Agriculture

Enforcement Transparency Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015

Enforcement Transparency Act of 2015 This bill requires the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to issue and publish on its website guidelines relating to the calculation of civil fines for violating provisions of the Animal Welfare Act regarding the transportation, sale, and handling of certain animals. USDA must update the guidelines on a quarterly basis, provide notice on its website prior to making the updates, and publish the updates in the Federal Register.

Kisatchie National Forest Land Conveyance Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015

Kisatchie National Forest Land Conveyance Act Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to sell specified federal land in Winn Parish, Louisiana. Requires USDA to sell a portion of that land to Collins Camp Properties for the Collins Campsites. Requires sale proceeds to be used for the acquisition of lands and interests in the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana.

Great Lakes Assurance Program Verification Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015

Great Lakes Assurance Program Verification Act of 2015 This bill amends the Food Security Act of 1985 to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a Great Lakes basin initiative for agricultural nonpoint source pollution prevention. (Nonpoint source pollution comes from diffuse sources and is caused by precipitation moving over or through the ground and carrying pollution.) In implementing the initiative, USDA must: provide grants to Great Lakes states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, or Wisconsin) for education and outreach, technical assistance, and voluntary programs to verify implementation of practices to reduce nonpoint pollution from agricultural activities; establish a funding priority within the Great Lakes basin for payments to producers that participate in the initiative to achieve verification through a state verification program; and use existing data. In carrying out the initiative, states may collaborate with entities that have agricultural or environmental expertise, including academic or nonprofit organizations.

FUELS Act

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015

Farmers Undertake Environmental Land Stewardship Act or the FUELS Act This bill directs the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ease the application of the Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure (SPCC) rule on certain farms. The rule requires certain non-transportation-related facilities to prevent, prepare, and respond to oil discharges that may reach navigable waters or adjoining shorelines. Among other requirements, the rule requires those facilities to: (1) certify compliance with their SPCC plans; and (2) based on the plan, construct containment facilities that would hold the contents of aboveground oil storage tanks if they should spill. The bill increases the oil storage thresholds that necessitate compliance with those requirements by raising the aggregate aboveground oil storage capacity thresholds for: (1) farms required to have an SPCC plan, (2) farms that self-certify their SPCC plan, and (3) farms that require a certification of their SPCC plan from a professional engineer. The bill also raises the aboveground oil storage capacity of containers that must be included in calculating the aggregate aboveground storage capacity.

School Lunch Price Protection Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 21 July 2015

School Lunch Price Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to alter the formula that school food authorities are required to use to establish the price for a paid lunch (a lunch provided to children who are not eligible for free or reduced price meals). Specifically, the bill makes the formula applicable only to school food authorities that had a negative balance in their nonprofit school food service account for the previous school year.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Provides appropriations to USDA for Agricultural Programs, including: the Office of the Secretary; Executive Operations; the Office of the Chief Information Officer; the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; the Office of Civil Rights; Agriculture Buildings and Facilities; Hazardous Materials Management; the Office of Inspector General; the Office of the General Counsel; the Office of Ethics; the Economic Research Service; the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Agricultural Research Service; the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the Agricultural Marketing Service; the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; the Food Safety and Inspection Service; the Farm Service Agency; the Risk Management Agency; the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Provides appropriations to USDA for Conservation Programs, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Provides appropriations to USDA for Rural Development Programs, including Rural Development Salaries and Expenses, the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utilities Service. Provides appropriations to USDA for the Food and Nutrition Service, including: Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration. Provides appropriations to USDA for the Foreign Agricultural Service, including Food for Peace and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants. Provides appropriations for the Food and Drug Administration and the Farm Credit Administration. Rescinds specified unobligated balances from prior appropriations. Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.

Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015

Agriculture Equipment and Machinery Depreciation Act This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to eliminate the placed-in-service restriction on the depreciation of certain farming business machinery and equipment and to make permanent the five-year recovery period for such property.

WIC Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 July 2015

Wise Investment in our Children Act of 2015 or the WIC Act This bill amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and title XIX of the Social Security Act (Medicaid) to permit the age limit for children participating in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) to be increased from five to six if a state agency determines it is necessary to accommodate the unique circumstances of an individual child. The bill also permits states to certify infants (under one year of age) participating in the program for a period of up to two years.

A bill to amend the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to authorize the Secretary of Agriculture to maintain or replace certain facilities and structures for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch in Idaho, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2015

Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to direct the Department of the Interior, with respect to the Salmon River in Idaho, to authorize or continue to authorize maintenance or replacement of the facilities and structures listed in this Act for commercial recreation services at Smith Gulch.

Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2015

Feeding America through Farm Flexibility Act of 2015 This bill amends the Agricultural Act of 2014 to increase the number of acres on which agricultural producers are authorized to grow fruits and vegetables without a resulting reduction in the payment acres used to calculate price loss coverage and agriculture risk coverage payments. The increases are permitted if the crops on the additional acres are grown for sale or donation in a food desert, which is a census tract that: (1) has a poverty rate of at least 20%, and (2) provides difficult access to a retail outlet that provides a wide variety of fruits and vegetables.

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 15 July 2015

Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015 Directs the Forest Service to establish a Water Source Protection Program for National Forest System land derived from the public domain. Authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to non-federal partners. Authorizes USDA to produce a water source management plan. Directs the Forest Service to establish a Watershed Condition Framework for System land derived from the public domain to: evaluate and classify the condition of watersheds, identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland, develop a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed, prioritize restoration activities for each watershed restoration action plan, implement each watershed restoration action plan, and monitor the effectiveness of restoration actions and indicators of watershed health. Requires USDA, before awarding a contract funded by the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund, to determine whether the contractor has the ability to complete the proposed restoration activities, including: the financial ability to raise the funds necessary, and sufficient capacity to perform the type and scope of those activities. Reauthorizes the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund for each of FY2016-FY2024.

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

United States · United States Congress · 14 July 2015

Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations for the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies. Provides appropriations to USDA for Agricultural Programs, including: the Office of the Secretary; Executive Operations; the Office of the Chief Information Officer; the Office of the Chief Financial Officer; the Office of Civil Rights; Agriculture Buildings and Facilities; Hazardous Materials Management; the Office of Inspector General; the Office of the General Counsel; the Office of Ethics; the Economic Research Service; the National Agricultural Statistics Service, the Agricultural Research Service; the National Institute of Food and Agriculture; the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service; the Agricultural Marketing Service; the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration; the Food Safety and Inspection Service; the Farm Service Agency; the Risk Management Agency; the Federal Crop Insurance Corporation Fund; and the Commodity Credit Corporation Fund. Provides appropriations to USDA for Conservation Programs, including the Natural Resources Conservation Service. Provides appropriations to USDA for Rural Development Programs, including Rural Development Salaries and Expenses, the Rural Housing Service, the Rural Business-Cooperative Service, and the Rural Utilities Service. Provides appropriations to USDA for the Food and Nutrition Service, including: Child Nutrition Programs; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC); the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program); the Commodity Assistance Program; and Nutrition Programs Administration. Provides appropriations to USDA for the Foreign Agricultural Service, including Food for Peace Title II Grants and McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program Grants. Provides appropriations for the Food and Drug Administration, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and the Farm Credit Administration. Rescinds specified unobligated balances from prior appropriations. Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts.

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015

Chattahoochee-Oconee National Forest Land Adjustment Act of 2015 Authorizes the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to sell or exchange any or all interest of the United States in 30 tracts of National Forest System land in Georgia totaling approximately 3,841 acres. Authorizes USDA to reserve any rights-of-way or other rights or interests in land sold or exchanged under this Act that is considered necessary for management purposes or to protect the public interest. Prohibits USDA from selling or exchanging land under this Act for less than market value, as determined by an appraisal or through a competitive bid. Requires proceeds to be used for the acquisition of land for national forest purposes in Georgia.

Forest Incentives Program Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015

Forest Incentives Program Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish a forest incentives program to achieve supplemental greenhouse gas emission reductions and carbon sequestration on U.S. private forest land (eligible land) through: carbon incentives contracts, and conservation easement agreements. In selecting projects under such program, USDA shall give priority to contracts and agreements that: sequester the most carbon on a per acre basis; and create forestry jobs or protect habitats and achieve significant other environmental, economic, and social benefits. To participate in such program, an owner of eligible land must enter into a carbon incentives contract. USDA shall make financial incentive payments to owners of eligible land for: certain forestry practices that measurably increase carbon sequestration and storage over a designated period on eligible land, and conservation easements on eligible land covered under a conservation easement agreement. The Department of the Interior may set aside a portion of program funds to develop specified forest carbon modeling and methodologies and for other specified purposes. Interior shall establish a greenhouse gas incentives program to achieve supplemental greenhouse gas emission reductions from material choices in buildings. Interior shall provide owners of nonresidential buildings used for commercial or state or local government purposes incentive payments for the use of commercial or industrial products composed of biological products for sequestering carbon in those buildings. Program participants shall receive their payments upon the completion of the construction or renovation of the applicable building.

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to establish wildfire on Federal lands as a major disaster.

