Federal

Wildfire Emergency Act of 2023

Source: Congress.gov · 8,539 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill directs the Secretary of Agriculture to set up a pilot program for "conservation finance agreements" (a way to finance forest restoration projects) on National Forest System land. It also authorizes programs to help communities prepare for wildfires, improve critical infrastructure resilience, and train workers in forest management and fire prevention. ##

Who It Affects

- The Secretary of Agriculture and U.S. Forest Service - Communities near forests that could experience wildfires - Nonprofit and for-profit organizations that develop conservation projects - Workers seeking jobs in forestry and wildfire management - Low-income and disadvantaged communities - Indian Tribes - Electric utilities and energy providers - Property owners in fire-prone areas ##

Key Provisions

- The Secretary of Agriculture shall establish a pilot program to enter into conservation finance agreements (special funding arrangements where loans cover upfront restoration costs and get repaid over time) for forest restoration projects on National Forest System land west of the 100th meridian (Sec. 103) - The pilot program is limited to no more than 20 conservation finance agreements and no more than $250,000,000 total over 10 years, with a maximum of $50,000,000 per single agreement (Sec. 103) - The non-Federal share (money from sources other than the federal government) of restoration project costs must be at least 40 percent, though this requirement decreases to 25 percent for projects primarily benefiting low-income communities (Sec. 103) - The Secretary of Energy shall establish a program to improve energy resilience of critical facilities (hospitals, police stations, water treatment plants, and similar essential services) through microgrids, renewable energy, and energy storage systems (Sec. 201) - The bill establishes Western prescribed fire centers at universities to train people in prescribed fire methods and research wildfire mitigation strategies (Sec. 301) - A competitive grant program provides funds to develop training programs and educational opportunities for careers in forestry, fire management, and related fields (Sec. 302) - The Secretary of Agriculture shall award grants to disadvantaged communities for land stewardship activities including restoration work, planning, and collaboration on National Forest System land, with up to 100 percent federal funding available and a maximum of $50,000 per year per grant (Sec. 303) - The Secretaries of Agriculture and Interior shall expedite installation of wildfire detection equipment like sensors and cameras, expand use of satellite and remote sensing technology for wildfire response, and share public data on wildland fire incidents (Sec. 203) ##

What Changes

If passed, this bill would: - Allow the Forest Service to use a new "conservation finance" tool to attract private and non-Federal investment into large-scale forest restoration projects - Create new opportunities for communities to receive federal funding for their own local forest management and wildfire preparation activities - Establish government-funded training and education programs for forestry and wildfire management careers - Require utilities and energy providers to work with the Department of Energy on making critical facilities more resilient to power loss during wildfires - Modify existing weatherization assistance programs (which help low-income households improve energy efficiency) to include fire-resistant building materials - Require the federal government to speed up installation and permitting of wildfire detection equipment on public lands - Double the average spending limit for federal weatherization assistance from $6,500 to $13,000 per household (adjusted yearly for inflation) and increase maximum spending limits for certain improvements from $3,000 to $6,000 (Sec. 202) ##

Important Definitions

- **Conservation finance agreement**: A contract (lasting 2 to 20 years) where a private investor loans money upfront for forest restoration work, and gets repaid over time by those who benefit from the project - **Ecological integrity**: The condition of having the natural characteristics and functions of a forest or landscape - **Low-income community**: A community as defined in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (communities with lower average household income) - **Wildland-urban interface**: The area where houses and human development meet or intermix with wildland vegetation - **Critical facility**: Any building or service that saves lives, protects property and public safety, or prevents disaster, including hospitals, fire stations, police stations, water systems, and schools - **Disadvantaged community**: A low-income community where a significant population has been systematically denied full participation in economic, social, and civic life based on race, ethnicity, or other characteristics - **Prescribed fire**: Intentionally set fires conducted in a controlled way to restore natural forest conditions and reduce wildfire risk ##

