23 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

24 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).
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1 (10) POLLUTANT OR CONTAMINANT.—The term

2 ‘‘pollutant or contaminant’’ has the meaning given

3 the term in section 101 of the Comprehensive Envi4 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liability

5 Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

6 (11) RECREATION AREA.—The term ‘‘Recre7 ation Area’’ means the Land Between the Lakes Na8 tional Recreation Area.

9 (12) RELEASE.—The term ‘‘release’’ has the

10 meaning given the term in section 101 of the Com11 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,

12 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601).

13 (13) RESPONSE ACTION.—The term ‘‘response

14 action’’ has the meaning given the term in section

15 101 of the Comprehensive Environmental Response,

16 Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C.

17 9601).

18 (14) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’

19 means the Secretary of Agriculture.

20 (15) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the

21 State of Kentucky and the State of Tennessee.

22 SEC. 3. PURPOSES.

23 The purposes of this Act are—

24 (1) to transfer without consideration adminis25 trative jurisdiction over the Recreation Area from
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1 the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Secretary so

2 that the Recreation Area may be managed as a unit

3 of the National Forest System;

4 (2) to protect and manage the resources of the

5 Recreation Area for optimum yield of outdoor recre6 ation and environmental education through multiple

7 use management by the Forest Service;

8 (3) to authorize, research, test, and dem9 onstrate innovative programs and cost-effective man10 agement of the Recreation Area;

11 (4) to authorize the Secretary to cooperate be12 tween and among the States, Federal agencies, pri13 vate organizations, and corporations, and individ14 uals, as appropriate, in the management of the

15 Recreation Area and to help stimulate the develop16 ment of the surrounding region and extend the bene17 ficial results as widely as practicable; and

18 (5) to provide for the smooth and equitable

19 transfer of jurisdiction from the Tennessee Valley

20 Authority to the Secretary.
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1 TITLE I—ESTABLISHMENT, AD2 MINISTRATION, AND JURIS3 DICTION

4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT.

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—On the transfer of administrative

6 jurisdiction under section 301, the Land Between the

7 Lakes National Recreation Area in the States of Kentucky

8 and Tennessee is established as a unit of the National

9 Forest System.

10 (b) MANAGEMENT.—

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage

12 the Recreation Area for multiple use as a unit of the

13 National Forest System.

14 (2) EMPHASES.—The emphases in the manage15 ment of the Recreation Area shall be—

16 (A) to provide public recreational opportu17 nities;

18 (B) to conserve fish and wildlife and their

19 habitat; and

20 (C) to provide for diversity of native and

21 desirable non-native plants, animals, opportuni22 ties for hunting and fishing, and environmental

23 education.

24 (3) STATUS OF UNIT.—The Secretary may ad25 minister the Recreation Area as a separate unit of
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1 the National Forest System or in conjunction with

2 an existing national forest.

3 (c) AREA INCLUDED.—

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Recreation Area shall

5 comprise the federally owned land, water, and inter6 ests in the land and water lying between Kentucky

7 Lake and Lake Barkley in the States of Kentucky

8 and Tennessee, as generally depicted on the map en9 titled ‘‘Land Between the Lakes National Recreation

10 Area—January, 1998’’.

11 (2) MAP.—The map described in paragraph (1)

12 shall be available for public inspection in the Office

13 of the Chief of the Forest Service, Washington, D.C.

14 (d) WATERS.—

15 (1) WATER LEVELS AND NAVIGATION.—Noth16 ing in this Act affects the jurisdiction of the Ten17 nessee Valley Authority or the Army Corps of Engi18 neers to manage and regulate water levels and navi19 gation of Kentucky Lake and Lake Barkley and

20 areas subject to flood easements.

21 (2) OCCUPANCY AND USE.—Subject to the ju22 risdiction of the Tennessee Valley Authority and the

23 Army Corps of Engineers, the Secretary shall have

24 jurisdiction to regulate the occupancy and use of the

25 surface waters of the lakes for recreational purposes.
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1 SEC. 102. CIVIL AND CRIMINAL JURISDICTION.

2 (a) ADMINISTRATION.—The Secretary, acting

3 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall administer

4 the Recreation Area in accordance with this Act and the

5 laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to the National

6 Forest System.

7 (b) STATUS.—Land within the Recreation Area shall

8 have the status of land acquired under the Act of March

9 1, 1911 (commonly known as the ‘‘Weeks Act’’) (16

10 U.S.C. 515 et seq.).

11 SEC. 103. PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.

12 (a) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—Land within the

13 Recreation Area shall be subject to the provisions for pay14 ments in lieu of taxes under chapter 69 of title 31, United

15 States Code.

16 (b) DISTRIBUTION.—All amounts received from

17 charges, use fees, and natural resource utilization, includ18 ing timber and agricultural receipts, shall not be subject

19 to distribution to States under the Act of May 23, 1908

20 (16 U.S.C. 500).

