REVISION OF AUTHORITIES RELATING TO RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARDS.

SEC. 324. REVISION OF AUTHORITIES RELATING TO RESTORATION ADVISORY BOARDS. (a) Regulations.— Paragraph (2) of subsection (d) of section 2705 of title 10, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: “(2) (A) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations regarding the establishment, characteristics, composition, and funding of restoration advisory boards pursuant to this subsection. “(B) The issuance of regulations under subparagraph (A) shall not be a precondition to the establishment of restoration advisory boards under this subsection.”. (b) Funding for Administrative Expenses.— Paragraph (3) of such subsection is amended to read as follows: 110 STAT. 253 “(3) The Secretary may authorize the commander of an installation (or, if there is no such commander, an appropriate official of the Department of Defense designated by the Secretary) to pay routine administrative expenses of a restoration advisory board established for that installation. Such payments shall be made from funds available under subsection (g).”. (c) Technical Assistance.— Such section is further amended by striking out subsection (e) and inserting in lieu thereof the following new subsection (e): “(e) Technical Assistance.— (1) The Secretary may, upon the request of the technical review committee or restoration advisory board for an installation, authorize the commander of the installation (or, if there is no such commander, an appropriate official of the Department of Defense designated by the Secretary) to obtain for the committee or advisory board, as the case may be, from private sector sources technical assistance for interpreting scientific and engineering issues with regard to the nature of environmental hazards at the installation and the restoration activities conducted, or proposed to be conducted, at the installation. The commander of an installation (or, if there is no such commander, an appropriate official of the Department of Defense designated by the Secretary) shall use funds made available under subsection (g) for obtaining assistance under this paragraph. “(2) The commander of an installation (or, if there is no such commander, an appropriate official of the Department of Defense designated by the Secretary) may obtain technical assistance under paragraph (1) for a technical review committee or restoration advisory board only if— “(A) the technical review committee or restoration advisory board demonstrates that the Federal, State, and local agencies responsible for overseeing environmental restoration at the installation, and available Department of Defense personnel, do not have the technical expertise necessary for achieving the objective for which the technical assistance is to be obtained; or “(B) the technical assistance— “(i) is likely to contribute to the efficiency, effectiveness, or timeliness of environmental restoration activities at the installation; and “(ii) is likely to contribute to community acceptance of environmental restoration activities at the installation.”. (d) Funding.— (1) Such section is further amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: “(g) Funding.— The Secretary shall, to the extent provided in appropriations Acts, make funds available for administrative expenses and technical assistance under this section using funds in the following accounts: “(1) In the case of a military installation not approved for closure pursuant to a base closure law, the Defense Environmental Restoration Account established under section 2703(a) of this title. “(2) In the case of an installation approved for closure pursuant to such a law, the Department of Defense Base Closure Account 1990 established under section 2906(a) of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note).”. 110 STAT. 254 (2) (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), the total amount of funds made available under section 2705(g) of title 10, United States Code, as added by paragraph (1), for fiscal year 1996 may not exceed $6,000,000. (B) Amounts may not be made available under subsection (g) of such section 2705 after September 15, 1996, unless the Secretary of Defense publishes proposed final or interim final regulations required under subsection (d) of such section, as amended by subsection (a). (e) Definition.— Such section is further amended by adding after subsection (g) (as added by subsection (d)) the following new subsection: “(h) Definition.— In this section, the term ‘base closure law’ means the following: “(1) Title II of the Defense Authorization Amendments and Base Closure and Realignment Act (Public Law 100–526; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note). “(2) The Defense Base Closure and Realignment Act of 1990 (part A of title XXIX of Public Law 101–510; 10 U.S.C. 2687 note). “(3) Section 2687 of this title.”. (f) Reports on Activities of Technical Review Committees and Restoration Advisory Boards.— Section 2706(a)(2) of title 10, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: “(J) A statement of the activities, if any, including expenditures for administrative expenses and technical assistance under section 2705 of this title, of the technical review committee or restoration advisory board established for the installation under such section during the preceding fiscal year.”.