)
) '
, f
PUBLIC LAW 105-83 NOV. 14, 1997 111 STAT. 1621
"(C) MITIGATION OF PENALTIES.-
"(i) IN GENERAL. The Secretary concerned-
"(!) in deterinining the applicability of any
penalty imposed under this paragraph, shall take into account all relevant mitigating factors, includ- ing mistake, inadvertence, and error; and
"(II) based on any mitigating factor, may, with respect to any penalty imposed under this para- graph-
"(aa) reduce the penalty;
"(bb) not impose the penalty; or
"(cc) on condition of there being no further violation under this paragraph for a prescribed period, suspend imposition of the penalty.
"(ii) CONTRACTURAL REMEDIES. In the case of a minor violation of this title (including a regulation), the Secretary concerned shall, to the maximum extent practicable, permit a contracting officer to ·redress the violation in accordance with the applicable timber sale contract rather than assess a penalty under this para- graph."; and
(2) in subsection (d)(1)-
(A) by striking "The head" and inserting the following:
"(A) IN GENERAL.-Subject to subparagraph (B ), the head"; and
(B ) by adding at the end the following:
"(B ) PREREQUISITES FOR DEBARMENT.-
"(i) IN GENERAL. No person may be debarred from bidding for or entering int o a contract for the purchase of unprocessed timber from Federal lands under subparagraph (A) unless the head of the appropriate Federal department or agency first finds, on the record
and after an opportunity for a hearing, that debar111ent is warranted.
"(ii) WITHHOLDING OF AWARDS DURING DEBARMENT PROCEEDINGS. The head of an appropriate Federal department or agency may withhold an award under this title of a contract for the purchase of unprocessed timber from Federal lands during a debarment proceed- ing.''.
SEc. 604. DEFINITIONS.-Section 493 of t he Forest Resources
~onservation and Shortage Relief Act of 1990 (16 U.S.C. 620e) 1s amended- ·
(1) by redesignating paragraphs (3) through (8) as para- graphs (5) through (10), respectively;
(2) by inserting after paragraph (2) the following:
"(3) MINOR VIOLATION. The term 'minor violation' means
a violation, other than an intentional violation, involving a
~ingle contract, purchase order , processing facility, or log yard tnvolving a quantity of logs t hat is less than 25 logs and has a total value (at the t ime of the violation) of less than
$10,000.
"(4) NORTHWESTERN PRIVATE TIMBER OPEN MARKET AREA.- The tern1 'northwestern private t imber open market area'
means the State of Washington ."; . (3) in subparagraph (B )(ix) of paragraph (9) (as redesig-
nated by paragraph (1))-- ,
1
• 0 .
ov. 14, 1997
(A) by stri ·ng "Pulp log or cull logs" and inserting ':Pulp logs, cull logs, and incidental volumes of grade 3
and 4 sawlogs";
(B) by inserting "primary'' before "purpose"; and
(C) by striking the period at the end and inserting:
", or to the e tent that a small quant"ty of such logs
a e proces ed, into other p oducts at domestic processing facilit· . ; and
4) by add.ng at the end the following:
' ( .1) VIOLAT
o .
The ter1n 'violation' means a violation of th s ct (inc udi g a egulation is ued to implement thisct) w"th regard to a co r e of action, including-
' ) 1 the case, of violation by the or ginal purchaser of unproce ed "mber, act or omis ion with respect to a ngle t• ber sale; and
" in he ca e of a olation of a ub equent purchaser
oft timb r act or m· ·on with r pect to an oper- a ion t a pa icular oce · g facili y or logy rd ..
c. 605. 10 . c io 9 a of th ore t R ou ces o g Rel"ef ct of 1990 6 U .C 620f(a))
y c
DI
by
0 om c n
·n e ... g he follow·ng:
c p oh 1 provid 1n •
• ir d und h
J ,
1 d und
0 a l .. nc
.
~
•
,
)
PUBLIC LAW 105-83 NOV. 14, 1997 111 STAT. 1623
"(ii) unprocessed timber that is less than 8 feet in length or less than ¥3 sound wood.
"(C) WAIVERS.-
"(i) IN GENERAL. The Secretary concerned may waive log painting and branding requirements-
"(! ) for a geographic area, if the Secretary
detern1ines that the risk of the unprocessed timber being exported from the area or used in substi- tution is low;
"(II) with respect to unprocessed timber origi- nating from private lands located within an
approved sourcing area for a person who certifies that the timber will be processed at a specific domestic processing facility to the extent that the processing does occur; or
"(Ill) as part of a log yard agreement that is consistent with the purposes of the ~export and substitution restrictions imposed under this title.
"(ii) REVIEW AND TERMINATION OF WAIVERS. A waiver granted under clause (i)-
"(1) shall, to the maximum extent practicable,
be reviewed once a year; and
"(II) shall remain effective until terminated by the Secretary.
