IIB 

111TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2729 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 22, 2009 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To authorize the designation of National Environmental Research Parks by the Secretary of Energy, 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. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress finds the following: 

3 (1) The National Environmental Research 

4 Parks are unique outdoor laboratories that provide 

5 opportunities for environmental studies on protected 

6 lands around Department of Energy facilities. 

7 (2) In 1972, the Atomic Energy Commission 

8 established its first official environmental research 

9 park at the Savannah River site in South Carolina. 

10 (3) In 1976, the Department of Energy defined 

11 the mission for the research parks in accordance 

12 with the recommendations of the multiagency review 

13 team for environmental research activities at the Sa14 vannah River site. 

15 (4) The mission of the research parks is to— 

16 (A) conduct research and education activi17 ties to assess and document environmental ef18 fects associated with energy and weapons use; 

19 (B) explore methods for eliminating or 

20 minimizing adverse effects of energy develop21 ment and nuclear materials on the environment; 

22 (C) train people in ecological and environ23 mental sciences; and 

24 (D) educate the public. 

25 (5) The National Environmental Research 

26 Parks are located within six major ecological regions 


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1 of the United States, covering more than half of the 

2 Nation. 

3 (6) The parks are especially valuable research 

4 sites because within their borders they provide se5 cure settings for scientists to conduct long-term re6 search on a broad range of subjects including— 

7 (A) plant succession; 

8 (B) biomass production; 

9 (C) population ecology; 

10 (D) radioecology; 

11 (E) ecological restoration; and 

12 (F) thermal effects on freshwater eco13 systems. 

14 (7) The parks maintain several long-term data 

15 sets that are available nowhere else in the United 

16 States or in the world on amphibian populations, 

17 bird populations, and soil moisture and plant water 

18 stress. These data sets are uniquely valuable for the 

19 detection of long-term shifts in climate. 

20 (8) The maintenance of these parks by the De21 partment of Energy is consistent with statutory obli22 gations to promote sound environmental stewardship 

23 of Federal lands and to safeguard sites containing 

24 cultural and archeological resources. 


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1 (9) Public education and outreach activities car2 ried out on these sites provide unique learning op3 portunities, promote a stronger connection between 

4 these Federal facilities and the surrounding commu5 nities, and enhance public confidence that the De6 partment of Energy is fulfilling its environmental 

7 stewardship responsibilities. 

8 SEC. 2. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH PARKS. 

9 (a) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

10 designate the six National Environmental Research Parks 

11 located on Department of Energy sites as protected out12 door research reserves for the purposes of conducting 

13 long-term environmental research on the impacts of 

14 human activities on the natural environment. The six Na15 tional Environmental Research Parks shall include— 

16 (1) the Savannah River National Environ17 mental Research Park; 

18 (2) the Idaho National Environmental Research 

19 Park; 

20 (3) the Los Alamos National Environmental 

21 Research Park; 

22 (4) the Fermi Lab National Environmental Re23 search Park; 

24 (5) the Oak Ridge National Environmental Re25 search Park; and 


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1 (6) the Nevada National Environmental Re2 search Park. 

3 (b) PURPOSES.—Each site shall support— 

4 (1) environmental research and monitoring ac5 tivities to characterize and monitor present and fu6 ture site conditions, and serve as control areas for 

7 comparison with environmental impacts of Depart8 ment of Energy land management, energy tech9 nology development, remediation, and other site ac10 tivities outside the National Environmental Research 

11 Park areas. Areas of research and monitoring on the 

12 sites may include— 

13 (A) ecology of the site and the region; 

14 (B) population biology and ecology; 

15 (C) radioecology; 

16 (D) effects of climate variability and 

17 change on ecosystems; 

18 (E) ecosystem science; 

19 (F) pollution fate and transport research; 

20 (G) surface and groundwater modeling; 

21 and 

22 (H) environmental impacts of development 

23 and use of energy generation technologies, in24 cluding renewable energy technologies; and 


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1 (2) public education and outreach activities con2 sistent with subsection (d). 

3 (c) COOPERATIVE AGREEMENT.—To ensure the inde4 pendence of the research, monitoring, public education, 

5 and outreach activities conducted on each site, the Sec6 retary shall enter into a cooperative agreement with a uni7 versity, community college, or consortium of institutions 

8 of higher education with expertise in ecology and environ9 mental science of the region in which the National Envi10 ronmental Research Park is located. 

11 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION AND OUT12 REACH.—Each site shall support an outreach program to 

13 inform the public of the diverse ecological activities con14 ducted at the park and to educate students at various lev15 els in environmental science. Program activities may in16 clude— 

17 (1) on-site and in-classroom education pro18 grams for elementary and secondary students; 

19 (2) presentations to school, civic, and profes20 sional groups; 

21 (3) exhibits at local and regional events; 

22 (4) development of educational projects and 

23 materials for students at all levels; 

24 (5) undergraduate and community college in25 ternships and graduate research opportunities; and 


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1 (6) regularly scheduled public tours. 

2 (e) COORDINATION.—The Secretary of Energy shall 

3 designate a National Environmental Research Park Coor4 dinator within the Department of Energy Office of 

5 Science. The Coordinator shall— 

6 (1) coordinate research activities among the 

7 National Environmental Research Parks as appro8 priate; 

9 (2) ensure that information on best practices 

10 for research, education, and outreach activities is 

11 shared among the sites; and 

12 (3) serve as liaison to other Federal agencies to 

13 facilitate collaborative work at the Parks. 

14 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

15 are authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of En16 ergy, acting through the Director of the Office of Science, 

17 for carrying out this section $30,000,000, including 

18 $5,000,000 for each National Environmental Research 

19 Park, for each of the fiscal years 2010 through 2014. 

20 SEC. 3. SAVINGS. 

21 Nothing in this Act shall be construed to limit the 

22 activities that the Federal Government may carry out or 

23 authorize on a site on which a National Environmental 

24 Research Park is located. 


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1 SEC. 4. SUMMER INSTITUTES PROGRAM. 

2 The National Environmental Research Parks may be 

3 utilized to provide educational opportunities through the 

4 Summer Institutes program authorized in section 3185 of 

5 the Department of Energy Science Education Enhance6 ment Act (42 U.S.C. 7381n). 

Passed the House of Representatives July 21, 2009. 

Attest: LORRAINE C. MILLER, 

Clerk. 


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