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Calendar No. 43 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 320 

[Report No. 110–18] 

To provide for the protection of paleontological resources on Federal lands, 

and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 17, 2007 

Mr. AKAKA (for himself, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. BUNNING, Mr. INOUYE, Mr. DURBIN, and Mr. ROBERTS) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, without amendment 

A BILL 

To provide for the protection of paleontological resources 

on Federal lands, 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 ‘‘Paleontological Re5 sources Preservation Act’’. 

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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 As used in this Act: 

3 (1) CASUAL COLLECTING.—The term ‘‘casual 

4 collecting’’ means the collecting of a reasonable 

5 amount of common invertebrate and plant paleon6 tological resources for non-commercial personal use, 

7 either by surface collection or the use of non-pow8 ered hand tools resulting in only negligible disturb9 ance to the Earth’s surface and other resources. As 

10 used in this paragraph, the terms ‘‘reasonable 

11 amount’’, ‘‘common invertebrate and plant paleon12 tological resources’’ and ‘‘negligible disturbance’’ 

13 shall be determined by the Secretary. 

14 (2) FEDERAL LANDS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

15 lands’’ means— 

16 (A) lands controlled or administered by the 

17 Secretary of the Interior, except Indian lands; 

18 or 

19 (B) National Forest System lands con20 trolled or administered by the Secretary of Ag21 riculture. 

22 (3) INDIAN LANDS.—The term ‘‘Indian Land’’ 

23 means lands of Indian tribes, or Indian individuals, 

24 which are either held in trust by the United States 

25 or subject to a restriction against alienation imposed 

26 by the United States. 

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1 (4) PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCE.—The term 

2 ‘‘paleontological resource’’ means any fossilized re3 mains, traces, or imprints of organisms, preserved in 

4 or on the earth’s crust, that are of paleontological 

5 interest and that provide information about the his6 tory of life on earth, except that the term does not 

7 include— 

8 (A) any materials associated with an ar9 chaeological resource (as defined in section 3(1) 

10 of the Archaeological Resources Protection Act 

11 of 1979 (16 U.S.C. 470bb(1)); or 

12 (B) any cultural item (as defined in section 

13 2 of the Native American Graves Protection 

14 and Repatriation Act (25 U.S.C. 3001)). 

15 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

16 the Secretary of the Interior with respect to lands 

17 controlled or administered by the Secretary of the 

18 Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture with respect 

19 to National Forest System Lands controlled or ad20 ministered by the Secretary of Agriculture. 

21 (6) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means the fifty 

22 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 

23 of Puerto Rico, and any other territory or possession 

24 of the United States. 

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1 SEC. 3. MANAGEMENT. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall manage and 

3 protect paleontological resources on Federal lands using 

4 scientific principles and expertise. The Secretary shall de5 velop appropriate plans for inventory, monitoring, and the 

6 scientific and educational use of paleontological resources, 

7 in accordance with applicable agency laws, regulations, 

8 and policies. These plans shall emphasize interagency co9 ordination and collaborative efforts where possible with 

10 non-Federal partners, the scientific community, and the 

11 general public. 

12 (b) COORDINATION.—To the extent possible, the Sec13 retary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture 

14 shall coordinate in the implementation of this Act. 

15 SEC. 4. PUBLIC AWARENESS AND EDUCATION PROGRAM. 

16 The Secretary shall establish a program to increase 

17 public awareness about the significance of paleontological 

18 resources. 

19 SEC. 5. COLLECTION OF PALEONTOLOGICAL RESOURCES. 

20 (a) PERMIT REQUIREMENT.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in this 

22 Act, a paleontological resource may not be collected 

23 from Federal lands without a permit issued under 

24 this Act by the Secretary. 

25 (2) CASUAL COLLECTING EXCEPTION.—The 

26 Secretary may allow casual collecting without a permstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 mit on Federal lands controlled or administered by 

2 the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of 

3 Reclamation, and the Forest Service, where such col4 lection is consistent with the laws governing the 

5 management of those Federal lands and this Act. 