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015

Amends the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to define a "major disaster for wildfire on federal lands" as any wildfire that, in the determination of the President, warrants assistance under this Act to supplement the efforts and resources of the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture: (1) on federal lands, or (2) on non-federal lands pursuant to a fire protection agreement or cooperative agreement. Authorizes the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to submit a request to the President for a declaration that such a major disaster exists. Requires such a request to: certify that the amount appropriated in the current fiscal year for wildfire suppression operations of the federal land management agencies under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary, net of any concurrently enacted rescissions of wildfire suppression funds, increases the total unobligated balance of amounts available for wildfire suppression by an amount equal to or greater than the average total costs incurred by such agencies per year for wildfire suppression operations over the previous 10 fiscal years; certify that the amount available for wildfire suppression operations of the federal land management agencies under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretary will be obligated not later than 30 days after such Secretary notifies the President that wildfire suppression funds will be exhausted to fund ongoing and anticipated wildfire suppression operations related to the wildfire on which such request is based; and specify the amount required in the current fiscal year to fund wildfire suppression operations related to the wildfire on which such request is based. Authorizes the President to: (1) declare that such a major disaster exists based on such a request, (2) establish a specific account for assistance pursuant to such a declaration, and (3) transfer funds from such account to the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of Agriculture to conduct wildfire suppression operations on such lands. Requires the respective Secretary to secure reimbursement of transferred amounts used for wildfire suppression operations on non-federal land.

Extracurricular Programs for Indian Children Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 9 July 2015

Extracurricular Programs for Indian Children Act of 2015 This bill amends the Consolidated Farm and Rural Development Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to provide grants for before-school, after-school, and summer school programs for Indian and Alaska Native students. Entities eligible for grants include Indian tribes, local educational agencies with more than 10% Indian or Alaska Native students, schools within Indian reservations, tribal colleges and universities, and tribal nonprofit organizations. Grants may be used for activities that advance or improve student academic achievement and well-being, including education activities, Native language and culture programs, physical fitness activities, programs that promote parental involvement, substance abuse and violence prevention programs, health and mental health services, and transportation services. The bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act and the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 to make entities that are eligible for the grants in this Act eligible for the school lunch program, summer food service program for children, child and adult care food program, and school breakfast program.

Drought Recovery and Resilience Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 8 July 2015

Drought Recovery and Resilience Act of 2015 TITLE I--EMERGENCY DROUGHT RESPONSE APPROPRIATIONS FROM RECLAMATION FUND This bill provides emergency supplemental appropriations for FY2015 from the Reclamation Fund to the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Department of Justice (DOJ), and the Army Corps of Engineers for water projects, programs, grants, or loans in states impacted by drought. Interior is provided additional amounts for the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation), including amounts for water reclamation and reuse projects, the WaterSMART program under the Reclamation States Emergency Drought Relief Act of 1991, and water acquisition, water conveyance, and facilities construction under the Refuge Water Supply Program. The EPA is provided additional amounts for cleanup of polluted groundwater supplies, capitalization grants for state water pollution control revolving funds and for drinking water treatment revolving loan funds, and loans under the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 2014. USDA is provided additional amounts for: (1) the Rural Utilities Service for direct and guaranteed loans and grants for rural water, wastewater, and waste disposal programs; and (2) emergency grants, upon declaration of a natural disaster, to assist low-income migrant and seasonal farmworkers to address impacts of drought. Additional amounts are also provided to: DOJ for the Drug Enforcement Administration to assist state or local law enforcement agencies in the suppression of cannabis operations; the Army Corps to carry out the Water Resources and Development Act of 2007; and projects under the Land and Water Conservation Fund Act of 1965 in drought-affected states that reduce fire risk, improve water quality or downstream water quantity, or expand ground water recharge capacity. TITLE II--NEW WATER INFRASTRUCTURE PROGRAM AUTHORIZATIONS National Water Recycling and Reclamation Act of 2015 The EPA must establish a National Water Recycling and Reclamation Program to provide private or governmental entities with grants for up to 80% of the costs for water recycling and reclamation projects for which eligible costs are anticipated to exceed $1 million. Selection criteria for such grants include the extent to which projects address water demand and supply, environmental protection, and federal return on investment through renewable water supplies. Reclamation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act or RIFIA Interior may provide financial assistance, such as secured loans or loan guarantees, to private entities, state or local governments, irrigation districts, water users' associations, or other entities that contract with the United States under federal reclamation law to carry out water projects within the 17 western states served by Reclamation, other states where Reclamation is authorized to provide project assistance, Alaska, and Hawaii. Projects eligible for assistance include: reclamation and reuse of municipal, industrial, domestic, and agricultural wastewater and naturally impaired ground; water infrastructure projects that would contribute to a safe, adequate water supply for domestic, agricultural, environmental, or municipal and industrial use; new water conduits, pipelines, canals, pumping or power facilities; energy efficiency projects; accelerated repair and replacement of aging water distribution facilities; brackish or sea water desalination; or acquisition of real property or an interest therein for water storage, reclaimed or recycled water, or wastewater that is integral to an authorized project. Priority must be given to projects that promote wastewater recycling, agricultural or urban water conservation and efficiency, stormwater capture, or other innovations that reduce reliance on surface and groundwater supplies. To be eligible for assistance, eligible project costs of a project and other projects in a watershed must be reasonably anticipated to be at least $10 million. The interest of a secured loan may not be more than the yield on Treasury securities of a similar maturity. Interior may sell or reoffer into the capital markets a secured loan after the substantial completion of the project. The final maturity date of a secured loan may not be later than 35 years after the expected date of substantial completion of the underlying project. Interior may also enter into cost-shared financial assistance agreements with nonfederal entities in the 17 Reclamation-served western states or Hawaii to carry out the planning, design, and construction of any permanent water storage and conveyance facility used solely to regulate and maximize the water supply arising from a project that is eligible for assistance, including recycled water projects not congressionally authorized, to: (1) recycle wastewater or ground water, or (2) use integrated and coordinated water management on a watershed or regional scale. The federal share of the cost of such a project shall be: (1) nonreimbursable, and (2) the lesser of 50% of the total cost or $15 million (adjusted for inflation). Reclamation Title Transfer Act of 2015 Reclamation may establish a program that: (1) identifies and analyzes the potential for public benefits from the transfer of eligible facilities out of federal ownership, and (2) facilitates the transfer of such facilities to qualifying entities to promote more efficient management of water and water-related facilities. "Eligible facilities" is defined as reclamation projects or facilities (including dams and appurtenant works, infrastructure, recreational facilities, buildings, distribution and drainage works, and associated land or interests in land or water) for which the United States holds title and that meet the criteria for potential transfer. A "qualifying entity" is a state, local government, Indian tribe, municipal or quasi-municipal corporation, or other entity (such as a water district) that has the capacity to continue to manage the conveyed property for the same purposes that the property has been managed under the reclamation laws. Reclamation may convey an eligible facility to a qualifying entity if Congress is notified before the conveyance and does not disapprove. A right of first refusal is granted to a qualifying entity that is operating an eligible facility at the time conveyance is being considered. The bill terminates Reclamation's authority to carry out such conveyances 15 years after this Act's enactment. Innovative Stormwater Infrastructure Act of 2015 The EPA must provide grants to eligible higher education institutions and research institutions to establish and maintain between three and five centers of excellence for innovative stormwater control infrastructure. One of the centers must be the national electronic clearinghouse center and must operate a website and a public database on the infrastructure. The EPA must provide grants for innovative stormwater control infrastructure projects and must give priority to applications from: (1) a community that has combined storm and sanitary sewers in its collection system or is low-income or disadvantaged, or (2) an eligible entity that will use at least 10% of the grant for a low-income or disadvantaged community. The EPA must ensure that: (1) EPA offices promote the use of the infrastructure in, and coordinate its integration into, permitting programs, planning efforts, research, technical assistance, and funding guidance; and (2) the EPA's Office of Water supports establishing innovative financing mechanisms in the implementation of the infrastructure. The EPA must: (1) direct EPA regional offices to promote and integrate the use of the infrastructure, and (2) promote sharing information about the infrastructure approaches. The EPA must establish an innovative stormwater control infrastructure portfolio standard consisting of voluntary, measurable goals to increase the percentage of annual water managed by entities that use the infrastructure. TITLE III--IMPROVED INFRASTRUCTURE AND WATER MANAGEMENT Restoring America's Watersheds Act of 2015 The Forest Service must establish a Water Source Protection Program within the region of the National Forest System west of the 100th Meridian. USDA is authorized to enter into water source investment partnerships with specified end water users to protect and restore the condition of National Forest watersheds that provide water to nonfederal partners. The Forest Service must establish a Watershed Condition Framework within such region to: (1) identify for restoration up to five priority watersheds in each National Forest and up to two priority watersheds in each national grassland, and (2) develop and implement a watershed restoration action plan for each priority watershed. The Forest Service must also establish a Forest Service Legacy Roads and Trails Remediation Program within such region to: carry out critical maintenance and urgent repairs and improvements on National Forest System roads, trails, and bridges; restore fish and other aquatic organism passage by removing or replacing unnatural barriers to the passage of fish and other aquatic organisms; and decommission unneeded roads and trails. The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund is reauthorized through FY2024. Five Demonstrations of Advancing Yields by Fixing Operations of Reservoirs to Encompass Climatic and Atmospheric Science Trends Act The Department of the Army must establish up to five pilot projects to implement forecast-based reservoir operations in states with drought emergencies during water year 2015. Interior must establish a wind and solar energy leasing pilot program to conduct lease sales of certain sites located on Reclamation land for purposes of carrying out wind and solar energy projects. The bill sets forth procedures for qualified developers to bid on sites that Interior offers for lease. Interior, within five years after enactment of this Act, must determine whether to expand the pilot program to apply to all authorized Reclamation lands. The general term for issued leases is: (1) an initial term of 25 years, and (2) any additional period after the initial 25-year term during which electricity is being produced annually in commercial quantities from the lease. However, a lease term may not be more than 5 years for the placement and operation of a meteorological or data collection facility or for the development or demonstration of a new wind or solar energy technology. Interior must establish and require payment of a royalty as a condition of issued leases. The royalty must be a percentage of the gross proceeds from the sale of electricity produced on land that is the subject of the lease. Lease royalties and authorized bonuses collected by Interior must be distributed in a manner such that: 25% is paid to the states and 25% is paid to the counties within the boundaries of which the royalties or bonuses are derived; 25% is deposited into a Fish and Wildlife Restoration Fund for Interior to use or make payments to states, federal agencies, or others for protecting fish and wildlife in regions impacted by the development of hydropower by federal agencies and the development of wind or solar energy on Reclamation land; 15% is paid to state Reclamation offices during the first 15 years after enactment of this Act for purposes of reducing the number of renewable energy permits that have not been processed before the enactment of this Act; and the remainder is deposited into the general fund of the Treasury for purposes of reducing the annual federal budget deficit. The Safe Drinking Water Act is amended to require a state to operate an EPA-prescribed injection control program for underground wells if the EPA finds that the state improperly issued permits under the state's underground injection control program. DOJ must maintain a registry of incidents of cultivation of marijuana on government property or while intentionally trespassing on another's property. DOJ is authorized to use amounts from the Department of Justice Assets Forfeiture Fund to pay for costs incurred by state, local, or tribal governments in connection with the remediation of an area formerly used for the production or cultivation of marijuana in which such a government assisted in a federal prosecution related to marijuana. The bill requires court sentences for certain marijuana offenses to include an order requiring the defendant to reimburse federal, state, or local governments for costs incurred for cleanup associated with the cultivation of marijuana by the defendant or on premises or in property that the defendant owns, resides in, or does business in. The Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 2009 is amended to: (1) include "planning for or addressing the impact of drought" among the activities for which Reclamation may make grants and enter cooperative agreements for water management improvement, (2) include Hawaii among the states in which eligible grant and agreement applicants may be located, (3) reauthorize such grants and agreements for FY2015-FY2023, and (4) reauthorize the authority of the U.S. Geological Survey to provide grants to state water resource agencies under the national water availability and use assessment program for FY2014-FY2023. The Internal Revenue Code is amended to establish a refundable tax credit for the purchase and installation of a qualified water-harvesting system. The Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 is amended to authorize Interior, subject to feasibility studies and other specified conditions, to develop additional project benefits (such as additional conservation storage capacity) through the construction of new or supplementary works on a project in conjunction with its authority to modify Reclamation dams and related facilities to preserve their structural safety. Interior may expend available appropriated funds for construction of a project that meets certain environmental standards, but the bill prohibits the federal cost-share from exceeding 25% of the project costs. TITLE IV--PLANNING FOR THE FUTURE Water Innovation and Prize Competition Act of 2015 The Department of Energy must establish a program to award prizes for development of water desalination technologies. The Natural Resources Conservation Service must collaborate with Reclamation to provide assistance, upon request, to water or power delivery authorities for purposes of increasing water use efficiency and providing on-farm assistance to address water quantity and water quality conservation practices. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must prepare a California salmon drought plan. The President must update the National Response Plan and the National Disaster Recovery Framework to include a plan for catastrophic drought.

