II 

Calendar No. 536 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2907 

[Report No. 111–266] 

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 

AUGUST 5, 2010 

Reported by Mr. BINGAMAN, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

2 In this Act: 

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

4 the avalanche protection program established under 

5 section 3(a). 

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

7 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

8 SEC. 3. AVALANCHE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

9 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary, acting 

10 through the Chief of the Forest Service, shall establish 

11 a coordinated avalanche protection program to— 

12 (1) identify the potential for avalanches on Fed13 eral lands and inform the public, including users of 

14 those lands and other potentially affected parties, 

15 about the probability of such avalanches and their 

16 potential adverse effects on neighboring communities 

17 and on transportation and utility corridors; 

18 (2) carry out ongoing research regarding the 

19 causes of avalanche development, so as to improve 

20 forecasting of avalanche events; and 

21 (3) reduce the risks of avalanches on Federal 

22 lands and mitigate their effects on users of those 

23 lands, neighboring communities, and transportation 

24 and utility corridors. 

25 (b) COORDINATION.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—In developing and imple2 menting the program, the Secretary shall consult 

3 with the Secretary of the Interior, and coordinate 

4 the program to ensure adequate levels of protection 

5 for recreational users of public land under the juris6 diction of such Secretary. 

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

8 the Secretary— 

9 (A) shall, to the maximum extent prac10 ticable, use the resources of the National Ava11 lanche Center of the Forest Service; and 

12 (B) may use such other resources as the 

13 Secretary has available in the development and 

14 implementation of the program. 

15 (c) ADVISORY COMMITTEE.— 

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

17 an advisory committee of 15 members, appointed by 

18 the Secretary, to assist in the development and im19 plementation of the program. 

20 (2) MEMBERSHIP.—The membership of the ad21 visory committee established pursuant to paragraph 

22 (1) shall include representatives of— 

23 (A) Federal land management agencies 

24 and concessionaires or permittees that are ex25 posed to the threat of avalanches; 


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1 (B) State departments of transportation 

2 that have experience in dealing with the effects 

3 of avalanches; 

4 (C) the Alaska railroad; 

5 (D) the United States Geological Survey; 

6 (E) the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 

7 Administration; 

8 (F) the National Weather Service; 

9 (G) entities with interest in the program 

10 that the Secretary considers appropriate for 

11 representation on the board; 

12 (H) authorized users of artillery, other 

13 military weapons, or weapons alternatives used 

14 for avalanche control; and 

15 (I) such other members as the Secretary 

16 considers appropriate. 

17 (d) CENTRAL DEPOSITORY.—The Secretary, the Sec18 retary of Transportation, and the Secretary of the Army 

19 shall establish a central depository for weapons, ammuni20 tion, and parts for avalanche control purposes, including 

21 an inventory that can be made available to Federal and 

22 non-Federal entities for avalanche control purposes under 

23 the program. 

24 (e) GRANTS.— 


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

2 grants to carry out projects and activities under the 

3 program— 

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

5 detection, and mitigation of avalanches for the 

6 safety and protection of persons, property, and 

7 at-risk communities; 

8 (B) to maintain essential transportation, 

9 utilities, and communications affected or poten10 tially affected by avalanches; 

11 (C) to assist avalanche artillery users to 

12 ensure the availability of adequate supplies of 

13 artillery and other unique explosives required 

14 for avalanche control in or affecting— 

15 (i) Federal land used for recreation 

16 purposes; and 

17 (ii) adjacent communities, and essen18 tial transportation corridors, that are at 

19 risk of avalanches; and 

20 (D) to assist public or private persons and 

21 entities in public education regarding ava22 lanches and in conducting research and develop23 ment activities for cost-effective and reliable al24 ternatives to minimize reliance on military 

25 weapons for avalanche control. 


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

2 funds are made available under section 4, the Sec3 retary shall give priority to projects and activities 

4 carried out in avalanche zones— 

5 (A) with a high frequency or severity of 

6 avalanches; or 

7 (B) in which deaths or serious injuries to 

8 individuals, or loss or damage to public facilities 

9 and communities, have occurred or are likely to 

10 occur. 

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

12 40, United States Code, is amended— 

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

14 the semicolon at the end; 

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

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

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

18 ‘‘(C) in the case of surplus artillery ordi19 nance that is suitable for avalanche control pur20 poses, to a user of such ordinance.’’. 

21 SEC. 4. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS. 

22 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

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

24 2014. 


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1 SEC. 5. LIMITATION. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to require use 

3 of artillery or any other avalanche-related actions affecting 

4 any unit of the National Park System or any other Fed5 eral lands or to limit the applicability of any Federal law 

6 or regulation with respect to any such actions on such 

7 lands. 

8 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

9 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Federal Land Avalanche 

10 Protection Act of 2010’’. 

11 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) COMMITTEE.—The term ‘‘Committee’’ means 

14 the Avalanche Artillery Users of North America Com15 mittee. 

16 (2) PROGRAM.—The term ‘‘program’’ means the 

17 avalanche protection program established under sec18 tion 3(a). 

19 (3) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

21 of the Forest Service. 

22 SEC. 3. AVALANCHE PROTECTION PROGRAM. 

23 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

24 an avalanche protection program to provide information 

25 and assistance to users of avalanche-prone National Forest 

26 System land. 


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1 (b) OBJECTIVES.—The objectives of the program in2 clude— 

3 (1) to inform and educate the public about the 

4 risks posed by avalanches to reduce the potential for 

5 injury, death, or property damage; 

6 (2) to provide avalanche forecasts for avalanche7 prone areas of the National Forest System that are 

8 frequented by recreational or other users; 

9 (3) to provide oversight of activities relating to 

10 the prevention and control of avalanches by ski area 

11 and other special use permit holders on National For12 est System land, including the procurement, control, 

13 and use of artillery; and 

14 (4) to facilitate research on the objectives of the 

15 program, including research on the development of al16 ternatives to military artillery. 

17 (c) COORDINATION.—In carrying out this section, the 

18 Secretary shall— 

19 (1) use the resources of— 

20 (A) the National Avalanche Center of the 

21 Forest Service; and 

22 (B) other partners; and 

23 (2) work with the Committee and other partners 

24 to improve— 


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1 (A) coordination among users of artillery 

2 used to prevent and control avalanches; and 

3 (B) access to, and the control and use of, ar4 tillery and other methods to prevent and control 

5 avalanches. 

6 (d) GRANTS.— 

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

8 grants to any person to further the objectives of the 

9 program. 

10 (2) PRIORITY.—The Secretary shall give priority 

11 to grants under paragraph (1) that enhance public 

12 safety. 

13 (3) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 There is authorized to be appropriated to carry out 

15 this subsection $4,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

16 2010 through 2014. 


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Calendar No. 536 

111TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2907 

[Report No. 111–266] 

A BILL 

To establish a coordinated avalanche protection 

program, and for other purposes. 

AUGUST 5, 2010 

Reported with an amendment 


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