21 (c) PAYMENTS BY THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AU22 THORITY.—After the transfer of administrative jurisdic23 tion is made under section 301—

24 (1) the Tennessee Valley Authority shall con25 tinue to calculate the amount of payments to be

26 made to States and counties under section 13 of the
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1 Tennessee Valley Authority Act of 1933 (16 U.S.C.

2 831l); and

3 (2) each State (including, for the purposes of

4 this subsection, the State of Kentucky, the State of

5 Tennessee, and any other State) that receives a pay6 ment under that section shall continue to calculate

7 the amounts to be distributed to the State and local

8 governments, as though the transfer had not been

9 made.

10 SEC. 104. FOREST HIGHWAYS.

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section 204 of

12 title 23, United States Code, the road known as ‘‘The

13 Trace’’ and every other paved road within the Recreation

14 Area (including any road constructed to secondary stand15 ards) shall be considered to be a forest highway.

16 (b) STATE RESPONSIBILITY.—

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The States shall be respon18 sible for the maintenance of forest highways within

19 the Recreation Area.

20 (2) REIMBURSEMENT.—To the maximum ex21 tent provided by law, from funds appropriated to the

22 Department of Transportation and available for pur23 poses of highway construction and maintenance, the

24 Secretary of Transportation shall reimburse the
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1 States for all or a portion of the costs of mainte2 nance of forest highways in the Recreation Area.

3 TITLE II—MANAGEMENT

4 PROVISIONS

5 SEC. 201. LAND AND RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLAN.

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable after the

7 effective date of the transfer of jurisdiction under section

8 301, the Secretary shall prepare a land and resource man9 agement plan for the Recreation Area in conformity with

10 the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C.

11 472a et seq.) and other applicable law.

12 (b) INTERIM PROVISION.—Until adoption of the land

13 and resource management plan, the Secretary may use,

14 as appropriate, the existing Tennessee Valley Authority

15 management plan to provide interim management direc16 tion. Use of all or a portion of the management plan by

17 the Secretary shall not be considered to be a major Fed18 eral action significantly affecting the quality of the human

19 environment.

20 SEC. 202. ADVISORY BOARD.

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 90 days after

22 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall es23 tablish the Land Between the Lakes Advisory Board.

24 (b) MEMBERSHIP.—The Advisory Board shall be

25 composed of 17 members appointed as follows:
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1 (1) 4 individuals appointed by the Secretary, in2 cluding—

3 (A) 2 residents of the State of Kentucky;

4 and

5 (B) 2 residents of the State of Tennessee.

6 (2) 2 individuals, including—

7 (A) 1 individual appointed by the Ken8 tucky Fish and Wildlife Commissioner or des9 ignee; and

10 (B) 1 individual appointed by the Ten11 nessee Fish and Wildlife Commission or des12 ignee.

13 (3) 1 individual appointed by the Land Between

14 the Lakes Association.

15 (4) 4 individuals, including—

16 (A) 2 individuals appointed by the Gov17 ernor of the State of Tennessee; and

18 (B) 2 individuals appointed by the Gov19 ernor of the State of Kentucky.

20 (5) 6 individuals, including 2 individuals ap21 pointed by each of the counties containing the

22 Recreation Area.

23 (c) TERM.—

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—The term of a member of

25 the Advisory Board shall be 5 years.
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1 (2) SUCCESSION.—Members of the Advisory

2 Board may not succeed themselves.

3 (d) CHAIRPERSON.—The Regional Forester shall

4 serve as chairperson of the Advisory Board.

5 (e) RULES OF PROCEDURE.—The Secretary shall

6 prescribe the rules of procedure for the Advisory Board.

7 (f) FUNCTIONS.—The Advisory Board may advise the

8 Secretary on—

9 (1) means of promoting public participation for

10 the land and resource management plan for the

11 Recreation Area; and

12 (2) environmental education.

13 (g) MEETINGS.—

14 (1) FREQUENCY.—The Advisory Board shall

15 meet at least biannually.

16 (2) PUBLIC MEETING.—A meeting of the Advi17 sory Board shall be open to the general public.

18 (3) NOTICE OF MEETINGS.—The chairperson,

19 through the placement of notices in local news media

20 and by other appropriate means shall give 2 weeks’

21 public notice of each meeting of the Advisory Board.

22 (h) TERMINATION.—The Secretary may terminate

23 the Advisory Board on or after the date as of which the

24 Secretary determines that implementation of the initial
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1 land and resource management plan for the Recreation

2 Area under section 201 has begun.

3 SEC. 203. FEES.

4 (a) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary may charge reason5 able fees for admission to and the use of the designated

6 sites, or for activities, within the Recreation Area.