6 (3) PREVIOUS PERMIT EXCEPTION.—Nothing in 

7 this section shall affect a valid permit issued prior 

8 to the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 (b) CRITERIA FOR ISSUANCE OF A PERMIT.—The 

10 Secretary may issue a permit for the collection of a paleon11 tological resource pursuant to an application if the Sec12 retary determines that— 

13 (1) the applicant is qualified to carry out the 

14 permitted activity; 

15 (2) the permitted activity is undertaken for the 

16 purpose of furthering paleontological knowledge or 

17 for public education; 

18 (3) the permitted activity is consistent with any 

19 management plan applicable to the Federal lands 

20 concerned; and 

21 (4) the proposed methods of collecting will not 

22 threaten significant natural or cultural resources. 

23 (c) PERMIT SPECIFICATIONS.—A permit for the col24 lection of a paleontological resource issued under this sec25 tion shall contain such terms and conditions as the Secmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 retary deems necessary to carry out the purposes of this 

2 Act. Every permit shall include requirements that— 

3 (1) the paleontological resource that is collected 

4 from Federal lands under the permit will remain the 

5 property of the United States; 

6 (2) the paleontological resource and copies of 

7 associated records will be preserved for the public in 

8 an approved repository, to be made available for sci9 entific research and public education; and 

10 (3) specific locality data will not be released by 

11 the permittee or repository without the written per12 mission of the Secretary. 

13 (d) MODIFICATION, SUSPENSION, AND REVOCATION

14 OF PERMITS.— 

15 (1) The Secretary may modify, suspend, or re16 voke a permit issued under this section— 

17 (A) for resource, safety, or other manage18 ment considerations; or 

19 (B) when there is a violation of term or 

20 condition of a permit issued pursuant to this 

21 section. 

22 (2) The permit shall be revoked if any person 

23 working under the authority of the permit is con24 victed under section 7 or is assessed a civil penalty 

25 under section 8. 

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1 (e) AREA CLOSURES.—In order to protect paleon2 tological or other resources and to provide for public safe3 ty, the Secretary may restrict access to or close areas 

4 under the Secretary’s jurisdiction to the collection of pale5 ontological resources. 

6 SEC. 6. CURATION OF RESOURCES. 

7 Any paleontological resource, and any data and 

8 records associated with the resource, collected under a per9 mit, shall be deposited in an approved repository. The Sec10 retary may enter into agreements with non-Federal reposi11 tories regarding the curation of these resources, data, and 

12 records. 

13 SEC. 7. PROHIBITED ACTS; CRIMINAL PENALTIES. 

14 (a) IN GENERAL.—A person may not— 

15 (1) excavate, remove, damage, or otherwise 

16 alter or deface or attempt to excavate, remove, dam17 age, or otherwise alter or deface any paleontological 

18 resources located on Federal lands unless such activ19 ity is conducted in accordance with this Act; 

20 (2) exchange, transport, export, receive, or offer 

21 to exchange, transport, export, or receive any pale22 ontological resource if, in the exercise of due care, 

23 the person knew or should have known such resource 

24 to have been excavated or removed from Federal 

25 lands in violation of any provisions, rule, regulation, 

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1 law, ordinance, or permit in effect under Federal 

2 law, including this Act; or 

3 (3) sell or purchase or offer to sell or purchase 

4 any paleontological resource if, in the exercise of due 

5 care, the person knew or should have known such re6 source to have been excavated, removed, sold, pur7 chased, exchanged, transported, or received from 

8 Federal lands. 

9 (b) FALSE LABELING OFFENSES.—A person may not 

10 make or submit any false record, account, or label for, 

11 or any false identification of, any paleontological resource 

12 excavated or removed from Federal lands. 

13 (c) PENALTIES.—A person who knowingly violates or 

14 counsels, procures, solicits, or employs another person to 

15 violate subsection (a) or (b) shall, upon conviction, be 

16 fined in accordance with title 18, United States Code, or 

17 imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both; but if the 

18 sum of the commercial and paleontological value of the 

19 paleontological resources involved and the cost of restora20 tion and repair of such resources does not exceed $500, 

21 such person shall be fined in accordance with title 18, 

22 United States Code, or imprisoned not more than one 

23 year, or both. 

24 (d) GENERAL EXCEPTION.—Nothing in subsection 

25 (a) shall apply to any person with respect to any paleonmstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tological resource which was in the lawful possession of 

2 such person prior to the date of the enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 8. CIVIL PENALTIES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.— 

5 (1) HEARING.—A person who violates any pro6 hibition contained in an applicable regulation or per7 mit issued under this Act may be assessed a penalty 

8 by the Secretary after the person is given notice and 

9 opportunity for a hearing with respect to the viola10 tion. Each violation shall be considered a separate 

11 offense for purposes of this section. 

