What This Bill Does
This bill improves how the federal government responds to wildfires before they happen, while they are happening and after they are contained. It creates new funding accounts, establishes support programs for communities, improves wildfire detection equipment and aircraft use, and provides resources to help communities recover after fires destroy homes and land.
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Who It Affects
- The Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior
- States and local governments
- Communities at risk from wildfires
- Volunteers who want to help during fires
- Individual homeowners affected by wildfires
- Private citizens and nonprofit organizations working on fire prevention
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Key Provisions
- The bill creates separate Firefighting Operations accounts in the Department of Agriculture and Department of the Interior to pay for ground-based firefighting and aircraft use in fighting active wildfires. (Sec. 101)
- The Secretary of Defense must reimburse states or federal agencies for costs they pay to fight fires caused by military training exercises. (Sec. 102)
- By September 30, 2026, the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture must establish fire management plans for federal lands that identify safe and unsafe areas for firefighters to work based on slope, fuel levels and hazards. (Sec. 103)
- The bill creates Community-Supported Land-Use Planning Assistance accounts to fund the Firewise Program, community wildfire protection plans, evacuation planning and grants up to $20,000 for local hazard reduction work. (Sec. 104)
- The Secretaries shall establish a program to train and certify volunteers to assist during wildfires, though volunteers cannot directly fight fires. (Sec. 105)
- States can receive grants to acquire slip-on tank units (water tanks that fit on vehicles) for fire suppression if they contribute at least 25 percent of the cost. (Sec. 202)
- The bill funds research on unmanned aircraft systems for fighting fires and requires a study on how private drones interfere with wildfire suppression. (Sec. 204 and Sec. 205)
- The Secretary of Interior must establish a prize competition called the Theodore Roosevelt Genius Prize for technological innovations that reduce invasive plant species after wildfires. (Sec. 303)
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What Changes
If passed, this bill would:
- Create new dedicated funding streams specifically for wildfire firefighting operations separate from other forest management budgets
- Require the military to pay states back when military training causes wildfires
- Mandate that federal land managers complete detailed fire management plans by a specific date
- Fund community-based wildfire prevention programs and volunteer training
- Establish grants for states and local governments to buy firefighting equipment
- Create an online resource to help wildfire survivors find recovery funding
- Establish a long-term recovery fund for rehabilitation of burned forest lands
- Launch a national prize competition for wildfire-related invasive species management technologies
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Important Definitions
- "Federal land" means public lands, National Park System units, National Wildlife Refuge System units, Indian Trust lands and National Forest System lands (but not land east of the 100th meridian or certain grasslands). (Sec. 2)
- "National Forest System" means forests defined in the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974. (Sec. 2)
- "Secretaries" means the Secretary of the Interior and Secretary of Agriculture. (Sec. 2)
- "Slip-on units" means slip-on tank and pump units that can be mounted on vehicles for firefighting. (Sec. 202)
- "Unmanned aircraft system" means an unmanned aircraft plus the communication links and control components needed to operate it safely. (Sec. 204)
- "Drone" means an unmanned aircraft owned by a private individual or business. (Sec. 205)
- "Drone incursion" means operating a drone in airspace where the Federal Aviation Administration has restricted flights because of a wildfire. (Sec. 205)
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Effective Date
Not specified in bill text
I
118TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
H. R. 482
To improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
JANUARY 24, 2023
Mr. NEGUSE (for himself, Mr. SCHIFF, Mr. PANETTA, Mr. HORSFORD, and
Ms. MATSUI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the
Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on
Agriculture, Armed Services, Transportation and Infrastructure, and
Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
A BILL
To improve Federal activities relating to wildfires, 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
‘‘Western Wildfire Support 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.
Sec. 2. Definitions.
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•HR 482 IH
TITLE I—PREPARATION
Sec. 101. Firefighting accounts.
Sec. 102. Reimbursement for wildfires caused by military training.
Sec. 103. Strategic wildland fire management planning.
Sec. 104. Accounts to assist communities in planning and preparing for
wildfires.
Sec. 105. Community support during disaster response.
TITLE II—WILDFIRE DETECTION AND SUPPRESSION SUPPORT
Sec. 201. Wildfire detection equipment.
Sec. 202. Grant program for slip-on tank units.
Sec. 203. Assistance to States for operation of air tankers.
Sec. 204. Research and development of unmanned aircraft system fire applica-
tions.
Sec. 205. Study on effects of drone incursions on wildfire suppression.
Sec. 206. Study on wildfire detection equipment and integration of artificial in-
telligence technologies.
TITLE III—POST-FIRE RECOVERY SUPPORT
Sec. 301. Funding for online guides for post-fire assistance.
Sec. 302. Long-Term Burned Area Recovery account.
Sec. 303. Prize for wildfire-related invasive species reduction.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
1
In this Act:
2
(1) CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES.—The term
3
‘‘congressional committees’’ means—
4
(A) the Committee on Energy and Natural
5
Resources and the Committee on Appropria-
6
tions of the Senate; and
7
(B) the Committee on Natural Resources
8
and the Committee on Appropriations of the
9
House of Representatives.