National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 7 July 2015

National Forest Small Tracts Act Amendments Act of 2015 Amends the Small Tract Act of 1983 (the Act) to permit the sale, exchange, or interchange under such Act of National Forest System lands the sale or exchange of which is not practicable under any other authority of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) which have a value determined to be not more than $500,000. Includes as those lands permitted to be sold, exchanged, or interchanged under the Act: parcels of 40 acres or less that are determined to be physically isolated, to be inaccessible, or to have lost their National Forest character; parcels of 10 acres or less which are not eligible for conveyance under such Act, but which are encroached on by a permanent habitable improvement for which there is no evidence that the encroachment was intentional or negligent; or parcels used as a cemetery, a landfill, or a sewage treatment plant under a special use authorization issued by the USDA. Requires any proceeds under this Act to be deposited in the special fund established under the Sisk Act and made available for: the acquisition of land or interests in land for administrative sites for the National Forest System (NFS) in the state from which the amounts were derived; the acquisition of land or interests in land for inclusion in the NFS in that state, including those which enhance opportunities for recreational access; the performance of deferred maintenance on administrative sites for the NFS in that state or other deferred maintenance activities in that state which enhance opportunities for recreational access; and the reimbursement of the USDA for costs incurred in preparing a competitive sale conducted under the authority of the Act.

LEGISLATIVE HEARING ON H.R. 1937, TO REQUIRE THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR AND THE SECRETARY OF AGRICULTURE TO MORE EFFICIENTLY DEVELOP DOMESTIC SOURCES OF THE MINERALS AND MINERAL MATERIALS OF STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL IMPORTANCE TO UNITED STATES ECONOMIC AND NATIONAL SECURITY AND MANUFACTURING COMPETITIVENESS, "NATIONAL STRATEGIC AND CRITICAL MINERALS PRODUCTION ACT OF 2015"

