H. R. 4818—243
None of the funds in this Act may be spent by the National
Park Service for activities taken in direct response to the United
Nations Biodiversity Convention.
The National Park Service may distribute to operating units
based on the safety record of each unit the costs of programs
designed to improve workplace and employee safety, and to encour-
age employees receiving workers’ compensation benefits pursuant
to chapter 81 of title 5, United States Code, to return to appropriate
positions for which they are medically able.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, in fiscal year 2005,
with respect to the administration of the National Park Service
park pass program by the National Park Foundation, the Secretary
may pay to the Foundation administrative funds expected to be
received in that fiscal year before the revenues are collected, so
long as total payments in the administrative account do not exceed
total revenue collected and deposited in that account by the end
of the fiscal year.
If the Secretary of the Interior considers the decision of any
value determination proceeding conducted under a National Park
Service concession contract issued prior to November 13, 1998,
to misinterpret or misapply relevant contractual requirements or
their underlying legal authority, the Secretary may seek, within
180 days of any such decision, the de novo review of the value
determination by the United States Court of Federal Claims, and
that court may make an order affirming, vacating, modifying or
correcting the determination.
In addition to other uses set forth in section 407(d) of Public
Law 105–391, franchise fees credited to a sub-account shall be
available for expenditure by the Secretary, without further appro-
priation, for use at any unit within the National Park System
to extinguish or reduce liability for Possessory Interest or leasehold
surrender interest. Such funds may only be used for this purpose
to the extent that the benefiting unit anticipated franchise fee
receipts over the term of the contract at that unit exceed the
amount of funds used to extinguish or reduce liability. Franchise
fees at the benefiting unit shall be credited to the sub-account
of the originating unit over a period not to exceed the term of
a single contract at the benefiting unit, in the amount of funds
so expended to extinguish or reduce liability.
UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY
SURVEYS, INVESTIGATIONS, AND RESEARCH
For expenses necessary for the United States Geological Survey
to perform surveys, investigations, and research covering topog-
raphy, geology, hydrology, biology, and the mineral and water
resources of the United States, its territories and possessions, and
other areas as authorized by 43 U.S.C. 31, 1332, and 1340; classify
lands as to their mineral and water resources; give engineering
supervision to power permittees and Federal Energy Regulatory
Commission licensees; administer the minerals exploration program
(30 U.S.C. 641); and publish and disseminate data relative to the
foregoing activities; and to conduct inquiries into the economic
conditions affecting mining and materials processing industries (30
U.S.C. 3, 21a, and 1603; 50 U.S.C. 98g(1)) and related purposes
as authorized by law and to publish and disseminate data;
$948,921,000, of which $63,262,000 shall be available only for
H. R. 4818—244
cooperation with States or municipalities for water resources inves-
tigations; and of which $7,901,000 shall remain available until
expended for satellite operations; and of which $21,971,000 shall
be available until September 30, 2006, for the operation and mainte-
nance of facilities and deferred maintenance; and of which
$1,600,000 shall be available until expended for deferred mainte-
nance and capital improvement projects that exceed $100,000 in
cost; and of which $174,219,000 shall be available until September
30, 2006, for the biological research activity and the operation
of the Cooperative Research Units: Provided, That none of the
funds provided for the biological research activity shall be used
to conduct new surveys on private property, unless specifically
authorized in writing by the property owner: Provided further,
That no part of this appropriation shall be used to pay more
than one-half the cost of topographic mapping or water resources
data collection and investigations carried on in cooperation with
States and municipalities.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS
The amount appropriated for the United States Geological
Survey shall be available for the purchase and replacement of
passenger motor vehicles; reimbursement to the General Services
Administration for security guard services; contracting for the fur-
nishing of topographic maps and for the making of geophysical
or other specialized surveys when it is administratively determined
that such procedures are in the public interest; construction and
maintenance of necessary buildings and appurtenant facilities;
acquisition of lands for gauging stations and observation wells;
expenses of the United States National Committee on Geology;
and payment of compensation and expenses of persons on the
rolls of the Survey duly appointed to represent the United States
in the negotiation and administration of interstate compacts: Pro-
vided, That activities funded by appropriations herein made may
be accomplished through the use of contracts, grants, or cooperative
agreements as defined in 31 U.S.C. 6302 et seq.: Provided further,
That the United States Geological Survey may enter into contracts
or cooperative agreements directly with individuals or indirectly
with institutions or nonprofit organizations, without regard to 41
U.S.C. 5, for the temporary or intermittent services of students
or recent graduates, who shall be considered employees for the
purpose of chapters 57 and 81 of title 5, United States Code,
relating to compensation for travel and work injuries, and chapter
171 of title 28, United States Code, relating to tort claims, but
shall not be considered to be Federal employees for any other
purposes.
