I
104TH CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 3659
To amend the Tongass Timber Reform Act to ensure the proper stewardship
of publicly owned assets in the Tongass National Forest in the State
of Alaska, a fair return to the United States for public timber in
the Tongass, and a proper balance among multiple use interests in
the Tongass to enhance forest health, sustainable harvest, and the gen-
eral economic health and growth in southeast Alaska and the United
States.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JUNE 13, 1996
Mr. YOUNG of Alaska introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committee on Re-
sources, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in
each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdic-
tion of the committee concerned
A BILL
To amend the Tongass Timber Reform Act to ensure the
proper stewardship of publicly owned assets in the
Tongass National Forest in the State of Alaska, a fair
return to the United States for public timber in the
Tongass, and a proper balance among multiple use inter-
ests in the Tongass to enhance forest health, sustainable
harvest, and the general economic health and growth
in southeast Alaska and the United States.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Environmental Im-
provement Timber Contract Extension Act of 1996’’.
SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF LONG-TERM CONTRACT RE-
GARDING TONGASS NATIONAL FOREST.
Title III of the Tongass Timber Reform Act (Public
Law 101–626; 104 Stat. 4430) is amended by adding at
the end the following new section:
‘‘SEC. 302. 1996 CONTRACT MODIFICATIONS.
‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) The term ‘board feet’ means net scribner
long-log scale for all sawlogs and all hemlock and
spruce utility grade logs.
‘‘(2) The term ‘contract’ means the timber sale
contract numbered A10fs–1042 between the United
States and the Ketchikan Pulp Company.
‘‘(3) The term ‘contracting officer’ means the
Regional Forester of Region 10 of the United States
Forest Service.
‘‘(4) The term ‘mid-market criteria’ means an
appraisal that ensures an average timber operator
will have a weighted average profit and risk margin
of at least 60 percent of normal in a mid-market sit-
uation, representative of the most recent 10 years of
actual market data.
‘‘(5) The term ‘proportionality’ means the pro-
portion of high volume stands (stands of 30,000 or
more board feet per acre) to low volume stands
(stands of 8,000 to 30,000 board feet per acre).
‘‘(6) The term ‘purchaser’ means the Ketchikan
Pulp Company.
‘‘(b) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
‘‘(1) On July 26, 1951, the Forest Service, on
behalf of the United States, and the purchaser en-
tered into a contract to harvest 8,250,000,000 board
feet of timber from the Tongass National Forest in
the State of Alaska. While the contract is scheduled
to end June 30, 2004, it acknowledges an intention
on the part of the Forest Service to supply adequate
timber thereafter for permanent operation of the
purchaser’s facilities on a commercially sound and
permanently economical basis. This legislation is
necessary to effectuate that intent.
‘‘(2) A pulp mill or similar facility is necessary
in southeast Alaska to optimize the level of year-
round, high-paying jobs in the area, to provide high
value added use of low-grade wood and by-product
material from sawmilling operations, and to main-
tain a stable regional economy.
‘‘(3) The purchaser plans to make environ-
mental and operational improvements to its pulp
mill, including conversion to an elementally chlorine
free bleaching process, expansion of wastewater
treatment facilities, relocation of the existing
wastewater outfall, and improvements to chemical
recovery and power generation equipment. Total
capital 
expenditures 
are 
estimated 
to 
be
$200,000,000, $25,000,000 of which the purchaser
has already invested.
‘‘(4) Extension of the contract for 15 years is
the minimum reasonable extension period to allow
amortization of these environmental improvement
and energy efficiency projects.
‘‘(5) Ketchikan is the fourth largest city in
Alaska. Its economic and job base are extremely de-
pendent upon the continuation of the contract, which
provides the principal source of year-round employ-
ment in the area. The purchaser has stated among
its goals and objectives the following:
‘‘(A) Continuation of a long-term commit-
ment to Ketchikan and southeast Alaska, in-
cluding maintenance of a stable Alaskan
workforce, utilization of Alaskan contractors,
vendors, and suppliers to permit those busi-
nesses to hire and maintain Alaskan employees.