United States · United States House of Representatives · 25 June 2015

Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015

Western Water and American Food Security Act of 2015 Defines: (1) "Delta" as the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and the Suisun Marsh; and (2) "negative impact on the long-term survival" as an appreciable reduction in the likelihood of the survival of a listed species in the wild by reducing the reproduction, numbers, or distribution of that species. TITLE I--ADJUSTING DELTA SMELT MANAGEMENT BASED ON INCREASED REAL-TIME MONITORING AND UPDATED SCIENCE Requires the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), by October 1, 2016, and at least every five years thereafter, to cooperate with federal, California, and local agencies to use updated scientific and commercial data to modify the calculation of incidental take levels for adult and larval/juvenile Delta smelt in the biological opinion for the Central Valley Project (CVP) and the State Water Project (SWP) issued by the USFWS on December 15, 2008. Directs the USFWS to implement and make appropriate amendments to the reasonable and prudent alternative described in that smelt biological opinion. Requires the Department of the Interior to make all significant decisions in writing under the smelt opinion and any successor opinions affecting the CVP or the SWP. Requires Interior, on an annual basis, to determine: (1) the extent that adult Delta smelt are distributed in relation to certain levels of turbidity or other environmental factors that may influence salvage rate, and (2) how the CVP and SWP may be operated to minimize salvage while maximizing export pumping rates without causing a significant negative impact on the long-term survival of the Delta smelt. Requires Interior, if suspended sediment loads from the Sacramento River appear likely to raise turbidity levels in specified areas during each period from December through March, to conduct daily monitoring to determine how increased trawling can inform real-time CVP and SWP operations. Directs Interior, by January 1, 2016, and at least every five years thereafter, in collaboration with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), the California Department of Water Resources, public water agencies, and other interested entities, to implement new targeted sampling and monitoring specifically designed to understand Delta smelt abundance, distribution, and habitats during all life stages. Requires Interior, in implementing the smelt biological opinion pertaining to reverse flow in the Old and Middle River (OMR), to maximize CVP and SWP water supplies by managing export pumping rates to a reverse flow rate of -5,000 cubic feet per second, unless Interior provides documentation concluding that a less negative OMR flow rate is necessary to avoid a negative impact on the long-term survival of Delta smelt. Directs Interior to manage a more negative OMR flow rate if it can be established without an imminent negative impact. Requires the Bureau of Reclamation (Reclamation) and the USFWS to execute a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to ensure that the smelt biological opinion is implemented in a manner that maximizes water supply while complying with applicable laws and regulations. Provides a framework under which reinitiation of consultation is unnecessary if any changes that the MOU makes to the biological opinion will not have a significant negative impact on the long-term survival on listed species and would not be a major change to implementation of the biological opinion. Prohibits procedural changes that do not create a significant negative impact on long-term survival from altering application of the take permitted by the incidental take statement in the biological opinion. Directs Interior, for purposes of increasing CVP and SWP water supplies, to revise the method of calculating reverse flow in the OMR for implementation of the reasonable and prudent alternatives in the USFWS's smelt biological opinion, the salmonid biological opinion issued by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on June 4, 2009, and any succeeding opinion. TITLE II--ENSURING SALMONID MANAGEMENT IS RESPONSIVE TO NEW SCIENCE Establishes a process for Reclamation and the Assistant Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for Fisheries to provide for implementation of the reasonable and prudent alternative described in the NMFS's salmonid biological opinion to be adjusted as new scientific and commercial data is developed. Requires Interior and the Department of Commerce, annually, to direct Reclamation and the Assistant Administrator to implement certain recommended adjustments to project operations that, in the exercise of the adaptive management provisions of the salmonid biological opinion, will reduce water supply impacts of the salmonid biological opinion on the CVP and the SWP. Requires implementation of adjustments for which: (1) the net effect on listed salmonid species and the Delta smelt is equivalent to those of the underlying project operational parameters in the salmonid biological opinion, and (2) the effects of the adjustment can be expected to fall within incidental take authorizations. Requires Reclamation and the Assistant Administrator to evaluate potential species survival improvements likely to result from other measures that, if implemented, would offset adverse effects. Requires the Assistant Administrator to compare existing measures to increase through-Delta survival of salmonid through restrictions on export pumping rates to possible alternative management measures to increase salmonid survival through: (1) physical habitat restoration improvements, (2) predation control programs, (3) installation of temporary barriers or management of Cross Channel Gates operations, (4) salvaging near Clifton Court Forebay, or (5) conservation hatchery programs. Directs Reclamation to implement such an alternative measure in order to increase export rates if the Assistant Administrator determines that: (1) the alternative measure is technically feasible and within federal jurisdiction, or (2) California or a local agency has certified that it has the authority and capability to implement the alternative measure. Requires Commerce and California's Oakdale and South San Joaquin Irrigation Districts to conduct a nonnative predator fish removal program to remove nonnative striped bass, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, black bass, and other nonnative predator fish species from the Stanislaus River. Requires the districts to be responsible for 100% of the cost of the program. TITLE III--OPERATIONAL FLEXIBILITY AND DROUGHT RELIEF Requires the Departments of Agriculture (USDA), Commerce, and the Interior to approve projects and operations to provide the maximum quantity of water supplies practicable (to all individuals or districts that receive CVP water under water service or repayment contracts, water rights settlement contracts, exchange contracts, or refuge contracts or agreements, to SWP contractors, and to any other tribe, locality, water agency, or municipality in California) to address the emergency drought conditions for the period of time such that in any year that the Sacramento Valley Index is 6.5 or lower, or at California's request, and until two succeeding years after either of those events has been completed where the final index is 7.8 or greater. Provides for: (1) temporary barriers or operable gates to be designed so that formal consultations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA) are not necessary; (2) adoption of a 1:1 inflow to export ratio under specified conditions, as measured as a three-day running average at Vernalis during the period beginning on April 1, and ending on May 31, absent a determination in writing that a more restrictive inflow to export ratio is required to avoid a significant negative impact on the long-term survival of a listed salmonid species under the ESA; and (3) water transfers through the C.W. "Bill" Jones Pumping Plant or the Harvey O. Banks Pumping Plant from April 1 to November 30 if the transfers comply with California law. Provides expedited procedures for consideration of requests by the California governor relating to federal, state, or local projects or operations to provide relief for emergency drought conditions. Allows USDA, Commerce, or Interior to deem alternative arrangements for a project to be in compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) during emergency drought conditions if immediate implementation is necessary to address: (1) human health and safety, or (2) a specific and imminent loss of agriculture production upon which an identifiable region depends for 25% or more of its tax revenue used to support public services. Sets forth requirements concerning: (1) development of drought plans; (2) operation of the Delta Cross Channel Gates; (3) the averaging period of the Delta Export/Inflow ratio pursuant to California State Water Resources Control Board decision D1641; (4) use of groundwater resources, implementation of offsite upstream projects in the Delta and upstream of the Sacramento River and San Joaquin basins, management of reverse flow in the OMR, and actions to expedite CVP water transfers; (5) a program to allow certain agricultural, refuge, municipal, and industrial water service contractors to reschedule water provided for under CVP contracts from one year to the next; and (6) implementation of the Modified Lower American River Flow Management Standard to improve water supply reliability for CVP American River water contractors and resource protection in the lower American River during consecutive dry years under current and future demand and climate change conditions. Repeals the San Joaquin River Restoration Settlement Act and the related settlement. Deems certain fish and game requirements to be satisfied by the existence of a warm water fishery in the San Joaquin River that has an environment suitable for species of fish other than salmon and trout. TITLE IV--CALFED STORAGE FEASIBILITY STUDIES Establishes deadlines for water storage feasibility studies concerning specified dams and reservoirs under Calfed Bay-Delta Authorization Act. Requires Interior, if it finds the Temperance Flat Reservoir Project on the Upper San Joaquin River to be feasible, to manage land recommended in the Bakersfield Field Office, Record of Decision and Approved Resource Management Plan (dated December 2014) for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, regardless of whether Interior submits any official recommendation to Congress. Allows Reclamation to partner or enter into an agreement on certain water storage projects identified in the Water Supply Reliability and Environmental Improvement Act with local joint powers authorities formed pursuant to state law by irrigation districts and other local water districts and local governments within the applicable hydrologic region. Authorizes Interior to carry out feasible projects, but prohibits federal funds from being used for construction. TITLE V--WATER RIGHTS PROTECTIONS Directs Interior to confer with the CDFW on potential impacts to any consistency determination for operations of the SWP resulting from the implementation of this Act. Requires Interior, in the operation of the CVP, to adhere to California laws governing water rights priorities and honor water rights senior to those held by the United States for operation of the CVP, regardless of the source of priority, including any appropriative water rights initiated prior to December 19, 1914. Requires Interior to ensure that actions taken to comply with environmental laws do not: (1) result in the involuntary reduction of water supply or fiscal impacts to recipients of water from either the SWP or the United States, or (2) cause redirected adverse water supply or fiscal impacts to those within the Sacramento River or San Joaquin River watersheds or the SWP service area. Directs Interior, in the operation of the CVP, to allocate water provided for irrigation purposes to existing CVP agricultural water service contractors within the Sacramento River Watershed in compliance with specified allocation percentages. Makes Interior's allocations subject to: (1) the priority of individuals or entities with Sacramento River water rights, (2) the U.S. obligation to make a substitute supply of water available to the San Joaquin River Exchange Contractors, and (3) Interior's obligation to make water available to managed wetlands pursuant to the Central Valley Project Improvement Act. Declares that Interior's allocation authority shall not be deemed to: (1) modify any provision of a water service contract that addresses municipal and industrial water shortage policies; (2) affect or limit Interior's authority to adopt, modify, or implement municipal and industrial water shortage policies; (3) affect allocations to CVP municipal and industrial contractors, including the utilization of such allocations as primary water sources for such contractors for purposes of calculating municipal and industrial water shortages; or (4) result in the involuntary reduction in contract water allocations to individuals or entities with contracts to receive water from the Friant Division. Requires Interior to develop and implement a program to allow existing CVP agricultural water service contractors within the Sacramento River Watershed to reschedule water, provided for under their water service contracts, from one year to the next. Declares that nothing in this Act preempts or modifies any existing obligation of the United States under federal reclamation law to operate the CVP in conformity with state law, including established water rights priorities. TITLE VI--MISCELLANEOUS Includes the Kettleman City Community Services District within the CVP's authorized service area. Requires Interior to enter a long-term contract with such district for the delivery of up to 900 acre-feet of CVP water for municipal and industrial use, limited to the minimal quantity necessary to meet immediate needs if local supplies or SWP allocations are insufficient. Amends the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to establish an advisory board to make recommendations to the Secretary of the Interior regarding expenditures from the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund. Sets forth requirements concerning: (1) the accounting of CVP water credited to the quantity of CVP yield, and (2) implementation of an updated plan to increase the yield of the CVP by the amount dedicated to fish and wildlife purposes. Prohibits Interior and Commerce from distinguishing between natural-spawned and hatchery-spawned or otherwise artificially propagated strains of a species in making any determination under the ESA that relates to any anadromous or pelagic fish species that resides in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta or tributary rivers. Directs Interior to negotiate with interested local water and power providers to transfer ownership, control, and operation of the CVP's New Melones Unit to interested local water and power providers in California. Directs Reclamation, in carrying out the climate change adaptation program, to expand opportunities and expedite assessments, with nonfederal partners, of risks to the water supply of sub-basins and watersheds within major Reclamation river basins. Requires Reclamation to ensure timely decision and expedited implementation of adaptation and mitigation strategies developed through the special study process. Makes nonfederal partners responsible for 100% of the special study costs. Prohibits Interior, in operation of the CVP's Trinity River Division, from making releases from Lewiston Dam in excess of the volume for each water-year type (i.e., critically dry, dry, normal, wet, extremely wet) required by Interior's record of decision in the Trinity River Mainstem Fishery Restoration Final Environmental Impact Statement/Environmental Impact Report dated December 2000. Restricts the definition of "anadromous fish" under the Central Valley Project Improvement Act to mean only native stocks of salmon (including steelhead) and sturgeon that were present in the Sacramento and San Joaquin Rivers as of October 30, 1992, and that ascend those rivers and their tributaries to reproduce after maturing in San Francisco Bay or the Pacific Ocean. TITLE VII--WATER SUPPLY PERMITTING ACT Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act Establishes Reclamation as the lead agency for purposes of coordinating all reviews, analyses, opinions, statements, permits, licenses, or other approvals or decisions (reviews) required under federal law to construct qualifying projects (defined as new surface water storage projects in the states covered under the Act of June 17, 1902, and Acts supplemental to and amendatory of that Act on lands administered by Interior or USDA, exclusive of any easement, right-of-way, lease, or any private holding). Directs Reclamation: (1) upon receipt of an application for a qualifying project, to identify any federal agency that may have jurisdiction over a required review; and (2) to notify such agency that it has been designated as a cooperating agency unless the agency notifies Reclamation that the agency has no jurisdiction or authority over the project, has no expertise or information relevant to the project or any associated review, or does not intend to submit comments other than in cooperation with Reclamation. Requires each cooperating agency to submit to Reclamation: (1) a time frame for completing the agency's authorizing responsibilities, (2) all environmental review material produced in the course of carrying out activities required under federal law consistent with the project schedule, and (3) all relevant project data. Allows a state in which a qualifying project is being considered to choose to: (1) participate as a cooperating agency; and (2) make subject to the processes of this title all state agencies that have jurisdiction over the project, that are required to conduct or issue a review, or that are required to make a determination on issuing a permit, license, or approval for the project. Lists as Reclamation's principal responsibilities under this title: (1) to serve as the point of contact for applicants, state agencies, Indian tribes, and others regarding proposed qualifying projects; (2) to coordinate preparation of unified environmental documentation that will serve as the basis for all federal decisions necessary to authorize the use of federal lands for qualifying projects; and (3) to coordinate all federal agency reviews necessary for the development and construction of qualifying projects. Authorizes Interior to accept and expend funds contributed by a nonfederal public entity to expedite the evaluation of a permit of that entity related to a qualifying project. Directs Interior to ensure that all final permit decisions are made available to the public, including on the Internet. TITLE VIII--BUREAU OF RECLAMATION PROJECT STREAMLINING Bureau of Reclamation Project Streamlining Act Sets forth provisions governing feasibility studies for water projects initiated by Interior under the Reclamation Act of 1902 (project studies). Requires a project study initiated after enactment of this title to: (1) result in the completion of a final feasibility report within three years; (2) have a maximum federal cost of $3 million; and (3) ensure that personnel from the local project area, region, and Reclamation's headquarters levels concurrently conduct the required review. Sets forth factors for extending such time line for complex projects. Requires Interior, within 90 days after the initiation of a project study, to: (1) initiate the process for completing reviews, including environmental reviews, required to be completed as part of such study; (2) convene a meeting of federal, tribal, and state agencies required to act; and (3) provide information that will enable required reviews and analyses to be conducted by other agencies in a thorough and timely manner. Directs Interior to: (1) expedite the completion of any ongoing project study initiated before the enactment of this title; and (2) proceed directly to preconstruction planning, engineering, and design of a project that it determines is justified. Sets forth requirements applicable to: (1) project studies initiated after enactment of this title for which an environmental impact statement is prepared under NEPA; (2) other project studies initiated before such enactment for which an environmental review process document is prepared under NEPA; and (3) any project study for the development of a nonfederally owned and operated surface water storage project for which Interior determines there is a demonstrable federal interest and that is located in a river basin where other Reclamation water projects are located, that will create additional water supplies that support Reclamation water projects, or that will become integrated into the operation of Reclamation water projects. Requires Interior to: annually prepare a list of all such studies that do not have adequate funding for study completion; develop and implement a coordinated environmental review process for the development of such studies; identify early all federal, state, and local government agencies and Indian tribes that may have jurisdiction and that may be required to act, which the federal lead agency shall invite to become participating or cooperating agencies; issue guidance regarding the use of programmatic approaches to carry out the environmental review process; and establish an electronic database and issue reporting requirements to make publicly available the status and progress with respect to compliance with applicable NEPA requirements and other action required for a project study. Sets forth the authorities and responsibilities of the joint lead agency, which may be a project sponsor, and the federal lead agency in the environmental review process, including: (1) the preparation and use of environmental documents; (2) establishing a plan for coordinating public and agency participation; (3) working with cooperating and participating agencies to identify and resolve issues that could delay process completion or result in the denial of any approval required for the project study; and (4) establishing, upon request, memoranda of agreement with the project sponsor, Indian tribes, and state and local governments to carry out the early coordination activities. Requires a federal lead agency to serve in that capacity for the entirety of all nonfederal projects that will be integrated into a larger system owned, operated, or administered by Reclamation. Directs Interior, upon determining that a project can be expedited by a nonfederal sponsor and that there is a demonstrable federal interest in expediting the project, to advance it as a nonfederal project. Requires a federal jurisdictional agency to complete any required approval or decision for the environmental review process on an expeditious basis. Provides for a reduction of funds for such an agency that fails to render such a decision by a specified deadline. Directs Interior to: (1) survey the use by Reclamation of categorical exclusions in projects since 2005 and propose a new categorical exclusion for a category of activities if merited, and (2) establish a program to measure and report on progress made toward improving and expediting the planning and environmental review process. Requires Interior to develop and submit annually a Report to Congress on Future Water Project Development that identifies: (1) the costs and benefits of, the nonfederal interests associated with, and the support for project reports, proposed project studies, and proposed modifications to authorized water projects and project studies that are related to Reclamation's missions and authorities, that require specific congressional authorization, that have not been congressionally authorized, that have not been included in any previous annual report, and that, if authorized, could be carried out by Reclamation; and (2) any project study that was expedited under this title. Specifies surface water storage, rural water supply, wastewater, and groundwater projects to be included in such studies and reports. TITLE IX--ACCELERATED REVENUE, REPAYMENT, AND SURFACE WATER STORAGE ENHANCEMENT Accelerated Revenue, Repayment, and Surface Water Storage Enhancement Act Directs Interior to convert certain existing water service contracts between the United States and water users' associations to repayment contracts to allow for prepayment of such contracts, upon the request of the contractor. Specifies the manner of conversion and the terms and conditions of prepayment. Requires a specified percentage of certain receipts generated from prepayment of contracts under this title, beyond amounts necessary to cover the amount of receipts forgone from scheduled payments under current law for the 10-year period following the enactment of this title, to be directed to the Reclamation Surface Water Storage Account. Requires the Secretary to allocate amounts in such Account to fund the construction of surface water storage for: increased municipal and industrial water supply; agricultural floodwater, erosion, and sedimentation reduction; agricultural drainage improvements; agricultural irrigation; increased recreation opportunities; and reduced adverse impacts to fish and wildlife from water storage or diversion projects within watersheds associated with water storage projects funded under this Act. TITLE X--SAFETY OF DAMS Amends the Reclamation Safety of Dams Act of 1978 to authorize Interior, subject to a feasibility study, to develop additional project benefits (including additional conservation storage capacity) through the construction of new or supplementary works when it exercises its authority to modify Reclamation dams and related facilities to preserve their structural safety, provided that: (1) the additional project benefits will promote more efficient management of water and water-related facilities, (2) the feasibility study is authorized under the Federal Water Project Recreation Act of 1965, and (3) the costs are allocated to the authorized purposes of the structure and repaid consistent with federal reclamation law. TITLE XI--WATER RIGHTS PROTECTION Water Rights Protection Act Prohibits Interior and USDA from: conditioning or withholding the issuance, renewal, amendment, or extension of any permit, approval, license, lease, allotment, easement, right-of-way, or other land use or occupancy agreement (permit) on the limitation or encumbrance of any water right or the transfer of any water right to the United States or any other designee or on any other impairment of any water right under state law by federal or state action; requiring any water user (including a federally recognized Indian tribe) to apply for or acquire a water right in the name of the United States under state law as a condition of such a permit; asserting jurisdiction over groundwater withdrawals or impacts on groundwater resources, unless consistent with state groundwater resource laws, regulations, and policies; or infringing on the rights and obligations of a state in evaluating, allocating, and adjudicating state waters originating on or under, or flowing from, land owned or managed by the federal government.

