A bill to amend the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 to authorize certain construction activities on public lands, and for other purposes.
Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 471) to expedite under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and improve forest management activities on National Forest System lands, on public lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management, and on Tribal lands to return resilience to overgrown, fire-prone forested lands, and for other purposes, and providing for consideration of the bill (S. 5) to require the Secretary of Homeland Security to take into custody aliens who have been charged in the United States with theft, and for other purposes.
SPUR Act Spur Permitting of Underdeveloped Resources Act
Forest Information Reform Act or the FIR Act This bill specifies that neither the Department of Agriculture nor the Department of the Interior may be required to reinitiate consultation on a land management plan when a species is listed as threatened or endangered, critical habitat is designated, or new information concerning a listed species or critical habitat becomes available.
Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2023This bill sets forth provisions regarding development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy on public lands. The Department of the Interior shall establish priority areas on its land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects, consistent with the principles of multiple use and the renewable energy permitting goal. Among applications for a given renewable energy source, proposed projects located in priority areas for that renewable energy source shall be given the highest priority for incentivizing deployment, and be offered the opportunity to participate in any regional mitigation plan developed for the relevant priority areas. The bill provides for the disposition of revenues from the development of wind or solar energy. The bill establishes the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund to make funds available to federal, state, and tribal agencies for distribution in regions in which renewable energy projects are located on federal land for (1) restoring and protecting natural water bodies and fish and wildlife habitat and corridors, and (2) preserving and improving recreational access to federal land and water in an affected region.
To provide for a limitation on availability of funds for U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Management of Lands and Resources for fiscal year 2024.
Proven Forest Management Act of 2022 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA), when conducting a forest management activity on National Forest System land, to coordinate with impacted parties to increase efficiency and maximize the compatibility of management practices across such land. USDA shall conduct such an activity on National Forest System land in a manner that attains multiple ecosystem benefits, including reducing forest fuels and maintaining biological diversity. However, a forest management activity shall not be conducted if the costs associated with attaining such benefits are excessive. Additionally, the USDA shall (1) establish any post-program ground condition criteria for a ground disturbance caused by a forest management activity required by the applicable forest plan, and (2) provide for monitoring to ascertain the attainment of relevant post-program conditions. The bill categorically excludes certain forest management activities for reducing forest fuels from certain environmental impact requirements. USDA or the Department of the Interior, as appropriate, in conjunction with land adjustment programs, may enter into contracts and cooperative agreements with a qualified entity to provide for fuel reduction, erosion control, reforestation, Stream Environment Zone restoration, and similar management activities on federal lands and nonfederal lands within such programs.
Action Versus No Action Act This bill limits the scope of certain environmental assessments or impact statements related to forest management activities on National Forest System lands or public lands suitable for timber production to a consideration only of the effects of the forest management activity and the alternative of no action. Specifically, the bill applies to assessments or impact statements prepared by the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System lands, or the Department of the Interior, with respect to public lands, for forest management activities that meet at least one of the criteria specified. In the case of the alternative of no action, USDA or Interior shall consider whether to evaluate the effect of no action on, among other things, forest health, wildfire potential, insect and disease potential, and timber production; and the implications of a resulting decline in forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or insect or disease infestation on potential losses of life and property, domestic water supply in the project area, and wildlife habitat loss.
Period PROUD (Providing Resources for Our Underserved and Disadvantaged) Act of 2023
Fracturing Regulations are Effective in State Hands Act or the FRESH Act This bill gives states the sole authority to promulgate or enforce any regulation, guidance, or permit requirement regarding hydraulic fracturing on or under any land within their boundaries. Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is a process to extract underground resources such as oil or gas from a geologic formation by injecting water, a propping agent (e.g., sand), and chemical additives into a well under enough pressure to fracture the geological formation. Hydraulic fracturing on federal land must comply with the law of the state in which the land is located.