Wildfire Emergency Act of 2021

I 117TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3534 To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to select and implement landscape- scale forest restoration projects, to assist communities in increasing their resilience to wildfire, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MAY 25, 2021 Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. COSTA, Mr. HARDER of California, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. CARBAJAL, Mr. CORREA, and Mr. THOMPSON of Cali- fornia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Transportation and Infrastructure, Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, and Edu- cation and Labor, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To direct the Secretary of Agriculture to select and imple- ment landscape-scale forest restoration projects, to assist communities in increasing their resilience to wildfire, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 3 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 4 ‘‘Wildfire Emergency Act of 2021’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 3534 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Purpose. Sec. 103. Selection and implementation of landscape-scale forest restoration projects. Sec. 104. Conservation finance agreements. Sec. 105. Administration. Sec. 106. Report evaluating implementation. Sec. 107. Funding. TITLE II—INCREASING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO WILDFIRE Sec. 201. Critical infrastructure and microgrid program. Sec. 202. Retrofits for fire-resilient communities. Sec. 203. Hazard mitigation using disaster assistance. Sec. 204. Wildfire detection equipment. TITLE III—RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING Sec. 301. Western prescribed fire centers. Sec. 302. Innovative forest workforce development program. Sec. 303. National community capacity and land stewardship grant program. TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE 3 FOREST RESTORATION 4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this title: 6 (1) CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENT.— 7 The term ‘‘conservation finance agreement’’ means a 8 mutual benefit agreement (excluding a procurement 9 contract, grant, or cooperative agreement described 10 in chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code)— 11 (A) the term of which is more than 1, but 12 not more than 20, years; 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 3534 IH (B) that may provide that performance 1 under the agreement during the second and 2 subsequent years of the agreement is contingent 3 on the appropriation of funds; and 4 (C) if the agreement does so provide, that 5 may provide for a cancellation payment to be 6 made to the partner if those appropriations are 7 not made. 8 (2) ECOLOGICAL CONDITIONS.—The term ‘‘eco- 9 logical conditions’’ has the meaning given the term 10 in section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal Regu- 11 lations (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 12 Act). 13 (3) ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY.—The term ‘‘eco- 14 logical integrity’’ has the meaning given the term in 15 section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal Regula- 16 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 17 Act). 18 (4) LANDSCAPE ASSESSMENT.—The term 19 ‘‘landscape assessment’’ means an assessment of a 20 landscape that— 21 (A) meets the requirements described in 22 section 103(c)(1)(C); 23 (B) does not constitute a decision docu- 24 ment or final agency action requiring a separate 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 3534 IH analysis under the National Environmental Pol- 1 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 2 (C) may be presented— 3 (i) in a separate analysis; 4 (ii) within 1 or more broader analyses, 5 including analyses under the National En- 6 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 7 4321 et seq.); or 8 (iii) through a combination of the 9 analyses described in clauses (i) and (ii). 10 (5) RESTORE.—The term ‘‘restore’’ has the 11 meaning given the term in section 219.19 of title 36, 12 Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on the 13 date of enactment of this Act). 14 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 15 the Secretary of Agriculture. 16 (7) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 17 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 18 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 19 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 20 SEC. 102. PURPOSE. 21 The purpose of this title is to increase the pace and 22 scale of forest restoration and reduction in the risk of 23 uncharacteristic wildfire through— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 3534 IH (1) authorizing a pilot program with conserva- 1 tion finance agreement authority to leverage other 2 Federal and non-Federal investment (excluding 3 funds appropriated to the Forest Service) in land- 4 scape-scale forest restoration and related natural 5 and built infrastructure, equipment, and job train- 6 ing; 7 (2) project planning and analysis practices that 8 effectively scale up to the landscape level of 100,000 9 acres or more; 10 (3) requiring ecological standards and collabo- 11 ration for landscape-scale projects; and 12 (4) coordination with Federal, State, local, and 13 Tribal agencies to expand personnel options to sup- 14 port the pilot program described in paragraph (1) by 15 taking advantage of interorganizational support. 16 SEC. 103. SELECTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF LAND- 17 SCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION 18 PROJECTS. 19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall select, in ac- 20 cordance with this section, landscape-scale forest restora- 21 tion projects— 22 (1) to implement on National Forest System 23 land; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 3534 IH (2) if applicable, to implement on land adjoin- 1 ing National Forest System land, in coordination 2 with other Federal and non-Federal entities. 3 (b) INITIAL PHASE.—During the 5-year period begin- 4 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, subject to the 5 availability of appropriations pursuant to section 107(a), 6 the Secretary shall select not more than 20 landscape- 7 scale forest restoration projects under subsection (a). 8 (c) ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS.— 9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subject to paragraph (2), to 10 be eligible for selection and implementation under 11 subsection (a), a landscape-scale forest restoration 12 project shall satisfy the following requirements: 13 (A) The purposes and needs for the project 14 shall be— 15 (i) to restore the ecological integrity 16 and ecological resilience of terrestrial and 17 aquatic areas that have departed from ref- 18 erence conditions within the forest land- 19 scape; 20 (ii) to restore appropriate natural fire 21 regimes, including by reducing fuel loads 22 and modifying forest structure in areas 23 that have departed from reference condi- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 3534 IH tions, taking into account the current and 1 projected impacts of climate change; and 2 (iii) to conduct wildfire risk reduction 3 activities within the wildland-urban inter- 4 face to the extent that the project includes 5 lands within the wildland-urban interface. 6 (B) The project shall be developed and 7 supported by a collaborative group that— 8 (i) includes multiple interested per- 9 sons representing diverse interests; 10 (ii) is transparent and inclusive; and 11 (iii) has sufficient expertise, capacity, 12 and scientific support to effectively plan, 13 implement, and monitor landscape-level, 14 ecologically based forest restoration activi- 15 ties. 16 (C) The project shall be based on a land- 17 scape assessment that shall— 18 (i) cover a landscape of— 19 (I) except as provided in sub- 20 clauses (II) and (III), not less than 21 100,000 acres; 22 (II) in such limited cases as the 23 Secretary determines to be appro- 24 priate, not less than 80,000 acres if— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 3534 IH (aa) the assessment is com- 1 pleted or substantially completed 2 as of the date of enactment of 3 this Act; and 4 (bb) in the determination of 5 the Secretary, assessing a larger 6 area is not necessary to restore 7 the integrity, resilience, and fire 8 regimes of the landscape; or 9 (III) not less than 50,000 acres 10 in the case of a project that is carried 11 out east of the 100th meridian; 12 (ii) evaluate ecological integrity and 13 determine reference conditions for the 14 landscape; 15 (iii) identify terrestrial and aquatic 16 areas within the landscape that have de- 17 parted from reference conditions; 18 (iv) identify criteria to determine ap- 19 propriate restoration treatments within de- 20 graded areas of the landscape to achieve 21 reference conditions, including manage- 22 ment prescriptions, mitigation measures, 23 and constraints to be applied when car- 24 rying out actions in those areas; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 3534 IH (v) be based on the best available sci- 1 entific information and data, including, 2 where applicable, high-resolution imagery, 3 LiDAR, and similar technologies and infor- 4 mation, and involve direct engagement by 5 scientists; and 6 (vi) identify priority restoration strat- 7 egies for terrestrial and aquatic areas, in- 8 cluding prescribed fire and wildfires man- 9 aged for multiple resource benefits, which 10 shall focus on— 11 (I) areas that are the most de- 12 parted from reference conditions; and 13 (II) areas that would benefit the 14 most from reducing the risk of 15 uncharacteristic wildfire, especially 16 with respect to nearby communities, 17 taking into account other completed, 18 ongoing, and planned fuels-reduction 19 projects. 20 (D) Restoration treatments under the 21 project— 22 (i) shall emphasize the reintroduction 23 of characteristic fire, based on forest ecol- 24 ogy and reference conditions, through the 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 3534 IH use of prescribed fire, wildfire managed for 1 resource benefits, or both; 2 (ii) that involve any proposed mechan- 3 ical treatments shall be designed to pro- 4 mote— 5 (I) the restoration of reference 6 conditions in areas that lack ecological 7 integrity, especially the reduction of 8 surface and ladder fuels; and 9 (II) the establishment of condi- 10 tions that will facilitate prescribed fire 11 or managed wildfire; 12 (iii) shall— 13 (I) fully maintain or contribute 14 to the restoration of reference old for- 15 est conditions, taking into account the 16 current and projected impacts of cli- 17 mate change; and 18 (II) protect or increase the num- 19 ber and distribution of large old trees, 20 consistent with reference conditions, 21 excepting any de minimis losses of 22 large old trees from prescribed fire or 23 hazardous tree removal; and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 3534 IH (iv) that involve prescribed fire shall 1 provide advance notification, in accordance 2 with notification procedures developed by 3 the Secretary, to the owner or operator of 4 critical infrastructure, such as a power line 5 right-of-way, of any prescribed fire treat- 6 ments within close proximity to the infra- 7 structure. 8 (E) The project shall be consistent with all 9 applicable environmental laws, including— 10 (i) the National Environmental Policy 11 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 12 (ii) the Endangered Species Act of 13 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.); and 14 (iii) the Forest and Rangeland Renew- 15 able Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.). 17 (F) The project shall be consistent with 18 the Roadless Area Conservation Rule estab- 19 lished under part 294 of title 36, Code of Fed- 20 eral Regulations (or successor regulations), and 21 the final rule and record of decision of the For- 22 est Service entitled ‘‘Special Areas; Roadless 23 Area Conservation’’ (66 Fed. Reg. 3244 (Janu- 24 ary 12, 2001)) (or a successor rule). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 3534 IH (G) The project shall require multiparty 1 monitoring, including opportunities for public 2 engagement, and an adaptive management ap- 3 proach that— 4 (i) conditions the future implementa- 5 tion of the project on the satisfactory com- 6 pletion of— 7 (I) priority restoration actions; 8 and 9 (II) required monitoring; 10 (ii) validates conditions projected to 11 occur in the environmental analysis for the 12 project; and 13 (iii) requires modifications to the 14 project if monitoring reveals impacts be- 15 yond the anticipated impacts of the 16 project. 17 (H)(i) No new permanent road may be 18 built as part of the project. 19 (ii) Any new temporary roads needed to 20 implement the project shall be decommissioned 21 not later than 3 years after completion of the 22 project. 23 (I) The project shall use an efficient ap- 24 proach to landscape-scale analysis and decision- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:21 Jul 03, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3534.IH H3534 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with BILLS 13 •HR 3534 IH making that is consistent with the National En- 1 vironmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 2 4321 et seq.), which may include— 3 (i) the preparation of a single environ- 4 mental impact statement or environmental 5 assessment, as applicable, for the entire 6 project, incorporating the landscape [Text truncated for display. 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