12 (2) AMOUNT OF PENALTY.—The amount of 

13 such penalty assessed under paragraph (1) shall be 

14 determined under regulations promulgated pursuant 

15 to this Act, taking into account the following factors: 

16 (A) The scientific or fair market value, 

17 whichever is greater, of the paleontological re18 source involved, as determined by the Secretary. 

19 (B) The cost of response, restoration, and 

20 repair of the resource and the paleontological 

21 site involved. 

22 (C) Any other factors considered relevant 

23 by the Secretary assessing the penalty. 

24 (3) MULTIPLE OFFENSES.—In the case of a 

25 second or subsequent violation by the same person, 

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1 the amount of a penalty assessed under paragraph 

2 (2) may be doubled. 

3 (4) LIMITATION.—The amount of any penalty 

4 assessed under this subsection for any one violation 

5 shall not exceed an amount equal to double the cost 

6 of response, restoration, and repair of resources and 

7 paleontological site damage plus double the scientific 

8 or fair market value of resources destroyed or not 

9 recovered. 

10 (b) PETITION FOR JUDICIAL REVIEW; COLLECTION

11 OF UNPAID ASSESSMENTS.— 

12 (1) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Any person against 

13 whom an order is issued assessing a penalty under 

14 subsection (a) may file a petition for judicial review 

15 of the order in the United States District Court for 

16 the District of Columbia or in the district in which 

17 the violation is alleged to have occurred within the 

18 30-day period beginning on the date the order mak19 ing the assessment was issued. Upon notice of such 

20 filing, the Secretary shall promptly file such a cer21 tified copy of the record on which the order was 

22 issued. The court shall hear the action on the record 

23 made before the Secretary and shall sustain the ac24 tion if it is supported by substantial evidence on the 

25 record considered as a whole. 

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1 (2) FAILURE TO PAY.—If any person fails to 

2 pay a penalty under this section within 30 days— 

3 (A) after the order making assessment has 

4 become final and the person has not filed a pe5 tition for judicial review of the order in accord6 ance with paragraph (1); or 

7 (B) after a court in an action brought in 

8 paragraph (1) has entered a final judgment up9 holding the assessment of the penalty, the Sec10 retary may request the Attorney General to in11 stitute a civil action in a district court of the 

12 United States for any district in which the per13 son if found, resides, or transacts business, to 

14 collect the penalty (plus interest at currently 

15 prevailing rates from the date of the final order 

16 or the date of the final judgment, as the case 

17 may be). The district court shall have jurisdic18 tion to hear and decide any such action. In 

19 such action, the validity, amount, and appro20 priateness of such penalty shall not be subject 

21 to review. Any person who fails to pay on a 

22 timely basis the amount of an assessment of a 

23 civil penalty as described in the first sentence of 

24 this paragraph shall be required to pay, in addimstockstill on PROD1PC66 with BILLS

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1 tion to such amount and interest, attorneys fees 

2 and costs for collection proceedings. 

3 (c) HEARINGS.—Hearings held during proceedings 

4 instituted under subsection (a) shall be conducted in ac5 cordance with section 554 of title 5, United States Code. 

6 (d) USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.—Penalties col7 lected under this section shall be available to the Secretary 

8 and without further appropriation may be used only as 

9 follows: 

10 (1) To protect, restore, or repair the paleon11 tological resources and sites which were the subject 

12 of the action, or to acquire sites with equivalent re13 sources, and to protect, monitor, and study the re14 sources and sites. Any acquisition shall be subject to 

15 any limitations contained in the organic legislation 

16 for such Federal lands. 

17 (2) To provide educational materials to the 

18 public about paleontological resources and sites. 

19 (3) To provide for the payment of rewards as 

20 provided in section 9. 

