Compilation of Laws Related to Mineral Resources Activities on the Outer Continental Shelf

P. Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, Public Law 73-121, 48 Stat. 401, March 10, 1934 (16 USC 661-666c), as amended by: Public Laws 732, 60 Stat. 1080, August 14, 1946; 80-697, 62 Stat. 497, June 19, 1948; 85-624, 72 Stat. 563, August 12, 1958; and 89-72, 79 Stat. 213, July 9, 1965.

An Act

To promote the conservation of wildlife, fish, and game, and for other purposes.

Wildlife

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, For the purpose of recognizing the vital contribution of our wildlife resources to the Nation, the increasing public interest and significance thereof due to expansion conservation. of our national economy and other factors, and to provide that wildlife conservation shall receive equal consideration and be coordinated with other features of water-resource development programs through the effectual and harmonious planning, development, maintenance, and coordination of wildlife conservation and rehabilitation for the purposes of this Act in the United States, its Territories and possessions, the Secretary of the Interior is authorized

of agencies.

(1) to provide assistance to, and cooperate with, Federal, State, and public or private Cooperation agencies and organizations in the development, protection, rearing, and stocking of all species of wildlife, resources thereof, and their habitat, in controlling losses of the same from disease or other causes, in minimizing damages from overabundant species, in providing public shooting and fishing areas, including easements across public lands for access thereto, and in carrying out other measures necessary to effectuate the purposes of this Act; (2) to make surveys and investigations of the wildlife of the public domain, including lands and waters or interests therein acquired or controlled by any agency of the United States; and

(3) to accept donations of land and contributions of funds in furtherance of the purposes of this Act.

(As amended by P.L. 79-732, 60 Stat. 1080, August 14, 1946; and P.L. 85-624, 72 Stat. 563, August 12, 1958)

Sec. 2.

(a) Except as hereafter stated in subsection (h) of this section, whenever the waters of any stream or other body of water are proposed or authorized to be impounded, diverted, the channel deepened, or the stream or other body of water otherwise controlled or modified for any purpose whatever, including navigation and drainage, by any department or agency of the United States, or by any public or private agency under Federal permit or license, such department or agency first shall consult with the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior, and with the head of the agency exercising administration over the wildlife resources of the particular State wherein the impoundment, diversion, or other control facility is to be constructed, with a view to the conservation of wildlife resources by preventing loss of and damage to such resources as well as providing for the development and improvement thereof in connection with such water-resource development.

(b) In furtherance of such purposes, the reports and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior on the wildlife aspects of such projects, and any report of the head of the State agency exercising administration over the wildlife resource of the State, based on surveys and investigations conducted by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and such State agency for the purpose of determining the possible damage to wildlife resources and for the purpose of determining means and measures that should be adopted to prevent the loss of or damage to such wildlife resources, as well as to provide concurrently for the development and improvement of such resources, shall be made an integral part of any report prepared or submitted by any agency of the Federal Government responsible for engineering surveys and construction of such projects when such reports are presented to the Congress or to any agency or person having the authority or the power, by administrative action or otherwise,

(1) to authorize the construction of water-resource development projects or

(2) to approve a report on the modification or supplementation of plans for previously authorized projects, to which this Act applies. Recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior shall be as specific as is practicable with respect to features recommended for wildlife conservation and development, lands to be utilized or acquired for such purposes, the results expected, and shall describe the damage to wildlife attributable to the project and the measures proposed for mitigating or compensating for these damages. The reporting officers in project reports of the Federal agencies shall give full consideration to the report and recommendations of the Secretary of the Interior and to any report of the State agency on the wildlife aspects of such projects, and the project plan shall

Surveys and investigations.

Donations.

Interagency

water control consultation.

Reports

and recommendations.

Modification of projects.

Project costs.

Transfer of funds.

Estimation of beneifts.

Applicability.

Exceptions.

Wildlife resources.

include such justifiable means and measures for wildlife purposes as the reporting agency finds should be adopted to obtain maximum overall project benefits.

