Wildfire Emergency Act of 2023

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 1715 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 SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES MAY 18, 2023 Mrs. FEINSTEIN (for herself, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. WYDEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 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 2023’’. 5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 6 this Act is as follows: 7 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 1715 IS TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Purpose. Sec. 103. Conservation finance agreements. Sec. 104. Report evaluating implementation. TITLE II—INCREASING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO WILDFIRE Sec. 201. Critical infrastructure and microgrid program. Sec. 202. Retrofits for fire-resilient communities. Sec. 203. Wildfire detection, monitoring, and analysis equipment. TITLE III—RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING Sec. 301. Western prescribed fire centers. Sec. 302. Innovative forest workforce development program. Sec. 303. National community capacity and land stewardship grant program. TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE 1 FOREST RESTORATION 2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this title: 4 (1) CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENT.— 5 The term ‘‘conservation finance agreement’’ means a 6 mutual benefit agreement (excluding a procurement 7 contract, grant, or cooperative agreement described 8 in chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code) for a 9 conservation finance project— 10 (A) the term of which is not less than 2, 11 and not more than 20, years; 12 (B) that may provide that performance 13 under the agreement during the second and 14 subsequent years of the agreement is contingent 15 on the appropriation of funds or receipt of col- 16 lections; and 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 1715 IS (C) that may provide for a cancellation 1 payment to be made to the conservation finance 2 project developer if those appropriations are not 3 made or collections are not received. 4 (2) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT.—The 5 term ‘‘conservation finance project’’ means a 6 project— 7 (A) conducted on National Forest System 8 land and may include land adjoining National 9 Forest System land; 10 (B) that would— 11 (i) protect, restore, or improve Na- 12 tional Forest System land; and 13 (ii) use a conservation finance model 14 that employs a debt financing approach 15 that uses loaned capital from a conserva- 16 tion finance project investor to cover up- 17 front project costs, with the loaned capital 18 repaid over time by conservation finance 19 project beneficiaries; and 20 (C) the purpose of which is to conduct eco- 21 logical restoration treatments that, at the time 22 of selection for a conservation finance agree- 23 ment under the pilot program established under 24 section 103(a)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 1715 IS (i) are conducted under the Collabo- 1 rative Forest Landscape Restoration Pro- 2 gram established under section 4003 of the 3 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 4 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); 5 (ii)(I) were previously conducted 6 under the Program described in clause (i); 7 (II) are no longer eligible for funding 8 under that Program due to a time limita- 9 tion under subsection (b)(1)(B) or 10 (d)(4)(B) of that section; and 11 (III) are otherwise eligible for funding 12 under that Program; 13 (iii) are conducted by a water source 14 investment partnership established under 15 section 303(c) of the Healthy Forests Res- 16 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(c)); 17 or 18 (iv) are conducted under the Joint 19 Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership 20 Program established under section 40808 21 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 22 Act (16 U.S.C. 6592d). 23 (3) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT BENE- 24 FICIARY.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 1715 IS beneficiary’’ means a nonprofit, for-profit, or Fed- 1 eral, State, local, or Tribal governmental entity or 2 individual that— 3 (A) benefits from conservation finance 4 project outcomes; and 5 (B)(i) provides capital directly to fund a 6 conservation finance project; or 7 (ii) repays to a conservation finance 8 project investor up-front loaned capital for a 9 conservation finance project at a rate of return 10 agreed to by the entity or individual and the 11 conservation finance project investor. 12 (4) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT DEVEL- 13 OPER.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project de- 14 veloper’’ means a nonprofit or for-profit inter- 15 mediary that assists in developing, financing, fund- 16 ing, or implementing a conservation finance project. 17 (5) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT INVES- 18 TOR.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project inves- 19 tor’’ means a nonprofit, for-profit, or State, local, or 20 Tribal governmental entity or individual that pro- 21 vides up-front loaned capital for a conservation fi- 22 nance project. 23 (6) ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY.—The term ‘‘eco- 24 logical integrity’’ has the meaning given the term in 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 1715 IS section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal Regula- 1 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 2 Act). 3 (7) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 4 income community’’ has the meaning given the term 5 in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 6 1986. 7 (8) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 8 has the meaning given the term in section 219.19 of 9 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 10 the date of enactment of this Act). 11 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 12 the Secretary of Agriculture. 13 (10) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 14 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 15 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 16 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 17 SEC. 102. PURPOSE. 