National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015

National Forest Ecosystem Improvement Act of 2015 This bill directs the Department of Agriculture (USDA), acting through the Forest Service, to identify, prioritize, and carry out ecosystem restoration projects on National Forest System land in accordance with applicable land and resource management plans, if any, to accomplish one or more of the following objectives: restore terrestrial habitat; sustain water quality, water flows, or watershed health and function; create, improve, or increase early seral habitat; carry out a needed timber stand improvement; reduce the risk or extent of insect or disease infestation; reduce wildland fire severity potential; implement a community wildfire protection plan; or establish, recover, or maintain ecosystem resiliency. USDA may not carry out an ecosystem restoration project on any area of System land in the National Wilderness Preservation System or on which removal of vegetation is prohibited by law. USDA must accomplish restoration treatments throughout the National Forest System on 1 million acres using certain mechanical treatment methods and on another 1 million acres using prescribed fire. USDA shall prepare an environmental assessment in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for each ecosystem restoration project that accomplishes one or more objectives of this Act. USDA shall study, develop, and describe in each ecosystem restoration project both the proposed action and a no-action alternative. USDA shall establish within the Forest Service an arbitration program as an alternative dispute resolution process in lieu of judicial review for specified types of ecosystem restoration projects. The judicial review of an action challenging an ecosystem restoration project under this Act shall be subject to specified plaintiff bonding requirements. A categorical exclusion is made available to USDA for certain forest management activities in order to: (1) expedite specified critical response actions, (2) expedite salvage operations in response to catastrophic events, and (3) meet forest plan goals for early successional forests. (A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) For each forest management activity covered by a categorical exclusion granted by this title, USDA shall satisfy the interagency consultation obligations under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 by achieving compliance with certain alternative consultation procedures established by federal regulation.

