Emergency Wildfire Act of 2023

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 3439 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 17, 2023 Mr. PANETTA (for himself, Mr. THOMPSON of California, Mr. COSTA, Ms. LEE of California, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mr. DESAULNIER, Mr. CARBAJAL, and Ms. SALINAS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Agriculture, and in addition to the Committees on Natural Resources, Energy and Commerce, and Education and the Workforce, 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 com- mittee 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 ‘‘Emergency Wildfire Act of 2023’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •HR 3439 IH (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 1 this Act is as follows: 2 Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Purpose. Sec. 103. Conservation finance agreements. Sec. 104. Report evaluating implementation. TITLE II—INCREASING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO WILDFIRE Sec. 201. Critical infrastructure and microgrid program. Sec. 202. Retrofits for fire-resilient communities. Sec. 203. Wildfire detection, monitoring, and analysis equipment. TITLE III—RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING Sec. 301. Western prescribed fire centers. Sec. 302. Innovative forest workforce development program. Sec. 303. National community capacity and land stewardship grant program. TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE 3 FOREST RESTORATION 4 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 5 In this title: 6 (1) CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENT.— 7 The term ‘‘conservation finance agreement’’ means a 8 mutual benefit agreement (excluding a procurement 9 contract, grant, or cooperative agreement described 10 in chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code) for a 11 conservation finance project— 12 (A) the term of which is not less than 2, 13 and not more than 20, years; 14 (B) that may provide that performance 15 under the agreement during the second and 16 subsequent years of the agreement is contingent 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •HR 3439 IH on the appropriation of funds or receipt of col- 1 lections; and 2 (C) that may provide for a cancellation 3 payment to be made to the conservation finance 4 project developer if those appropriations are not 5 made or collections are not received. 6 (2) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT.—The 7 term ‘‘conservation finance project’’ means a 8 project— 9 (A) conducted on National Forest System 10 land and may include land adjoining National 11 Forest System land; 12 (B) that would— 13 (i) protect, restore, or improve Na- 14 tional Forest System land; and 15 (ii) use a conservation finance model 16 that employs a debt financing approach 17 that uses loaned capital from a conserva- 18 tion finance project investor to cover up- 19 front project costs, with the loaned capital 20 repaid over time by conservation finance 21 project beneficiaries; and 22 (C) the purpose of which is to conduct eco- 23 logical restoration treatments that, at the time 24 of selection for a conservation finance agree- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •HR 3439 IH ment under the pilot program established under 1 section 103(a)— 2 (i) are conducted under the Collabo- 3 rative Forest Landscape Restoration Pro- 4 gram established under section 4003 of the 5 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 6 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); 7 (ii)(I) were previously conducted 8 under the Program described in clause (i); 9 (II) are no longer eligible for funding 10 under that Program due to a time limita- 11 tion under subsection (b)(1)(B) or 12 (d)(4)(B) of that section; and 13 (III) are otherwise eligible for funding 14 under that Program; 15 (iii) are conducted by a water source 16 investment partnership established under 17 section 303(c) of the Healthy Forests Res- 18 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(c)); 19 or 20 (iv) are conducted under the Joint 21 Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership 22 Program established under section 40808 23 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 24 Act (16 U.S.C. 6592d). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •HR 3439 IH (3) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT BENE- 1 FICIARY.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project 2 beneficiary’’ means a nonprofit, for-profit, or Fed- 3 eral, State, local, or Tribal governmental entity or 4 individual that— 5 (A) benefits from conservation finance 6 project outcomes; and 7 (B)(i) provides capital directly to fund a 8 conservation finance project; or 9 (ii) repays to a conservation finance 10 project investor up-front loaned capital for a 11 conservation finance project at a rate of return 12 agreed to by the entity or individual and the 13 conservation finance project investor. 14 (4) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT DEVEL- 15 OPER.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project de- 16 veloper’’ means a nonprofit or for-profit inter- 17 mediary that assists in developing, financing, fund- 18 ing, or implementing a conservation finance project. 19 (5) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT INVES- 20 TOR.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project inves- 21 tor’’ means a nonprofit, for-profit, or State, local, or 22 Tribal governmental entity or individual that pro- 23 vides up-front loaned capital for a conservation fi- 24 nance project. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •HR 3439 IH (6) ECOLOGICAL INTEGRITY.—The term ‘‘eco- 1 logical integrity’’ has the meaning given the term in 2 section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal Regula- 3 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 4 Act). 5 (7) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 6 income community’’ has the meaning given the term 7 in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 8 1986. 9 (8) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 10 has the meaning given the term in section 219.19 of 11 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 12 the date of enactment of this Act). 13 (9) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 14 the Secretary of Agriculture. 15 (10) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 16 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 17 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 18 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 19 SEC. 102. PURPOSE. 