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

II 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 188 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 JANUARY 31, 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 Energy and Natural Resources 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 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6211 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 2 •S 188 IS TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE FOREST RESTORATION Sec. 101. Definitions. Sec. 102. Purpose. Sec. 103. Conservation finance agreements. Sec. 104. Report evaluating implementation. TITLE II—INCREASING COMMUNITY RESILIENCE TO WILDFIRE Sec. 201. Critical infrastructure and microgrid program. Sec. 202. Retrofits for fire-resilient communities. Sec. 203. Wildfire detection, monitoring, and analysis equipment. TITLE III—RESEARCH, TRAINING, AND CAPACITY BUILDING Sec. 301. Western prescribed fire centers. Sec. 302. Innovative forest workforce development program. Sec. 303. National community capacity and land stewardship grant program. TITLE I—LANDSCAPE-SCALE 1 FOREST RESTORATION 2 SEC. 101. DEFINITIONS. 3 In this title: 4 (1) CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENT.— 5 The term ‘‘conservation finance agreement’’ means a 6 mutual benefit agreement (excluding a procurement 7 contract, grant, or cooperative agreement described 8 in chapter 63 of title 31, United States Code) for a 9 conservation finance project— 10 (A) the term of which is not less than 2, 11 and not more than 20, years; 12 (B) that may provide that performance 13 under the agreement during the second and 14 subsequent years of the agreement is contingent 15 on the appropriation of funds or receipt of col- 16 lections; and 17 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 3 •S 188 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 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 4 •S 188 IS (i) are conducted under the Collabo- 1 rative Forest Landscape Restoration Pro- 2 gram established under section 4003 of the 3 Omnibus Public Land Management Act of 4 2009 (16 U.S.C. 7303); 5 (ii)(I) were previously conducted 6 under the Program described in clause (i); 7 (II) are no longer eligible for funding 8 under that Program due to a time limita- 9 tion under subsection (b)(1)(B) or 10 (d)(4)(B) of that section; and 11 (III) are otherwise eligible for funding 12 under that Program; 13 (iii) are conducted by a water source 14 investment partnership established under 15 section 303(c) of the Healthy Forests Res- 16 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6542(c)); 17 or 18 (iv) are conducted under the Joint 19 Chiefs Landscape Restoration Partnership 20 Program established under section 40808 21 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs 22 Act (16 U.S.C. 6592d). 23 (3) CONSERVATION FINANCE PROJECT BENE- 24 FICIARY.—The term ‘‘conservation finance project 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 5 •S 188 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 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 6 •S 188 IS section 219.19 of title 36, Code of Federal Regula- 1 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this 2 Act). 3 (7) LOW-INCOME COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘low- 4 income community’’ has the meaning given the term 5 in section 45D(e) of the Internal Revenue Code of 6 1986. 7 (8) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.—The term 8 ‘‘National Forest System’’ means the portion of the 9 National Forest System located west of the 100th 10 meridian. 11 (9) RESTORATION.—The term ‘‘restoration’’ 12 has the meaning given the term in section 219.19 of 13 title 36, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect on 14 the date of enactment of this Act). 15 (10) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ 16 means the Secretary of Agriculture. 17 (11) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 18 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 19 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res- 20 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 21 SEC. 102. PURPOSE. 22 The purpose of this title is to increase the pace and 23 scale of forest restoration and land management projects 24 across the National Forest System by— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 7 •S 188 IS (1) authorizing a pilot program with conserva- 1 tion finance agreement authority to leverage other 2 Federal and non-Federal investment (in addition to 3 funds appropriated to the Forest Service) in land- 4 scape-scale, multistakeholder land management ac- 5 tivities and related natural and built infrastructure 6 and associated local employment opportunities; 7 (2) encouraging project planning and analysis 8 that effectively scale up to the landscape level of 9 100,000 acres or more; 10 (3) supporting projects that emphasize— 11 (A) the reintroduction of characteristic 12 fire, based on forest ecology and reference con- 13 ditions, through the use of prescribed fire, wild- 14 fire managed for resource benefits, or both; 15 (B) restoring terrestrial and aquatic areas 16 that lack ecological integrity; or 17 (C) reducing the risk of uncharacteristic 18 wildfire and improving forest resiliency; 19 (4) requiring ecological standards and collabo- 20 ration for landscape-scale projects; and 21 (5) coordinating with Federal, State, local, and 22 Tribal entities to support the pilot program de- 23 scribed in paragraph (1) by taking full advantage of 24 existing interagency agreements and authorities. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 8 •S 188 IS SEC. 103. CONSERVATION FINANCE AGREEMENTS. 1 (a) PILOT PROGRAM AUTHORITY.—The Secretary 2 shall establish a pilot program under which the Secretary 3 may enter into a conservation finance agreement with a 4 public or private person, including a for-profit or nonprofit 5 organization, to carry out a conservation finance project 6 if the Secretary finds each of the following: 7 (1) There is a reasonable expectation that, 8 throughout the contemplated agreement period, the 9 Secretary will request funding for the agreement at 10 the level required to avoid agreement cancellation. 11 (2) The environmental analysis for the project 12 demonstrates that there is a supply sufficient to sup- 13 port a conservation finance agreement of— 14 (A) small-diameter material; or 15 (B) other hazardous fuels, the removal of 16 which would reduce the risk of uncharacteristic 17 wildfire. 18 (3) The use of the conservation finance agree- 19 ment will assist in achieving the purpose described 20 in section 102. 21 (4) The project involves a conservation finance 22 project developer. 23 (b) LIMITED DELEGATION.—The Secretary may not 24 delegate the pilot program authority under subsection (a) 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 9 •S 188 IS 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 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 10 •S 188 IS (A) INSUFFICIENT FUNDING.—If funds are 1 not made available for the continuation of a 2 conservation finance agreement made under 3 this section into a subsequent fiscal year, the 4 agreement shall be canceled, terminated, or 5 modified. 6 (B) PAYMENT OF COSTS.—If the Secretary 7 determines that it is necessary to cancel or ter- 8 minate a conservation finance agreement pursu- 9 ant to subparagraph (A), and the conservation 10 finance agreement includes a cancellation or 11 termination provision as described in paragraph 12 (2)(A), the Secretary may pay the costs of that 13 cancellation or termination using any of the fol- 14 lowing amounts: 15 (i) Appropriations originally available 16 for the performance of the applicable con- 17 servation finance agreement. 18 (ii) Appropriations currently available 19 for the type of services concerned under 20 the applicable conservation finance agree- 21 ment, and not otherwise obligated. 22 (iii) Funds appropriated for payment 23 of the costs of cancellation or termination. 24 (2) PROVISIONS IN AGREEMENTS.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 11 •S 188 IS (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 21:53 Feb 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S188.IS S188 pbinns on DSKJLVW7X2PROD with $$_JOB 12 •S 188 IS 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 includes— 14 (i) a description of the cancellation or 15 termination cost amounts proposed for 16 each program year in the agreement; 17 (ii) the reasons why the cancellation 18 or termination cost amo [Text truncated for display. Full text available on Congress.gov.]

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