H. R. 2691
One Hundred Eighth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
the seventh day of January, two thousand and three
An Act
Making appropriations for the Department of the Interior and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the
following sums are appropriated, out of any money in the Treasury
not otherwise appropriated, for the Department of the Interior
and related agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2004,
and for other purposes, namely:
TITLE I—DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR
BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT
MANAGEMENT OF LANDS AND RESOURCES
For necessary expenses for protection, use, improvement,
development, disposal, cadastral surveying, classification, acquisi-
tion of easements and other interests in lands, and performance
of other functions, including maintenance of facilities, as authorized
by law, in the management of lands and their resources under
the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, including the
general administration of the Bureau, and assessment of mineral
potential of public lands pursuant to Public Law 96–487 (16 U.S.C.
3150(a)), $850,321,000, to remain available until expended, of which
$1,000,000 is for high priority projects, to be carried out by the
Youth Conservation Corps; $2,484,000 is for assessment of the
mineral potential of public lands in Alaska pursuant to section
1010 of Public Law 96–487; (16 U.S.C. 3150); and of which not
to exceed $1,000,000 shall be derived from the special receipt
account established by the Land and Water Conservation Act of
1965, as amended (16 U.S.C. 460l–6a(i)); and of which $3,000,000
shall be available in fiscal year 2004 subject to a match by at
least an equal amount by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation
for cost-shared projects supporting conservation of Bureau lands;
and such funds shall be advanced to the Foundation as a lump
sum grant without regard to when expenses are incurred; in addi-
tion, $32,696,000 is for Mining Law Administration program oper-
ations, including the cost of administering the mining claim fee
program; to remain available until expended, to be reduced by
amounts collected by the Bureau and credited to this appropriation
from annual mining claim fees so as to result in a final appropria-
tion estimated at not more than $850,321,000; and $2,000,000,
to remain available until expended, from communication site rental
H. R. 2691—2
fees established by the Bureau for the cost of administering commu-
nication site activities: Provided, That appropriations herein made
shall not be available for the destruction of healthy, unadopted,
wild horses and burros in the care of the Bureau or its contractors.
WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT
For necessary expenses for fire preparedness, suppression oper-
ations, fire science and research, emergency rehabilitation, haz-
ardous fuels reduction, and rural fire assistance by the Department
of the Interior, $792,725,000, to remain available until expended,
of which not to exceed $12,374,000 shall be for the renovation
or construction of fire facilities: Provided, That such funds are
also available for repayment of advances to other appropriation
accounts from which funds were previously transferred for such
purposes: Provided further, That persons hired pursuant to 43
U.S.C. 1469 may be furnished subsistence and lodging without
cost from funds available from this appropriation: Provided further,
That notwithstanding 42 U.S.C. 1856d, sums received by a bureau
or office of the Department of the Interior for fire protection ren-
dered pursuant to 42 U.S.C. 1856 et seq., protection of United
States property, may be credited to the appropriation from which
funds were expended to provide that protection, and are available
without fiscal year limitation: Provided further, That of the funds
provided, $99,000,000 is to repay prior year advances from other
appropriations from which funds were transferred for wildfire
suppression and emergency rehabilitation activities: Provided fur-
ther, That this additional amount is designated by the Congress
as an emergency requirement pursuant to section 502 of H. Con.
Res. 95 (108th Congress), the concurrent resolution on the budget
for fiscal year 2004: Provided further, That using the amounts
designated under this title of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior
may enter into procurement contracts, grants, or cooperative agree-
ments, for hazardous fuels reduction activities, and for training
and monitoring associated with such hazardous fuels reduction
activities, on Federal land, or on adjacent non-Federal land for
activities that benefit resources on Federal land: Provided further,
That the costs of implementing any cooperative agreement between
the Federal Government and any non-Federal entity may be shared,
as mutually agreed on by the affected parties: Provided further,
That notwithstanding requirements of the Competition in Con-
tracting Act, the Secretary, for purposes of hazardous fuels reduc-
tion activities, may obtain maximum practicable competition among:
(A) local private, nonprofit, or cooperative entities; (B) Youth Con-
servation Corps crews or related partnerships with state, local,
or non-profit youth groups; (C) small or micro-businesses; or (D)
other entities that will hire or train locally a significant percentage,
defined as 50 percent or more, of the project workforce to complete
such contracts: Provided further, That in implementing this section,
the Secretary shall develop written guidance to field units to ensure
accountability and consistent application of the authorities provided
herein: Provided further, That funds appropriated under this head
may be used to reimburse the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service for the costs
of carrying out their responsibilities under the Endangered Species
Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.) to consult and conference,
as required by section 7 of such Act in connection with wildland