"(D) FACTORS. In making a determination under this paragraph, the Secretary concerned shall consider·-
"(i) the risk of 11nprocessed timber of that species, grade, and size being exported or used in substitution;
"(ii) the location of the unprocessed timber and the effect of the location on its being exported or used in substitution;
"(iii) the history of the person involved with respect to compliance with log painting and branding require- ments; and
"(iv) any other factor that is relevant to deternlin- ing the likelihood of the unprocessed timber being exported or used in substitution.
"(5) REPORTING.-
"(A) IN GENERAL.-Subject to subparagraph (B), the Regulations.
Secretary concerned shall issue regulations that impose reasonable documentation and reporting requirements if the benefits of the requirements outweigh the cost of complying with the requirements.
"(B) WAIVERS.-
"(i) IN GENERAL. The Secretary concerned may waive documentation and reporting requirements for a person if-
"(1) an audit of the records of the facility of
the person reveals substantial compliance with all notice, reporting, painting, and branding require- ments during the preceding year; or
"(II) the person transferring the unprocessed timber and the person processing the unpr~cessed
timber enter into an advance agreement w1th the Secretary concerned regarding the disposition of the unprocessed timber by domestic processing.
111 STAT. 1624 PUBLIC LAW 05-83 NOV. 14, 1997
icco ukee
t e e t ct of 1997.
ative
enc~. •
lo · d . 25
ote.
25
750
750.
•
"( .. ) RE E D TERMI TIO 0 W RS. A
waiver gr . ted · nder clau e i } -
" ) shall, to the maximum e tent practicable,
T . 701.
...._ ... _._ ... ceo uk e e
for
10 •
0
(2
(
( c
be reviewed once a year· d
' II shall remain effec ive until termi ated by .he ec etary. '.
l
ICCOSUKEE S TILE E T
T . Thi t•tle may be c·t d as th ct of 997' .
1 •
. Congr fi d h t:
ni d ta e Di ·ct Court a law t by th M cc ukpp
·n t ib I d ·n con c- y t e 7 y th ·
d o ·n par graph
h n'""-A~
p p p · ng fo f t _ ·
p n of
o r of f h
f
h "d1 • p
•
0
h i
I
f
a
pl
h
[I
,
1 •
lc,A..L...l
f th
ry
y h
f d
1
-
f
•
,
) I
l
f
r
l s e
l
t
t.
u s
;e
;t
t,
1" •
of
PUBLIC LAW 105-83 NOV. 14, 1997 111 STAT. 1625
(2) FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION. The term
"Florida Department of Transportation" means the executive branch department and agency of the State of Florida that-
(A) is responsible for the construction and maintenance of surface vehicle roads, existing pursuant to section 20.23
Florida Statutes; and '
(B) has the authority to execute the Settlement Agree- ment pursuant to section 334.044, Florida Statutes.
(3) LAWSUIT. The tertn "lawsuit" means the action in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Flor-
ida, entitled Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida v. State of Florida and Florida Department of Transportation, et al., docket No. 6285-Civ-Paine.
(4) MICCOSUKEE LANDS. 'l'he term "Miccosukee lands"
means lands that ar,_._e -
(A) held in trust by the United States for the use and benefit of the Miccosukee Tribe as Miccosukee Indian , Reservation lands; and
(B) identified pursuant to the Settlement Agreement for transfer to the Florida Department of Transportation.
(5) MICCOSUKEE TRIBE; TRIBE. The ter1ns "Miccosukee Tribe" and "Tribe" mean the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida, a tribe of American Indians recognized by the United
States and organized under section 16 of the Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 987, chapter 576; 25 U.S.C. 476) and recog- nized by the State of Florida pursuant to chapter 285, Florida Statutes.
(6) SECRETARY. The tern1 "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Interior.
(7) SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT; AGREEMENT. The ter111s
"Settlement Agreement" and "Agreement" mean the assemblage of documents entitled "Settlement Agreement" (with incor- porated exhibits) that.-
(A) addresses the lawsuit; and
(B)(i) was signed on August 28, 1996, by Ben G. Watts (Secretary of the Florida Department of Transportation) and Billy Cypress (Chairt11an of the Miccosukee Tribe);
and (ii) after being signed, as described in clause (i), was concurred in by the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvements Trust Fund of the State of Florida.
(8) STATE OF FLORIDA. The term "State of Florida"
means.-
(A) all agencies or departments of the State of Florida, including the Florida Department of Transportation and the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvements Trust
Fund;and .
(B) the State of Florida as a governmental ent1ty.
SEc. 704. RATIFICATION. The United States approves, ratifies, 25
usc
1750b.and confirttlS the Settlement Agreement.
SEC. 705. AUTHORITY OF SECRETARY. As Trustee for the 25 USC 1750c.
Miccosukee Tribe, the Secretary shall-
(l )(A) aid and assist in the fulfillment of the Settlement Agreement at all times and in a reasonable manner; and
(B ) to accomplish the fulfillment of the Settlement. Agree- ment in accordance with subparagraph (A), cooperate w1th and
assist the Miccosukee Tribe; ,