Title: Refuge System Protection Act
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Refuge System Protection Act
This bill authorizes the Department of Justice (DOJ), at the request of the Department of the Interior, to bring in a district court a civil action against any individual or entity that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any resource that is within the boundaries any land or water that is managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The bill also authorizes DOJ, at the request of Interior, to bring in a district court an in rem action against any instrumentality (e.g., a vessel, vehicle, or aircraft) that destroys, causes the loss of, causes Interior to make risk mitigation efforts with respect to, or injures any such system resource.
Among others, it shall be an affirmative defense in either type of action that the destruction of, loss of, risk mitigation regarding, or injury to a system resource was caused by an otherwise legal act or omission that occurred outside the boundaries of the resource.
In either type of action, the court may award response costs and damages.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4780 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 4780

   To authorize the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to seek 
compensation for injuries to trust resources and to use funds received 
    as that compensation to restore, replace, or acquire equivalent 
                   resources, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 28, 2021

 Mr. Thompson of California (for himself, Mr. Wittman, Ms. Eshoo, Mr. 
Krishnamoorthi, and Mrs. Dingell) introduced the following bill; which 
was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to 
   the Committee on Appropriations, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To authorize the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to seek 
compensation for injuries to trust resources and to use funds received 
    as that compensation to restore, replace, or acquire equivalent 
                   resources, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Refuge System Protection Act''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Damages.--The term ``damages'' includes--
                    (A) compensation for--
                            (i)(I) the cost of replacing, restoring, or 
                        acquiring the equivalent of a system resource; 
                        and
                            (II) the value of any significant loss of 
                        use of a system resource, pending--
                                    (aa) restoration or replacement of 
                                the system resource; or
                                    (bb) the acquisition of an 
                                equivalent resource; or
                            (ii) the value of a system resource, if the 
                        system resource cannot be replaced or restored; 
                        and
                    (B) the cost of any relevant damage assessment 
                carried out pursuant to section 4(c).
            (2) Response cost.--The term ``response cost'' means the 
        cost of any action carried out by the Secretary--
                    (A) to prevent, minimize, or abate the destruction 
                or loss of, or injury to, a system resource;
                    (B) to abate or minimize the imminent risk of any 
                destruction, loss, or injury described in subparagraph 
                (A); or
                    (C) to monitor the ongoing effects of any incident 
                causing any destruction, loss, or injury described in 
                subparagraph (A).
            (3) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary 
        of the Interior.
            (4) System resource.--The term ``system resource'' means 
        any living, nonliving, historical, cultural, or archeological 
        resource that is located within the boundaries of--
                    (A) a unit of the National Wildlife Refuge System;
                    (B) a unit of the National Fish Hatchery System; or
                    (C) any other land or water managed by the Director 
                of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, 
                including any land or water managed cooperatively with 
                any other Federal or State agency.

SEC. 3. ACTIONS.

    (a) In General.--The Attorney General, on request of the Secretary, 
may bring in the district court of the United States of appropriate 
jurisdiction--
            (1) a civil action against any individual or entity that--
                    (A) destroys, causes the loss of, or injures any 
                system resource; or
                    (B) causes the Secretary to carry out any action to 
                prevent, minimize, or abate the destruction or loss of, 
                or injury or risk to, any system resource; or
            (2) an in rem action against any instrumentality (including 
        a vessel, vehicle, aircraft, or other equipment or mechanism) 
        that--
                    (A) destroys, causes the loss of, or injures any 
                system resource; or
                    (B) causes the Secretary to carry out any action to 
                prevent, minimize, or abate destruction or loss of, or 
                injury or risk to, a system resource.
    (b) Affirmative Defenses.--It shall be an affirmative defense in an 
action under subsection (a) that--
            (1) the applicable destruction or loss of, or injury to, 
        the system resource was caused by an otherwise legal act or 
        omission that occurred outside of the boundaries of the system 
        resource;
            (2) the applicable destruction or loss of, or injury to, 
        the system resource was caused by an activity performed in 
        accordance with Federal, State, or local law, regulation, or 
        court order;
            (3) the applicable destruction or loss of, or injury to, 
        the system resource was caused solely by an act of God or an 
        act of war;
            (4)(A) the applicable individual, entity, or 
        instrumentality exercised due care; and
            (B) the applicable destruction or loss of, or injury to, 
        the system resource was caused solely by an act or omission of 
        a third party, other than an employee or agent of the 
        individual, entity, or instrumentality; or
            (5)(A) the applicable destruction or loss of, or injury to, 
        the system resource was caused by an individual, entity, or 
        instrumentality, including an employee or agent of the 
        individual, entity, or instrumentality, acting in physical 
        self-defense or defense of others against physical harm; and
            (B) the physical defense was--
                    (i) reasonably necessary;
                    (ii) without reasonable alternative; and
                    (iii) not excessive under the circumstances.
    (c) Damages.--In an action under subsection (a), the court may 
award response costs and damages resulting from the applicable 
destruction or loss of, or injury to, the system resource.
    (d) Administrative Actions for Response Costs and Damages.--
            (1) Action by secretary.--
                    (A) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), the 
                Secretary, after making a finding described in 
                subparagraph (B), may consider, compromise, and settle 
                a claim for response costs and damages if the claim has 
                not been referred to the Attorney General under 
                subsection (a).
                    (B) Description of findings.--A finding referred to 
                in subparagraph (A) is a finding that--
                            (i) destruction or loss of, or injury to, a 
                        system resource has occurred; or
                            (ii) that destruction, loss, or injury 
                        would occur absent an action by the Secretary 
                        to prevent, minimize, or abate the destruction, 
                        loss, or injury.
            (2) Requirement.--In any case in which the total amount to 
        be recovered in an action under subsection (a) may exceed 
        $500,000 (excluding interest), a claim may be compromised and 
        settled under paragraph (1) only with the prior written 
        approval of the Attorney General.
    (e) Response Actions, Assessments of Damages, and Injunctive 
Relief.--
            (1) In general.--The Secretary may carry out any necessary 
        action (including making a request to the Attorney General to 
        seek injunctive relief)--
                    (A) to prevent, minimize, or abate the destruction 
                or loss of, or injury to, a system resource; or
                    (B) to abate or minimize the imminent risk of that 
                destruction, loss, or injury.
            (2) Assessment and monitoring.--
                    (A) In general.--The Secretary may assess and 
                monitor the destruction or loss of, or injury to, any 
                system resource for purposes of paragraph (1).
                    (B) Judicial review.--Any determination or 
                assessment of damage to a system resource carried out 
                under subparagraph (A) shall be subject to judicial 
                review under subchapter II of chapter 5, and chapter 7, 
                of title 5, United States Code (commonly known as the 
                ``Administrative Procedure Act''), on the basis of the 
                administrative record developed by the Secretary.
    (f) Scope.--The liability established by this section shall be in 
addition to any other liability arising under Federal or State law.