18 The purpose of this title is to increase the pace and 19 scale of forest restoration and land management projects 20 across the National Forest System by— 21 (1) authorizing a pilot program with conserva- 22 tion finance agreement authority to leverage other 23 Federal and non-Federal investment (in addition to 24 funds appropriated to the Forest Service) in land- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 1715 IS scape-scale, multistakeholder land management ac- 1 tivities and related natural and built infrastructure 2 and associated local employment opportunities; 3 (2) encouraging project planning and analysis 4 that effectively scale up to the landscape level of 5 100,000 acres or more; 6 (3) supporting projects that emphasize— 7 (A) the reintroduction of characteristic 8 fire, based on forest ecology and reference con- 9 ditions, through the use of prescribed fire, wild- 10 fire managed for resource benefits, or both; 11 (B) restoring terrestrial and aquatic areas 12 that lack ecological integrity; or 13 (C) reducing the risk of uncharacteristic 14 wildfire and improving forest resiliency; 15 (4) requiring ecological standards and collabo- 16 ration for landscape-scale projects; and 17 (5) coordinating with Federal, State, local, and 18 Tribal entities to support the pilot program de- 19 scribed in paragraph (1) by taking full advantage of 20 existing interagency agreements and authorities. 21 SEC. 103. CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENTS. 22 (a) PILOT PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 23 shall establish a pilot program under which the Secretary 24 may enter into a conservation finance agreement with a 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 1715 IS public or private person, including a for-profit or nonprofit 1 organization, to carry out a conservation finance project 2 if the Secretary finds each of the following: 3 (1) There is a reasonable expectation that, 4 throughout the contemplated agreement period, the 5 Secretary will request funding for the agreement at 6 the level required to avoid agreement cancellation. 7 (2) The environmental analysis for the project 8 demonstrates that there is a supply sufficient to sup- 9 port a conservation finance agreement of— 10 (A) small-diameter material; or 11 (B) other hazardous fuels, the removal of 12 which would reduce the risk of uncharacteristic 13 wildfire. 14 (3) The use of the conservation finance agree- 15 ment will assist in achieving the purpose described 16 in section 102. 17 (4) The project involves a conservation finance 18 project developer. 19 (b) LIMITED DELEGATION.—The Secretary may not 20 delegate the pilot program authority under subsection (a) 21 to a Federal official that serves under the Chief of the 22 Forest Service. 23 (c) LIMITATIONS.—The pilot program authority 24 under subsection (a)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 1715 IS (1) may not be used to enter into more than 20 1 conservation finance agreements; 2 (2) may be used for the obligation under con- 3 servation finance agreements of— 4 (A) during the 10-year period beginning on 5 the date of enactment of this Act, not more 6 than $250,000,000 in the aggregate; and 7 (B) not more than $50,000,000 for any 1 8 conservation finance agreement; and 9 (3) may not be used to reimburse for interest 10 paid to any other entity providing funds for the ap- 11 plicable conservation finance project. 12 (d) PRIORITY.—In entering into conservation finance 13 agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give 14 priority to projects described in that subsection that are 15 based on restoration strategies addressing larger land- 16 scapes, particularly landscapes of 100,000 acres or more. 17 (e) CANCELLATION, TERMINATION, OR MODIFICA- 18 TION FOR INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.— 19 (1) IN GENERAL.— 20 (A) INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.—If funds are 21 not made available for the continuation of a 22 conservation finance agreement made under 23 this section into a subsequent fiscal year, the 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 1715 IS agreement shall be canceled, terminated, or 1 modified. 2 (B) PAYMENT OF COSTS.—If the Secretary 3 determines that it is necessary to cancel or ter- 4 minate a conservation finance agreement pursu- 5 ant to subparagraph (A), and the conservation 6 finance agreement includes a cancellation or 7 termination provision as described in paragraph 8 (2)(A), the Secretary may pay the costs of that 9 cancellation or termination using any of the fol- 10 lowing amounts: 11 (i) Appropriations originally available 12 for the performance of the applicable con- 13 servation finance agreement. 14 (ii) Appropriations currently available 15 for the type of services concerned under 16 the applicable conservation finance agree- 17 ment, and not otherwise obligated. 18 (iii) Funds appropriated for payment 19 of the costs of cancellation or termination. 20 (2) PROVISIONS IN AGREEMENTS.— 21 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may in- 22 clude cancellation or termination provisions in 23 conservation finance agreements under this sec- 24 tion to the extent that those provisions are nec- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 1715 IS essary and in the best interests of the United 1 States. 2 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The cancellation 3 or termination provisions described in subpara- 4 graph (A) may include consideration of the re- 5 curring and nonrecurring costs of the conserva- 6 tion finance project developer under the applica- 7 ble conservation finance agreement. 8 (3) CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION 9 COSTS.— 10 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ob- 11 ligate funds in stages that are economically or 12 programmatically viable to cover any potential 13 cancellation or termination costs related to the 14 Federal share of the costs under a conservation 15 finance agreement under paragraph (1)(B) and 16 implement the agreement pursuant to this sec- 17 tion. 18 (B) ADVANCE NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF 19 CANCELLATION OR TERMINATION COSTS IN EX- 20 CESS OF $25,000,000.—Not later than 30 days 21 before entering into a conservation finance 22 agreement under this section that includes can- 23 cellation or termination costs in excess of 24 $25,000,000, but does not include proposed 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:52 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1715.IS S1715 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 1715 IS funding for the costs of cancelling or termi- 1 nating the agreement up to the maximum can- 2 cellation or termination costs in the agreement, 3 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 4 Energy and Natural Resources and the Com- 5 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 6 of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 7 Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of 8 the House of Representatives a written notice 9 that includes— 10 (i) a description of the cancellation or 11 termination cost amounts proposed for 12 each program year in the agreement; 13 (ii) the reasons why the cancellation 14 or termination cost amounts described 15 under clause (i) were selected; 16 (iii) a description of the extent to 17 which the costs of agreement cance [Text truncated for display. 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