Sec. 2001. emergency salvage timber sale program

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## Sec. 2001 emergency salvage timber sale program **[**[16 U.S.C. 1611 note](/us/usc/t16/s1611)**]** ###

(a)Definitions For purposes of this section: ####

(1)The term “**appropriate committees of Congress**” means the Committee on Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, and the Committee on Appropriations of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and the Committee on Appropriations of the Senate. ####

(2)The term “**emergency period**” means the period beginning on the date of the enactment of this section and ending on September 30, 1997. ####

(3)The term “**salvage timber sale**” means a timber sale for which an important reason for entry includes the removal of disease- or insect-infested trees, dead, damaged, or down trees, or trees affected by fire or imminently susceptible to fire or insect attack. Such term also includes the removal of associated trees or trees lacking the characteristics of a healthy and viable ecosystem for the purpose of ecosystem improvement or rehabilitation, except that any such sale must include an identifiable salvage component of trees described in the first sentence. ####

(4)The term “**Secretary concerned**” means— #####

(A)the Secretary of Agriculture, with respect to lands within the National Forest System; and #####

(B)the Secretary of the Interior, with respect to Federal lands under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of Land Management. ###

(b)Completion of Salvage Timber Sales ####

(1)Salvage timber sales Using the expedited procedures provided in subsection (c), the Secretary concerned shall prepare, advertise, offer, and award contracts during the emergency period for salvage timber sales from Federal lands described in subsection (a)(4). During the emergency period, the Secretary concerned is to achieve, to the maximum extent feasible, a salvage timber sale volume level above the programmed level to reduce the backlogged volume of salvage timber. The preparation, advertisement, offering, and awarding of such contracts shall be performed utilizing subsection

(c)and notwithstanding any other provision of law, including a law under the authority of which any judicial order may be outstanding on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. ####

(2)Use of salvage sale funds To conduct salvage timber sales under this subsection, the Secretary concerned may use salvage sale funds otherwise available to the Secretary concerned. ####

(3)Sales in preparation Any salvage timber sale in preparation on the date of the enactment of this Act shall be subject to the provisions of this section. ###

(c)Expedited Procedures for Emergency Salvage Timber Sales ####

(1)Sale documentation #####

(A)Preparation For each salvage timber sale conducted under subsection (b), the Secretary concerned shall prepare a document that combines an environmental assessment under section 102(2) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)) (including regulations implementing such section) and a biological evaluation under section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(a)(2)) and other applicable Federal law and implementing regulations. A document embodying decisions relating to salvage timber sales proposed under authority of this section shall, at the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned and to the extent the Secretary concerned considers appropriate and feasible, consider the environmental effects of the salvage timber sale and the effect, if any, on threatened or endangered species, and to the extent the Secretary concerned, at his sole discretion, considers appropriate and feasible, be consistent with any standards and guidelines from the management plans applicable to the National Forest or Bureau of Land Management District on which the salvage timber sale occurs. #####

(B)Use of existing materials In lieu of preparing a new document under this paragraph, the Secretary concerned may use a document prepared pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) before the date of the enactment of this Act, a biological evaluation written before such date, or information collected for such a document or evaluation if the document, evaluation, or information applies to the Federal lands covered by the proposed sale. #####

(C)Scope and content The scope and content of the documentation and information prepared, considered, and relied on under this paragraph is at the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned. ####

(2)Reporting requirements Not later than August 30, 1995, the Secretary concerned shall submit a report to the appropriate committees of Congress on the implementation of this section. The report shall be updated and resubmitted to the appropriate committees of Congress every six months thereafter until the completion of all salvage timber sales conducted under subsection (b). Each report shall contain the following: #####

(A)The volume of salvage timber sales sold and harvested, as of the date of the report, for each National Forest and each district of the Bureau of Land Management. #####

(B)The available salvage volume contained in each National Forest and each district of the Bureau of Land Management. #####

(C)A plan and schedule for an enhanced salvage timber sale program for fiscal years 1995, 1996, and 1997 using the authority provided by this section for salvage timber sales. #####

(D)A description of any needed resources and personnel, including personnel reassignments, required to conduct an enhanced salvage timber sale program through fiscal year 1997. #####

(E)A statement of the intentions of the Secretary concerned with respect to the salvage timber sale volume levels specified in the joint explanatory statement of managers accompanying the conference report on H.R. 1158, House Report 104–124. ####

(3)Advancement of sales authorized The Secretary concerned may begin salvage timber sales under subsection

(b)intended for a subsequent fiscal year before the start of such fiscal year if the Secretary concerned determines that performance of such salvage timber sales will not interfere with salvage timber sales intended for a preceding fiscal year. ####

(4)Decisions The Secretary concerned shall design and select the specific salvage timber sales to be offered under subsection

(b)on the basis of the analysis contained in the document or documents prepared pursuant to paragraph

(1)to achieve, to the maximum extent feasible, a salvage timber sale volume level above the program level. ####

