I 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1473 

To provide for a program within the Forest Service to detect, document, 

monitor, and remediate the environmental damages caused by trespass 

cultivation on National Forest Lands, and amend the Federal Insecticide, 

Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act to include criminal penalties for illegal 

pesticide application on Government property, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 8, 2023 

Mr. PETERS (for himself and Mr. LAMALFA) introduced the following bill; 

which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to 

the Committees on Natural Resources, and the Budget, 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 provide for a program within the Forest Service to detect, 

document, monitor, and remediate the environmental 

damages caused by trespass cultivation on National Forest Lands, and amend the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, 

and Rodenticide Act to include criminal penalties for 

illegal pesticide application on Government property, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Targeting and Offset3 ting Existing Illegal Contaminants Act’’. 

4 SEC. 2. TRESPASS CANNABIS CULTIVATION SITE REMEDI5 ATION PROGRAM ESTABLISHED. 

6 (a) TRESPASS CANNABIS CULTIVATION SITE REME7 DIATION PROGRAM.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Agri9 culture shall carry out a program of environmental 

10 remediation on land under the jurisdiction of the 

11 Forest Service. The program shall be known as the 

12 ‘‘Trespass Cannabis Cultivation Site Remediation 

13 Program’’. 

14 (2) APPLICATION OF SECTION 120 OF

15 CERCLA.—Activities of the program described in 

16 subsection (b) shall be carried out subject to, and in 

17 a manner consistent with, section 120 (relating to 

18 Federal facilities) of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9620). 

19 (3) ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICE WITHIN THE DE20 PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE.—The Secretary shall 

21 identify a branch within the Forest Service which 

22 shall have the experience, expertise, and responsi23 bility for carrying out the program successfully. 

24 (b) PROGRAM GOALS.—The goals of the program 

25 shall include the detection, identification, assessment, in26 vestigation, monitoring, and development of solutions to, 


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1 and remediation of, contamination resulting from the cul2 tivation of cannabis on land under the jurisdiction of the 

3 Forest Service. 

4 (c) RESPONSIBILITY FOR RESPONSE ACTIONS.— 

5 (1) BASIC RESPONSIBILITY.—The Secretary 

6 shall, with respect to releases or threats of releases 

7 of hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, 

8 improper pesticides or other wastes, or refuse result9 ing from the cultivation of cannabis, carry out (in 

10 accordance with the provisions of this Act and 

11 CERCLA) all necessary response actions at each lo12 cation which is under the jurisdiction of the Forest 

13 Service. 

14 (2) OTHER RESPONSIBLE PARTIES.—Paragraph 

15 (1) shall not apply to a removal or remedial action 

16 if the Secretary has provided for response action by 

17 a potentially responsible person in accordance with 

18 section 122 (relating to settlements) of CERCLA 

19 (42 U.S.C. 9622). 

20 (3) STATE FEES AND CHARGES.—The Sec21 retary shall pay fees and charges imposed by State 

22 authorities for permit services for the disposal of 

23 hazardous substances, pollutants, contaminants, im24 proper pesticides or other wastes on lands described 

25 in paragraph (1) to the same extent that nongovernVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1473.IH H1473

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1 mental entities are required to pay fees and charges 

2 imposed by State authorities for permit services. 

3 The preceding sentence shall not apply with respect 

4 to a payment that is the responsibility of a lessee, 

5 contractor, or other private person. 

6 (d) SERVICES OF OTHER ENTITIES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (3), 

8 the Secretary may enter into agreements on a reim9 bursable or other basis with any other Federal agen10 cy, any State or local government agency, any In11 dian tribe, any owner of covenant property, or any 

12 nonprofit conservation organization to obtain the 

13 services of the agency, Indian tribe, owner, or orga14 nization to assist the Secretary in carrying out any 

15 of the Secretary’s responsibilities under this section. 

16 Services which may be obtained under this sub17 section include the detection, identification, assess18 ment, monitoring, and cleanup of any hazardous 

19 substances, pollutants, contaminants, improper pes20 ticides, or other wastes or refuse resulting from the 

21 cultivation of cannabis on land described in sub22 section (c)(1). 

23 (2) DATA AND SAFETY.—Agreements with an 

24 agency under paragraph (1) may require approval 

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1 tion, monitoring, assessment, and reporting param2 eters set forth by the Secretary. 

3 (3) CROSS-FISCAL YEAR AGREEMENTS.—An 

4 agreement with an agency under paragraph (1) may 

5 be for a period that begins in one fiscal year and 

6 ends in another fiscal year so long as the period of 

7 the agreement does not exceed three years. 

8 (4) LIMITATION ON REIMBURSABLE AGREE9 MENTS.—An agreement with an agency under para10 graph (1) may not provide for reimbursement of the 

11 agency for regulatory enforcement activities. An 

12 agreement under such paragraph with respect to a 

13 site also may not change the cleanup standards se14 lected for the site pursuant to law or establish a 

15 cleanup level inconsistent with the Forest Service’s 

16 future intended land use. 

