H.R. 1459 — Introduced in House

I 113th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 1459 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES April 10, 2013 Mr. Bishop of Utah (for himself, Mr. Gosar, Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Walden, Mr. Pearce, Mrs. Lummis, Mr. Amodei, and Mr. Stewart) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To ensure that the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 applies to the declaration of national monuments, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act. 2. NEPA applicability to national monument declarations Section 2 of the Act of June 8, 1906 (16 U.S.C. 431; commonly known as the Antiquities Act of 1906) is amended— (1) by striking That the President and inserting the following: (a) That the President ; (2) by striking discretion, to declare and inserting discretion, subject to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), to declare; (3) by inserting before the final period the following . No more than one declaration shall be made in a State during any presidential four-year term of office without an express Act of Congress; and (4) by adding at the end the following: (b) A declaration under this section shall— (1) not include private property without the informed written consent of the owner of the private property affected by the declaration; (2) be considered a major Federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), if it affects more than 5,000 acres; (3) be categorically excluded under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and expire three years after the date of the declaration (unless specifically designated as a monument by Federal law), if it affects 5,000 acres or less; and (4) be followed by a feasibility study that includes an estimate of the costs associated with managing the monument in perpetuity, including any loss of Federal and State revenue, which shall be submitted to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and made available on the website of the Department of the Interior not later than one year after the date of the declaration. .