HR6070-118

1. Clarification of authority of Department of Defense to conduct certain military activities at Nevada test and training range Paragraph (1) of section 3011(b) of the Military Lands Withdrawal Act of 1999 (title XXX of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2000; Public Law 106–65; 113 Stat. 886) is amended— in the matter preceding subparagraph (A), by inserting , subject to the conditions set forth in subsection (a) of section 3014 after Secretary of the Air Force; by striking and at the end of subparagraph (C); by redesignating subparagraph (D) as subparagraph (G); and by inserting after subparagraph (C) the following new subparagraphs: for emergency response; for the establishment and use of existing or new electronic tracking and communications sites, including the construction of up to 15 equipment pads, no larger than 150-by-150 feet in size, along existing roads to allow placement and operation of threat emitters; for the use and maintenance of roads in existence as of January 1, 2024, to allow access to threat emitters and repeaters for installation, maintenance, and periodic relocation; and Section 3011(b)(5)(G), as added by paragraph (1) of section 2844(b) of the William M. (Mac) Thornberry National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021 (Public Law 116–283; 134 Stat. 4351), is further amended— by amending clause (i) to read as follows: The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Air Force shall jointly establish an interagency committee (referred to in this subparagraph as the ‘interagency committee’) to— facilitate coordination, manage public access needs and requirements, and minimize potential conflict between the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Air Force with respect to joint operating areas within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge; and discuss the activities authorized in paragraph (1) and provide input to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Air Force when assessing whether these activities may be conducted on the joint operating areas within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge that are under the primary jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior in a manner that is consistent with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other applicable law. in clause (ii)— by inserting , including a designee of the Director of the United States Fish and Wildlife Service before the period at the end of subclause (I); and by inserting , including a designee of the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Energy, Installations, and Environment before the period at the end of subclause (II). Section 3011(b)(H)(5)(ii), as added by paragraph (2) of such section 2844(b), is amended in clause (ii)— by striking and at the end of subclause (I); by striking the period at the end of subclause (II) and inserting ; and; and by adding at the end the following new subclause: discussing and making recommendations to the interagency committee established under subparagraph (G) with respect to any proposal by the Secretary of the Air Force to undertake any of the activities authorized in paragraph (1) on the joint operating areas within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge. (D)for emergency response; (E)for the establishment and use of existing or new electronic tracking and communications sites, including the construction of up to 15 equipment pads, no larger than 150-by-150 feet in size, along existing roads to allow placement and operation of threat emitters; (F)for the use and maintenance of roads in existence as of January 1, 2024, to allow access to threat emitters and repeaters for installation, maintenance, and periodic relocation; and. (i)In generalThe Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of the Air Force shall jointly establish an interagency committee (referred to in this subparagraph as the ‘interagency committee’) to— (I)facilitate coordination, manage public access needs and requirements, and minimize potential conflict between the Department of the Interior and the Department of the Air Force with respect to joint operating areas within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge; and (II)discuss the activities authorized in paragraph (1) and provide input to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and the Department of the Air Force when assessing whether these activities may be conducted on the joint operating areas within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge that are under the primary jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior in a manner that is consistent with the National Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act (16 U.S.C. 668dd et seq.) and other applicable law.; and (III)discussing and making recommendations to the interagency committee established under subparagraph (G) with respect to any proposal by the Secretary of the Air Force to undertake any of the activities authorized in paragraph (1) on the joint operating areas within the Desert National Wildlife Refuge..