7 (b) FACTORS.—In determining whether to charge

8 fees, the Secretary may consider the costs of collection

9 weighed against potential income.

10 (c) LIMITATION.—No general entrance fees shall be

11 charged within the Recreation Area.

12 SEC. 204. DISPOSITION OF RECEIPTS.

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—All amounts received from

14 charges, use fees, and natural resource utilization, includ15 ing timber and agricultural receipts, shall be deposited in

16 a special fund in the Treasury of the United States to

17 be known as the ‘‘Land Between the Lakes Management

18 Fund’’.

19 (b) USE.—Amounts in the Fund shall be available

20 to the Secretary until expended, without further Act of

21 appropriation, for the management of the Recreation

22 Area, including payment of salaries and expenses.

23 SEC. 205. SPECIAL USE AUTHORIZATIONS.

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—In addition to other authorities

25 for the authorization of special uses within the National
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1 Forest System, within the Recreation Area, the Secretary

2 may, on such terms and conditions as the Secretary may

3 prescribe—

4 (1) convey for no consideration perpetual ease5 ments to governmental units for public roads over

6 U.S. Route 68 and the Trace, and such other rights7 of-way as the Secretary and a governmental unit

8 may agree;

9 (2) transfer or lease to governmental units de10 veloped recreation sites or other facilities to be man11 aged for public purposes; and

12 (3) lease or authorize developed recreational

13 sites or other facilities, consistent with sections 3(2)

14 and 101(b)(2), to for-profit and not-for-profit cor15 porations and organizations for renewable periods

16 not to exceed 30 years.

17 (b) CONSIDERATION.—

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Consideration for a lease or

19 other special use authorization within the Recreation

20 Area shall be based on fair market value.

21 (2) REDUCTION OR WAIVER.—The Secretary

22 may reduce or waive a fee to a governmental unit or

23 nonprofit organization commensurate with other

24 consideration provided to the United States, as de25 termined by the Secretary.
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1 (c) PROCEDURE.—The Secretary may use any fair

2 and equitable method for authorizing special uses within

3 the Recreation Area, including public solicitation of pro4 posals.

5 (d) EXISTING AUTHORIZATIONS.—

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—A permit or other authoriza7 tion granted by the Tennessee Valley Authority that

8 is in effect on the date of enactment of this Act may

9 continue on transfer of administration of the Recre10 ation Area to the Secretary.

11 (2) REISSUANCE.—A permit or authorization

12 described in paragraph (1) may be reissued on ter13 mination under terms and conditions prescribed by

14 the Secretary.

15 (3) EXERCISE OF RIGHTS.—The Secretary may

16 exercise any of the rights of the Tennessee Valley

17 Authority contained in any permit or other author18 ization, including any right to amend, modify, and

19 revoke the permit or authorization.

20 SEC. 206. COOPERATIVE AUTHORITIES AND GIFTS.

21 (a) FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—

22 (1) MANAGEMENT.—

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to such terms

24 and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe,

25 the Secretary may issue a special use authoriza-
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1 tion to the United States Fish and Wildlife

2 Service for the management by the Service of

3 facilities and land agreed on by the Secretary

4 and the Secretary of the Interior.

5 (B) FEES.—

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Reasonable admis7 sion and use fees may be charged for all

8 areas administered by the United States

9 Fish and Wildlife Service.

10 (ii) DEPOSIT.—The fees shall be de11 posited in accordance with section 204.

12 (2) COOPERATION.—The Secretary and the

13 Secretary of the Interior may cooperate or act joint14 ly on activities such as population monitoring and

15 inventory of fish and wildlife with emphasis on mi16 gratory birds and endangered and threatened spe17 cies, environmental education, visitor services, con18 servation demonstration projects and scientific re19 search.

20 (3) SUBORDINATION OF FISH AND WILDLIFE

21 ACTIVITIES TO OVERALL MANAGEMENT.—The man22 agement and use of areas and facilities under permit

23 to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service as

24 authorized pursuant to this section shall be subordi-
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1 nate to the overall management of the Recreation

2 Area as directed by the Secretary.

3 (b) AUTHORITIES.—For the management, mainte4 nance, operation, and interpretation of the Recreation

5 Area and its facilities, the Secretary may—

6 (1) make grants and enter into contracts and

7 cooperative agreements with Federal agencies, gov8 ernmental units, nonprofit organizations, corpora9 tions, and individuals; and

10 (2) accept gifts under Public Law 95–442 (7

11 U.S.C. 2269) notwithstanding that the donor con12 ducts business with any agency of the Department

13 of Agriculture or is regulated by the Secretary of

14 Agriculture.

15 SEC. 207. DESIGNATION OF NATIONAL RECREATION TRAIL.

16 Effective on the date of enactment of this Act, the

17 North-South Trail is designated as a national recreation

18 trail under section 4 of the National Trails System Act

19 (16 U.S.C. 1243).