MINERALS MANAGEMENT SERVICE
ROYALTY AND OFFSHORE MINERALS MANAGEMENT
For expenses necessary for minerals leasing and environmental
studies, regulation of industry operations, and collection of royalties,
as authorized by law; for enforcing laws and regulations applicable
to oil, gas, and other minerals leases, permits, licenses and oper-
ating contracts; and for matching grants or cooperative agreements;
including the purchase of not to exceed eight passenger motor
vehicles for replacement only, $169,175,000, of which $76,106,000
H. R. 4818—245
shall be available for royalty management activities; and an amount
not to exceed $103,730,000, to be credited to this appropriation
and to remain available until expended, from additions to receipts
resulting from increases to rates in effect on August 5, 1993, from
rate increases to fee collections for Outer Continental Shelf adminis-
trative activities performed by the Minerals Management Service
(MMS) over and above the rates in effect on September 30, 1993,
and from additional fees for Outer Continental Shelf administrative
activities established after September 30, 1993: Provided, That
to the extent $103,730,000 in additions to receipts are not realized
from the sources of receipts stated above, the amount needed to
reach $103,730,000 shall be credited to this appropriation from
receipts resulting from rental rates for Outer Continental Shelf
leases in effect before August 5, 1993: Provided further, That
$3,000,000 for computer acquisitions shall remain available until
September 30, 2006: Provided further, That funds appropriated
under this Act shall be available for the payment of interest in
accordance with 30 U.S.C. 1721(b) and (d): Provided further, That
not to exceed $3,000 shall be available for reasonable expenses
related to promoting volunteer beach and marine cleanup activities:
Provided further, That notwithstanding any other provision of law,
$15,000 under this heading shall be available for refunds of overpay-
ments in connection with certain Indian leases in which the Director
of MMS concurred with the claimed refund due, to pay amounts
owed to Indian allottees or tribes, or to correct prior unrecoverable
erroneous payments: Provided further, That MMS may under the
royalty-in-kind program, or under its authority to transfer oil to
the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, use a portion of the revenues
from royalty-in-kind sales, without regard to fiscal year limitation,
to pay for transportation to wholesale market centers or upstream
pooling points, to process or otherwise dispose of royalty production
taken in kind, and to recover MMS transportation costs, salaries,
and other administrative costs directly related to the royalty-in-
kind program: Provided further, That MMS shall analyze and docu-
ment the expected return in advance of any royalty-in-kind sales
to assure to the maximum extent practicable that royalty income
under the pilot program is equal to or greater than royalty income
recognized under a comparable royalty-in-value program: Provided
further, That in fiscal year 2005 and thereafter, notwithstanding
30 U.S.C. 191(a) and 43 U.S.C. 1338, the Secretary shall pay
amounts owed to States under the provision of 30 U.S.C. 1721(b)
from amounts received as current receipts from bonuses, royalties,
interest collected from lessees and designees, and rentals of the
public lands and the outer continental shelf under provisions of
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), and the Outer
Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.), which are
not payable to a State or the Reclamation Fund.
OIL SPILL RESEARCH
For necessary expenses to carry out title I, section 1016, title
IV, sections 4202 and 4303, title VII, and title VIII, section 8201
of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, $7,105,000, which shall be derived
from the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, to remain available until
expended.