[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[S. 1236 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
108th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1236
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to
control or eradicate tamarisk in the Western States, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 11, 2003
Mr. Campbell (for himself and Mr. Allard) introduced the following
bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To direct the Secretary of the Interior to establish a program to
control or eradicate tamarisk in the Western States, 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 ``Tamarisk Control and Riparian
Restoration Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds that--
(1) the western United States is currently experiencing its
worst drought in modern history;
(2) the drought in the western United States has caused--
(A) severe losses in rural, agricultural, and
recreational economies;
(B) detrimental effects on wildlife; and
(C) increased risk of wildfires;
(3) it is estimated that throughout the western United
States tamarisk, a noxious and non-native plant--
(A) occupies between 1,000,000 and 1,500,000 acres
of land; and
(B) is a nonbeneficial user of 2,000,000 to
4,500,000 acre-feet of water per year;
(4) the amount of nonbeneficial use of water by tamarisk--
(A) is greater than the amount that valuable native
vegetation would have used; and
(B) represents enough water for--
(i) use by 20,000,000 or more people; or
(ii) the irrigation of over 1,000,000 acres
of land;
(5) scientists have established that tamarisk infestations
can--
(A) increase soil and water salinity;
(B) increase the risk of flooding through increased
sedimentation and decreased channel conveyance;
(C) increase wildfire potential;
(D) diminish human enjoyment of and interaction
with the river environment; and
(E) adversely affect--
(i) wildlife habitat for threatened and
endangered species; and
(ii) the abundance and biodiversity of
other species; and
(6) as drought conditions and legal requirements relating
to water supply accelerate water shortages, innovative
approaches are needed to address the increasing demand for a
diminishing water supply.
SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Program.--The term ``program'' means the Tamarisk
Assistance Program established under section 5.
(2) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior, acting through the Commissioner of
Reclamation.
(3) State.--The term ``State'' means--
(A) each of the States of Arizona, California,
Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oklahoma,
Texas, Utah, and Wyoming; and
(B) any other State that is affected by tamarisk,
as determined by the assessment conducted under section
4.
SEC. 4. TAMARISK ASSESSMENT.
(a) In General.--Not later than 180 days after the date on which
funds are made available to carry out this section, the Secretary shall
complete an assessment of the extent of tamarisk invasion in the
western United States.
(b) Components.--The assessment under subsection (a) shall--
(1) address past and ongoing research on tested and
innovative methods to control tamarisk;
(2) estimate the costs for destruction of tamarisk, biomass
removal, and restoration and maintenance of land;
(3) identify the States affected by tamarisk; and
(4) include a gross-scale estimation of infested acreage
within the States identified.
SEC. 5. STATE TAMARISK ASSISTANCE PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--Based on the findings of the assessment under
section 4, the Secretary shall establish the Tamarisk Assistance
Program to provide grants to States to carry out projects to control or
eradicate tamarisk.
(b) Amount of Grant.--The amount of a grant to a State under
subsection (a) shall be determined by the Secretary, based on the
estimated infested acreage in the State.
(c) Designation of Lead State Agency.--On receipt of a grant under
subsection (a), the Governor of a State shall designate a lead State
agency to administer the program in the State.
(d) Priority.--
(1) In general.--The lead State agency designated under
subsection (c), in consultation with the entities described in
paragraph (2), shall establish the priority by which grant
funds are distributed to projects to control or eradicate
tamarisk in the State.
(2) Entities.--The entities referred to in paragraph (1)
are--
(A) the National Invasive Species Council;
(B) the Invasive Species Advisory Committee;
(C) representatives from Indian tribes in the State
that have weed management entities or that have
particular problems with noxious weeds;
(D) institutions of higher education in the State;
(E) State agencies;
(F) nonprofit organizations in the State; and
(G) soil and water conservation districts in the
State that are actively conducting research on or
implementing activities to control or eradicate
tamarisk.
(e) Conditions.--A lead State agency shall require that, as a
condition of receipt of a grant under this Act, a grant recipient
provide to the lead State agency any necessary information relating to
a project carried out under this Act.
(f) Administrative Expenses.--Not more than 10 percent of the
amount of a grant provided under subsection (a) may be used for
administrative expenses.
(g) Cost Sharing.--
(1) Federal share.--The Federal share of the cost of
carrying out a project under this section shall be not more
than 75 percent.
(2) Non-federal share.--The non-Federal share may be paid
by a State, county, municipality, special district, or
nongovernmental entity.
(h) Report.--To be eligible for additional grants under the
program, not later than 180 days after the date of completion of a
project carried out under this Act, a lead State agency shall submit to
the Secretary a report that describes the purposes and results of the
project.
SEC. 6. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act--
(1) $20,000,000 for fiscal year 2004; and
(2) such sums as are necessary for each fiscal year
thereafter.
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