(5)Sale preparation #####

(A)Use of available authorities The Secretary concerned shall make use of all available authority, including the employment of private contractors and the use of expedited fire contracting procedures, to prepare and advertise salvage timber sales under subsection (b). #####

(B)Exemptions The preparation, solicitation, and award of salvage timber sales under subsection

(b)shall be exempt from— ######

(i)the requirements of the Competition in Contracting Act (41 U.S.C. 253 et seq.) and the implementing regulations in the Federal Acquisition Regulation issued pursuant to section 25(c) of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy Act (41 U.S.C. 421(c)) and any departmental acquisition regulations; and ######

(ii)the notice and publication requirements in section 18 of such Act (41 U.S.C. 416) and 8(e) of the Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 637(e)) and the implementing regulations in the Federal Acquisition Regulations and any departmental acquisition regulations. #####

(C)Incentive payment recipients; report The provisions of section 3(d)(1) of the Federal Workforce Restructuring Act of 1994 (Public Law 103–226; 5 U.S.C. 5597 note) shall not apply to any former employee of the Secretary concerned who received a voluntary separation incentive payment authorized by such Act and accepts employment pursuant to this paragraph. The Director of the Office of Personnel Management and the Secretary concerned shall provide a summary report to the appropriate committees of Congress, the Committee on Government Reform and Oversight of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Governmental Affairs of the Senate regarding the number of incentive payment recipients who were rehired, their terms of reemployment, their job classifications, and an explanation, in the judgment of the agencies involved of how such reemployment without repayment of the incentive payments received is consistent with the original waiver provisions of such Act. This report shall not be conducted in a manner that would delay the rehiring of any former employees under this paragraph, or affect the normal confidentiality of Federal employees. ####

(6)Cost considerations Salvage timber sales undertaken pursuant to this section shall not be precluded because the costs of such activities are likely to exceed the revenues derived from such activities. ####

(7)Effect of salvage sales The Secretary concerned shall not substitute salvage timber sales conducted under subsection

(b)for planned non-salvage timber sales. ####

(8)Reforestation of salvage timber sale parcels The Secretary concerned shall plan and implement reforestation of each parcel of land harvested under a salvage timber sale conducted under subsection

(b)as expeditiously as possible after completion of the harvest on the parcel, but in no case later than any applicable restocking period required by law or regulation. ####

(9)Effect on judicial decisions The Secretary concerned may conduct salvage timber sales under subsection

(b)notwithstanding any decision, restraining order, or injunction issued by a United States court before the date of the enactment of this section. ###

(d)Direction To Complete Timber Sales on Lands Covered by Option 9 Notwithstanding any other law (including a law under the authority of which any judicial order may be outstanding on or after the date of enactment of this Act), the Secretary concerned shall expeditiously prepare, offer, and award timber sale contracts on Federal lands described in the “Record of Decision for Amendments to Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management Planning Documents Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl”, signed by the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture on April 13, 1994. The Secretary concerned may conduct timber sales under this subsection notwithstanding any decision, restraining order, or injunction issued by a United States court before the date of the enactment of this section. The issuance of any regulation pursuant to section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(d)) to ease or reduce restrictions on non-Federal lands within the range of the northern spotted owl shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)), given the analysis included in the Final Supplemental Impact Statement on the Management of the Habitat for Late Successional and Old Growth Forest Related Species Within the Range of the Northern Spotted Owl, prepared by the Secretary of Agriculture and the Secretary of the Interior in 1994, which is, or may be, incorporated by reference in the administrative record of any such regulation. The issuance of any such regulation pursuant to section 4(d) of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1533(d)) shall not require the preparation of an environmental impact statement under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). ###

(e)Administrative Review Salvage timber sales conducted under subsection (b), timber sales conducted under subsection (d), and any decision of the Secretary concerned in connection with such sales, shall not be subject to administrative review. ###

(f)Judicial Review ####

(1)Place and time of filing A salvage timber sale to be conducted under subsection (b), and a timber sale to be conducted under subsection (d), shall be subject to judicial review only in the United States district court for the district in which the affected Federal lands are located. Any challenge to such sale must be filed in such district court within 15 days after the date of initial advertisement of the challenged sale. The Secretary concerned may not agree to, and a court may not grant, a waiver of the requirements of this paragraph. ####

(2)Effect of filing on agency action For 45 days after the date of the filing of a challenge to a salvage timber sale to be conducted under subsection

(b)or a timber sale to be conducted under subsection (d), the Secretary concerned shall take no action to award the challenged sale. ####

(3)Prohibition on restraining orders, preliminary injunctions, and relief pending review No restraining order, preliminary injunction, or injunction pending appeal shall be issued by any court of the United States with respect to any decision to prepare, advertise, offer, award, or operate a salvage timber sale pursuant to subsection

