§ 544o. Savings provisions
(a)
Effect on rights of Indians, use of water, rivers and streams, interstate compacts, existing transmission facilities, hunting and fishing, forest plans, scenic areas
(2)
except as provided in section
13
(c), authorize the appropriation or use of water by any Federal, State, or local agency, Indian tribe, or any other entity or individual;
(3)
except as provided in section
13
(c), affect the rights or jurisdictions of the United States, the States, Indian tribes or other entities over waters of any river or stream or over any ground water resource or affect or interfere with transportation activities on any such river or stream;
(4)
except as provided in section
13
(c), alter, establish, or affect the respective rights of the United States, the States, Indian tribes, or any person with respect to any water or water-related right;
(5)
alter, amend, repeal, interpret, modify, or be in conflict with any interstate compact made by the States before November 17, 1986;
(6)
affect or modify the ability of the Bonneville Power Administration to operate, maintain, and modify existing transmission facilities;
(7)
affect lands held in trust by the Secretary of the Interior for Indian tribes or individual members of Indian tribes or other lands acquired by the Army Corps of Engineers and administered by the Secretary of the Interior for the benefit of Indian tribes and individual members of Indian tribes;
(8)
affect the laws, rules and regulations pertaining to hunting and fishing under existing State and Federal laws and Indian treaties;
(9)
require any revision or amendment of any forest plan adopted pursuant to the National Forest Management Act of 1976 (Act of October 22, 1976, Public Law 94–588, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.)); or
(10)
establish protective perimeters or buffer zones around the scenic area or each special management area. The fact that activities or uses inconsistent with the management directives for the scenic area or special management areas can be seen or heard from these areas shall not, of itself, preclude such activities or uses up to the boundaries of the scenic area or special management areas.
(c)
Rights and responsibilities of non-Federal timber land owners
Except for the management, utilization, or disposal of timber resources of non-Federal lands within the special management areas, nothing in sections
544 to
544p of this title shall affect the rights and responsibilities of non-Federal timber land owners under the Oregon and Washington Forest Practices Acts or any county regulations which under applicable State law supersede such Acts.
(e)
Failure to establish Columbia River Gorge Commission; responsibility of Secretary
In the event that the States of Washington and Oregon fail to comply with the provisions of section
544c of this title, the Secretary shall not be obligated to take actions which are predicated upon the establishment of the Commission.
(f)
Actions of Secretary as major Federal actions affecting the environment
(1)
Actions by the Secretary pursuant to subsections (f), (g), and (h) of section
544d of this title; subsections (f), (j), (k), and (l) of section
544f of this title; section
544g of this title; and subsections (a) and (b)(2) of section
544h of this title shall neither be considered major Federal actions significantly affecting the quality of the environment under section 102 of the National Environmental Policy Act (42 U.S.C. 4332) nor require the preparation of an environmental assessment in accordance with that Act [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.].