Emergency Wildfire and Public Safety Act of 2020

I 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION H. R. 7978 To increase wildfire preparedness and response throughout the United States, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES AUGUST 7, 2020 Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. COSTA, Mr. HARDER of Cali- fornia, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. COX of California, Mr. CARBAJAL, and Mr. GIANFORTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agri- culture, Transportation and Infrastructure, Education and Labor, Energy and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs, for a period to be subsequently de- termined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned A BILL To increase wildfire preparedness and response throughout the United States, 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. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Emergency Wildfire 4 and Public Safety Act of 2020’’. 5 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 6 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 7 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 7978 IH Sec. 1. Short title. Sec. 2. Table of contents. Sec. 3. Findings. Sec. 4. Definitions. TITLE I—WILDFIRE MITIGATION PROJECTS Sec. 101. Forest landscape projects. Sec. 102. Wildfire detection equipment. Sec. 103. Establishment of fuel breaks in forests and other wildland vegetation. Sec. 104. Emergency actions. Sec. 105. New information in land management plans. Sec. 106. Hazard mitigation using disaster assistance. TITLE II—BIOMASS Sec. 201. Biomass energy infrastructure program. TITLE III—TIMBER EXPORTS Sec. 301. Exemption to prohibition on export of unprocessed timber of dead and dying trees in the State of California. TITLE IV—OTHER MATTERS Sec. 401. Innovative forest workforce development program. Sec. 402. Western prescribed fire center. Sec. 403. Retrofits for fire-resilient communities. Sec. 404. Critical infrastructure and microgrid program. SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 1 Congress finds that— 2 (1) in 2017 and 2018, the State of California, 3 the State of Montana, and other Western States ex- 4 perienced some of the deadliest and most destructive 5 wildfires in the last 100 years, devastating Federal, 6 State, and private land, destroying tens of thousands 7 of homes, killing dozens of people, and burning large 8 areas of land in the wildland-urban interface (as de- 9 fined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restora- 10 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); 11 (2) fire suppression practices over several dec- 12 ades, inadequate levels of forest management, and 13 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 7978 IH climate change have increased the risk of wildfires, 1 and, according to the Fourth National Climate As- 2 sessment by the United States Global Change Re- 3 search Program, the cumulative number of acres 4 burned in the period from 1984 to 2015 was twice 5 the number of acres that would have burned in the 6 absence of climate change; 7 (3) increased development in the wildland-urban 8 interface near overgrown forest landscapes has in- 9 creased the number of people living in areas that are 10 at risk of wildfire; 11 (4) despite legislation enacted over the last 20 12 years to facilitate hazardous fuels reduction, certain 13 statutory, regulatory, and administrative require- 14 ments, including studies, publication periods, season- 15 specific surveys, and objection processes, and litiga- 16 tion can significantly impede rapid implementation 17 of hazardous fuels reduction projects necessary to 18 protect lives and property; 19 (5) increasing the pace and scale of science- 20 based, publicly developed forest management activi- 21 ties that reduce hazardous fuels, including through 22 mechanical thinning and controlled burning, can re- 23 duce the size and scope of wildfires, as well as pro- 24 tect watersheds, improve fish and wildlife habitat, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 7978 IH expand recreational opportunities, protect air qual- 1 ity, and increase the sequestration of carbon on Na- 2 tional Forest System and Bureau of Land Manage- 3 ment land; 4 (6) in 2019, 11,800,000 acres of National For- 5 est System land in the State of California and 6 6,300,000 acres of National Forest System land in 7 the State of Montana were at high or very high wild- 8 fire hazard potential, of which 3,100,000 acres and 9 1,600,000 acres, respectively, were within proximity 10 to populated areas; and 11 (7) the Governor of the State of California has 12 proclaimed a ‘‘State of Emergency’’ due to a vast 13 tree die-off throughout the State that has increased 14 the risk of wildfires and has created extremely dan- 15 gerous fire conditions. 