I

106TH CONGRESS

1ST SESSION H. R. 1487

To provide for public participation in the declaration of national monuments

under the Act popularly known as the Antiquities Act of 1906.

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

APRIL 20, 1999

Mr. HANSEN introduced the following bill; which was referred to the

Committee on Resources

A BILL

To provide for public participation in the declaration of national monuments under the Act popularly known as

the Antiquities Act of 1906.

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 NEPA Compliance Act’’.

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

7 The Congress finds the following:

8 (1) National monument designations, when

9 done properly, are an important method of pre-
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1 serving historic landmarks, and objects and antiq2 uities of historic or scientific interest.

3 (2) Because national monuments affect the peo4 ple of the United States, it is important for the pub5 lic to have an opportunity to participate in the na6 tional monument designation process.

7 (3) Requiring the President to comply with re8 quirements of the National Environmental Policy

9 Act of 1969 in designating national monuments

10 would help insure that national monument designa11 tions are in the public interest and that the public

12 has an opportunity to participate in the designation

13 process.

14 SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL

15 POLICY ACT OF 1969 IN DECLARING NA16 TIONAL MONUMENTS.

17 Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (34 Stat. 225,

18 16 U.S.C. 431; popularly known as the Antiquities Act

19 of 1906), is amended—

20 (1) by striking ‘‘That the President of the

21 United States is hereby authorized, in his discretion,

22 to’’ and inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Presi23 dent, subject to subsections (b) and (c), may’’; and

24 (2) by adding at the end the following:
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1 ‘‘(b) COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRON2 MENTAL POLICY ACT OF 1969.—

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of section

4 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act of

5 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332), a declaration by the Presi6 dent under this Act of an area to be national monu7 ment shall be treated as—

8 ‘‘(A) an action by an agency of the Federal

9 Government; and

10 ‘‘(B) a major Federal action significantly

11 affecting the quality of the human environment.

12 ‘‘(2) PREPARATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL IM13 PACT STATEMENT.—The President shall direct the

14 Secretary of the Interior to prepare the environ15 mental impact statement required under section 102

16 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969

17 (42 U.S.C. 4332; in this section referred to as a

18 ‘monument impact statement’) for any declaration of

19 a national monument under this section.

20 ‘‘(3) PUBLIC REVIEW AND COMMENT.—(A) The

21 Secretary shall provide sufficient time for the public

22 to review and comment on each monument impact

23 statement, including—
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1 ‘‘(i) at least 6 months to review and com2 ment on the draft monument impact statement;

3 and

4 ‘‘(ii) 4 months to review and comment on

5 the final monument impact statement before

6 the issuance of the record of decision for the

7 monument impact statement.

8 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall also hold appropriate

9 public hearings, on the record, during all phases of

10 preparation of the monument impact statement, in11 cluding during scoping.

12 ‘‘(C) The President may not declare a national

13 monument before the expiration of the 30-day period

14 beginning on the date on which the record of deci15 sion for the monument impact statement is issued.

16 ‘‘(c) PROTECTION OF RESOURCES DURING DELIB17 ERATIONS.—

18 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If directed by the Presi19 dent, the Secretary shall make an emergency with20 drawal of lands under section 204(e) of the Federal

21 Land Management and Policy Act of 1976 (43

22 U.S.C. 1714(e)) to protect resources on the lands

23 during deliberations on a proposal to declare the

24 lands to be a national monument. The area of the

25 lands withdrawn shall be no larger than the smallest
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1 area compatible with the proper care and manage2 ment of the objects to be protected by the monument

3 designation.

4 ‘‘(2) 24-MONTH LIMITATION.—The duration of

5 a withdrawal under this subsection shall not exceed

6 24 months.’’.

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