Clarification of Legal Enforcement Against Non-criminal Energy Producers Act of 2014 or the CLEAN Energy Producers Act of 2014 - Amends the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act to require the Secretary of the Interior to issue or deny an eagle permit that authorizes the taking of a bald eagle or golden eagle that is incidental to, but not the purpose of, an otherwise lawful activity. Deems the permit as issued if the Secretary fails to act within a reasonable time (not exceeding one year).
Amends the Migratory Bird Treaty Act to add an intent element to criminal liability for the taking, killing, or other harm to a migratory bird that is accidental or incidental to the presence or operation of an otherwise lawful activity.
[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4797 Introduced in House (IH)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 4797
To update avian protection laws in order to support an all-of-the-above
domestic energy strategy, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 2, 2014
Mr. Duncan of South Carolina (for himself, Mr. Bucshon, Mr. Mulvaney,
Mr. Cramer, Mr. Jones, Mr. Rokita, Mr. Johnson of Ohio, and Mrs. Black)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To update avian protection laws in order to support an all-of-the-above
domestic energy strategy, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Clarification of Legal Enforcement
Against Non-criminal Energy Producers Act of 2014'' or the ``CLEAN
Energy Producers Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA) was enacted in
1918 to protect the migratory bird population from overhunting
and poaching and has not been updated to reflect the societal
changes that have occurred in our Nation over the last 95
years.
(2) Anyone involved in an otherwise legal activity may be
subject to criminal liability for the unintentional death of
any one of over 1,000 species of birds protected under the
MBTA.
(3) The Act of June 8, 1940 (chapter 278; 16 U.S.C. 668),
popularly known as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act
(BGEPA), was first enacted in 1940 to protect the dwindling
population of bald eagles and amended in 1962 to cover golden
eagles in order to provide additional protective measures for
bald eagles and for other purposes.
(4) The BGEPA includes a program for the Federal Government
to issue permits in order to protect companies from legal
liability if eagles are unintentionally injured or killed, but
the Federal Government has failed to issue permits issued under
the program.
(5) Among other goals, the BGEPA's permit program was
established to assure the protection of interests fundamental
to the basic operation of our society like agriculture and
energy infrastructure development and maintenance.
(6) The BGEPA was successful in helping the overall eagle
population recover, leading to bald eagles being removed from
the list of threatened and endangered species in 2007.
(7) There are differing legal and judicial interpretations
regarding the scope of criminality in those statutes.
(8) It appears criminal prosecution under those statutes
has been subjective, selective, and not applied uniformly and
fairly across all sectors of society.
(9) Those statutes need to be updated to reflect
significant changes in our Nation over the last half century,
including the urbanization of rural areas and how domestic
energy is produced, transmitted, and distributed.
(10) Protecting the avian population and its habitat is
important.
(11) Federal enforcement actions should be appropriate,
uniform, nondiscriminatory, and just.
SEC. 3. PERMITS FOR INCIDENTAL TAKE.
Section 1 of the Act of June 8, 1940 (chapter 278; 16 U.S.C. 668),
popularly known as the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection Act, is amended
by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Permits for Incidental Take.--Upon submission of a
substantially completed application, the Secretary shall issue or deny
an eagle take permit for no less than 30 years under section 22.26 of
title 50, Code of Federal Regulations, that authorizes taking of any
bald eagle or golden eagle that is incidental to, but not the purpose
of, an otherwise lawful activity. Failure to issue or deny such a
permit within a reasonable time (which shall not exceed one year) is
deemed issuance of such permit, and the applicant shall not be subject
to liability for any incidental take of a bald eagle or golden eagle
that is in conformity with the information submitted to the Secretary
as part of the application for the permit.''.
SEC. 4. MIGRATORY BIRD TREATY ACT.
Section 6(a) of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 U.S.C. 707(a)) is
amended--
(1) by striking ``shall'' the first and second place it
appears and inserting ``shall with intent knowingly''; and
(2) by adding at the end the following: ``For the purposes
of this subsection, `with intent knowingly' does not include
any taking, killing, or other harm to any migratory bird that
is accidental or incidental to the presence or operation of an
otherwise lawful activity.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Fisheries, Wildlife, Oceans, and Insular Affairs.
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