(c) Federal agencies authorized to construct or operate water-control projects are hereby authorized to modify or add to the structures and operations of such projects, the construction of which has not been substantially completed on the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, and to acquire lands in accordance with section 3 of this Act, in order to accommodate the means and measures for such conservation of wildlife resources as an integral part of such projects: Provided, That for projects authorized by a specific Act of Congress before the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act

(1) such modification or land acquisition shall be compatible with the purposes for which the project was authorized;

(2) the cost of such modifications or land acquisition, as means and measures to prevent loss of and damage to wildlife resources to the extent justifiable, shall be an integral part of the cost of such projects; and

(3) the cost of such modifications or land acquisition for the development or improvement of wildlife resources may be included to the extent justifiable, and an appropriate share of the cost of any project may be allocated for this purpose with a finding as to the part of such allocated cost, if any, to be reimbursed by non-Federal interests.

(d) The cost of planning for and the construction or installation and maintenance of such
means and measures adopted to carry out the conservation purposes of this section shall
constitute an integral part of the cost of such projects: Provided, That such cost attributable to
the development and improvement of wildlife shall not extend beyond that necessary for
(1) land acquisition,

(2) facilities as specifically recommended in water resource project reports,
(3) modification of the project, and

(4) modification of project operations, but shall not include the operation of wildlife facilities.

(e) In the case of construction by a Federal agency, that agency is authorized to transfer to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, out of appropriations or other funds made available for investigations, engineering, or construction, such funds as may be necessary to conduct all or part of the investigations required to carry out the purposes of this section.

(f) In addition to other requirements, there shall be included in any report submitted to Congress supporting a recommendation for authorization of any new project for the control or use of water as described herein (including any new division of such project or new supplemental works on such project) an estimation of the wildlife benefits or losses to be derived therefrom including benefits to be derived from measures recommended specifically for the development and improvement of wildlife resources, the cost of providing wildlife benefits (including the cost of additional facilities to be installed or lands to be acquired specifically for that particular phase of wildlife conservation relating to the development and improvement of wildlife), the part of the cost of joint-use facilities allocated to wildlife, and the part of such costs, if any, to be reimbursed by non-Federal interests.

(g) The provisions of this section shall be applicable with respect to any project for the control or use of water as prescribed herein, or any unit of such project authorized before or after the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act for planning or construction, but shall not be applicable to any project or unit thereof authorized before the date of enactment of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act if the construction of the particular project or unit thereof has been substantially completed. A project or unit thereof shall be considered to be substantially completed when sixty percent or more of the estimated construction cost has been obligated for expenditure.

(h) The provisions of this Act shall not be applicable to those projects for the impoundment of water where the maximum surface area of such impoundments is less than ten acres, nor to activities for or in connection with programs primarily for land management and use carried out by Federal agencies with respect to Federal lands under their jurisdiction.

(As amended by P.L. 79-732, 60 Stat. 1080, August 14, 1946; P.L. 85-624, 72 Stat. 563, August 12, 1958; and P.L. 89-72, 79 Stat. 213, July 9, 1965)

Sec. 3.

(a) Subject to the exceptions prescribed in section 2(h) of this Act, whenever the waters of any stream or other body of water are impounded, diverted, the channel deepened, or the stream or other body of water otherwise controlled or modified for any purpose whatever, including navigation and drainage, by any department or agency of the United States, adequate provision, consistent with the primary purposes of such impoundment, diversion, or other control, shall be made for the use thereof, together with any areas of land, water, or interests

therein, acquired or administered by a Federal agency in connection therewith, for the conservation, maintenance, and management of wildlife resources thereof, and its habitat thereon, including the development and improvement of such wildlife resources pursuant to the provisions of section 2 of this Act.

(b) The use of such waters, land, or interests therein for wildlife conservation purposes shall be in accordance with general plans approved jointly

(1) by the head of the particular department or agency exercising primary administration in each instance,

(2) by the Secretary of the Interior, and

(3) by the head of the agency exercising the administration of the wildlife resources of the particular State wherein the waters and areas lie.