SEC. 4. USE OF RECOVERED AMOUNTS.

    (a) In General.--An amount equal to the total amount of the 
response costs and damages recovered by the Secretary under this Act 
and any amounts recovered by the Federal Government under any provision 
of Federal, State, or local law (including regulations) or otherwise as 
a result of the destruction or loss of, or injury to, any system 
resource shall be made available to the Secretary, without further 
appropriation, for use in accordance with subsection (b).
    (b) Use.--The Secretary may use amounts made available under 
subsection (a) only, in accordance with applicable law--
            (1) to reimburse response costs and damage assessments 
        carried out pursuant to this Act by the Secretary or such other 
        Federal agency as the Secretary determines to be appropriate;
            (2) to restore, replace, or acquire the equivalent of a 
        system resource that was destroyed, lost, or injured; or
            (3) to monitor and study the recovery of the system 
        resources that were destroyed, lost, or injured.
    (c) Allocation.--The Secretary shall--
            (1) allocate for use under subsection (b) the amount of 
        response costs and damages recovered with respect to each 
        system resource and made available under subsection (a) to the 
        unit, land, or water described in section 2(4) within which the 
        system resource was located at the time of the destruction, 
        loss, or injury; and
            (2) after the allocation under paragraph (1), allocate any 
        remaining amounts for such use under subsection (b) as the 
        Secretary determines to be appropriate.

SEC. 5. DONATIONS.

    (a) In General.--In addition to any other authority to accept 
donations, the Secretary may accept donations of money or services for 
expenditure or use to meet expected, immediate, or ongoing response 
costs and damages.
    (b) Timing.--A donation described in subsection (a) may be expended 
or used at any time after acceptance of the donation, without further 
action by Congress.

SEC. 6. TRANSFER OF FUNDS FROM NATURAL RESOURCE DAMAGE ASSESSMENT AND 
              RESTORATION FUND.

    The matter under the heading ``natural resource damage assessment 
and restoration fund'' under the heading ``United States Fish and 
Wildlife Service'' in title I of the Department of the Interior and 
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1994 (43 U.S.C. 1474b-1), is 
amended by striking ``Provided, That'' and all that follows through 
``activities.'' and inserting the following: ``Provided, That 
notwithstanding any other provision of law, any amounts appropriated or 
credited during fiscal year 1992 or any fiscal year thereafter may be 
transferred to any account (including through a payment to any Federal 
or non-Federal trustee) to carry out a negotiated legal settlement or 
other legal action for a restoration activity under the Comprehensive 
Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (42 
U.S.C. 9601 et seq.), the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 
U.S.C. 1251 et seq.), the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (33 U.S.C. 2701 et 
seq.), section 100721 of title 54, United States Code, or the Refuge 
System Protection Act: Provided further, That sums provided by any 
individual or entity before or after the date of enactment of this Act 
shall remain available until expended and shall not be limited to 
monetary payments, but may include stocks, bonds, or other personal or 
real property, which may be retained, liquidated, or otherwise disposed 
of by the Secretary for the restoration of injured resources or to 
conduct any new damage assessment activity.''.
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