16 U.S.C. § 1683 — Pilot projects; requirements; residue re-

Page 1978 TITLE 16—CONSERVATION § 1682 a provision set out as a note under section 1600 of this title] shall become effective October 1, 1981’’. SHORT TITLE For short title of Pub. L. 96–554, Dec. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 3257, as the Wood Residue Utilization Act of 1980, see Short Title of 1980 Amendment note set out under sec- tion 1600 of this title. § 1682. Pilot projects and demonstrations (a) Establishment, implementation The Secretary may establish pilot projects and demonstrations to carry out the purposes of this subchapter. The pilot projects and dem- onstrations established under this section (1) may be operated by the Secretary; or (2) may be carried out through contracts or agreements with owners of private forest lands or other per- sons, or in conjunction with projects, contracts, or agreements entered into under any other au- thority which the Secretary may possess: Pro- vided, That nothing contained in this subchapter shall abrogate or modify provisions of existing contracts or agreements, including contracts or agreements for the sale of national forest tim- ber, except to the extent such changes are mutu- ally agreed to by the parties to such contracts or agreements. (b) Scope; residue removal credits Pilot projects and demonstrations carried out under this section may include, but are not lim- ited to (1) establishment and operation of utili- zation demonstration areas; (2) establishment and operation of fuel wood concentration and distribution centers; and (3) construction of ac- cess roads needed to facilitate wood residue uti- lization: Provided, That residue removal credits may be utilized by the Secretary only as pro- vided in section 1683 of this title. (Pub. L. 96–554, § 3, Dec. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 3257.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1981, see section 9 of Pub. L. 96–554, set out as a note under section 1681 of this title. § 1683. Pilot projects; requirements; residue re- moval credits as compensation; implementa- tion guidelines The Secretary may carry out pilot wood res- idue utilization projects under which purchasers of National Forest System timber under con- tracts awarded prior to October 1, 1986, may, ex- cept as otherwise provided in this section, be re- quired to remove wood residues not purchased by them to points of prospective use in return for compensation in the form of ‘‘residue re- moval credits.’’ Such projects may be carried out where the Secretary identifies situations in which pilot wood residue utilization projects on the National Forest system can provide impor- tant information on various methods and ap- proaches to increasing the utilization, in resi- dential, commercial, and industrial or power- plant applications, of wood residues and where such information cannot reasonably be obtained unless the pilot projects are done in conjunction with normal National Forest timber sale activi- ties. The residue removal credits shall be ap- plied against the amount payable for the timber purchased and shall represent the anticipated cost of removal of wood residues. The following guidelines shall apply to projects carried out under this section: (1) Except in cases where wood residue re- moval is determined to be necessary for fire prevention, site preparation for regeneration, wildlife habitat improvement, or other land management purposes, the Secretary may not provide for removal of wood residues in in- stances where the anticipated cost of removal would exceed the anticipated value. (2) The residue removal credits authorized by this section shall not exceed the amount payable by the purchaser for timber after the application of all other designated charges and credits. (3) The Secretary may sell the wood residues removed to points of prospective use for not less than their appraised value. (4) Pilot projects, demonstrations, and other programs established pursuant to this sub- chapter shall be carried out in a manner which does not result in an adverse effect on the fur- nishing of timber, free of charge, under any other provision of law. (5) Wood residues shall be collected from a site so as to avoid soil depletion or erosion giving full consideration to the protection of wildlife habitat. (6) For the purposes of section 500 of this title, (A) any residue removal credit applied under this section shall be considered as ‘‘money received’’ or ‘‘moneys received’’, re- spectively, and (B) the ‘‘money received’’ or ‘‘moneys received’’, respectively, from the sales of wood residues removed to points of prospective use shall be the proceeds of the sales less the sum of any residue removal cred- it applied with respect to such residues plus any costs incurred by the Forest Service in processing and storing such residues. (Pub. L. 96–554, § 4, Dec. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 3257.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1981, see section 9 of Pub. L. 96–554, set out as a note under section 1681 of this title. § 1684. Annual reports The Secretary shall make annual reports to the Congress on the programs authorized by this subchapter. These reports shall be submitted with the reports required under section 1606(c) of this title. (Pub. L. 96–554, § 5, Dec. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 3258.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective Oct. 1, 1981, see section 9 of Pub. L. 96–554, set out as a note under section 1681 of this title. § 1685. Regulations The Secretary shall issue such regulations as the Secretary deems necessary to implement the provisions of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 96–554, § 6, Dec. 19, 1980, 94 Stat. 3258.)