To provide temporary legal exemptions for certain land management activities of the Federal land management agencies undertaken in federally declared disaster areas.

January 7, 2003

Mr. FLAKE (for himself and Mr. HAYWORTH) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

To provide temporary legal exemptions for certain land management activities of the Federal land management agencies undertaken in federally declared disaster areas.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the `Federally Declared Disaster Area Exemption Act of 2003'.

SEC. 2. TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LAWS FOR LAND MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES UNDERTAKEN IN FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER AREAS.

(a) DEFINITIONS- In this section:

(1) FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT AGENCY- The term `Federal land management agency' means the National Park Service, United States Forest Service, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Bureau of Land Management.

(2) FEDERALLY DECLARED DISASTER AREA- The term `federally declared disaster area' means an area covered by a Presidential declaration of major disaster issued under section 401 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170).

(b) EXEMPTION- Due to the extraordinary circumstances present in a federally declared disaster area, land management activities of the Federal land management agencies undertaken in the federally declared disaster area in response to the conditions that necessitated the Presidential declaration shall proceed immediately and to completion notwithstanding any other provision of law including, but not limited to, the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) and the National Forest Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.). In addition, such activities shall not be subject to the notice, comment, and appeal requirements of section 322 of Public Law 102-381 (commonly known as the Appeals Reform Act; 16 U.S.C. 1612 note) or to judicial review by any court of the United States.

(c) DURATION- Subsection (b) shall apply to a federally declared disaster area during the two-year period beginning on the date of the Presidential declaration and to any land management activity described in such subsection commenced in the area during such period.

END