II 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2907 

To establish a coordinated avalanche protection program, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 18, 2009 

Ms. MURKOWSKI (for herself, Mr. BEGICH, and Mr. UDALL of Colorado) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To establish a coordinated avalanche protection program, 

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 ‘‘Federal Land Ava5 lanche Protection Act of 2009’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 

8 (1) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means 

9 the avalanche protection program established under 

10 section 3(a). 


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1 (2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

3 SEC. 3. AVALANCHE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

4 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

5 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish 

6 a coordinated avalanche protection program to— 

7 (1) identify the potential for avalanches on Fed8 eral lands and inform the public, including users of 

9 those lands and other potentially affected parties, 

10 about the probability of such avalanches and their 

11 potential adverse effects on neighboring communities 

12 and on transportation and utility corridors; 

13 (2) carry out ongoing research regarding the 

14 causes of avalanche development, so as to improve 

15 forecasting of avalanche events; and 

16 (3) reduce the risks of avalanches on Federal 

17 lands and mitigate their effects on users of those 

18 lands, neighboring communities, and transportation 

19 and utility corridors. 

20 (b) COORDINATION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing and imple22 menting the program, the Secretary shall consult 

23 with the Secretary of the Interior, and coordinate 

24 the program to ensure adequate levels of protection 


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1 for recreational users of public land under the juris2 diction of such Secretary. 

3 (2) RESOURCES.—In carrying out this section, 

4 the Secretary— 

5 (A) shall, to the maximum extent prac6 ticable, use the resources of the National Ava7 lanche Center of the Forest Service; and 

8 (B) may use such other resources as the 

9 Secretary has available in the development and 

10 implementation of the program. 

11 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall establish 

13 an advisory committee of 15 members, appointed by 

14 the Secretary, to assist in the development and im15 plementation of the program. 

16 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the ad17 visory committee established pursuant to paragraph 

18 (1) shall include representatives of— 

19 (A) Federal land management agencies 

20 and concessionaires or permittees that are ex21 posed to the threat of avalanches; 

22 (B) State departments of transportation 

23 that have experience in dealing with the effects 

24 of avalanches; 

25 (C) the Alaska railroad; 


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1 (D) the United States Geological Survey; 

2 (E) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

3 Administration; 

4 (F) the National Weather Service; 

5 (G) entities with interest in the program 

6 that the Secretary considers appropriate for 

7 representation on the board; 

8 (H) authorized users of artillery, other 

9 military weapons, or weapons alternatives used 

10 for avalanche control; and 

11 (I) such other members as the Secretary 

12 considers appropriate. 

13 (d) CENTRAL DEPOSITORY.—The Secretary, the Sec14 retary of Transportation, and the Secretary of the Army 

15 shall establish a central depository for weapons, ammuni16 tion, and parts for avalanche control purposes, including 

17 an inventory that can be made available to Federal and 

18 non-Federal entities for avalanche control purposes under 

19 the program. 

20 (e) GRANTS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make 

22 grants to carry out projects and activities under the 

23 program— 

24 (A) to assist in the prevention, forecasting, 

25 detection, and mitigation of avalanches for the 


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1 safety and protection of persons, property, and 

2 at-risk communities; 

3 (B) to maintain essential transportation, 

4 utilities, and communications affected or poten5 tially affected by avalanches; 

6 (C) to assist avalanche artillery users to 

7 ensure the availability of adequate supplies of 

8 artillery and other unique explosives required 

9 for avalanche control in or affecting— 

10 (i) Federal land used for recreation 

11 purposes; and 

12 (ii) adjacent communities, and essen13 tial transportation corridors, that are at 

14 risk of avalanches; and 

15 (D) to assist public or private persons and 

16 entities in public education regarding ava17 lanches and in conducting research and develop18 ment activities for cost-effective and reliable al19 ternatives to minimize reliance on military 

20 weapons for avalanche control. 

21 (2) PRIORITY.—For each fiscal year for which 

22 funds are made available under section 4, the Sec23 retary shall give priority to projects and activities 

24 carried out in avalanche zones— 


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1 (A) with a high frequency or severity of 

2 avalanches; or 

3 (B) in which deaths or serious injuries to 

4 individuals, or loss or damage to public facilities 

5 and communities, have occurred or are likely to 

6 occur. 

7 (f) SURPLUS ORDINANCE.—Section 549(c)(3) of title 

8 40, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘or’’ after 

10 the semicolon at the end; 

11 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking the period 

12 at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

13 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

14 ‘‘(C) in the case of surplus artillery ordi15 nance that is suitable for avalanche control pur16 poses, to a user of such ordinance.’’. 

17 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

18 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

19 this Act $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2010 through 

20 2014. 

21 SEC. 5. LIMITATION. 

22 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require use 

23 of artillery or any other avalanche-related actions affecting 

24 any unit of the National Park System or any other Fed25 eral lands or to limit the applicability of any Federal law 


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1 or regulation with respect to any such actions on such 

2 lands. 

Æ 


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