Such waters and other interests shall be made available, without cost for administration, by such State agency, if the management of the properties relate to the conservation of wildlife other than migratory birds, or by the Secretary of the Interior, for administration in such manner as he may deem advisable, where the particular properties have value in carrying out the national migratory bird management program: Provided, That nothing in this section shall be construed as affecting the authority of the Secretary of Agriculture to cooperate with the States or in making lands available to the States with respect to the management of wildlife and wildlife habitat on lands administered by him.

(c) When consistent with the purposes of this Act and the reports and findings of the Secretary of the Interior prepared in accordance with section 2, land, waters, and interests therein may be acquired by Federal construction agencies for the wildlife conservation and development purposes of this Act in connection with a project as reasonably needed to preserve and assure for the public benefit the wildlife potentials of the particular project area: Provided, That before properties are acquired for this purpose, the probable extent of such acquisition shall be set forth, along with other data necessary for project authorization, in a report submitted to the Congress, or in the case of a project previously authorized, no such properties shall be acquired unless specifically authorized by Congress, if specific authority for such acquisition is recommended by the construction agency.

(d) Properties acquired for the purposes of this section shall continue to be used for such purposes, and shall not become the subject of exchange or other transactions if such exchange or other transaction would defeat the initial purpose of their acquisition.

(e) Federal lands acquired or withdrawn for Federal water-resource purposes and made available to the States or to the Secretary of the Interior for wildlife management purposes, shall be made available for such purposes in accordance with this Act, notwithstanding other provisions of law.

(f) Any lands acquired pursuant to this section by any Federal agency within the exterior boundaries of a national forest shall, upon acquisition, be added to and become national forest lands, and shall be administered as a part of the forest within which they are situated, subject to all laws applicable to lands acquired under the provisions of the Act of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 961), unless such lands are acquired to carry out the National Migratory Bird Management Program.

(As amended by P.L. 79-732, 60 Stat. 1080, August 14, 1946; and P.L. 85-624, 72 Stat. 563, August 12, 1958)

Sec. 4. Such areas as are made available to the Secretary of the Interior for the purposes of this Act, pursuant to sections 1 and 3 or pursuant to any other authorization, shall be administered by him directly or in accordance with cooperative agreements entered into pursuant to the provisions of the first section of this Act and in accordance with such rules and regulations for the conservation, maintenance, and management of wildlife, resources thereof, and its habitat thereon, as may be adopted by the Secretary in accordance with general plans approved jointly by the Secretary of the Interior and the head of the department or agency exercising primary administration of such areas: Provided, That such rules and regulations shall not be inconsistent with the laws for the protection of fish and game of the States in which such area is situated (16 U.S.C., sec. 664): Provided further, That lands having value to the National Migratory Bird Management Program may, pursuant to general plans, be made available without cost directly to the State agency having control over wildlife resources, if it is jointly determined by the Secretary of the Interior and such State agency that this would be in the public interest: And provided further, That the Secretary of the Interior shall have the right to assume the management and administration of such lands in behalf of the National Migratory Bird Management Program if the Secretary finds that the State agency has withdrawn from or otherwise relinquished such management and administration.

(As amended by P.L. 79-732, 60 Stat. 1080, August 14, 1946; and P.L. 85-624, 72 Stat. 563, August 12, 1958)

Report to
Congress.

National forest lands.

16 USC 480563, passim.

Rules and regulations.

60 Stat. 1080.

Investigations to determine

effects of polluting substances.

Reports to
Congress.

Appropriation authorized.

Penalty.

"Wildlife"; "wildlife

resources."

Inapplicability to TVA.

Sec. 5. The Secretary of the Interior, through the Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Mines, is authorized to make such investigations as he deems necessary to determine the effects of domestic sewage, mine, petroleum, and industrial wastes, erosion silt, and other polluting substances on wildlife, and to make reports to the Congress concerning such investigations and of recommendations for alleviating dangerous and undesirable effects of such pollution. These investigations shall include

(1) the determination of standards of water quality for the maintenance of wildlife; (2) the study of methods of abating and preventing pollution, including methods for the recovery of useful or marketable products and byproducts of wastes; and

(3) the collation and distribution of data on the progress and results of such investigations for the use of Federal, State, municipal, and private agencies, individuals, organizations, or enterprises.