20 SEC. 208. CEMETERIES.

21 The Secretary shall conduct an inventory of and en22 sure access to all cemeteries within the Recreation Area

23 for purposes of visitation and maintenance.

24 SEC. 209. RESOURCE MANAGEMENT.

25 (a) MINERALS.—
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1 (1) WITHDRAWAL.—The land within the Recre2 ation Area is withdrawn from the operation of the

3 mining and mineral leasing laws of the United

4 States.

5 (2) USE OF MINERAL MATERIALS.—The Sec6 retary may permit the use of common varieties of

7 mineral materials for the development and mainte8 nance of the Recreation Area.

9 (b) HUNTING AND FISHING.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall permit

11 hunting and fishing on land and water under the ju12 risdiction of the Secretary within the boundaries of

13 the Recreation Area in accordance with applicable

14 laws of the United States and of each State, respec15 tively.

16 (2) PROHIBITION.—

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may des18 ignate areas where, and establish periods when,

19 hunting or fishing is prohibited for reasons of

20 public safety, administration, or public use and

21 enjoyment.

22 (B) CONSULTATION.—Except in emer23 gencies, a prohibition under subparagraph (A)

24 shall become effective only after consultation
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1 with the appropriate fish and game depart2 ments of the States.

3 (3) FISH AND WILDLIFE.—Nothing in this Act

4 affects the jurisdiction or responsibilities of the

5 States with respect to wildlife and fish on national

6 forests.

7 SEC. 210. DAMS AND IMPOUNDMENTS.

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Tennessee Valley Authority

9 and the Army Corps of Engineers, as appropriate, shall

10 be responsible for the maintenance of all dams, dikes,

11 causeways, impoundments, subimpoundments, and other

12 water resources facilities, including appurtenant roads and

13 boat ramps, existing within the Recreation Area on the

14 date of enactment of this Act.

15 (b) REMOVAL.—A facility described in subsection (a)

16 may be removed and the associated land and water area

17 restored to a natural condition only with the approval of

18 the Secretary.

19 SEC. 211. TRUST FUND.

20 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the

21 Treasury of the United States a special interest-bearing

22 fund known as the ‘‘Land Between the Lakes Trust

23 Fund’’.

24 (b) AVAILABILITY.—Amounts in the Fund shall be

25 available to the Secretary, until expended, for—
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1 (1) public education, grants, and internships re2 lated to recreation, conservation, and multiple use

3 land management in the Recreation Area; and

4 (2) regional promotion in the Recreation Area,

5 in cooperation with development districts, chambers

6 of commerce, and State and local governments.

7 (c) DEPOSITS.—From revenues available to the Ten8 nessee Valley Authority from any source, the Tennessee

9 Valley Authority shall deposit into the Fund $1,000,000

10 annually for each of 5 fiscal years that begin after the

11 date of enactment of this Act.

12 SEC. 212. ELECTRICITY.

13 The Tennessee Valley Authority shall compensate

14 distributors in providing the Secretary, at no charge, con15 tinued electrical service, including maintenance of all lines,

16 poles, and other facilities necessary for the distribution

17 and use of electric power.

18 TITLE III—TRANSFER

19 PROVISIONS

20 SEC. 301. EFFECTIVE DATE OF TRANSFER.

21 Effective on October 1 of the first fiscal year for

22 which Congress does not appropriate to the Tennessee

23 Valley Authority at least $6,000,000 for the Recreation

24 Area, administrative jurisdiction over the Recreation Area
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1 is transferred from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the

2 Secretary.

3 SEC. 302. STATEMENT OF POLICY.

4 It is the policy of the United States that, to the maxi5 mum extent practicable—

6 (1) the transfer of jurisdiction over the Recre7 ation Area from the Tennessee Valley Authority to

8 the Secretary should be effected in an efficient and

9 cost-effective manner; and

10 (2) due consideration should be given to mini11 mizing—

12 (A) disruption of the personal lives of the

13 Tennessee Valley Authority and Forest Service

14 employees; and

15 (B) adverse impacts on permittees,

16 contractees, and others owning or operating

17 businesses affected by the transfer.

18 SEC. 303. MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after the

20 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary and the Ten21 nessee Valley Authority shall enter into a memorandum

22 of agreement concerning implementation of this Act.

23 (b) PROVISIONS.—The memorandum of understand24 ing shall provide procedures for—
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1 (1) the orderly withdrawal of officers and em2 ployees of the Tennessee Valley Authority;

3 (2) the transfer of property, fixtures, and facili4 ties;

5 (3) the interagency transfer of officers and em6 ployees;

7 (4) the transfer of records; and

8 (5) other transfer issues.

