HR 668 · 118th Congress 2023–2025, ended

Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act

Introduced Jan 31, 2023 Originated House Sponsor Betty McCollum D-MN

Fact sheet Spreadsheet

Latest action · Feb 21, 2023 Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.

Progress

Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.

  1. IntroducedJan 31, 2023
  2. Passed HouseNot reached
  3. Passed SenateNot reached
  4. To the PresidentNot reached
  5. Became lawNot reached

Summary

Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act

This bill withdraws approximately 234,328 acres of federal land and waters in a specified area in the Rainy River Watershed of Superior National Forest in Minnesota from

  • entry, appropriation, and disposal under the public land laws;
  • location, entry, and patent under the mining laws; and
  • operation of the mineral leasing, mineral materials, and geothermal leasing laws.

The area is adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness Mining Protection Area. Land or interest in land within such area that is acquired by the United States shall be immediately withdrawn in accordance with this bill.

The Forest Service is authorized to permit the removal of sand, granite, iron ore, and taconite from national forest system lands within such area if the removal is not detrimental to the water quality, air quality, and health of forest habitat within the Rainy River Watershed.

Cosponsors 48

Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jan 31, 2023 to Jul 11, 2023; 41 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.

SeatCosponsorSigned on
D-CAAdam B. SchiffOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-INAndré CarsonOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CAAnna G. EshooOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CABarbara LeeOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MEChellie PingreeOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MOCori BushOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MIDaniel T. KildeeOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MNDean PhillipsOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-NCDeborah K. RossOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-WADerek KilmerOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-OREarl BlumenauerOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-HIEd CaseOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-DCEleanor Holmes NortonOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MIElissa SlotkinOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-VAGerald E. ConnollyOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-WIGwen MooreOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MNIlhan OmarOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MAJames P. McGovernOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MDJamie RaskinOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-ILJanice D. SchakowskyOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CAJared HuffmanOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-NYJerrold NadlerOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-ILJesús G. "Chuy" GarcíaOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CTJoe CourtneyOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CTJohn B. LarsonOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CAJudy ChuOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CAJulia BrownleyOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-WIMark PocanOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-PAMatt CartwrightOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-NMMelanie A. StansburyOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CAMike LevinOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CANanette Diaz BarragánOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-NYPaul TonkoOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-MIRashida TlaibOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-AZRaúl M. GrijalvaOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-AZRuben GallegoOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-ILSean CastenOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-TXSheila Jackson LeeOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-TNSteve CohenOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-WASuzan K. DelBeneOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CATed LieuOriginalJan 31, 2023
D-CODiana DeGetteFeb 2, 2023
D-HIJill N. TokudaFeb 2, 2023
D-GANikema WilliamsFeb 7, 2023
D-NYJamaal BowmanFeb 27, 2023
D-CAKatie PorterFeb 27, 2023
D-FLFrederica S. WilsonMay 23, 2023
D-VADonald S. Beyer, Jr.Jul 11, 2023

Committees 1

Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.

ChamberCommitteeWhat it did
HouseNatural Resources Committee
Referred Jan 31, 2023
Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee
Referred Feb 21, 2023
Federal Lands Subcommittee
Referred Feb 21, 2023

Actions 4

Everything that happened, newest first.

  1. Feb 21, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
  2. Feb 21, 2023Referred to the Subcommittee on Federal Lands.
  3. Jan 31, 2023Introduced in House
  4. Jan 31, 2023Referred to the House Committee on Natural Resources.

Research

What has been written about this bill: committee reports, cost estimates, the sponsor’s authority statement, printed hearings and the Congressional Research Service’s work.

Constitutional authority

Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuant to the following: Pursuant to Article I Section 8 of the Constitution The single subject of this legislation is: This bill permanently withdraws over 234,000 acres of federal land and waters within the Rainy River Watershed adjacent to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness from mineral leasing.

The sponsor’s statement, as printed in the Congressional Record, vol. 169, no. 20, January 31, 2023, page H578.

Related bills 1

Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.

BillTitleRelationshipLatest action
HR 2794Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention ActReintroduction ofDec 14, 2022

Titles 2

Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.

Official Title as Introduced
To provide for the protection of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness and interconnected Federal lands and waters, including Voyageurs National Park, within the Rainy River Watershed in the State of Minnesota, and for other purposes.
Short Title(s) as Introduced
Boundary Waters Wilderness Protection and Pollution Prevention Act

Subjects

Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources.

Text 1

Each version as it was printed, newest first.

  1. Jan 31, 2023Introduced in House

Support LegiList

This page is free, carries no paywall, and is built and maintained by one person. If the record here is useful to you, a few dollars keeps it going.

$1 $5 $10

Processed by Stripe in a separate window. LegiList never sees card details.

Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.