94TH CONGRESS 18T SESSION H. R. 3510 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 20, 1975 Mr. UDALL (for himself, Mr. STEELMAN, Mr. BINGHAM, Mr. BOLLING, Mr. PHILLIP BURTON, Mr. CORMAN, Mr. ECKHARDT, Mr. EDWARDS of California, Mr. FOLEY, Mr. FRASER, Mr. HORTON, Mr. KASTENMEIER, Mr. MCCLOSKEY, Mr. MARTIN, Mr. MILLER of California, Mr. PRITCHARD, Mr. REGULA, Mr. REUSS, Mr. SEIBERLING, Mr. THOMPSON, Mr. TSONGAS, Mr. VANIK, Mr. WEAVER, Mr. WHALEN, and Mr. YATES) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Interior and Insular Affairs A BILL To encourage conservation of natural resources, to authorize grants to the States for land use programs, to coordinate Federal actions concerning land use, to require land use planning for the public lands, and for other purposes. 1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 3 That this Act may be cited as the "Land Use and Resource 4 Conservation Act of 1975". I Sec. 201. State land use grants. Sec. 204. Implementation of State land use programs. TITLE III-STATE LAND USE PROGRAMS Sec. 301. Policies and objectives. Sec. 302. Areas of critical State concern. Sec. 306. Developments of regional impact. Sec. 307. Energy conservation and supply. Sec. 308. Coordination and consistency. Sec. 309. Administrative processes. Sec. 310. Additional program elements. TITLE IV-FEDERAL ACTIONS AND FEDERAL LANDS Sec. 401. Federal action where State ineligible. Sec. 402. Consistency of Federal actions. Sec. 403. Public lands inventory and identification. 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 6 10 231 TITLE I-FINDINGS, POLICY, DEFINITIONS FINDINGS SEC. 101. The Congress finds that (a) there is a national interest in effective land use decision making in order to promote the general welfare, to secure a wise and balanced allocation of resources, to provide for the protection and enhancement of the environment, and to conserve energy; (b) there are increasing conflicts and competing demands on our lands and waters as a result of the Nation's 11 growth, economic development, immediate and future energy demands, the fragmentation of governmental entities exercising land use planning responsibilities, and the increased number and impact of private actions affecting land use which are of public concern; 14 15 (c) existing Federal, State, and local institutional arrangements for planning and regulating land use and for coordinating decision making are often inadequate with the result that (1) important food and fiber producing lands, and natural, cultural, and historic areas are being irretrievably damaged or lost, and lands which pos sess significant ecological, economic, or scenic values are often damaged or degraded by a lack of planning 4 and by incompatible and uncontrolled development which threatens these values; (2) the implementation of standards for the control of air, water, noise, and other pollution is impeded; (3) decisions concerning key public facilities, large scale or regionally significant developments, and other land uses which have significant economic, social, and environmental implications are often made without regard to the long-term economic, environmental, and social consequences or impact beyond the immediate jurisdiction; (4) significant natural hazard areas and nonrenewable resource lands are often developed in a manner which results in loss of life and in social, economic, and environmental costs; (5) there are unreasonable delays and duplication in the consideration and approval of beneficial development of land; (6) significant land-use decisions are being made without adequate opportunity for members of the public to be informed about the impact of or the alternatives for such decisions, or to become in volved in such decisions in meaningful ways; and, 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 234 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 5 (7) Federal and federally assisted programs are often being impaired and the costs of such proj ects and programs are unnecessarily increased; (d) many Federal agencies conduct or assist activities which have a substantial impact on the use of land, location of population and economic growth, and the quality of the environment, and which, because of the lack of consistent land-use policies, often result in needless, undesirable, and costly conflicts between Federal agencies and among Federal, State, and local governments, thereby subsidizing undesirable and costly patterns of development; (e) the primary authority to manage and regulate the use of non-Federal lands rests with the several States and their political subdivisions, and it is in the national interest to encourage the exercise of this authority by assisting the States, in cooperation with local govern ments, to develop and implement programs for planning and managing land use of more than local concern, and (f) the public lands are vital national assets which 21 should be managed to the benefit of both present and 24 SEC. 102. The Congress declares that it is the policy of 25 the Federal Government, in cooperation with the several |