9 (c) TRANSITION TEAM.—

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—The memorandum of under11 standing may provide for a transition team consist12 ing of the Tennessee Valley Authority and Forest

13 Service employees.

14 (2) DURATION.—The team may continue in ex15 istence after the date of transfer.

16 (3) PERSONNEL COSTS.—The Tennessee Valley

17 Authority and the Forest Service shall pay personnel

18 costs of their respective team members.

19 SEC. 304. RECORDS.

20 (a) RECREATION AREA RECORDS.—The Secretary

21 shall have access to all records of the Tennessee Valley

22 Authority pertaining to the management of the Recreation

23 Area.

24 (b) PERSONNEL RECORDS.—The Tennessee Valley

25 Authority personnel records shall be made available to the
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1 Secretary, on request, to the extent the records are rel2 evant to Forest Service administration.

3 (c) CONFIDENTIALITY.—The Tennessee Valley Au4 thority may prescribe terms and conditions on the avail5 ability of records to protect the confidentiality of private

6 or proprietary information.

7 (d) LAND TITLE RECORDS.—The Tennessee Valley

8 Authority shall provide to the Secretary original records

9 pertaining to land titles, surveys, and other records per10 taining to transferred personal property and facilities.

11 SEC. 305. TRANSFER OF PERSONAL PROPERTY.

12 (a) SUBJECT PROPERTY.—

13 (1) INVENTORY.—Not later than 60 days after

14 the date of enactment of this Act, the Tennessee

15 Valley Authority shall provide the Secretary with an

16 inventory of all property and facilities at the Recre17 ation Area.

18 (2) AVAILABILITY FOR TRANSFER.—

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—All Tennessee Valley

20 Authority property associated with the adminis21 tration of the Recreation Area as of January 1,

22 1998, including any property purchased with

23 Federal funds appropriated for the management

24 of the Tennessee Valley Authority land, shall be

25 available for transfer to the Secretary.
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1 (B) PROPERTY INCLUDED.—Property

2 under subparagraph (A) includes buildings, of3 fice furniture and supplies, computers, office

4 equipment, buildings, vehicles, tools, equipment,

5 maintenance supplies, boats, engines, and publi6 cations.

7 (3) EXCLUSION OF PROPERTY.—At the request

8 of the authorized representative of the Tennessee

9 Valley Authority, the Secretary may exclude movable

10 property from transfer based on a showing by the

11 Tennessee Valley Authority that the property is vital

12 to the mission of the Tennessee Valley Authority

13 and cannot be replaced in a cost-effective manner, if

14 the Secretary determines that the property is not

15 needed for management of the Recreation Area.

16 (b) DESIGNATION.—Pursuant to such procedures as

17 may be prescribed in the memorandum of agreement en18 tered into under section 303, the Secretary shall identify

19 and designate, in writing, all Tennessee Valley Authority

20 property to be transferred to the Secretary.

21 (c) FACILITATION OF TRANSFER.—The Tennessee

22 Valley Authority shall, to the maximum extent practicable,

23 use existing appropriated and unappropriated funds and

24 current personnel to facilitate the transfer of necessary

25 property and facilities to the Secretary, including replace-
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1 ment of signs and insignia, repainting of vehicles, printing

2 of public information, and training of new personnel.

3 (d) SURPLUS PROPERTY.—

4 (1) DISPOSITION.—Any personal property, in5 cluding structures and facilities, that the Secretary

6 determines cannot be efficiently managed and main7 tained either by the Forest Service or by lease or

8 permit to other persons may be declared excess by

9 the Secretary and—

10 (A) sold by the Secretary on such terms

11 and conditions as the Secretary may prescribe

12 to achieve the maximum benefit to the Federal

13 Government; or

14 (B) disposed of under the Federal Prop15 erty and Administrative Services Act of 1949

16 (40 U.S.C. 471 et seq.).

17 (2) DEPOSIT OF PROCEEDS.—All net proceeds

18 from the disposal of any property shall be deposited

19 into the Fund established by section 211.

20 SEC. 306. COMPLIANCE WITH ENVIRONMENTAL LAWS.

21 (a) DOCUMENTATION OF EXISTING CONDITIONS.—

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after

23 the date of enactment of this Act, the Chairman and

24 the Administrator shall provide the Secretary all

25 documentation and information that exists on the
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1 environmental condition of the land and waters com2 prising the Recreation Area property.

3 (2) ADDITIONAL DOCUMENTATION.—The

4 Chairman and the Administrator shall provide the

5 Secretary with any additional documentation and in6 formation regarding the environmental condition of

7 the Recreation Area property as such documentation

8 and information becomes available.