16 SEC. 4. DEFINITIONS. 17 In this Act: 18 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 19 means— 20 (A) land of the National Forest System (as 21 defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 22 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 23 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); and 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 5 •HR 7978 IH (B) public lands (as defined in section 103 1 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 2 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)). 3 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec- 4 retary concerned’’ means— 5 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re- 6 spect to Federal land described in paragraph 7 (1)(A); and 8 (B) the Secretary of the Interior, with re- 9 spect to Federal land described in paragraph 10 (1)(B). 11 TITLE I—WILDFIRE MITIGATION 12 PROJECTS 13 SEC. 101. FOREST LANDSCAPE PROJECTS. 14 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 15 (1) COLLABORATIVE PROCESS.—The term ‘‘col- 16 laborative process’’ means a collaborative process de- 17 scribed in section 4003(b)(2) of the Omnibus Public 18 Land Management Act of 2009 (16 U.S.C. 19 7303(b)(2)). 20 (2) FOREST LANDSCAPE.—The term ‘‘forest 21 landscape’’ means an area that— 22 (A) primarily or entirely contains land that 23 has a high or very high wildfire hazard poten- 24 tial; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 6 •HR 7978 IH (B) due to a fuel management activity in 1 the area, would have a reduced risk, as deter- 2 mined by the Secretary concerned— 3 (i) of wildfire endangering a nearby 4 at-risk community (as defined in section 5 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration 6 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)); 7 (ii) of wildfire damaging a municipal 8 watershed or infrastructure that serves an 9 at-risk community described in clause (i); 10 or 11 (iii) of the transmission of a high in- 12 tensity wildfire from the applicable 13 wildland-urban interface or forest land- 14 scape to a nearby community; and 15 (C) to the extent practicable, is conducive 16 to the development and implementation of 17 projects relating to wildfire resilience and forest 18 health that are carried out through a collabo- 19 rative process. 20 (3) FOREST LANDSCAPE PROJECT.—The term 21 ‘‘forest landscape project’’ means a project carried 22 out in a forest landscape under subsection (b)(1)— 23 (A) in which 1 or more management activi- 24 ties are carried out; and 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 7 •HR 7978 IH (B) that takes place on not more than 1 75,000 acres of Federal land or non-Federal 2 land adjacent to Federal land on which the 3 project is carried out. 4 (4) MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘man- 5 agement activity’’ means— 6 (A) the installation of fuel breaks (includ- 7 ing shaded fuel breaks) not more than 1⁄2-mile 8 wide across a forest landscape in a strategic 9 system that maximizes the reduction of wildfire 10 risk to communities or watersheds; 11 (B) mechanical thinning (including res- 12 toration thinning) of a forest landscape to 13 clear— 14 (i) surface fuels, such as slash; 15 (ii) ladder fuels, such as small and 16 medium diameter trees and shrubs; or 17 (iii) both of the fuels described in 18 clauses (i) and (ii); and 19 (C) controlled burns. 20 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means a State 21 the entirety of which is located west of the 100th 22 meridian. 23 (6) WILDLIFE HABITAT.—The term ‘‘wildlife 24 habitat’’ means an ecological community on which a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 8 •HR 7978 IH species of wild animal, bird, plant, fish, amphibian, 1 or invertebrate depends for the conservation and 2 protection of the species. 3 (b) ESTABLISHMENT.— 4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 5 the date of enactment of this Act, in accordance 6 with paragraph (2), the Secretary of Agriculture, in 7 consultation with the Secretary of the Interior, shall 8 select 3 forest landscapes on which to conduct forest 9 landscape projects— 10 (A) to reduce the risk of wildfire in the 11 forest landscape; 12 (B) to restore ecological health to the for- 13 est landscape; or 14 (C) to adapt the forest landscape to the in- 15 creased risk of wildfire due to climate change. 16 (2) PROCESS.— 17 (A) PROPOSALS.—The Governor of a State 18 may submit to the Secretary of Agriculture a 19 proposal for a forest landscape project to be 20 carried out in that State. 21 (B) SELECTION.