To prohibit the Department of Agriculture from obligating or expending any funds for grants awarded for research on the prevention of rose rosette disease, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 25 June 2015

This bill prohibits the Department of Agriculture from using funds for grants or cooperative agreements for research on the prevention of rose rosette disease. The bill also rescinds any unobligated balances from appropriations provided for this purpose. Rose rosette disease is caused by a plant virus that is transmitted by mites and can kill infected roses.

National Forest Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2015

National Forest Foundation Reauthorization Act of 2015 This bill amends the National Forest Foundation Act to authorize the Department of Agriculture to provide for each of FY2016-FY2018 matching funds for certain administrative and project expenses incurred by the National Forest Foundation.

A bill to amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to modify and make permanent bonus depreciation.

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2015

This bill amends the Internal Revenue Code to make permanent the additional 50% depreciation allowance, known as bonus depreciation, for depreciable business property (i.e., qualified property) placed in service after December 31, 2014. The term "qualified property" is modified to include qualified improvement property, in lieu of qualified leasehold improvement property, which is defined as any improvement to an interior portion of a building that is nonresidential real property if such improvement is placed in service after the date such building was first placed in service. The bill also increases by $8,000 (with an annual inflation adjustment after 2015) the maximum allowable depreciation deduction for a passenger automobile (i.e., any 4-wheeled vehicle that is manufactured primarily for use on public streets, roads, and highways and is rated at 6,000 pounds unloaded gross vehicle weight or less). Also made permanent, for taxable years ending after December 31, 2014, is the election to increase the alternative minium tax credit limitation in lieu of bonus depreciation. The bill allows an additional depreciation allowance for any specified plant that is planted, or grafted to a plant that has already been planted, by the taxpayer in the ordinary course of the taxpayer's farming business. The term "specified plant" means: (1) any tree or vine that bears fruits or nuts, and (2) any other plant that will have more than one yield of fruits or nuts and that generally has a period of more than two years from the time of planting or grafting to the time at which such plant begins bearing fruits or nuts. This allowance is applicable to specified plants planted or grafted after December 31, 2014. Finally, the bill prohibits the entry of the budgetary effects of this Act on any PAYGO scorecard maintained pursuant to the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go Act of 2010.

A bill to amend the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude certain cotton futures contracts from coverage under that Act.

United States · United States Congress · 24 June 2015

This bill amends the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude cotton future contracts involving cotton that is grown outside of the United States and tendered for delivery from coverage under the Act, including the requirement that the cotton be classified by the Department of Agriculture.

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and related agencies. Provides appropriations to Interior for: the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education. Provides appropriations to Interior for Departmental Offices, including the Office of the Secretary, Insular Affairs, the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. Provides appropriations to Interior for Department-Wide Programs, including Wildland Fire Management, the Central Hazardous Materials Fund, the Natural Resources Damage Assessment Fund, and the Working Capital Fund. Provides appropriations to the EPA. Provides appropriations to the Department of Agriculture (USDA) for the Forest Service. Provides appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service, the National Institutes of Health for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Provides appropriations to: the Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality; the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; the Smithsonian Institution; the National Gallery of Art; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Commission of Fine Arts; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the National Capital Planning Commission; the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum; and the Dwight D. Eisenhower Memorial Commission. Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts. Amends the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 to require specified adjustments to discretionary spending limits in FY2016-FY2021 to accommodate appropriations for wildfire suppression operations in the Wildland Fire Management accounts at USDA and Interior.

Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 23 June 2015

Pet Safety and Protection Act of 2015 This bill amends the Animal Welfare Act to revise the list of permissible sources of dogs and cats used by research facilities to include dogs and cats obtained: (1) from a licensed dealer, (2) from a publicly owned and operated pound or shelter that meets specified requirements, (3) by donation from a person who bred and raised the dog or cat or owned it for not less than one year, or (4) from a research facility licensed by the Department of Agriculture. The requirements pertaining to sources apply to dogs and cats obtained through sales, donations, or offers. Monetary penalties are established for violations.

Savings Act

United States · United States Congress · 22 June 2015

Water Supply Cost Savings Act or the Savings Act This bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Agriculture to: (1) update their programs that provide drinking water technical assistance by including information on cost-effective, innovative, and alternative drinking water delivery systems; and (2) disseminate information on the cost effectiveness of alternative drinking water delivery systems, including wells and well systems, to communities and nonprofit organizations seeking federal funding for drinking water systems serving 500 or fewer persons. In applications for a grant or loan from the federal government or a state that is using federal assistance for drinking water systems serving 500 or fewer persons, applicants must self-certify that they have considered as an alternative drinking water supply, drinking water delivery systems sourced by publicly-owned individual, shared, and community wells.

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016

United States · United States Congress · 18 June 2015

Department of the Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2016 Provides FY2016 appropriations for the Department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency, and related agencies. Provides appropriations to the Department of the Interior for: the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Park Service, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs and Bureau of Indian Education. Provides appropriations to Interior for Departmental Offices, including the Office of the Secretary, Insular Affairs, the Office of the Solicitor, the Office of Inspector General, and the Office of the Special Trustee for American Indians. Provides appropriations to Interior for Department-Wide Programs, including Wildland Fire Management, the FLAME Wildfire Suppression Reserve Fund, the Central Hazardous Materials Fund, the Natural Resources Damage Assessment Fund, and the Working Capital Fund. Provides appropriations to the Environmental Protection Agency. Provides appropriations to the Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service. Provides appropriations to the Department of Health and Human Services for the Indian Health Service, the National Institutes of Health for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry. Provides appropriations to: the Executive Office of the President for the Council on Environmental Quality and the Office of Environmental Quality; the Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board; the Office of Navajo and Hopi Indian Relocation; the Institute of American Indian and Alaska Native Culture and Arts Development; the Smithsonian Institution; the National Gallery of Art; the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts; the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities; the Commission of Fine Arts; the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation; the National Capital Planning Commission; and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Sets forth permissible, restricted, and prohibited uses for funds provided by this and other appropriations Acts. Rescinds specified amounts previously appropriated to agencies funded in this bill.

Save Oak Flat Act

United States · United States Congress · 17 June 2015

Save Oak Flat Act This bill repeals the provisions under the Carl Levin and Howard P. "Buck" McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2015 providing for a land exchange between the Department of Agriculture and Resolution Copper Mining, LLC. Under the provisions of that Act, 2,422 acres of Forest Service land located in Pinal County, Arizona, are to be exchanged for various parcels of land owned by Resolution Copper.

Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act

United States · United States Congress · 16 June 2015

Renewable Fuel Standard Repeal Act This bill amends the Clean Air Act to repeal the renewable fuel standard, which requires transportation fuel sold in the United States to contain a minimum volume of renewable fuel. The bill amends the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 to repeal a requirement that the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency assess and report to Congress on the impact of the renewable fuel program on environmental issues, resource conservation issues, and the growth and use of cultivated invasive or noxious plants and their impact on the environment and agriculture. The bill also nullifies certain regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations relating to the renewable fuel standard.

CARE Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 12 June 2015

Children's Act for Responsible Employment of 2015 or the CARE Act of 2015 Amends the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 to define "oppressive child labor," for purposes of the Act's child labor prohibitions, as the employment of any employee who is: 16 or 17 in any occupation found by the Department of Labor to be particularly hazardous for their employment or detrimental to their health or well-being; 14 or 15, unless the employment is confined to periods which do not interfere with the employee's schooling, health, or well-being; or under 14. Revises the Act's exemptions to make the restrictions on oppressive child labor inapplicable to the following: employment in agriculture of an employee under age 18 by his or her parent, or by a person standing in the place of the parent, on a farm owned by the parent or person (current law uses an age- and consent-based scheme); and employment of an employee under age 16 by a parent, or a person standing in place of a parent, other than in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, or any other employment the Department finds to be particularly hazardous for the employment of children age 16 or 17 or detrimental to their health or well-being. (Current law applies the child labor restrictions to particularly hazardous agricultural employment, except where the child is employed by a parent or a person standing in place of the parent on a farm owned or operated by such person). Eliminates any waiver of such prohibitions for hand-harvesting of certain crops. Increases civil and establishes criminal penalties for child labor violations. Directs the Department to revise federal child labor regulations to prohibit the employment of children under age 18 in duties involving the handling of pesticides.