9 (b) ACTION REQUIRED.—

10 (1) ASSESSMENT.—Not later than 120 days

11 from the date of enactment of this Act, the Chair12 man shall provide to the Secretary an assessment in13 dicating what action, if any, is required under any

14 environmental law on Recreation Area property.

15 (2) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—If

16 the assessment concludes action is required under

17 any environmental law with respect to any portion of

18 the Recreation Area property, the Secretary and the

19 Chairman shall enter into a memorandum of under20 standing that—

21 (A) provides for the performance by the

22 Chairman of the required actions identified in

23 the assessment; and
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1 (B) includes a schedule providing for the

2 prompt completion of the required actions to

3 the satisfaction of the Secretary.

4 (c) DOCUMENTATION DEMONSTRATING ACTION.—

5 On the transfer of jurisdiction over the Recreation Area

6 from the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Secretary, the

7 Chairman shall provide the Secretary with documentation

8 demonstrating that all actions required under any environ9 mental law have been taken, including all response actions

10 under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com11 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et

12 seq.) that are necessary to protect human health and the

13 environment with respect to any hazardous substance, pol14 lutant, contaminant, hazardous waste, hazardous mate15 rial, or petroleum product or derivative of a petroleum

16 product on Recreation Area property.

17 (d) CONTINUATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND LI18 ABILITIES.—

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—The transfer of the Recre20 ation Area property under this Act, and the require21 ments of this section, shall not in any way affect the

22 responsibilities and liabilities of the Tennessee Valley

23 Authority at the Recreation Area under the Com24 prehensive Environmental Response, Compensation,
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1 and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.)

2 or any other environmental law.

3 (2) ACCESS.—After transfer of the Recreation

4 Area property, the Chairman shall be accorded any

5 access to the property that may be reasonably re6 quired to carry out the responsibility or satisfy the

7 liability referred to in paragraph (1).

8 (3) NO LIABILITY.—The Secretary shall not be

9 liable under any environmental law for matters that

10 are related directly or indirectly to present or past

11 activities of the Tennessee Valley Authority on the

12 Recreation Area property, including liability for—

13 (A) costs or performance of response ac14 tions required under the Comprehensive Envi15 ronmental Response, Compensation, and Liabil16 ity Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq.) at or

17 related to the Recreation Area; or

18 (B) costs, penalties, fines, or performance

19 of actions related to noncompliance with any

20 environmental law at or related to the Recre21 ation Area or related to the presence, release,

22 or threat of release of any hazardous substance,

23 pollutant, or contaminant, hazardous waste,

24 hazardous material, or petroleum product or de25 rivative of a petroleum product of any kind at
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1 or related to the Recreation Area, including

2 contamination resulting from migration.

3 (4) NO EFFECT ON RESPONSIBILITIES OR LI4 ABILITIES.—Except as provided in paragraph (3),

5 nothing in this Act affects, modifies, amends, re6 peals, alters, limits or otherwise changes, directly or

7 indirectly, the responsibilities or liabilities under any

8 environmental law of any person with respect to the

9 Secretary.

10 (e) OTHER FEDERAL AGENCIES.—Subject to the

11 other provisions of this section, a Federal agency that car12 ried or carries out operations at the Recreation Area re13 sulting in the release or threatened release of a hazardous

14 substance, pollutant, or contaminant, hazardous waste,

15 hazardous material, or petroleum product or derivative of

16 a petroleum product for which that agency would be liable

17 under any environmental law shall pay the costs of related

18 response actions and shall pay the costs of related actions

19 to remediate petroleum products or their derivatives.

20 SEC. 307. PERSONNEL.

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—

22 (1) HIRING.—Notwithstanding section 3503 of

23 title 5, United States Code, and subject to para24 graph (2), the Secretary may—
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1 (A) appoint, hire, and discharge officers

2 and employees to administer the Recreation

3 Area; and

4 (B) pay the officers and employees at lev5 els that are commensurate with levels at other

6 units of the National Forest System.

7 (2) INTERIM RETENTION OF ELIGIBLE EMPLOY8 EES.—

9 (A) IN GENERAL.—For a period of not less

10 than 5 months after the effective date of trans11 fer to the Forest Service—

12 (i) all eligible employees shall be re13 tained in the employment of the Tennessee

14 Valley Authority;

15 (ii) those eligible employees shall be

16 considered to be placed on detail to the

17 Secretary and shall be subject to the direc18 tion of the Secretary; and

19 (iii) the Secretary shall reimburse the

20 Tennessee Valley Authority for the amount

21 of the basic pay of those eligible employees,

22 and the Tennessee Valley Authority shall

23 remain responsible for all other compensa24 tion of those employees.
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1 (B) NOTICE TO EMPLOYEES.—The Sec2 retary shall provide eligible employees a written

3 notice of not less than 30 days before termi4 nation.

