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which the significant impact of the acquisition on State revenues could have been considered.
The managers expect the Secretary of the Interior, in consulta- tion with the Governor of Montana, to study potential mineral re- source development in Montana. This study should facilitate dis- cussions between the State of Montana and the Federal govern- ment regarding future coal and other mineral development in Mon- tana. The study should identify coal and other mineral assets that may be appropriate for transfer to the State of Montana. The study also should review opportunities for developing super compliance coal which meets the standards of Phase II of the Clean Air Act;
focus, in particular, on development opportunities in the Ashland, Birney, Decker area of Montana; and examine the issue and impact of the checker board ownership pattern in Montana on coal devel- opment. The managers note that no new Federal coal reserves, other than reserves near existing mines, have been made available
in Montana since 1969. ,
Section 504 provides a 180 day period during which neither the Headwaters Forest land acquisition nor the Crown Butte land ac- quisition may occur unless separate authorizing legislation is en- acted. Within 120 days of enactment, the Secretaries of Agriculture and the Interior must individually report to the Committee on Re- sources of the House of Representatives and the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources on the status of their efforts to meet the conditions set forth in this title involving the acquisition of interests to protect and preserve the Headwaters Forest and to
protect and preserve Yellowstone National Park. For each day be- yond 120 days after enactment of this Act that the appraisals re- quired in subsections 501(b)(5) and 502(b)(2) are not provided to the Committee on Resources of the House of Representatives, the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, the 180 day pe- riod is extended by one day.
Section 505 makes a technical correction to the Land and Water Conservation Fund statute to move a provision from title II to title I.
TITLE VI FOREST RESOURCES CONSERVATION AND
108
State of daho; (3) protecting the ability of private tree fat·Iners in Washington State to freely market their private timber; (4) mark- ing some timber processing facilities located in western Washing- ton State more competitive for timber harvested from private and Federal lands; (5) providing the Secretaries concer11ed with discre- tion to impose reasonable timber marking, branding, and reporting requirements and to waive such requirements when appropriate;
and (6) clarifying other enforcement and due process provisions in FRCSRA.
The managers note that on September 8, 1995, the U.S. De- partment of Agriculture issued and made effective immediately the final rule to implement FRCSRA. Because of the unintended con-
sequences and adverse impact this rule would have on the wester11 forest products industry, particularly in Washington State where Federal t·mber harvests have fallen from 1.5 billion board feet prior to enactment of FRCSRA to less than 100 million board feet in 1996, the final rule was suspended, resulting in the maintenance of the Washington State log export ban at 100% Title VI clarifie and preserves the optimization of domestic proces ing of timber in wester11 tates and avoid the imposition of re trictions on the do- me tic transportation and proce ing of timber harvested on we t- eril private p operty. The managers provide the following expla- nation of each section.
Section
2(a).U e of Unproces ed Timber Limitation on Substi- tution of Unproce ed Federal Timber for Unproce sed Timber
from
Private Land
Sect· on 4 O(a (3 p ovide that the u tit tion prohibitions do
not l·rnit the ac ui i ·on of irnb r originati g on Federal land west of th th m ridia · W s ·ngton State by a b yer-brok r (" .. , a company that o ly xport
t
mbe ori ·nating from private land ow ed y a th"rd party and over which the ompany has no long ter111 excl iv ha e rights). A b , y r-brok y a qu·r timb r ori n ting on ede I nd wet
of he 9th ridian in Wa h- i . ont ·
h · e . ly I g cy o · dir ctly from thi d pa y. n n ed a urc"ng a ... .n.i rd to c i ti d l w
t
of the9 ndia in h "dia · Wa h-
1 gto from which a buy r-
o · m y ac · ·m a Ian h · no
g ap · i y -b ok r may
acq~4 rpo e c p o • ng
r ay o i ally proces any
•
• of
0 c c
n-
. I d from p ·va and
• n d 0 d-
f • mod fi d to
•
loca d
• ng ar
ro
g ac ·li-•
c • a
1 •
• 0 fo •
109
provision makes Washington timberlands irrelevant to sourcing area determinations for processing facilities located outside of Washington. The language provides that the Secretary may not condition approval of a sourcing area for a processing facility lo- cated outside of Washington on the inclusion or exclusion of any Washington lands. The decision to include or exclude Washington lands in such a sourcing area is at the discretion of the sourcing area applicant or holder.
Except for Idaho, FRCSRA's sourcing area provisions in section 490(c)(3) are modified to make it clear that FRCSRA does not re- strict the domestic transporting or domestic processing of timber harvested on private property. Sourcing area boundaries for proc- essing facilities in States other than Idaho and Washington are to be deterrnined on private timber export and Federal timber sourcing patterns. Sourcing area boundaries for processing facilities located in Idaho are to be deterrnined by Federal and private tim- ber sourcing patterns, which could lead to restrictions on the do- mestic processing of some private timber at processing facilities with sourcing areas in Idaho.
