§544o Savings Provisions

Summary

Says the rules in sections 544 to 544p do not change many existing rights, uses, or laws. They do not affect Indian treaties or trust lands. They do not let anyone take or use water or change water or river rights or river transportation, except as allowed by section 13(c). They do not change interstate compacts made before November 17, 1986, the Bonneville Power Administration’s ability to run transmission lines, hunting and fishing laws, or forest plans under the National Forest Management Act. The law also does not create buffer zones around the scenic or special management areas or stop nearby activities just because they can be seen or heard. The United States Army Corps of Engineers still must improve navigation at Bonneville Dam, except for offsite disposal of excavation material. Owners of non-Federal timber land keep their rights under the Oregon and Washington Forest Practices Acts and county rules, except for managing timber on non-Federal land inside special management areas. The mandatory parts about the Commission are conditions for Congress to approve the interstate compact in section 544c, and if Washington and Oregon do not set up the Commission, the Secretary is not required to act on things that depend on it. Certain Secretary actions listed in the law (see sections 544d(f)–(h), 544f(f),(j)–(l), 544g, and 544h(a) and (b)(2)) are not "major Federal actions" under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) and do not need an environmental assessment; otherwise the Secretary’s NEPA duties remain the same (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.).