10
(2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’
11
means—
12
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•HR 482 IH
(A) 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
(B) units of the National Park System;
4
(C) units of the National Wildlife Refuge
5
System;
6
(D) land held in trust by the United States
7
for the benefit of Indian Tribes or members of
8
an Indian Tribe; and
9
(E) land in the National Forest System.
10
(3) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—
11
(A) IN
GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National
12
Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term
13
in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland
14
Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16
15
U.S.C. 1609(a)).
16
(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National
17
Forest System’’ does not include—
18
(i) the national grasslands and land
19
utilization projects administered under title
20
III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant
21
Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); or
22
(ii) National Forest System land east
23
of the 100th meridian.
24
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•HR 482 IH
(4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’
1
means—
2
(A) the Secretary of the Interior; and
3
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture.
4
(5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec-
5
retary concerned’’ means—
6
(A) the Secretary of the Interior, in the
7
case of Federal land under the jurisdiction of
8
the Secretary of the Interior; and
9
(B) the Secretary of Agriculture, in the
10
case of Federal land under the jurisdiction of
11
the Secretary of Agriculture.
12
TITLE I—PREPARATION
13
SEC. 101. FIREFIGHTING ACCOUNTS.
14
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—There are es-
15
tablished in the Treasury of the United States the fol-
16
lowing accounts:
17
(1) The Firefighting Operations account for the
18
Department of Agriculture.
19
(2) The Firefighting Operations account for the
20
Department of the Interior.
21
(b) BUDGET ACTIVITIES WITHIN ACCOUNTS.—The
22
following activities shall be specified for funding within
23
each Firefighting Operations account established by sub-
24
section (a):
25
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•HR 482 IH
(1) Ground-based firefighting operations.
1
(2) Aircraft use in firefighting operations.
2
(c) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—
3
(1)
GROUND-BASED
FIREFIGHTING
OPER-
4
ATIONS.—
5
(A) DEPARTMENT
OF
AGRICULTURE.—
6
There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal
7
year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter to the
8
account established by subsection (a)(1) not
9
more than $3,000,000,000 for ground-based
10
firefighting operations.
11
(B) DEPARTMENT
OF
THE
INTERIOR.—
12
There is authorized to be appropriated for fiscal
13
year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter to the
14
account established by subsection (a)(2) not
15
more than $1,000,000,000 for ground-based
16
firefighting operations.
17
(2) AIRCRAFT
USE
IN
FIREFIGHTING
OPER-
18
ATIONS.—There is authorized to be appropriated for
19
fiscal year 2024 and each fiscal year thereafter to
20
the accounts established by subsection (a), a total
21
amount of not more than $500,000,000 for aircraft
22
use in firefighting operations.
23
(d) PRESIDENTIAL BUDGET REQUESTS.—For fiscal
24
year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, each Secretary
25
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•HR 482 IH
concerned shall submit through the budget request of the
1
President and in accordance with subsection (c), a request
2
for amounts in the Wildland Fire Management appropria-
3
tion account of the Secretary concerned to carry out the
4
activities described in subsection (e).
5
(e) AUTHORIZED ACTIVITIES.—
6
(1) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall use
7
amounts provided to the respective accounts estab-
8
lished under subsection (a) as follows:
9
(A) The Secretary of Agriculture shall use
10
amounts
appropriated
under
subsection
11
(c)(1)(A) to carry out management activities for
12
active wildfires through the Forest Service, ex-
13
cept that none of the amounts may be used for
14
the operation of aircraft.
15
(B) The Secretary of the Interior shall use
16
amounts
appropriated
under
subsection
17
(c)(1)(B) to carry out management activities
18
for active wildfires, except that none of the
19
amounts may be used for the operation of air-
20
craft.
21
(C) The Secretary concerned shall use
22
amounts appropriated under subsection (c)(2)
23
to acquire, by contract or purchase, and use
24
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•HR 482 IH
aircraft, including unmanned aerial systems, for
1
operations relating to wildland fires.
2
(2) LIMITATION.—The Secretary concerned
3
shall not use to carry out any activity authorized by
4
paragraph (1)(C) amounts appropriated to accounts
5
of the Secretary concerned other than amounts in
6
the accounts established by subsection (a) specified
7
for activities described in subsection (b)(2).
8
(f) ACCOUNTING REPORTS.—
9
(1) IN
GENERAL.—Each Secretary concerned
10
shall submit to the congressional committees month-
11
ly accounting reports regarding the amounts that
12
have been obligated and expended under this section
13
during the preceding month of the applicable fiscal
14
year.
15
(2) INCLUSIONS.—Each report under para-
16
graph (1) shall include a description of, with respect
17
to the period covered by the report—
18
(A) Federal ground-based equipment costs;
19
(B) Federal aircraft use costs;
20
(C) Federal personnel costs;
21
(D) on-incident and off-incident support
22
costs; and
23
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•HR 482 IH
(E) funding allocated from the Wildland
1
Fire Management account of the Secretary con-
2
cerned to pay for administrative costs.
3
(3) REQUIREMENTS.—Each report under para-
4
graph (1) shall be prepared in accordance with ap-
5
plicable national fire plan reporting procedures.