Section 490(c)(6) provides for the establishment of sourcing areas in the State of Washington. The boundaries of such a sourcing area will be a circle, the radius of which will be the fur- thest distance the sourcing area applicant or . holder proposes to haul timber harvested from Federal land to its processing facility.
Sourcing area boundaries for processing facilities located in Wash- ington State are solely deter111ined by the sourcing area applicant or holder.
Section 490(c)(7) provides that a sourcing area is relinquished when the sourcing area holder provides written notice to the appro- priate regional forester of the U.S. Forest Service, and that timber harvested from private land in a sourcing area is exportable after that sourcing area is relinquished and timber from Federal land in that sourcing area is no longer in the sourcing area holder's posses- sion. Whether a sourcing area holder's Federal timber contract is still open is irrelevant to whether private timber from a relin- quished sourcing area is exportable. This provision also makes it clear that relinquishing a sourcing area does not affect the exportability to timber harvested from private land located outside of the sourcing area.
A new subsection is added to FRCSRA at 490(d) to make it clear that nothing in this section restricts or authorizes restrictions on the domestic tran portation or processing of timber harvested from private lands, with one exception. Because sourcing areas for
processing facilities located in Idaho will be deter1r1ined by both Federal and private timber movements the Secretary may deve. op rules that prohibit an Idaho sourcing are~ holder ~rom processing private timber that originates outside of Its sourcing a~ea. Ther_e are no restrictions on the domestic movement or processing of pri- vate timber for processing facilities located in tates other than
Idaho.
110
Section 2(b). Re triction on exports of Zlnproces ed timber from State and public land
Section 491 b (2 is amended by striking the requirement that the Secretary reduce the Washington State log export ban to 400 million boa d feet. That requirement is replaced with a per1r1anent ban on the export of all logs harvested from lands owned by the State of Washington.
Section 3. Monitoring and enforcement
Section 492(c 2)(C has been added to clarify that the Sec- retary concerned mu
t
consider the seriousness of the offense in de- terrn·ning whether to impose a penalty for a particular violation of FRCSRA or its regulations. Where the Secretary deter111·nes there has been a minor infraction of FRCSRA or its regulations, the Sec- retary hould delegate the matter to the contract·ng offic .. r who need not impose a penalty.ect·on 492(d ) has been modified to en ure that a person re- ceives due process prior to the imposition of debarttlent for a viola- tion of CS or it regulations.
Section 4. Definitions
Section 493(3 defines 'minor inf action" to provid fl xibility inadve Jent and inor no -compliance f the provi ions in C and i regulati n .
S ction 493 defi orthw st rn priva e ti be op a - ket area a the tate of Wa hington. Th ph se s us d through- a t t is title wher new provisions are added o p o ect inv
t-
m nts in proc ing facil. ie and p iv timb rlands loc ted in W hington ta .
ec i n 9 9 ix d fin "unproce sed ti · '
t
I low x- o er of pr1v t l g to acquire and do estic lly p oc s ·nc·d n- ta vol m of r d 3 a d grade log om d ral I nd·n c ip . hi ov1 · n al o a 1 s xp
t ·
s of p iv te 1 gs to d ·cally pr c m l lu e of uch log in o o r prod-defin 'v· Ia ·on m ·t cl r that
b p naliz d 0 000 or m re p r log ha dl d · n o i la ion b t · a t at 'vi la io
und c n r c r purcha or
• •
• ll a rz. a re l
c 9 ha pec·fy hat abl
• •
h ld be •
p 1 a g r m-
f com I •
ng
1 • "k f
al
d a f c m y1ng • "th
• thi 1 lOll p v
-
ng fac fa at i I an
• • •
t
• • • h •1 e 1
g r ar-
•
ro a
111
The Secretary is also authorized to waive painting and brand- ing requirements if it is detertnined that the risk of export or sub- stitution is low in the region. The Secretary may also waive paint- ing and branding requirements for unprocessed timber originating from private lands within an approved sourcing area.
The Secretary may also waive painting and branding require- ments for timber harvested from Federal land if there has been no exporting in the area for an extended period, and a person certifies that any unprocessed timber to which the waiver applies that goes outside of that area will be branded.
Title VI provides for the issuance of new FRCSRA regulations no later than June 1, 1998, and provides further that the regula- tions under this title that are currently in effect (the regulations that were in effort prior to September 8, 1995) shall remain in ef- fect until new regulations are issued.