§7124 Evaluation and approval of projects by Secretary concerned

Summary

The Secretary may approve a project sent by a resource advisory committee only if the project follows all federal laws, fits the agency’s resource and watershed plans, was approved by the committee using required procedures, includes a project description sent to the Secretary, and will help maintain infrastructure, support stewardship that improves forest ecosystems, and restore land health and water quality. The Secretary can ask the committee to let project funds pay for any environmental review or other steps needed to meet environmental laws; if the committee agrees, the Secretary will carry out those reviews under federal law, and if the committee refuses the project is withdrawn and treated as a rejection for purposes of section 7127(c). The Secretary may reject a project at their sole discretion, and that decision cannot be appealed or reviewed in court; the Secretary must give the committee a written notice with reasons within 30 days. The Secretary must publish approved projects in the Federal Register when publication would be required if the project had started with the Secretary. When the Secretary accepts a project for review, that acceptance counts as a Federal action. Using project funds, the Secretary may enter contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with states, local governments, private or nonprofit groups, landowners, and others to do the work. For contracts, the Secretary may pick a source based on “best value,” considering factors like the work’s technical difficulty, the project’s ecological goals and resource sensitivity, the contractor’s experience and equipment and record of meeting ecological goals, and the contractor’s commitment to hiring qualified workers and local residents. At least 50 percent of all project funds must be used for projects mainly focused on road maintenance, decommissioning, or obliteration, or on restoring streams and watersheds.