6
SEC. 102. REIMBURSEMENT FOR WILDFIRES CAUSED BY
7
MILITARY TRAINING.
8
(a) REIMBURSEMENT REQUIRED.—The Secretary of
9
Defense shall, on application by a State or Federal agency,
10
reimburse the State or Federal agency for the reasonable
11
costs of the State or Federal agency for services provided
12
in connection with fire suppression as a result of a fire
13
caused by military training or other actions carried out
14
by the Armed Forces or employees of the Department of
15
Defense.
16
(b) LIMITATION.—Services reimbursable under sub-
17
section (a) shall be limited to services proximately related
18
to the fire for which reimbursement is sought.
19
(c) APPLICATION.—Each application from a State or
20
Federal agency for reimbursement for costs under sub-
21
section (a) shall provide an itemized request of the services
22
covered by the application, including the costs of the serv-
23
ices.
24
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•HR 482 IH
(d) FUNDS.—Reimbursements under subsection (a)
1
shall be made from amounts authorized to be appropriated
2
to the Department of Defense for operation and mainte-
3
nance.
4
SEC. 103. STRATEGIC WILDLAND FIRE MANAGEMENT PLAN-
5
NING.
6
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than September 30,
7
2026, the Secretary concerned shall, in accordance with
8
this section, establish a series of spatial fire management
9
plans.
10
(b) USE OF EXISTING PLANS.—To comply with this
11
section, the Secretary concerned may use a fire manage-
12
ment plan in existence on the date of enactment of this
13
Act.
14
(c) UPDATES.—To be valid, a spatial fire manage-
15
ment plan established under this section shall not be in
16
use for longer than the 10-year period beginning on the
17
date on which the plan is established.
18
(d) SUBUNIT PLANS.—The Secretary concerned shall
19
establish a spatial fire management plan for each unit of
20
Federal land with more than 10 acres of burnable vegeta-
21
tion under the jurisdiction of the Secretary concerned.
22
(e) CONTENTS.—For each spatial fire management
23
plan established under this section, the Secretary con-
24
cerned shall—
25
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•HR 482 IH
(1) base the plans on a landscape-scale risk as-
1
sessment that includes—
2
(A) risks to firefighters;
3
(B) risks to communities;
4
(C) risks to highly valuable resources; and
5
(D) other relevant considerations deter-
6
mined by the Secretary concerned;
7
(2) include direction, represented in spatial
8
form, from land management plans and resource
9
management plans;
10
(3) in coordination with States, delineate poten-
11
tial wildland fire operational delineations that—
12
(A) identify potential control locations; and
13
(B) specify the places in which firefighters
14
will not be sent because of the presence of un-
15
acceptable risk, including areas determined by
16
the Secretary concerned as—
17
(i) exceeding a certain slope;
18
(ii) containing too high of a volume of
19
hazardous fuels, under certain weather
20
conditions; or
21
(iii) containing other known hazards;
22
(4) include a determination of average severe
23
fire weather for the plan area;
24
(5) include prefire planning provisions;
25
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•HR 482 IH
(6) include a plan for postfire activities that—
1
(A) would better enable a Burned Area
2
Emergency Response Team working on a large
3
fire incident to address emergency stabilization
4
and erosion quickly; and
5
(B) specifies ways in which the Burned
6
Area Emergency Response Team would seek to
7
prevent the proliferation of invasive species in
8
working on the large fire incident; and
9
(7) include, at a minimum, any other require-
10
ment determined to be necessary by the Secretary
11
concerned.
12
(f) CONSISTENCY WITH MANAGEMENT PLANS.—The
13
spatial fire management plans established under this sec-
14
tion shall be consistent with the fire management objec-
15
tives and land management objectives in the applicable
16
land management plan or resource management plan.
17
(g) REVISIONS TO LAND MANAGEMENT PLANS AND
18
RESOURCE MANAGEMENT PLANS.—A revision to a land
19
management plan or resource management plan shall con-
20
sider fire ecology and fire management in a manner that
21
facilitates the issuance of direction for an incident re-
22
sponse.
23
(h) ENGAGEMENT
DURING
LAND
MANAGEMENT
24
PLANNING.—A supervisory employee of the Department
25
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•HR 482 IH
of the Interior or the Department of Agriculture that is
1
funded through a Firefighting Operations account estab-
2
lished under section 101 shall participate directly in the
3
creation or revision of an applicable land management
4
plan or resource management plan to incorporate an as-
5
sessment, protocol, or plan developed under this Act into
6
the planning process.
7
SEC. 104. ACCOUNTS TO ASSIST COMMUNITIES IN PLAN-
8
NING AND PREPARING FOR WILDFIRES.
9
(a) ESTABLISHMENT OF ACCOUNTS.—There are es-
10
tablished in the Treasury of the United States the fol-
11
lowing accounts:
12
(1) The Community-Supported Land-Use Plan-
13
ning Assistance account for the Department of Agri-
14
culture.
15
(2) The Community-Supported Land-Use Plan-
16
ning Assistance account for the Department of the
1
[Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]