National Monument Creation and Protection Act

To amend title 54, United States Code, to reform the Antiquities Act of 1906, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the National Monument Creation and Protection Act National Monument CAP Act 2. Limitation on size; clarification of eligible objects Section 320301 of title 54, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a), by striking historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest object or objects of antiquity (2) in subsection (b), by striking confined to the smallest area compatible with the proper care and management of the objects to be protected in accordance with the limitations outlined in subsections (e), (f), (g), and (h) (3) by adding at the end the following: (e) Limitation on size of national monuments Except as provided by subsections (f), (g), and (h), after the date of the enactment of this subsection, land may not be declared under this section in a configuration that would create a national monument— (1) that is more than 640 acres; and (2) whose exterior boundary is less than 50 miles from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declared under this section. (f) Exception for monuments of less than 5,000 acres Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— (1) would be less than 5,000 acres; (2) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declared under this section; and (3) has been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (g) Exception for monuments of 5,000 acres and up to 10,000 acres (1) In general Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— (A) would be at least 5,000 acres but not more than 10,000 acres; and (B) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declaration under this section. (2) Other requirement A monument described in this subsection shall be subject to the preparation of an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement as part of a review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (h) Exception for monuments 10,000 acres and up to 85,000 acres Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation of a national monument under this section if the national monument so designated— (1) would be at least 10,000 acres but not more than 85,000 acres; (2) would have all exterior boundaries 50 miles or more from the closest exterior boundary of another national monument declaration under this section; and (3) has been approved by the elected governing body of each county (or county equivalent), the legislature of each State, and the Governor of each State within whose boundaries the national monument will be located (and the Governor of each such State has transmitted a copy of each such approval to the President). (i) Exception for emergency designation (1) In general Subsection (e) shall not apply to the designation under this section of a national monument of any acreage amount if designation is made to prevent imminent and irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity to be protected by the designation. (2) One year limitation A national monument designation under this subsection shall terminate on the date that is one calendar year after the date of the designation. (3) One time designation Land designated as a national monument under this subsection— (A) may only be so designated one time; and (B) may not also be permanently designated as a national monument under this section. (4) Rights and Uses Land designated as a national monument under this subsection shall remain subject to— (A) valid existing rights; and (B) uses allowed on the day before such designation under an applicable Resource Management Plan or Forest Plan. (j) Presidential authority To reduce size of declared monuments The President may— (1) reduce the size of any national monument declared under this section by 85,000 acres or less; or (2) reduce the size of any national monument declared under this section by more than 85,000 acres only if the reduction— (A) has been approved by the elected governing body of each county (or county equivalent), the legislature of each State, and the Governor of each State within whose boundaries the national monument will be located (and the Governor of each such State has transmitted a copy of each such approval to the President); and (B) has been reviewed under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 (k) Non-Federally owned property After the date of the enactment of this subsection, land may not be declared as a national monument under this section in a configuration that would place non-federally owned property within the exterior boundaries of the national monument without the express written consent of the owners of that non-federally owned property. (l) Effect of declaration on federal funds No declaration under this section shall be construed to increase the amount of Federal funds that are authorized to be appropriated for any fiscal year. (m) Water rights associated with a declaration Water rights associated with a declaration under this section— (1) may not be reserved expressly or by implication by a declaration under this section; and (2) may be acquired for a declaration under this section only in accordance with the laws of the State in which the water rights are based. (n) Definitions For the purposes of this section: (1) Declaration; declared The terms declaration declared (2) Land The term land (3) Object or objects of antiquity (A) The term object or objects of antiquity (i) relics; (ii) artifacts; (iii) human or animal skeletal remains; (iv) fossils (other than fossil fuels); and (v) certain buildings constructed before the date of the enactment of this subsection. (B) The term object or objects of antiquity (i) natural geographic features; and (ii) objects not made by humans, except fossils (other than fossil fuels) or human or animal skeletal remains. . December 19, 2018 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: National Monument Creation and Protection Act This bill amends the Antiquities Act of 1906 to allow the President to declare by public proclamation an object or objects of antiquity (currently, historic landmarks, historic and prehistoric structures, and other objects of historic or scientific interest) that are situated on lands owned or controlled by the federal government to be national monuments. "Objects of antiquity" means relics, artifacts, human or animal skeletal remains, fossils, and certain buildings constructed before enactment of this bill. The bill prescribes limits on land that may be declared to be a national monument based on acreage, proximity to other national monuments, whether it has been reviewed by the Department of the Interior or Agriculture (USDA) under the National Environmental Policy Act, and whether it has been approved by each county and state within whose boundaries it will be located. Such limitation shall not apply to a designation made to prevent imminent and irreparable harm to the object or objects of antiquity to be protected. Such exception shall end after one year and may be used only once. The President may reduce the size of any declared national monument: (1) by 85,000 acres or less; or (2) by more than 85,000 acres only if the reduction has been approved by each county and state within whose boundaries the monument will be located and reviewed by Interior or USDA under the National Environmental Policy Act. The bill prohibits any land from being declared as a national monument in a configuration that would place nonfederally owned property within the monument without first obtaining the owners' written consent.