DIVISION G-DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, …

1 DIVISION G-DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, ENVIRONMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 2022. The following statement is an explanation of the effects of DIVISION G, which provides appropriations for the department of the Interior, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Forest Service, the Indian Health Service, and related agencies for fiscal year 2022. The joint explanatory statement accompanying this DIVISION is approved and indicates congressional intent. Unless otherwise noted, the language set forth in House Report 117-83 carries the same weight as language included in this joint explanatory statement and should be complied with unless specifically addressed to the contrary in this joint explanatory statement. While some language is repeated for emphasis, it is not intended to negate the language referred to above unless expressly provided herein. In cases where the House report or this joint explanatory statement direct the submission of a report, such report is to be submitted to both the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.

2 \Vhere this joint explanatory statement refers to the Committees or the Committees on Appropriations, unless otherwise noted, this reference is to the House Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies and the Senate Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies. Each department and agency funded in this Act is directed to follow the directions set forth in this Act and the accompanying statement and to not reallocate resources or reorganize activities except as provided herein or otherwise approved by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees through the reprogramming process as referenced in this Act. This joint explanatory statement addresses only those agencies and accounts for which there is a need for greater explanation than provided in the Act itself. Funding levels for appropriations by account, program, and activity, with comparisons to the fiscal year 2021 enacted level and the fiscal year 2022 budget request, can be found in the table at the end of this DIVISION .

3 Unless expressly stated otherwise, any reference to "this Act" or "at the end of this statemenf'. shall be treated as referring only to the provisions of this DIVISION . Continued Committees continue the directives in the explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 116-94 regarding Everglades Restoration and Domestic Production of Critical Minerals. Directives regarding Transparency of Information Regarding Grants, Agreements, Research, and Conferences Attendance in the explanatory statement accompanying Public Law 116-260 are also continued. Deferred Maintenance. -The department of the Interior and the Forest Service are directed to maintain updated 5-year deferred maintenance plans that, to the extent practicable, include a list of all outstanding deferred maintenance needs, and to provide them to the Committees on a quarterly basis. 2. Disaster Recovery Committees direct the department of the Interior and the other agencies funded in this bill to establish quarterly reporting requirements for their component bureaus, regions, offices, and programs, as appropriate, to maintain up-to-date comprehensive information for supplemental funding needs related to disaster recovery.

4 Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement department of the Interior and the Forest Service are directed to annually post on a centralized agency website the list of Federal Lands Recreation Enhancement Act (FLREA) (Public Law 108-447) projects and activities performed in each fiscal year, which should include a project or activity title, description, location, and amount obligated. Each land management agency that is unable to complete this directive shall submit a report to the Committees within 90 days of enactment of this Act detailing the specific steps the agency plans to take to secure the capabilities needed to provide proper transparency on the spending of FLREA funds. Federal Law agreement notes that the explanatory statement accompanying the Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2022 directs the Attorney General to ensure implementation of evidence-based training programs on de-escalation and the use-of- force, as well as on police community relations, and the protection of civil rights, that are broadly applicable and scalable to all Federal law enforcement agencies.

5 The agreement further notes that several agencies funded by this Act employ Federal law enforcement officers and are Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers partner organizations. The agreement directs such agencies to consult with the Attorney General regarding the implementation of these programs for their law enforcement officers. The agreement further directs such agencies to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations on their efforts relating to such implementation no later than 180 days after consultation with the Attorney General. In addition, the agreement directs such agencies, to the extent that they are not already participating, to consult with the Attorney General and the Director of the FBI regarding participation in the National Use-of-Force Data Collection. The agreement further directs such agencies to submit a report to the Committees on Appropriations, no later than 180 days after enactment of this Act, on their efforts to so participate.

6 Firefighting Aviation light of the receipt of the report directed in the explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260), the Forest Service and the department of the Interior are urged to continue working with relevant stakeholders to evaluate ways to address impediments on the use of long-term contracts and other contracting strategies or approaches for wildland fire suppression activities. Great American Outdoors the end of this explanatory statement, the Committees have included allocation of projects pursuant to the Great American Outdoors Act (Public Law 116-152). 3. Mitigation Activities from Border Barrier Construction.~The agreement does not include direction requiring a report on the impacts of border barrier construction. Training, Hiring, and Public Lands Education in directive in Public Law 116-94. regarding conducting annual alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act training by the department of the Interior and the Forest Service is continued.

7 The Committees also recognize the importance of alaska Public Land Information Centers as partners and tools to educate the public regarding alaska 's unique public lands and encourages the agencies to look for opportunities to strengthen these critical partnerships. Tribal Lease Committees are aware of recent litigation in Federal courts regarding what constitutes reasonable lease costs under the I 05(1) program. As part of the consultation required by language in Title IV of this Act, the Indian Health Service and the department of the Interior are expected to consult with Tribes and Tribal organizations regarding agency regulations and policies that determine the amount of space and other standards necessary to carry out Federal programs under a section I 05(1) lease, and to ensure that such regulations and policies are consistent, transparent, and clearly communicated to affected Tribes. The Service and the department are expected to periodically update the Committees on the status of the consultation.

8 Wild Horses and Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act of 1971 conferred primary responsibility for wild horses across the rangelands of the American West to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). However, given the challenges posed by rising horse populations coupled with degraded range, climate change, and invasive species, the consequences of inaction will have a cascading impact on all plants, animals, and people that share these lands and finite resources. This is a national crisis on our public lands and requires the expertise and resources of various bureaus and agencies; BLM. should not shoulder the responsibility alone. To address this urgent problem, the Secretary of the Interior is directed to establish a task force with representation from the Bureau of Land Management, fish and Wildlife Service, Geological Survey, and any other Bureau the Secretary deems appropriate. In subsequent years, task force membership will be expanded to include representatives of the department of Agriculture and other agencies with essential skills and expertise.

9 Any strategy or recommendation of the task force will not include any sale or actions that result in the destruction of healthy animals, which continues to be prohibited by this bill and should be in line with the goals and strategies of the Bureau of Land Management's May 2020 report to Congress on achieving a sustainable program through aggressive, non-lethal population control strategy (May 2020 report). The Secretary is to report to the Committees within 90 days of enactment of this Act on the establishment of this task force and a proposed meeting schedule. The Bureau of Land Management is to report to the Committees on a quarterly basis on the status of this program, staffing updates, and the work of the task force. 4. LAND AND WATER CONSERVATION FUND. With the August 4, 2020, enactment of the Great American Outdoors Act (Public Law 116-152), Congress provided a permanent appropriation of $900,000,000 per year from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (L WCF).

10 The Act also mandated that account allocations and detailed project information be proposed by the administration each year through the President's annual budget submission, and that such allocations, following review by the Committees on Appropriations, may be modified through an alternate allocation. A detailed table showing the L WCF allocation by agency, account, activity, and project, including lists of specific Federal land acquisition projects and Forest Legacy Program projects, including congressionally directed spending, accompanies this explanatory statement. The agencies are expected to continue to follow the directions included in the explanatory statement accompanying the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (Public Law 116-260) under General Implementation, except that no funds are provided for acquisition contingencies. Specific additional directions follow. fish and Wildlife Service is expected to provide outreach to all units of the National Wildlife Refuge System, including Clarks, McKinney, Ottawa, Loxahatchee, and Edwards, to ensure these refuges are aware of all funding opportunities available.