5 (C) TERMINATION FOR CAUSE.—Subpara6 graph (A) does not preclude a termination for

7 cause during the 5-month period.

8 (b) APPLICATIONS FOR TRANSFER AND APPOINT9 MENT.—An eligible employee shall have the right to apply

10 for employment by the Secretary under procedures for

11 transfer and appointment of Federal employees outside

12 the Department of Agriculture.

13 (c) HIRING BY THE SECRETARY.—

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subsection (b), in

15 filling personnel positions within the Recreation

16 Area, the Secretary shall follow all laws (including

17 regulations) and policies applicable to the Depart18 ment of Agriculture.

19 (2) NOTIFICATION AND HIRING.—Notwith20 standing paragraph (1), the Secretary—

21 (A) shall notify all eligible employees of all

22 openings for positions with the Forest Service

23 at the Recreation Area before notifying other

24 individuals or considering applications by other

25 individuals for the positions; and
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1 (B) after applications by eligible employees

2 have received consideration, if any positions re3 main unfilled, shall notify other individuals of

4 the openings.

5 (3) NONCOMPETITIVE APPOINTMENTS.—Not6 withstanding any other placement of career transi7 tion programs authorized by the Office of Personnel

8 Management of the United States Department of

9 Agriculture, the Secretary may noncompetitively ap10 point eligible employees to positions in the Recre11 ation Area.

12 (4) PERIOD OF SERVICE.—Except to the extent

13 that an eligible employee that is appointed by the

14 Secretary may be otherwise compensated for the pe15 riod of service as an employee of the Tennessee Val16 ley Authority, that period of service shall be treated

17 as a period of service as an employee of the Sec18 retary for the purposes of probation, career tenure,

19 time-in-grade, and leave.

20 (d) TRANSFER TO POSITIONS IN OTHER UNITS OF

21 THE TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY.—The Tennessee

22 Valley Authority—

23 (1) shall notify all eligible employees of all

24 openings for positions in other units of the Ten25 nessee Valley Authority before notifying other indi-
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1 viduals or considering applications by other individ2 uals for the positions; and

3 (2) after applications by eligible employees have

4 received consideration, if any positions remain un5 filled, shall notify other individuals of the openings.

6 (e) EMPLOYEE BENEFIT TRANSITION.—

7 (1) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.—

8 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary and the

9 heads of the Office of Personnel Management

10 and the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement

11 System shall enter into a memorandum of un12 derstanding providing for the transition for all

13 eligible employees of compensation made avail14 able through the Tennessee Valley Authority

15 Retirement System.

16 (B) EMPLOYEE PARTICIPATION.—In decid17 ing on the terms of the memorandum of under18 standing, the Secretary and the heads of the

19 Office of Personnel Management and the Ten20 nessee Valley Authority Retirement System

21 shall meet and consult with and give full con22 sideration to the views of employees and rep23 resentatives of the employees of the Tennessee

24 Valley Authority.
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1 (2) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE TRANS2 FERRED TO OTHER UNITS OF TVA.—An eligible em3 ployee that is transferred to another unit of the Ten4 nessee Valley Authority shall experience no interrup5 tion in coverage for or reduction of any retirement,

6 health, leave, or other employee benefit.

7 (3) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE HIRED BY

8 THE SECRETARY.—

9 (A) LEVEL OF BENEFITS.—The Secretary

10 shall provide to an eligible employee that is

11 hired by the Forest Service a level of retirement

12 and health benefits that is equivalent to the

13 level to which the eligible employee would have

14 been entitled if the eligible employee had re15 mained an employee of the Tennessee Valley

16 Authority.

17 (B) TRANSFER OF RETIREMENT BENE18 FITS.—

19 (i) IN GENERAL.—All retirement ben20 efits accrued by an eligible employee that

21 is hired by the Forest Service shall be

22 transferred into the Federal Retirement

23 System of the Forest Service.

24 (ii) FUNDING SHORTFALL.—
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1 (I) IN GENERAL.—For all eligible

2 employees that are not part of the

3 Civil Service Retirement System, the

4 Tennessee Valley Authority shall meet

5 any funding shortfall resulting from

6 the transfer of retirement benefits.

7 (II) NOTIFICATION.—The Sec8 retary shall notify the Tennessee Val9 ley Authority Board of the cost associ10 ated with the transfer of retirement

11 benefits.

12 (III) PAYMENT.—Not later than

13 60 days after notification under sub14 clause (II), the Tennessee Valley Au15 thority, using nonappropriated funds,

16 shall fully compensate the Secretary

17 for the costs associated with the

18 transfer of retirement benefits.