21 SEC. 9. REWARDS AND FORFEITURE. 

22 (a) REWARDS.—The Secretary may pay from pen23 alties collected under section 7 or 8— 

24 (1) consistent with amounts established in regu25 lations by the Secretary; or 

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1 (2) if no such regulation exists, an amount 

2 equal to the lesser of one-half of the penalty or 

3 $500, to any person who furnishes information 

4 which leads to the finding of a civil violation, or the 

5 conviction of criminal violation, with respect to 

6 which the penalty was paid. If several persons pro7 vided the information, the amount shall be divided 

8 among the persons. No officer or employee of the 

9 United States or of any State or local government 

10 who furnishes information or renders service in the 

11 performance of his official duties shall be eligible for 

12 payment under this subsection. 

13 (b) FORFEITURE.—All paleontological resources with 

14 respect to which a violation under section 7 or 8 occurred 

15 and which are in the possession of any person, and all 

16 vehicles and equipment of any person that were used in 

17 connection with the violation, shall be subject to civil for18 feiture, or upon conviction, to criminal forfeiture. All pro19 visions of law relating to the seizure, forfeiture, and con20 demnation of property for a violation of this Act, the dis21 position of such property or the proceeds from the sale 

22 thereof, and remission or mitigation of such forfeiture, as 

23 well as the procedural provisions of chapter 46 of title 18, 

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1 ures incurred or alleged to have incurred under the provi2 sions of this Act. 

3 (c) TRANSFER OF SEIZED RESOURCES.—The Sec4 retary may transfer administration of seized paleontolog5 ical resources to Federal or non-Federal educational insti6 tutions to be used for scientific or educational purposes. 

7 SEC. 10. CONFIDENTIALITY. 

8 Information concerning the nature and specific loca9 tion of a paleontological resource the collection of which 

10 requires a permit under this Act or under any other provi11 sion of Federal law shall be exempt from disclosure under 

12 section 552 of title 5, United States Code, and any other 

13 law unless the Secretary determines that disclosure 

14 would— 

15 (1) further the purposes of this Act; 

16 (2) not create risk of harm to or theft or de17 struction of the resource or the site containing the 

18 resource; and 

19 (3) be in accordance with other applicable laws. 

20 SEC. 11. REGULATIONS. 

21 As soon as practical after the date of the enactment 

22 of this Act, the Secretary shall issue such regulations as 

23 are appropriate to carry out this Act, providing opportuni24 ties for public notice and comment. 

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1 SEC. 12. SAVINGS PROVISIONS. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to— 

3 (1) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional 

4 restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac5 tivities permitted at any time under the general min6 ing laws, the mineral or geothermal leasing laws, 

7 laws providing for minerals materials disposal, or 

8 laws providing for the management or regulation of 

9 the activities authorized by the aforementioned laws 

10 including but not limited to the Federal Land Policy 

11 Management Act (43 U.S.C. 1701–1784), Public 

12 Law 94–429 (commonly known as the ‘‘Mining in 

13 the Parks Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 1901 et seq.), the Sur14 face Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977 

15 (30 U.S.C. 1201–1358), and the Organic Adminis16 tration Act (16 U.S.C. 478, 482, 551); 

17 (2) invalidate, modify, or impose any additional 

18 restrictions or permitting requirements on any ac19 tivities permitted at any time under existing laws 

20 and authorities relating to reclamation and multiple 

21 uses of Federal lands; 

22 (3) apply to, or require a permit for, casual col23 lecting of a rock, mineral, or invertebrate or plant 

24 fossil that is not protected under this Act; 

25 (4) affect any lands other than Federal lands or 

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1 ontological resources from lands other than Federal 

2 lands; 

3 (5) alter or diminish the authority of a Federal 

4 agency under any other law to provide protection for 

5 paleontological resources on Federal lands in addi6 tion to the protection provided under this Act; or 

7 (6) create any right, privilege, benefit, or enti8 tlement for any person who is not an officer or em9 ployee of the United States acting in that capacity. 

10 No person who is not an officer or employee of the 

11 United States acting in that capacity shall have 

12 standing to file any civil action in a court of the 

13 United States to enforce any provision or amend14 ment made by this Act. 

15 SEC. 13. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

16 There are authorized to be appropriated such sums 

17 as may be necessary to carry out this Act. 

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Calendar No. 43 

110TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 320 

[Report No. 110

–18] 

A BILL 

To provide for the protection of paleontological 

resources on Federal lands, and for other purposes. 

FEBRUARY 15, 2007 

Reported without amendment 

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