223.203—Indirect substitution exception for National Forest System timber from within Washington State.

(a) Exception limits. A limited amount of unprocessed National Forest System timber originating from within Washington State could have been acquired by a person otherwise covered by the prohibition against indirect substitution, pursuant to § 490(b) of the Act and § 223.189(e) of this subpart.

(1) The amount of such unprocessed timber was limited to whichever is less:

(i) The higher of the applicant's actual purchase receipts for unprocessed timber originating from National Forest System lands within Washington State or the Department's records, during fiscal years 1988, 1989, and 1990, divided by 3; or

(ii) 15 million board feet.

(2) Such limit shall not exceed such person's proportionate share of 50 million board feet.

(b) Application, review and approval process. To obtain a share of the 50 million board feet exempted from the prohibition against indirect substitution in section 490(b) of the Act, a person must have submitted an application. Applications were required to include at least the following:

(1) The amount of volume exception being requested, in thousand board feet (MBF);

(2) A signed certification that reads as follows:

“I certify that, except for an approved share of unprocessed Federal timber, in accordance with 36 CFR 223.203, the prohibition contained in section 490(b) of the Act (16 U.S.C. 620b) applies to me. I have exported unprocessed timber originating from private lands from west of the 100th meridian in the 48 contiguous States and have acquired unprocessed timber from National Forest System lands located within Washington State in 1988, 1989 and/or 1990. I certify that the information provided in support of this application is a true, accurate, current and complete statement, to the best of my knowledge and belief. I agree to retain records of all transactions involving the acquisition and disposition of unprocessed timber from Federal lands within the area involved in this application for a period of 3 years beginning on the date the application is approved, and to make such records available for inspection upon the request of the Regional Forester or other official to whom such authority has been delegated. I make this certification with full knowledge and understanding of the requirements of the Act and do fully understand that if this application is approved, the amount of exception granted under this approval may not be exceeded in any one fiscal year, and do fully understand that if such exception is exceeded I will be in violation of the Act (16 U.S.C. 620, et seq.), and I may be subject to the penalties and remedies provided for such violation. Further, I do fully understand that such violation may subject me to the penalty of perjury pursuant to the False Statements Act (18 U.S.C. 1001).”;

and

(3) The application listed under this section must have been signed by the person making such application or, in the case of a corporation, by its Chief Executive Officer. The application must have been on the company's letterhead and must have been notarized.

(4) The application made under this section must have been mailed to the Regional Forester in Portland, Oregon, no later than January 8, 1992. Applicants were notified of the approving official's decision by letter. If approved, the amount of the exception becomes effective upon publication in the Federal Register.

(5) Prospective applicants could review Department records upon request prior to the deadline for submitting applications. An applicant could voluntarily submit information documenting the amount of purchases of unprocessed timber originating from National Forest System lands within Washington State. The Department then determined which amount is higher, verified by either the Department's records or the applicant's records. The Department then determined the applicant's portion of the 50 million board feet by determining the lesser of the amount verified by the records or 15 million board feet. Applicants could submit the information documenting the amount of purchases in the following manner:

(i) Actual receipts for purchasing unprocessed timber from National Forest System lands within Washington State; or

(ii) A statement by a certified public accountant of:

(A) A summary by fiscal year for 1988, 1989 and 1990 of the applicant's acquisitions of timber originating from National Forest System lands in the State of Washington, listing total volume for each of the three fiscal years; and

(B) The average volume for the three fiscal years. The volumes to be reported were the harvest volumes, except in the case of open sales. Advertised volumes had to be reported for open sales.

“I certify that under the penalties and remedies provided in § 492 of the Act (16 U.S.C. 620d) and the penalty of perjury provided in the False Statements Act (18 U.S.C. 1001) that the information provided in support of this application is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, a true, accurate, current, and complete statement of [applicant's company's name] National Forest System timber acquisitions originating from within the State of Washington for fiscal years 1988, 1989 and/or 1990.”

(D) The certified public accountant's statement and certification must have been on the accountant's company letterhead, must have been notarized, and must have accompanied the applicant's application.

(c) Selling and trading rights. The purchase limit right obtained under this rule may be sold, traded, or otherwise exchanged with any other person subject to the following conditions:

(1) Such rights may not be sold, traded, or otherwise exchanged to persons already in possession of such rights:

(2) Any person selling, trading, or exchanging any or all of the rights obtained under this rule shall advise the Regional Forester of the amount being traded and the name(s) of the person(s) acquiring such rights within 15 days of the transaction; and

(3) No person may have or acquire more than 15 million board feet in one fiscal year.

(d) Information collection. The application procedures in this section constitute information collection requirements as defined in 5 CFR part 1320. These requirements have been approved by the Office of Management and Budget and assigned clearance number 0596-0114.

(e) Persons with approved shares. The application period for shares of the indirect substitution exception for acquiring unprocessed timber originating from National Forest Systems lands within the State of Washington closed on January 8, 1992. Persons with approved shares are responsible for monitoring and controlling their acquisitions of National Forest System timber originating from within the State of Washington to assure approved share amounts are not exceeded in any Federal fiscal year. Unused portions of annual shares may not be “banked” for use in future fiscal years. The acquisition of such National Forest System timber must be reported to the Forest Service in accordance with § 223.193 of this subpart. The following shares are approved as of September 8, 1995:

(1) Cavenham Forest Industries, Portland, OR, 1,048,000 board feet.

(2) Weyerhauser, Tacoma, WA, 15,000,000 board feet.