17 (5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

18 (A) The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’ has the 

19 meaning given such term in section 101 of 

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

21 (B) The term ‘‘nonprofit conservation or22 ganization’’ means any 501(c)(3) non-govern23 mental nonprofit organization whose primary 

24 purpose is conservation of open space or nat25 ural resources. 


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1 (C) The term ‘‘owner of covenant prop2 erty’’ means an owner of property subject to a 

3 covenant provided by the United States in ac4 cordance with the requirements of paragraphs 

5 (3) and (4) of section 120(h) of CERCLA (42 

6 U.S.C. 9620(h)), so long as the covenant prop7 erty is the site at which the services procured 

8 under paragraph (1) are to be performed. 

9 (6) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub10 section affects the applicability of section 120 of 

11 CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9620) to the Department of 

12 Agriculture or the obligations and responsibilities of 

13 the Department of Agriculture under subsection (h) 

14 of such section. 

15 (e) RESPONSE ACTION CONTRACTORS.—The provi16 sions of section 119 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9619) apply 

17 to response action contractors (as defined in that section) 

18 who carry out response actions under this section. 

19 (f) SURETY-CONTRACTOR RELATIONSHIP.—Any sur20 ety which provides a bid, performance, or payment bond 

21 in connection with any direct Federal procurement for a 

22 response action contract under the Trespass Cannabis 

23 Cultivation Site Remediation Program and begins activi24 ties to meet its obligations under such bond, shall, in con25 nection with such activities or obligations, be entitled to 


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1 any indemnification and the same standard of liability to 

2 which its principal was entitled under the contract or 

3 under any applicable law or regulation. 

4 (g) SURETY BONDS.— 

5 (1) APPLICABILITY OF SECTIONS 3131 AND 3133

6 OF TITLE 40.—If under sections 3131 and 3133 of 

7 title 40, United States Code, surety bonds are re8 quired for any direct Federal procurement of any re9 sponse action contract under the Trespass Cannabis 

10 Cultivation Site Remediation Program and are not 

11 waived pursuant to section 3134 of title 40, the sur12 ety bonds shall be issued in accordance with sections 

13 3131 and 3133. 

14 (2) LIMITATION OF ACCRUAL OF RIGHTS OF AC15 TION UNDER BONDS.—If, under applicable Federal 

16 law, surety bonds are required for any direct Federal 

17 procurement of any response action contract under 

18 the Trespass Cannabis Cultivation Site Remediation 

19 Program, no right of action shall accrue on the per20 formance bond issued on such contract to or for the 

21 use of any person other than an obligee named in 

22 the bond. 

23 (3) LIABILITY OF SURETIES UNDER BONDS.— 

24 If, under applicable Federal law, surety bonds are 

25 required for any direct Federal procurement of any 


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1 response action contract under the Trespass Can2 nabis Cultivation Site Remediation Program, unless 

3 otherwise provided for by the Secretary in the bond, 

4 in the event of a default, the surety’s liability on a 

5 performance bond shall be only for the cost of com6 pletion of the contract work in accordance with the 

7 plans and specifications of the contract less the bal8 ance of funds remaining to be paid under the con9 tract, up to the penal sum of the bond. The surety 

10 shall in no event be liable on bonds to indemnify or 

11 compensate the obligee for loss or liability arising 

12 from personal injury or property damage whether or 

13 not caused by a breach of the bonded contract. 

14 (4) NONPREEMPTION.—Nothing in this section 

15 shall be construed as— 

16 (A) preempting, limiting, superseding, af17 fecting, applying to, or modifying any State 

18 laws, regulations, requirements, rules, practices, 

19 or procedures; or 

20 (B) affecting, applying to, modifying, lim21 iting, superseding, or preempting any rights, 

22 authorities, liabilities, demands, actions, causes 

23 of action, losses, judgment, claims, statutes of 

24 limitation, or obligations under Federal or State 

25 law, which do not arise on or under the bond. 


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1 (h) APPLICABILITY.— 

2 (1) BONDS EXECUTED BEFORE DECEMBER 5, 

3 1991.—Subsections (f) and (g) shall not apply to 

4 bonds executed before December 5, 1991. 

5 (2) OTHER BONDS.—Subsections (f) and (g) 

6 shall not apply to bonds to which section 119(g) of 

7 CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9619(g)) applies. 

8 (i) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.— 

9 (1) TRESPASS CANNABIS CULTIVATION SITE RE10 MEDIATION ACCOUNT, AGRICULTURE.—There is 

11 hereby established in the Treasury of the United 

12 States an account to be known as the ‘‘Trespass 

13 Cannabis Cultivation Site Remediation Account, Ag14 riculture’’ which shall consist of, with respect to land 

15 under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service— 

16 (A) amounts appropriated with respect to 

17 such land under subsection (l); 

18 (B) amounts recovered from trespassers 

19 for response actions on such land under 

20 CERCLA; and 

21 (C) any other amounts recovered from a 

22 contractor, insurer, surety, or other person to 

23 reimburse the Department of Agriculture for 

24 environmental response activities on such land. 