‘‘(B) Participation in the Forest Service’s
land management planning process with other
users so that the process may be completed ex-
peditiously with maximum information.
‘‘(C) Adherence to sound principles of mul-
tiple-use and sustained yield of forest resources
providing for the production of sustainable con-
tract volumes for the purchaser and the other
timber operators in southeast Alaska and the
protection and promotion of other forest uses,
including tourism, fishing, subsistence, hunting,
mining, and recreation.
‘‘(D) Protection of air, water, and land, in-
cluding fish and wildlife habitat, through com-
pliance with applicable Federal, State, and local
laws.
‘‘(E) Commitment to continue to explore
new processes and technology to maximize the
use of timber harvested and increase the value
of products manufactured in southeast Alaska.
‘‘(6) The national interest is served by a policy
that accomplishes the proper stewardship of publicly
owned assets in the Tongass National Forest, a fair
return to the United States for public timber in the
Tongass National Forest, and a proper balance
among multiple use interests in the Tongass Na-
tional Forest to enhance forest health, sustainable
harvest, and the general economic health and growth
in southeast Alaska and the United States in order
to improve national economic benefits. The national
interest is best achieved by fostering domestic forest
product markets and by modifying the terms of the
contract pursuant to subsection (c).
‘‘(c) CONTRACT FAIRNESS CHANGES.—The contract
is hereby modified as follows:
‘‘(1) EXTENSION.—The term of the contract is
extended by 15 years from June 30, 2004.
‘‘(2) SALE
OFFERING
PLAN.—The contract
shall include a plan describing the amount of vol-
ume, location, and the schedule by which the pur-
chaser shall receive the timber required by para-
graph (3) for the remainder of the contract term.
The plan shall be coordinated with the Tongass
Land Management Plan.
‘‘(3) VOLUME REQUIREMENTS.—The volume of
timber required under the contract shall be provided
in 5-year increments of 962,500,000 board feet,
which the purchaser shall be obligated to harvest in
an orderly manner, subject to the following:
‘‘(A) Until March 1, 1999, when the next
5-year increment is provided to the purchaser,
the Forest Service shall provide the purchaser
with at least 192,500,000 board feet per year
of available timber at a date certain each year
and shall maintain a supply of timber adequate
to insure the purchaser can reasonably harvest
192,500,000 board feet each year.
‘‘(B) To ensure harvest in an orderly man-
ner, the contracting officer shall provide for the
construction by the purchaser of roads in por-
tions of the 5-year increment area of timber in
advance of the 5-year operating period by in-
cluding such roads in the environmental impact
statement prepared for the 5-year operating pe-
riod.
‘‘(C) Timber selected for inclusion in the
5-year increment shall meet the mid-market cri-
teria.
‘‘(4) APPRAISALS AND RATES.—The contracting
officer shall perform appraisals using normal inde-
pendent national forest timber sale procedures and
designate rates for the increments of timber to be
provided. The rates shall not be designated at a level
that places the purchaser at a competitive disadvan-
tage to a similar enterprise in the Pacific Northwest
and those rates shall be the sole charges the pur-
chaser shall be required to pay for timber provided.
‘‘(5) MEASUREMENT OF PROPORTIONALITY.—
The Forest Service shall measure proportionality
using the following criteria:
‘‘(A) Measure for groups of all contiguous
management areas.
‘‘(B) Measure proportionality by acres.
‘‘(C) Measure proportionality over the en-
tire rotation age.
‘‘(6) CONVERSION OR REPLACEMENT OF PULP
MILL.—The purchaser may convert or replace, in
part or in whole, its pulp mill with a facility the
manufactures any other value added product that
utilizes pulp logs as a raw material component.
‘‘(7) UNILATERAL TERMINATION.—The unilat-
eral termination clause of the contract is eliminated.
‘‘(8) 
SUBSEQUENT
MODIFICATIONS.—Any
clause in the contract, as modified by this sub-
section, may be further modified only by mutual
agreement of the Forest Service and the purchaser