20 The purpose of this title is to increase the pace and 21 scale of forest restoration and land management projects 22 across the National Forest System by— 23 (1) authorizing a pilot program with conserva- 24 tion finance agreement authority to leverage other 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •HR 3439 IH Federal and non-Federal investment (in addition to 1 funds appropriated to the Forest Service) in land- 2 scape-scale, multistakeholder land management ac- 3 tivities and related natural and built infrastructure 4 and associated local employment opportunities; 5 (2) encouraging project planning and analysis 6 that effectively scale up to the landscape level of 7 100,000 acres or more; 8 (3) supporting projects that emphasize— 9 (A) the reintroduction of characteristic 10 fire, based on forest ecology and reference con- 11 ditions, through the use of prescribed fire, wild- 12 fire managed for resource benefits, or both; 13 (B) restoring terrestrial and aquatic areas 14 that lack ecological integrity; or 15 (C) reducing the risk of uncharacteristic 16 wildfire and improving forest resiliency; 17 (4) requiring ecological standards and collabo- 18 ration for landscape-scale projects; and 19 (5) coordinating with Federal, State, local, and 20 Tribal entities to support the pilot program de- 21 scribed in paragraph (1) by taking full advantage of 22 existing interagency agreements and authorities. 23 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •HR 3439 IH SEC. 103. CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENTS. 1 (a) PILOT PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 2 shall establish a pilot program under which the Secretary 3 may enter into a conservation finance agreement with a 4 public or private person, including a for-profit or nonprofit 5 organization, to carry out a conservation finance project 6 if the Secretary finds each of the following: 7 (1) There is a reasonable expectation that, 8 throughout the contemplated agreement period, the 9 Secretary will request funding for the agreement at 10 the level required to avoid agreement cancellation. 11 (2) The environmental analysis for the project 12 demonstrates that there is a supply sufficient to sup- 13 port a conservation finance agreement of— 14 (A) small-diameter material; or 15 (B) other hazardous fuels, the removal of 16 which would reduce the risk of uncharacteristic 17 wildfire. 18 (3) The use of the conservation finance agree- 19 ment will assist in achieving the purpose described 20 in section 102. 21 (4) The project involves a conservation finance 22 project developer. 23 (b) LIMITED DELEGATION.—The Secretary may not 24 delegate the pilot program authority under subsection (a) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •HR 3439 IH to a Federal official that serves under the Chief of the 1 Forest Service. 2 (c) LIMITATIONS.—The pilot program authority 3 under subsection (a)— 4 (1) may not be used to enter into more than 20 5 conservation finance agreements; 6 (2) may be used for the obligation under con- 7 servation finance agreements of— 8 (A) during the 10-year period beginning on 9 the date of enactment of this Act, not more 10 than $250,000,000 in the aggregate; and 11 (B) not more than $50,000,000 for any 1 12 conservation finance agreement; and 13 (3) may not be used to reimburse for interest 14 paid to any other entity providing funds for the ap- 15 plicable conservation finance project. 16 (d) PRIORITY.—In entering into conservation finance 17 agreements under subsection (a), the Secretary shall give 18 priority to projects described in that subsection that are 19 based on restoration strategies addressing larger land- 20 scapes, particularly landscapes of 100,000 acres or more. 21 (e) CANCELLATION, TERMINATION, OR MODIFICA- 22 TION FOR INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.— 23 (1) IN GENERAL.— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •HR 3439 IH (A) INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.—If funds are 1 not made available for the continuation of a 2 conservation finance agreement made under 3 this section into a subsequent fiscal year, the 4 agreement shall be canceled, terminated, or 5 modified. 6 (B) PAYMENT OF COSTS.—If the Secretary 7 determines that it is necessary to cancel or ter- 8 minate a conservation finance agreement pursu- 9 ant to subparagraph (A), and the conservation 10 finance agreement includes a cancellation or 11 termination provision as described in paragraph 12 (2)(A), the Secretary may pay the costs of that 13 cancellation or termination using any of the fol- 14 lowing amounts: 15 (i) Appropriations originally available 16 for the performance of the applicable con- 17 servation finance agreement. 18 (ii) Appropriations currently available 19 for the type of services concerned under 20 the applicable conservation finance agree- 21 ment, and not otherwise obligated. 22 (iii) Funds appropriated for payment 23 of the costs of cancellation or termination. 24 (2) PROVISIONS IN AGREEMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •HR 3439 IH (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may in- 1 clude cancellation or termination provisions in 2 conservation finance agreements under this sec- 3 tion to the extent that those provisions are nec- 4 essary and in the best interests of the United 5 States. 6 (B) CONSIDERATIONS.—The cancellation 7 or termination provisions described in subpara- 8 graph (A) may include consideration of the re- 9 curring and nonrecurring costs of the conserva- 10 tion finance project developer under the applica- 11 ble conservation finance agreement. 12 (3) CANCELLATION AND TERMINATION 13 COSTS.— 14 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may ob- 15 ligate funds in stages that are economically or 16 programmatically viable to cover any potential 17 cancellation or termination costs related to the 18 Federal share of the costs under a conservation 19 finance agreement under paragraph (1)(B) and 20 implement the agreement pursuant to this sec- 21 tion. 22 (B) ADVANCE NOTICE TO CONGRESS OF 23 CANCELLATION OR TERMINATION COSTS IN EX- 24 CESS OF $25,000,000.—Not later than 30 days 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:49 Jun 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3439.IH H3439 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •HR 3439 IH before entering into a conservation finance 1 agreement under this section that includes can- 2 cellation or termination costs in excess of 3 $25,000,000, but does not include proposed 4 funding for the costs of cancelling or termi- 5 nating the agreement up to the maximum can- 6 cellation or termination costs in the agreement, 7 the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 8 Energy and Natural Resources and the Com- 9 mittee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 10 of the Senate and the Committee on Natural 11 Resources and the Committee on Agriculture of 12 the House of Representatives a written notice 13 that [Text truncated for display. 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