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1 (2) OBLIGATION OF AUTHORIZED AMOUNTS.— 

2 Funds authorized for deposit in an account under 

3 paragraph (1)— 

4 (A) may be obligated or expended from the 

5 account only to carry out the environmental re6 mediation functions of the Secretary of Agri7 culture; and 

8 (B) shall remain available until expended. 

9 (3) PAYMENTS OF FINES AND PENALTIES.— 

10 None of the funds appropriated to the Trespass 

11 Cannabis Cultivation Site Remediation Account, Ag12 riculture may be used for the payment of a fine or 

13 penalty (including any supplemental environmental 

14 project carried out as part of such penalty) imposed 

15 against the Department of Agriculture unless the act 

16 or omission for which the fine or penalty is imposed 

17 arises out of an activity funded by the environmental 

18 remediation account concerned and the payment of 

19 the fine or penalty has been specifically authorized 

20 by law. 

21 (4) ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDY DEFINED.—In 

22 this subsection, the term ‘‘environmental remedy’’ 

23 has the meaning given the term ‘‘remedy’’ in section 

24 101 of CERCLA (42 U.S.C. 9601). 


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1 (j) BUDGET REPORTS.—In proposing the budget for 

2 any fiscal year pursuant to section 1105 of title 31, United 

3 States Code, the President shall set forth separately the 

4 amounts requested for environmental remediation pro5 grams of the Forest Service. 

6 (k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 (1) CERCLA.—The term ‘‘CERCLA’’ means 

8 the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Com9 pensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 U.S.C. 

10 9601 et seq.). 

11 (2) IMPROPER PESTICIDE.—The term ‘‘im12 proper pesticide’’ means a pesticide that is— 

13 (A) at the time of application, cancelled by 

14 the Environmental Protection Agency under the 

15 Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide 

16 Act (7 U.S.C. 136 et seq.); 

17 (B) improperly applied; or 

18 (C) intentionally misused. 

19 (3) IMPROPERLY APPLIED.—The term ‘‘improp20 erly applied’’ means, with respect to a pesticide 

21 using a pesticide product in conflict with the product 

22 labeling or applying a pesticide in a manner that 

23 could pose a risk to environmental or human health. 

24 (4) INTENTIONALLY MISUSED.—The term ‘‘in25 tentionally misused’’ means, with respect to a pesVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:31 Mar 29, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1473.IH H1473

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1 ticide, the storage or application of a pesticide on a 

2 cultivation site on Federal land which poses an indi3 rect or direct risk to wildlife, fish, or pollinators. 

4 (l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—To carry 

5 out this section, there is authorized to be appropriated 

6 $250,000,000 for the period of fiscal years 2024 through 

7 2033. 

8 SEC. 3. CRIMINAL PENALTIES FOR ILLEGAL PESTICIDE AP9 PLICATION. 

10 Section 14(b)(2) of the Federal Insecticide, Fun11 gicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 136l(b)(2)) is 

12 amended to read as follows: 

13 ‘‘(2) PRIVATE APPLICATOR.— 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Any private applicator 

15 or other person not included in paragraph (1) 

16 who knowingly violates any provision of this Act 

17 shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall on 

18 conviction be fined not more than $1,000, or 

19 imprisoned for not more than 30 days, or both. 

20 ‘‘(B) DURING THE COMMISSION OF A FED21 ERAL OFFENSE.—Any private applicator or 

22 other person not included in paragraph (1) who 

23 knowingly violates any provision of this Act 

24 during the commission of a Federal offense 

25 under section 1361 of title 18, United States 


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1 Code, shall, in addition to the punishment pro2 vided under such section, on conviction be im3 prisoned for not more than 10 years.’’. 

4 SEC. 4. PROTECTION OF NATIONAL FORESTS; RULES AND 

5 REGULATIONS. 

6 The Act of June 4, 1897 (16 U.S.C. 551; 30 Stat. 

7 35), is amended by inserting ‘‘Any violation of the provi8 sions of this section, the sections referenced in the pre9 ceding sentence, or such rules and regulations, which in10 volves the illegal cultivation of cannabis on public lands 

11 using pesticides which are not in compliance with the Fed12 eral Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. 

13 136 et seq.) shall be punished by a fine of not more than 

14 $250,000 or imprisoned for not more than 20 years, or 

15 both.’’ before ‘‘Any person charged’’. 

Æ 


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