§7124 Evaluation and Approval of Projects by Secretary Concerned

Summary

The Secretary in charge may approve a project from a resource advisory committee only if the project follows all federal laws, fits the official land and watershed plans, was approved by the committee under the required procedures, has a written project description, and helps maintain infrastructure, improve forest stewardship, or restore land and water health. The Secretary can ask the committee to let project money pay for any needed environmental reviews or consultations. If the committee agrees, the Secretary will carry out those reviews under federal law. If the committee refuses, the project is withdrawn and treated as a rejection for appeal purposes. The Secretary alone can reject a project and that rejection cannot be appealed or taken to court. The Secretary must give the committee a written notice with reasons within 30 days of rejecting the project. Approved projects will be published in the Federal Register if that would normally be required. Once a project is accepted for review it counts as a federal action. The Secretary may use project funds to make contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements with state and local governments, private and nonprofit groups, landowners, or others to carry out approved projects. For contracts, the Secretary can choose based on "best value," looking at how hard the work is, the ecological goals and sensitivity, the contractor’s experience and equipment, and the contractor’s plan to hire qualified and local workers. At least 50% of project funds must go to projects mainly for road work (maintenance, decommissioning, or obliteration) or for restoring streams and watersheds.