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tablish such minimum standards affect and is a bur-
den upon commerce among the States.
SEC. 3. Each project or activity which is carried out
on Federal land (including lands under the jurisdiction of
the Secretary of the Interior), for which any direct or indi-
rect Federal assistance is provided, or which is carried out
by the Secretary of the Interior or any other agency or
instrumentality of the United States, and which involves
the moving or covering of topsoil in changing an area of
land from its natural state shall be subject to this Act.
Such projects and activities shall hereinafter in this Act
be referred to as ‘‘projects’’.
SEC. 4. (a) There is hereby established a National
Land Resources Protection Commission, hereinafter in
this Act referred to as ‘‘the Commission’’, which shall be
composed of the Secretary of the Interior and four other
members. The President shall designate the Secretary of
the Interior as Chairman of the Commission.
(b) Members of the Commission shall be appointed
by the President, by and with the advice and consent of
the Senate, for terms of four years beginning July 1 of
the year following each Presidential election. Vacancies on
the Commission shall be filled in the same manner as
original appointments but only for the unexpired term and
any member of the Commission may be removed by the
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President at any time. Each member shall receive com-
pensation at the rate of $67,500 per annum.
(c) The Commission is authorized, subject to the civil
service and classification laws, to select, appoint, employ,
and fix the compensation of such officers and employees
as are necessary to carry out the provisions of this Act
and to prescribe their authority and duties.
(d) The Commission shall hold such meetings, con-
duct such hearings, and establish such rules and regula-
tions in accordance with chapter 5, title 5, United States
Code, relating to administrative procedure, as may be rea-
sonably necessary to enable it to carry out the provisions
of this Act.
(e) The Commission may delegate responsibilities
hereunder within any particular State to a commission or
commissions within that State under terms and conditions
assuring that at least the Federal minimum standards es-
tablished under the provisions of this Act will be adhered
to in such State. In each State where responsibilities have
been delegated hereunder, the Commission shall exercise
a continuing oversight to assure that the purposes of this
Act are being constantly carried out and the Commission
is also authorized to cancel such delegation of authority
at any time.
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(f) The Commission or any member may administer
oaths or affirmations or take evidence; and may by a ma-
jority vote subpoena and compel the attendance of wit-
nesses or the production of materials.
SEC. 5. (a) The Commission shall establish minimum
standards for all projects which assure that a minimum
of twelve inches of topsoil or such lesser amount of topsoil
as may exist shall be stockpiled from those areas of each
project where the shape or contour of the land is changed
or where the land is covered. Such topsoil shall not be
intermingled with other materials or buried so that it will
not be easily and economically accessible for use at a later
date; and, to the extent it is sufficient or adequate to do
so, such topsoil shall be used to form a top layer of uni-
form depth and a minimum of twelve inches deep on all
areas of the completed project where soil will be exposed
to natural elements. Any excess topsoil from such stockpile
which is not so used or needed to cover such exposed areas
to a depth of twelve inches or more shall be stockpiled
permanently in a place where it will improve plant produc-
tion or be easily and economically accessible for use at
a later date.
(b) Where sufficient subsoil which is nontoxic to
plantlife will not otherwise be available on the exposed
areas of a completed project and to the extent available
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from the project, the Commission shall require the sepa-
rate stockpiling and replacement in a sublayer of sufficient
quantities of appropriate soil to provide such a nontoxic
layer of subsoil as if necessary for the production of such
plantlife as is normally considered environmentally, eco-
logically, esthetically, and economically acceptable to the
area.
(c) The overriding objective of this section is to re-
quire that the areas of a completed project where the earth
is normally exposed shall be left in at least substantially
as good a condition to sustain vegetation as existed prior
to the beginning of the project and to protect against the
destruction of the productive capacity of existing topsoil
which has currently been exposed to the elements or used
to sustain plantlife; and the Commission shall establish
rules and regulations and provide interpretations consist-
ent with such objective.
(d) For the purposes of this Act, the term ‘‘topsoil’’
shall mean the surface layer of soil, commonly known as
the A-horizon, which contains organic and mineral matter
in such quantities as are needed to provide the fertility
necessary for the production of vegetation.
SEC. 6. The Commission shall establish minimum
standards to assure that projects covered by this Act will
not cause pollution of existing streams, land slides, flood-
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ing or substantially change the volume of water to be car-
ried by natural waterways on land adjoining the imme-
diate construction area except where such change is con-
sistent with an approved State or Federal water resource
policy or law.
SEC. 7. No soil shall be moved on any project where
the moving or covering of topsoil covers an area in excess
of one hundred thousand square feet until a license or let-
ter of approval to do so has been issued by the Commission
or by a commission to whom authority has been delegated
under section 4(e) of this Act. A letter of approval from
the director of the appropriate State soil conservation
service shall be deemed sufficient for purposes of the pre-
ceding sentence with regard to any agricultural lands
being restructured for the purpose of increased productiv-
ity, soil conservancy, water conservancy, or reduction of
air or water pollution.
SEC. 8. On all projects where the Commission deems
it necessary to assure the fulfillment of the purposes of
this Act, the Commission may require prior to the begin-
ning of any moving of earth, the submission of a plan pre-
pared by a professional engineer or surveyor. Where ap-
propriate, aerial photographs showing details in sufficient
contour to the satisfaction of the Commission or a United
States Department of the Interior Geological Survey topo-
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graphic map may be substituted to show the area in its
current state. Such plan may require the showing of
boundaries of the area of land affected and the elevation
involved, drainage plans below, above, and away from the
area of land affected both before and after construction,
the topography of the land involved and its relationship
to adjoining property, the direct flow of the water and its
relationship to natural waterways, a definite and detailed
plan in accordance with section 5 herein for removing and
stockpiling and replacing the soil from the land in separate
layers and a segregated state so as to assure that it will
be kept and replaced in a usable condition for sustaining
vegetation, and such other information as the Commission
deems necessary to assure that the particular project will
not violate the minimum standards established under this
Act. The Commission may also require the posting of such
bond or deposit of cash or securities as it deems necessary
to assure that such standards will be met prior to comple-
tion of the project and within a reasonable time during
the completion of various stages of the project.
SEC. 9. The Commission shall submit a report to the
Congress by July 31 of each year setting forth the activi-
ties of the Commission and shall also submit to the Con-
gress such other reports as may be requested by commit-
tees of the Congress established by either the United