[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2650 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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117th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 2650
To provide mandatory funding for hazardous fuels reduction projects on
certain Federal land, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
August 5, 2021
Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Padilla, and Mrs. Feinstein)
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To provide mandatory funding for hazardous fuels reduction projects on
certain Federal land, 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 ``Wildfire Resilient Communities
Act''.
SEC. 2. FUNDING FOR HAZARDOUS FUELS REDUCTION PROJECTS ON CERTAIN
FEDERAL LAND.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Agency head.--The term ``agency head'' means--
(A) the Director of the National Park Service;
(B) the Chief of the Forest Service;
(C) the Director of the Bureau of Land Management;
(D) the Director of the United States Fish and
Wildlife Service; and
(E) the Director of the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
(2) At-risk community; fire regime i; fire regime ii; fire
regime iii.--The terms ``at-risk community'', ``fire regime
I'', ``fire regime II'', and ``fire regime III'' have the
meanings given those terms in section 101 of the Healthy
Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511).
(3) Covered land.--The term ``covered land'' means Federal
land under the jurisdiction of the applicable agency head.
(4) Hazardous fuels reduction project.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction project'' means the removal or
modification of flammable vegetation or woody debris through
prescribed fire, thinning, brush removal, mastication, pruning,
slash treatment, or a combination of those methods, on the
condition that the method is ecologically appropriate, cost-
effective, and selected on a site-specific basis.
(b) Hazardous Fuels Reduction Projects.--
(1) In general.--The agency heads shall carry out hazardous
fuels reduction projects on covered land.
(2) Project priorities.--In carrying out paragraph (1), the
agency heads shall prioritize hazardous fuels reduction
projects that are--
(A) conducted in areas that--
(i) are within or adjacent to--
(I) at-risk communities; or
(II) high-value watersheds;
(ii) have very high wildfire hazard
potential; or
(iii) are in fire regime I, fire regime II,
or fire regime III; or
(B) designed to integrate and simultaneously
advance 2 or more of the goals established in the
report of the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior entitled ``The National
Strategy: the Final Phase of the Development of the
National Cohesive Wildland Fire Management Strategy''
and dated April 2014--
(i) to create fire-adapted communities;
(ii) to restore and maintain resilient
landscapes; and
(iii) to achieve safe, effective fire
response.
(c) Funding.--
(1) In general.--On the first October 1 following the date
of enactment of this Act, out of any funds in the Treasury not
otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall
transfer to the agency heads, in accordance with an allocation
formula established by the Secretary of the Treasury,
$30,000,000,000, to remain available until expended.
(2) Receipt and acceptance.--The agency heads shall be
entitled to receive, shall accept, and shall use to carry out
this section the funds transferred under paragraph (1), without
further appropriation.
(3) Administrative and planning costs.--Not more than 10
percent of funding made available under paragraph (1) may be
used for administrative and planning costs.
SEC. 3. COMMUNITY PLANNING ASSISTANCE FOR AT-RISK COMMUNITIES.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) At-risk community; community wildfire protection
plan.--The terms ``at-risk community'' and ``community wildfire
protection plan'' have the meanings given those terms in
section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16
U.S.C. 6511).
(2) Federal land.--The term ``Federal land'' means the
following:
(A) National Forest System land reserved from the
public domain.
(B) The following land administered by the
Secretary of the Interior:
(i) Public lands (as defined in section 103
of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)).
(ii) A unit of the National Park System.
(iii) A unit of the National Wildlife
Refuge System.
(iv) Land held in trust for an Indian
Tribe.
(3) Hazardous fuels reduction project.--The term
``hazardous fuels reduction project'' means the removal or
modification of flammable vegetation or woody debris through
prescribed fire, thinning, brush removal, mastication, pruning,
slash treatment, or a combination of those methods, on the
condition that the method is ecologically appropriate, cost-
effective, and selected on a site-specific basis.
(4) Indian tribe.--The term ``Indian Tribe'' has the
meaning given the term in section 4 of the Indian Self-
Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. 5304).
(5) Secretaries.--The term ``Secretaries'' means the
Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture.
(b) Development of Map.--Not later than 180 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, and periodically thereafter, the Secretaries
shall develop and publish a map depicting at-risk communities,
including Tribal at-risk communities.
(c) Planning and Preparing At-Risk Communities for Wildfire.--
Subject to the availability of appropriations, the Secretaries shall
provide financial and technical assistance to at-risk communities
adjacent to Federal land, including through States, to assist the at-
risk communities in planning and preparing for wildfire, including--
(1) cosponsoring and supporting the expansion of--
(A) the Firewise USA Program;
(B) the Ready, Set, Go program;
(C) the Living with Wildfire program; or
(D) programs similar to the programs referred to in
subparagraphs (A) through (C) that are designed to
advance fire-adapted communities;
(2) supporting the development, updating, and
implementation of community wildfire protection plans;
(3) carrying out risk assessments and creating maps that
depict wildfire risk, investment scenarios, and tradeoffs to
assist in planning for response and suppression resource needs
and implementing hazardous fuels reduction projects;
(4) sharing costs to create defensible space for a distance
of not less than 100 feet around a residence that was built
before the date of enactment of this Act; and
(5) planning and implementing cross-boundary hazardous
fuels reduction projects as identified in a community wildfire
protection plan.
(d) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be
appropriated $1,000,000,000 to carry out this section for each fiscal
year.
SEC. 4. COLLABORATIVE FOREST LANDSCAPE RESTORATION PROGRAM.
(a) Proposal Selection Process.--Section 4003(d) of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303(d)) is amended by
striking paragraph (3) and inserting the following:
``(3) Limitation.--The Secretary may select not more than
the number of proposals under paragraph (1) that the Secretary
determines are likely to receive adequate funding.''.
(b) Permanent Reauthorization.--Section 4003(f)(6) of the Omnibus
Public Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303(f)(6)) is amended by
striking ``$80,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2019 through 2023'' and
inserting ``$100,000,000 for fiscal year 2022 and each fiscal year
thereafter''.
SEC. 5. COUNTY STEWARDSHIP FUND.
Section 604 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16
U.S.C. 6591c) is amended--
(1) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (k); and
(2) by inserting after subsection (i) the following:
``(j) County Stewardship Fund.--
``(1) In general.--There is established in the Treasury of
the United States a fund to be known as the `County Stewardship
Fund' (referred to in this section as the `Fund'), to be
administered by the Secretary.
``(2) Deposits.--Each fiscal year, an amount equal to 25
percent of the amounts collected as receipts under subsection
(e) during the preceding fiscal year shall be deposited in the
Fund.
``(3) Availability.--Amounts in the Fund shall--
``(A) be used only for purposes described in
paragraph (4); and
``(B) remain available until expended.
``(4) Purposes.--
``(A) In general.--Each fiscal year, the Chief or
the Director, as applicable, shall distribute from
amounts in the Fund to each county in which a contract
under subsection (b) was carried out on Federal land in
the county during the preceding fiscal year a payment
of an amount equal to 25 percent of the receipts
generated from that contract.
``(B) Use of funds.--A county receiving a payment
under subparagraph (A) may use the payment for any
governmental purposes.''.
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