I
103D CONGRESS
2D SESSION
H. R. 4063
To establish a special protection unit for the Bull Run River and Little
Sandy River watersheds in the Mt. Hood National Forest in the State
of Oregon to maintain and protect the forest resources of the watersheds
and the natural purity of the water resources of the watersheds through
restrictions on timber activities in and human access into the unit.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
MARCH 16, 1994
Mr. WYDEN (for himself and Ms. FURSE) introduced the following bill; which
was referred jointly to the Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture
A BILL
To establish a special protection unit for the Bull Run River
and Little Sandy River watersheds in the Mt. Hood
National Forest in the State of Oregon to maintain
and protect the forest resources of the watersheds and
the natural purity of the water resources of the water-
sheds through restrictions on timber activities in and
human access into the unit.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE AND TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
‘‘Bull Run and Little Sandy Watershed Protection Act’’.
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for
this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title and table of contents.
Sec. 2. Findings.
Sec. 3. Definitions.
Sec. 4. Establishment of the Bull Run Watershed Protection Unit.
Sec. 5. Protection of Unit.
Sec. 6. Access to Unit.
Sec. 7. Withdrawal.
Sec. 8. Cooperation between the Secretary and the city.
Sec. 9. Citizen advisory committee.
Sec. 10. Effect on other laws.
Sec. 11. Civil penalties and citizen suits.
Sec. 12. Authorization of appropriations.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) An area of land in the State of Oregon
known as the Bull Run Watershed Management
Unit is, and has been for more than 100 years, the
primary source of municipal water supply for the
city of Portland, Oregon, and other local govern-
mental units and persons in the metropolitan area of
the city.
(2) An area larger than the current manage-
ment unit, including all of the upper drainage basin
of the Bull Run River and much of the drainage
basin of the Little Sandy River, a tributary to the
Bull Run River, was reserved for the city for water
supply purposes and protected from unauthorized
human entry by a Presidential proclamation issued
in 1892.
(3) The Bull Run River furnishes an extremely
valuable resource of pure clear raw potable water,
and the Little Sandy River could furnish additional
high quality drinking water if the current manage-
ment unit were expanded to again protect Federal
lands within the Little Sandy River watershed up-
stream from Aschoff Creek near Marmot.
(4) The use of the purest water available is of
great importance in protecting citizens from diseases
associated with drinking water, and the city is fortu-
nate to have a water supply that can be protected
from contamination by bacteria, viruses, industrial
waste, sewage, herbicides, pesticides, and nuclear
waste through restrictions on human entry into, and
human activities in, the Bull Run River and Little
Sandy River watersheds.
(5) The current management unit is managed
pursuant to the provisions of Public Law 95–200
(91 Stat. 1425; 16 U.S.C. 482b note), which does
not fully address the present and future needs and
opportunities for the protection, management, and
utilization of the water resources contained in the
current management unit and nearby lands.
(6) The city and the metropolitan area sur-
rounding the city are rapidly growing at a time when
pure drinking water supplies are becoming more dif-
ficult to locate and develop and when health stand-
ards for drinking water are becoming increasingly
strict.
(7) The water supply from the current manage-
ment unit is unfiltered and currently meets all legal
criteria to remain unfiltered and meets or exceeds all
Federal and State drinking water regulations.
(8) The Bull Run River and Little Sandy River
watersheds constitute an urban water supply source
unique in the country for its purity and for its po-
tential to retain that purity through a system of wa-
tershed protection and restrictions on human entry.
(9) In 1909, the Oregon Legislature enacted
Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 538.420, which pro-
vides that ‘‘exclusive right to the use of waters of
Bull Run and Little Sandy River is granted to the
city of Portland.’’
(10) Because of the unique characteristics and
value of the current management unit to the city
and the metropolitan area surrounding the city, the
principal management objective in an expanded Bull
Run Watershed Protection Unit should be the con-
tinued and expanded production of pure clear raw
potable water.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
For purposes of this Act:
(1) CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE.—The term
‘‘citizen advisory committee’’ means the citizen advi-
sory committee established pursuant to section 9 to
monitor compliance with the Act.
(2) CITY.—The term ‘‘city’’ means the city of
Portland, Oregon.
(3) ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY.—The term ‘‘eco-
logical integrity’’ means—
(A) the intricate linkages associated with
natural structure, function, and composition;
(B) the capacity for self-renewal in soil,
water, plants, and animals; and
(C) the resilience of an ecosystem or the
ability of an ecosystem to resist dramatic
change and to recover from dramatic change.
(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means
the Secretary of Agriculture.
(5) UNIT.—The term ‘‘Unit’’ means the Bull
Run Watershed Protection Unit in the Mt. Hood
National Forest established under section 4.
(6) WATER QUALITY.—The term ‘‘water qual-
ity’’ means the physical, chemical, and biological in-
tegrity of water.