(b)or any decision to prepare, advertise, offer, award, or operate a timber sale pursuant to subsection (d). Section 705 of title 5, United States Code, shall not apply to any challenge to such a sale. ####

(4)Standard of review The courts shall have authority to enjoin permanently, order modification of, or void an individual salvage timber sale if it is determined by a review of the record that the decision to prepare, advertise, offer, award, or operate such sale was arbitrary and capricious or otherwise not in accordance with applicable law (other than those laws specified in subsection (i)). ####

(5)Time for decision Civil actions filed under this subsection shall be assigned for hearing at the earliest possible date. The court shall render its final decision relative to any challenge within 45 days from the date such challenge is brought, unless the court determines that a longer period of time is required to satisfy the requirement of the United States Constitution. In order to reach a decision within 45 days, the district court may assign all or part of any such case or cases to one or more Special Masters, for prompt review and recommendations to the court. ####

(6)Procedures Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the court may set rules governing the procedures of any proceeding brought under this subsection which set page limits on briefs and time limits on filing briefs and motions and other actions which are shorter than the limits specified in the Federal rules of civil or appellate procedure. ####

(7)Appeal Any appeal from the final decision of a district court in an action brought pursuant to this subsection shall be filed not later than 30 days after the date of decision. ###

(g)Exclusion of Certain Federal Lands ####

(1)Exclusion The Secretary concerned may not select, authorize, or undertake any salvage timber sale under subsection

(b)with respect to lands described in paragraph (2). ####

(2)Description of excluded lands The lands referred to in paragraph

(1)are as follows: #####

(A)Any area on Federal lands included in the National Wilderness Preservation System. #####

(B)Any roadless area on Federal lands designated by Congress for wilderness study in Colorado or Montana. #####

(C)Any roadless area on Federal lands recommended by the Forest Service or Bureau of Land Management for wilderness designation in its most recent land management plan in effect as of the date of the enactment of this Act. #####

(D)Any area on Federal lands on which timber harvesting for any purpose is prohibited by statute. ###

(h)Rulemaking The Secretary concerned is not required to issue formal rules under section 553 of title 5, United States Code, to implement this section or carry out the authorities provided by this section. ###

(i)Effect on Other Laws The documents and procedures required by this section for the preparation, advertisement, offering, awarding, and operation of any salvage timber sale subject to subsection

(b)and any timber sale under subsection

(d)shall be deemed to satisfy the requirements of the following applicable Federal laws (and regulations implementing such laws): ####

(1)The Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.). ####

(2)The Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). ####

(3)The National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). ####

(4)The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.). ####

(5)The National Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a et seq.). ####

(6)The Multiple-Use Sustained-Yield Act of 1960 (16 U.S.C. 528 et seq.). ####

(7)Any compact, executive agreement, convention, treaty, and international agreement, and implementing legislation related thereto. ####

(8)All other applicable Federal environmental and natural resource laws. ###

(j)Expiration Date The authority provided by subsections

(b)and

(d)shall expire on December 31, 1996. The terms and conditions of this section shall continue in effect with respect to salvage timber sale contracts offered under subsection

(b)and timber sale contracts offered under subsection

(d)until the completion of performance of the contracts. ###

(k)Award and Release of Previously Offered and Unawarded Timber Sale Contracts ####

(1)Award and release required Notwithstanding any other provision of law, within 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall act to award, release, and permit to be completed in fiscal years 1995 and 1996, with no change in originally advertised terms, volumes, and bid prices, all timber sale contracts offered or awarded before that date in any unit of the National Forest System or district of the Bureau of Land Management subject to section 318 of Public Law 101–121 (103 Stat. 745). The return of the bid bond of the high bidder shall not alter the responsibility of the Secretary concerned to comply with this paragraph. ####

(2)Threatened or endangered bird species No sale unit shall be released or completed under this subsection if any threatened or endangered bird species is known to be nesting within the acreage that is the subject of the sale unit. ####

(3)Alternative offer in case of delay If for any reason a sale cannot be released and completed under the terms of this subsection within 45 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary concerned shall provide the purchaser an equal volume of timber, of like kind and value, which shall be subject to the terms of the original contract and shall not count against current allowable sale quantities. ###

(l)Effect on Plans, Policies, and Activities Compliance with this section shall not require or permit any administrative action, including revisions, amendment, consultation, supplementation, or other action, in or for any land management plan, standard, guideline, policy, regional guide, or multiforest plan because of implementation or impacts, site-specific or cumulative, of activities authorized or required by this section, except that any such administrative action with respect to salvage timber sales is permitted to the extent necessary, at the sole discretion of the Secretary concerned, to meet the salvage timber sale goal specified in subsection (b)(1) of this section or to reflect the effects of the salvage program. The Secretary concerned shall not rely on salvage timber sales as the basis for administrative action limiting other multiple use activities nor be required to offer a particular salvage timber sale. No project decision shall be required to be halted or delayed by such documents or guidance, implementation, or impacts.

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