19 (IV) NO INTERRUPTION.—An eli20 gible employee that is hired by the

21 Forest Service and is eligible for Civil

22 Service Retirement shall not experi23 ence any interruption in retirement

24 benefits.
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1 (B) NO INTERRUPTION.—An eligible em2 ployee that is hired by the Secretary—

3 (i) shall experience no interruption in

4 coverage for any health, leave, or other em5 ployee benefit; and

6 (ii) shall be entitled to carry over any

7 leave time accumulated during employment

8 by the Tennessee Valley Authority.

9 (C) PERIOD OF SERVICE.—Notwithstand10 ing section 8411(b)(3) of title 5, United States

11 Code, except to the extent that an eligible em12 ployee may be otherwise compensated (including

13 the provision of retirement benefits in accord14 ance with the memorandum of understanding)

15 for the period of service as an employee of the

16 Tennessee Valley Authority, that period of serv17 ice shall be treated as a period of service as an

18 employee of the Secretary for all purposes relat19 ing to the Federal employment of the eligible

20 employee.

21 (4) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES THAT ARE DIS22 CHARGED NOT FOR CAUSE.—

23 (A) LEVEL OF BENEFITS.—The parties to

24 the memorandum of understanding shall have

25 authority to deem any applicable requirement to
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1 be met, to make payments to an employee, or

2 take any other action necessary to provide to an

3 eligible employee that is discharged as being ex4 cess to the needs of the Tennessee Valley Au5 thority or the Secretary and not for cause and

6 that does not accept an offer of employment

7 from the Secretary, an optimum level of retire8 ment and health benefits that is equivalent to

9 the level that has been afforded employees dis10 charged in previous reductions in force by the

11 Tennessee Valley Authority.

12 (B) MINIMUM BENEFITS.—An eligible em13 ployee that is discharged as being excess to the

14 needs of the Tennessee Valley Authority or the

15 Secretary and not for cause shall, at a mini16 mum, be entitled to—

17 (i) at the option of the eligible em18 ployee—

19 (I) a lump-sum equal to $1,000,

20 multiplied by the number of years of

21 service of the eligible employee (but

22 not less than $15,000 nor more than

23 $25,000);

24 (II) a lump-sum payment equal

25 to the amount of pay earned by the el-
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1 igible employee for the last 26 weeks

2 of the eligible employee’s service; or

3 (III) the deemed addition of 5

4 years to the age and years of service

5 of an eligible employee;

6 (ii) 15 months of health benefits for

7 employees and dependents at the same

8 level provided as of September 30, 1998;

9 (iii) 1 week of pay per year of service

10 as provided by the Tennessee Valley Au11 thority Retirement System;

12 (iv) a lump-sum payment of all accu13 mulated annual leave;

14 (v) unemployment compensation in ac15 cordance with State law;

16 (vi) eligible pension benefits as pro17 vided by the Tennessee Valley Authority

18 Retirement System; and

19 (vii) retraining assistance provided by

20 the Tennessee Valley Authority.

21 (C) SHORTFALL.—If the board of directors

22 of the Tennessee Valley Authority Retirement

23 System determines that the cost of providing

24 the benefits described in subparagraph (B)

25 would have a negative impact on the overall re-
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1 tirement system, the Tennessee Valley Author2 ity shall be required to meet any funding short3 falls using nonappropriated funds.

4 TITLE IV—FUNDING

5 SEC. 401. TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY TRANSITIONAL

6 FUNDING.

7 (a) AVAILABILITY TO THE SECRETARY.—

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—After the effective date of

9 transfer of jurisdiction of the Recreation Area from

10 the Tennessee Valley Authority to the Secretary, all

11 of the funds authorized to be appropriated to the

12 Tennessee Valley Authority for the administration of

13 the Recreation Area shall be available to the Sec14 retary to carry out this Act.

15 (2) INTERAGENCY AGREEMENT.—Funds made

16 available to the Tennessee Valley Authority for the

17 transition shall be made available to the Secretary

18 pursuant to an interagency agreement.

19 (b) AVAILABILITY TO THE UNITED STATES FISH

20 AND WILDLIFE SERVICE.—Funds appropriated to the

21 Secretary of the Interior for purposes of the United States

22 Fish and Wildlife Service shall be available to administer

23 any portions of the Recreation Area that are authorized

24 for administration by the Service under section 206(a).
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1 SEC. 402. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

2 (a) AGRICULTURE.—There are authorized to be ap3 propriated to the Secretary of Agriculture such sums as

4 are necessary to—

5 (1) permit the Secretary to exercise administra6 tive jurisdiction over the Recreation Area under this

7 Act; and

8 (2) administer the Recreation Area as a unit of

9 the National Forest System.

10 (b) INTERIOR.—There are authorized to be appro11 priated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as are

12 necessary to carry out activities within the Recreation

13 Area.

Æ