—The Secretary of Agri- 22 culture, in consultation with the Secretary of 23 the Interior, shall select forest landscape 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 9 •HR 7978 IH projects to be conducted from among proposals 1 submitted under subparagraph (A) based on— 2 (i) the strength of the proposal and 3 the strategy for the conduct of the forest 4 landscape project; 5 (ii) the strength of the ecological case 6 of the proposal and the proposed ecological 7 restoration strategies of the forest land- 8 scape project; 9 (iii) the strength of the collaborative 10 process through which the proposal was 11 developed and the forest landscape project 12 will be carried out and the likelihood of 13 successful collaboration throughout imple- 14 mentation of the forest landscape project; 15 (iv) whether the proposed forest land- 16 scape project is likely to achieve reductions 17 in long-term wildfire management costs; 18 (v) whether the proposed forest land- 19 scape project would reduce the relative 20 costs of carrying out ecological restoration 21 treatments; 22 (vi) whether the proposed forest land- 23 scape project would provide energy as a re- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 10 •HR 7978 IH sult of the use of woody biomass and 1 small-diameter trees; and 2 (vii) whether an appropriate level of 3 non-Federal investment would be leveraged 4 in carrying out the proposed forest land- 5 scape project. 6 (C) CONSULTATION.—In selecting pro- 7 posals under subparagraph (B), the Secretary 8 of Agriculture, in consultation with the Sec- 9 retary of the Interior, shall consult with the 10 Governors of the States that submitted pro- 11 posals under subparagraph (A). 12 (3) APPLICABILITY.—The selection of a forest 13 landscape under this subsection shall not be subject 14 to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 15 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or any other applicable law. 16 (c) MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES.—In carrying out a 17 management activity under a forest landscape project, the 18 Secretary concerned— 19 (1) shall maximize the retention of old-growth 20 stands and large trees, as appropriate for the forest 21 type, to the extent that the trees promote stands 22 that are resilient to wildfire and increased average 23 temperature; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 11 •HR 7978 IH (2) shall consider the best available scientific 1 information to maintain or restore the ecological in- 2 tegrity of the forest landscape; and 3 (3) shall not establish a permanent road. 4 (d) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.— 5 (1) APPLICATION TO CERTAIN ENVIRONMENTAL 6 ASSESSMENTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE- 7 MENTS.—This subsection shall apply in any case in 8 which the Secretary concerned prepares an environ- 9 mental assessment or an environmental impact 10 statement pursuant to section 102(2) of the Na- 11 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 12 4332(2)) for a forest landscape project— 13 (A) that— 14 (i) is developed through a collabo- 15 rative process; or 16 (ii) is covered by a community wildfire 17 protection plan; 18 (B) the primary purpose of which is— 19 (i) reducing hazardous fuel loads; 20 (ii) installing fuel and fire breaks; 21 (iii) restoring forest health and resil- 22 ience; 23 (iv) protecting a municipal water sup- 24 ply or a critical communication site; 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 01:08 Sep 24, 2020 Jkt 099200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7978.IH H7978 ctelli on DSK11ZRN23PROD with BILLS 12 •HR 7978 IH (v) improving wildlife habitat to meet 1 management and conservation goals, in- 2 cluding State population goals; or 3 (vi) a combination of 2 or more of the 4 purposes described in clauses (i) through 5 (v); and 6 (C) that does not include any action that 7 is inconsistent with the applicable land and re- 8 source management plan. 9 (2) CONSIDERATION OF ALTERNATIVES.—In an 10 environmental assessment or environmental impact 11 statement described in paragraph (1), the Secretary 12 concerned shall study, develop, and describe only the 13 following alternatives: 14 (A) The forest landscape project, as pro- 15 posed under paragraph (1). 16 (B) A forest management activity or com- 17 bination of forest management activities pro- 18 posed by the relevant agency. 19 (C) The alternative of no action. 20 (3) ELEMENTS OF NO-ACTION ALTERNATIVE.— 21 In the case of the alternative of no action, the Sec- 22 retary concerned shall evaluate the effect of no ac- 23 tion only on— 24 (A) forest health; 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