Youth Justice Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015

Youth Justice Act of 2015 Amends the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act of 1974 (JJDPA) to: increase funding for such Act in each of FY2016-FY2020 and authorize appropriations at the FY2020 level for each succeeding fiscal year; include as one of the purposes of such Act the support of a trauma-informed continuum of programs (including delinquency prevention, intervention, mental health, behavioral health, substance abuse treatment, and aftercare) to address the needs of at-risk youth and youth who come into contact with the justice system; require the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (Office) to develop a long-term plan to improve the juvenile justice system, taking into account scientific knowledge regarding adolescent development and behavior; include the Administrator of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of Agriculture on the Coordinating Council on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; expand the annual reporting requirement of the Office to include information on the use of restraints and isolation upon juveniles held in custody; require states to implement plans to ensure fairness and reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the detention of juveniles; enhance requirements for separating juveniles from sight or sound contact with adult lock-ups; terminate, three years after the enactment of this Act, the authority of a court to issue an order detaining juveniles in adult lockups who have not been charged with adult criminal offenses (status offenders); require the Office to report annually on policies and procedures to eliminate dangerous practices and unreasonable use of restraints in the detention of juveniles; expand requirements for state plans for juvenile justice and delinquency prevention to include community-based alternatives to the detention of juveniles in correctional facilities; provide technical assistance to states and local governments for achieving compliance with the requirements of this Act; and authorize the Office to make incentive grants to states and local governments to increase the use of evidence-based or promising prevention and intervention programs for juveniles who enter the criminal justice system and for the recruitment and training of professional personnel. Amends the Incentive Grants for Local Delinquency Prevention Programs Act of 2002 to include mentoring programs in delinquency prevention grant programs. Requires the Government Accountability Office to conduct: (1) a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention; and (2) a comprehensive audit and evaluation of selected grant recipients, including a review of internal controls to prevent fraud, waste, and abuse. Requires audits of all JJDPA grants awarded by the Department of Justice (DOJ). Prohibits: (1) the award of a JJDPA grant to a tax-exempt nonprofit organization that holds money in offshore accounts for the purpose of avoiding the tax on unrelated business income; (2) the hosting or supporting of DOJ conferences that use more than $20,000 of DOJ funds without prior written authorization; and (3) lobbying of representatives of DOJ or of a federal, state, local, or tribal government regarding the award of grant funding. Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to require states, as a condition of receiving juvenile accountability block grants, to provide assurances of compliance with the core requirement of JJDPA applicable to the detention and confinement of juveniles.

Highways Bettering the Economy and Environment Pollinator Protection Act

United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015

Highways Bettering the Economy and Environment Pollinator Protection Act This bill authorizes as an eligible project cost for the construction of a federal-aid highway the cost of improving habitat and forage for pollinators (i.e., bees, birds, bats, Monarch and other butterflies) on rights-of-way adjacent to such highways. The Department of Transportation, in conjunction with willing states, shall carry out programs that encourage: integrated vegetation management practices on roadsides and other transportation rights-of-way, including reduced mowing; the development of habitat and forage for pollinators through planting of native forbs and grasses, including noninvasive, native milkweed species; research and demonstration projects on economic and environmental benefits and best practices for integrated vegetation management, reduced mowing, and planting of native forbs and grasses for pollinator habitat, forage, and migratory way stations for Monarch butterflies and other migrating pollinators; and participation in such activities by representatives of transportation landscape management, pollinator health, agriculture, horticulture, and other affected communities. Federal funds may be used for the provision of habitat, forage, and migratory way stations for Monarch butterflies, other native pollinators, and honey bees that is related to a federally-funded highway project.

Pet and Women Safety Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 11 June 2015

Pet and Women Safety Act of 2015 Amends the federal criminal code to prohibit threats or acts of violence against a person's pet under the offenses of stalking and interstate violation of a protection order. Defines "pet" to mean a domesticated animal that is kept for pleasure rather than for commercial purposes. Requires the "full amount of the victim's losses" for purposes of restitution in domestic violence and stalking offenses to include any costs incurred for veterinary services relating to physical care for the victim's pet. Directs the Department of Agriculture to award grants to eligible entities to carry out programs to provide specified housing assistance, support services, and training of relevant stakeholders to victims of domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, or stalking and their pets. Expresses the sense of Congress that states should encourage the inclusion of protections against violent or threatening acts against the pet of the person in domestic violence protection orders.

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2015 This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Department of Agriculture to establish a program providing eligible households with summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards in order to give children access to food during the summer months to: (1) reduce or eliminate children's food insecurity and hunger, and (2) improve their nutritional status. An "eligible household" is a household that includes one or more children who are eligible to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. The amount on each summer EBT card is set at $150 per child in 2017, with adjustments thereafter reflecting changes in reimbursement rates for school meals under the school lunch program. If children are enrolled to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs, they must be enrolled in this program without further application. Summer EBT cards may be used only to purchase food from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).

Electing certain Members to standing committees of the House of Representatives.

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015

Elects specified Members to the following House Committees: (1) Agriculture; (2) Science, Space, and Technology; and (3) Small Business.

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 10 June 2015

Stop Child Summer Hunger Act of 2015 This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Department of Agriculture to establish a program providing eligible households with summer Electronic Benefits Transfer (EBT) cards in order to give children access to food during the summer months to: (1) reduce or eliminate children's food insecurity and hunger, and (2) improve their nutritional status. An "eligible household" is a household that includes one or more children who are eligible to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs. The amount on each summer EBT card is set at $150 per child in 2017, with adjustments thereafter reflecting changes in reimbursement rates for school meals under the school lunch program. If children are enrolled to receive free or reduced price meals under the school lunch or breakfast programs, they must be enrolled in this program without further application. Summer EBT cards may be used only to purchase food from retail food stores that have been approved for participation in the supplemental nutrition assistance program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program).

Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act

United States · United States Congress · 9 June 2015

Water Supply Permitting Coordination Act Establishes the Bureau of Reclamation as the lead agency for purposes of coordinating all reviews, analyses, opinions, statements, permits, licenses, or other approvals or decisions (reviews) required under federal law to construct new surface water storage projects on lands administered by the Department of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture, exclusive of any easement, right-of-way, lease, or any private holding (qualifying projects). Directs the Bureau: (1) upon receipt of an application for a qualifying project, to identify any federal agency that may have jurisdiction over a required review; and (2) to notify such agency that it has been designated as a cooperating agency unless the agency notifies the Bureau that the agency has no jurisdiction or authority over the project, has no expertise or information relevant to the project or any associated review, or does not intend to submit comments other than in cooperation with the Bureau. Requires each cooperating agency to submit to the Bureau: (1) a timeframe for completing the agency's authorizing responsibilities, (2) all environmental review material produced in the course of carrying out activities required under federal law consistent with the project schedule, and (3) all relevant project data. Allows a state in which a qualifying project is being considered to choose to: (1) participate as a cooperating agency; and (2) make subject to the processes of this Act all state agencies that have jurisdiction over the project, are required to conduct or issue a review, or are required to make a determination on issuing a permit, license, or approval for the project. Lists as the principal responsibilities of the Bureau under this Act to: (1) serve as the point of contact for applicants, state agencies, Indian tribes, and others regarding proposed projects; (2) coordinate preparation of unified environmental documentation that will serve as the basis for all federal decisions necessary to authorize the use of federal lands for qualifying projects; and (3) coordinate all federal agency reviews necessary for the development and construction of qualifying projects. Authorizes the Department of the Interior to accept and expend funds contributed by a non-federal public entity to expedite the evaluation of a permit of that entity related to a qualifying project or activity for a public purpose under its jurisdiction. Directs Interior to ensure that all final permit decisions are made available to the public, including on the Internet.

Emergency Wildfire and Forest Management Act of 2016

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015

Resilient Federal Forests Act of 2015 This bill shall apply whenever the Department concerned, either the Department of Agriculture (USDA) with respect to National Forest System land or the Department of the Interior with respect to public lands, prepares an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) for a forest management activity that: is developed through a collaborative process; is proposed by a resource advisory committee; or is covered by a community wildfire protection plan. In such an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, the Department concerned shall study, develop, and describe only these two alternatives: the forest management activity proposed, and the alternative of no action. In the case of the alternative of no action, the Department concerned shall evaluate: the effect of no action on forest health, habitat diversity, wildfire potential, and insect and disease potential; and the implications of a resulting decline in forest health, loss of habitat diversity, wildfire, or insect or disease infestation on domestic water costs, wildlife habitat loss, and other economic and social factors. A categorical exclusion is made available to the Department concerned to: (1) expedite specified critical response actions, (2) expedite salvage operations in response to catastrophic events, and (3) meet forest plan goals for early successional forests. (A "categorical exclusion" under NEPA is a category of actions which do not individually or cumulatively have a significant effect on the human environment and which have been found to have no such effect in procedures adopted by a federal agency in implementing environmental regulations and for which, therefore, neither an Environmental Assessment nor an Environmental Impact Statement is required.) Any environmental assessment for a salvage operation or reforestation activity proposed to be conducted on National Forest System lands or public lands impacted by a large-scale catastrophic event shall be completed within three months after that event. Any plaintiffs challenging a forest management activity developed through a collaborative process or proposed by a resource advisory committee shall be required to post a bond or other security. Repeals the Merchantable Timber Contracting Pilot Program under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. The Department concerned shall ensure that at least 50% of the project funds reserved by a participating county for carrying out a special project on federal land or certain nonfederal land under the same Act shall be made available only for projects that: include the sale of timber or other forest products; and implement stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems or restore and improve land health and water quality. The membership of a new resource advisory committee may lower from 15 to a minimum of six during a specified period ending September 30, 2020. The Forest Service shall conduct a self-sustaining resource advisory committee (RAC) program under which 10 RACs will propose projects intended to: accomplish forest management objectives or support community development, and generate receipts. A participating county shall be allowed to use certain funds to: (1) reimburse the county for law enforcement patrols performed on federal land, and (2) cover training costs and equipment purchases directly related to emergency services. The Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management under the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 may obligate funds to cover potential cancellation or termination costs for an agreement or contract for stewardship end result contracting projects. Monies from an agreement or contract for a stewardship contracting project shall be available for expenditure without further appropriation to cover up to 25% of the cost of planning additional such projects. The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund shall be used to pay up to 50% of the costs of planning ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land for each proposal selected under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. The State-Supported Forest Management Fund is established in the Treasury to cover the costs of the Department concerned to plan, carry out, and monitor a forest management activity on National Forest System or public land which is developed through a collaborative process, proposed by a resource advisory committee, or covered by a community wildfire protection plan. The Department of the Interior shall take specified administrative action under the Tribal Forest Protection Act of 2004 within 120 days of receiving a request from an Indian Tribe to enter into an agreement or contract to carry out a project to protect Indian forest land or rangeland (including bordering or adjacent federal land). The Secretary concerned may treat federal forest land as Indian forest land for purposes of planning and conducting forest land management activities under the National Indian Forest Resources Management Act if the federal forest land is located within a specified area. Courts reviewing an agency action shall balance short- and long-term effects of forest management activities in considering injunctive relief. The Forest Supervisor of a National Forest System unit must perform certain tasks when considering whether to decommission a defined maintenance level one or two system road within a designated high fire-prone area. USDA may not apply to National Forest System lands any of the amendments to forest plans adopted in the Eastside Screens requirements. USDA shall require, under the Knutson-Vanderburg Act, each purchaser of national-forest timber to make certain deposits of money in addition to the payments for the timber to cover the cost to the federal government of certain forest land management activities. National Wilderness Preservation System lands meeting certain criteria are exempt from this Act.

Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015

Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 2015 Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to extend through FY2020 the authorization for deposit and use of lease revenues under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Makes such funds available to the Department of the Interior for FY2015 and afterwards to implement both the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Directs the Bureau of Land Management to establish priority and variance areas on covered land for geothermal, solar, and wind energy projects. Requires Interior to establish a program to improve federal permit coordination with respect to renewable energy projects carried out on public land administered by Interior and not excluded from the development of geothermal, solar, or wind energy (covered land). Defines "variance area" as covered land that is neither an exclusion area (not suitable for development of renewable energy projects) nor a priority area. Establishes in the Treasury the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund, to be available in regions affected by the development of wind or solar energy on federal land for: (1) protecting and restoring important fish and wildlife habitat; and (2) ensuring and improving right-of-way access to federal land and water in the impacted region for fishing, hunting, and other forms of outdoor recreation. Requires the Department of Agriculture as well as Interior to determine the feasibility of carrying out a conservation banking program on federal land. Denies the rental fee exemption for rights-of-way under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act to wind or solar generation projects with a capacity of 20 megawatts or more that are issued a lease, right-of-way, permit, or other authorization.

Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015

Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2015 Designates certain federal land in the Olympic National Forest in the state of Washington as wilderness and as components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Designates certain other land, identified on the same map as such proposed areas, as potential wilderness. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate as wild, scenic, or recreational rivers specified segments of the following rivers in the state of Washington: Elwha River; Dungeness River; Big Quilcene River; Dosewallips River; Duckabush River; Hamma Hamma River; South Fork Skokomish River; Middle Fork Satsop River; West Fork Satsop River; Wynoochee River; East Fork Humptulips River; West Fork Humptulips River; Quinault River; Queets River; Hoh River; Bogachiel River; South Fork Calawah River; Sol Duc River; and Lyre River. Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to take necessary measures to control fire, insects, and diseases in the wilderness areas designated by this Act. Withdraws the federal land within the boundaries of the designated river segments from: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.

WIC Act

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015

Wise Investment in our Children Act or the WIC Act This bill amends the Child Nutrition Act of 1966 and title XIX (Medicaid) of the Social Security Act to increase the allowable age from five to six for children to participate in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC).

Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 4 June 2015

Wild Olympics Wilderness and Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 2015 Designates certain federal land in the Olympic National Forest in the state of Washington as wilderness and components of the National Wilderness Preservation System. Designates certain other land, identified on the same map as such proposed areas, as potential wilderness. Amends the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to designate as wild, scenic, or recreational rivers specified segments of the following rivers in the state of Washington: Elwha River; Dungeness River; Big Quilcene River; Dosewallips River; Duckabush River; Hamma Hamma River; South Fork Skokomish River; Middle Fork Satsop River; West Fork Satsop River; Wynoochee River; East Fork Humptulips River; West Fork Humptulips River; Quinault River; Queets River; Hoh River; Bogachiel River; South Fork Calawah River; Sol Duc River; and Lyre River. Authorizes the Department of Agriculture to take necessary measures to control fire, insects, and diseases in the wilderness areas designated by this Act. Withdraws the federal land within the boundaries of the designated river segments from: (1) entry, appropriation, or disposal under the public land laws; (2) location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and (3) disposition under all laws relating to mineral and geothermal leasing or mineral materials.

Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act

United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015

Salad Bars in Schools Expansion Act This bill amends the Richard B. Russell National School Lunch Act to require the Department of Agriculture (USDA) to establish and implement a plan, including through a five-year program of competitive grants, to promote the use of salad bars in schools participating in the school lunch program. Priority in the award of grants may be given to entities that: (1) serve schools in which at least 50% of the students are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches or that are located in food deserts, or (2) provide nutrition education. (A food desert is an area without ready access to fresh, healthful, and affordable food.) USDA shall revise the March 27, 2013, policy memorandum SP 31-2013, "Salad Bars in the National School Lunch Program," in light of recommendations submitted to Congress under this Act.

National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015

United States · United States Congress · 3 June 2015

National Forest Collaborative Incentive Act of 2015 This bill shall apply whenever the Department of Agriculture (USDA), through the Forest Service, with respect to National Forest System lands derived from the public domain, prepares an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 for a forest management activity that is: developed through a collaborative process, proposed by a resource advisory committee, or covered by a community wildfire protection plan. In such an environmental assessment or environmental impact statement, the Forest Service shall study and develop only the forest management activity proposed and the alternative of no action. Any plaintiffs challenging a forest management activity developed under this Act shall be required to post a bond or other security acceptable to the court. The bill repeals the Merchantable Timber Contracting Pilot Program under the Secure Rural Schools and Community Self-Determination Act of 2000. The USDA, with respect to National Forest System land, and the Department of the Interior, with respect to certain land under its jurisdiction, shall ensure that at least 50% of the project funds reserved by a participating county shall be made available only for projects that: (1) include the sale of timber or other forest products, and (2) implement stewardship objectives that enhance forest ecosystems or restore and improve land health and water quality. Repeals the current limitation of such projects to those for road maintenance, decommissioning, or obliteration or for restoration of streams and watersheds. The membership of a new resource advisory committee (RAC) may lower from 15 to a minimum of 6 during a specified period ending September 30, 2020. The Forest Service shall conduct a self-sustaining RAC program under which 10 RACs will propose projects intended to accomplish forest management objectives or support community development and generate receipts. A participating county shall be allowed to use certain funds to: (1) reimburse the county for law enforcement patrols performed on federal land, and (2) cover training costs and equipment purchases directly related to emergency services. Monies from an agreement or contract for a stewardship end result contracting project under the Healthy Forest Restoration Act of 2003 shall be available for expenditure without further appropriation to cover up to 25% of the cost of planning additional such projects. The Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Fund shall be used to pay up to 50% of the costs of planning (as well as, under current law, carrying out and monitoring) ecological restoration treatments on National Forest System land derived from the public domain for each proposal selected under the Collaborative Forest Landscape Restoration Program. A State-Supported Forest Management Fund is established in the Treasury to cover the costs of the Forest Service to plan, carry out, and monitor a forest management activity on National Forest System lands developed under this Act.

To amend the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude certain cotton futures contracts from coverage under such Act.

United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2015

This bill amends the United States Cotton Futures Act to exclude cotton future contracts involving cotton that is grown outside of the United States and tendered for delivery from coverage under the Act, including the requirement that the cotton be classified by the Department of Agriculture.

Providing for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2289) to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to better protect futures customers, to provide end-users with market certainty, to make basic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability at the Commission, to help farmers, ranchers, and end-users manage risks, to help keep consumer costs low, and for other purposes.

United States · United States Congress · 2 June 2015

Sets forth the rule for consideration of the bill (H.R. 2289) to reauthorize the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, to better protect futures customers, to provide end-users with market certainty, to make basic reforms to ensure transparency and accountability at the Commission, to help farmers, ranchers, and end-users manage risks, to help keep consumer costs low.

BARN Act

United States · United States Congress · 1 June 2015

Better Agriculture Resources Now Act or the BARN Act Revises the H-2A nonimmigrant agricultural worker visa program, including with respect to: (1) agricultural labor and services, (2) application requirements, (3) wages, (4) period of authorized nonimmigrant status, (5) housing, (6) legal assistance, and (7) violations.

A resolution expressing appreciation of the goals of American Craft Beer Week and commending the small and independent craft brewers of the United States.

United States · United States Congress · 31 May 2015

Appreciates the goals of American Craft Beer Week, established by the Brewers Association, which represents the U.S. small craft brewers. Recognizes their significant contributions to the economy and to the communities in which they are located. Commends them for providing jobs, supporting U.S. agriculture, improving the balance of trade, and educating the people of the United States and beer lovers around the world about the history and culture of beer while promoting the legal and responsible consumption of beer.