II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4944 

To provide for the operation and establishment of, and procurement of 

supplies for, firewood banks, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 22, 2022 

Mr. BURR (for himself, Mr. MANCHIN, and Mr. TILLIS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To provide for the operation and establishment of, and procurement of supplies for, firewood banks, and for other 

purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Firewood Banks Act 

5 of 2022’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) COOPERATING PARTY.—The term ‘‘cooper2 ating party’’ means a State, local, or Tribal govern3 ment, a nonprofit organization, or a cooperative. 

4 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal 

5 Land’’ means— 

6 (A) public lands (as defined in section 103 

7 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

8 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

9 (B) trust land (as defined in section 3765 

10 of title 38, United States Code); and 

11 (C) National Forest System land. 

12 (3) FIREWOOD BANK.—The term ‘‘firewood 

13 bank’’ means a site— 

14 (A) at which firewood is collected, proc15 essed, or stored; and 

16 (B) that is used by a cooperating party to 

17 distribute firewood to low-income or disabled in18 dividuals for personal, residential use. 

19 (4) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

20 means— 

21 (A) the Secretary of Energy; 

22 (B) the Secretary of the Interior; and 

23 (C) the Secretary of Agriculture, acting 

24 through the Chief of the Forest Service. 


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1 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec2 retary concerned’’ means— 

3 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, in the 

4 case of Federal land administered by the Sec5 retary of the Interior; and 

6 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, in the 

7 case of Federal land administered by the Sec8 retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief 

9 of the Forest Service. 

10 SEC. 3. GRANTS. 

11 Using funds made available under section 

12 40803(c)(17)(B) of the Infrastructure Investment and 

13 Jobs Act (16 U.S.C. 6592(c)(17)(B)), the Secretary of 

14 Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the Forest Serv15 ice, shall provide financial assistance to a cooperating 

16 party for the operation of firewood banks, including for 

17 the procurement of— 

18 (1) personal protective equipment; 

19 (2) liability insurance policies; 

20 (3) processing equipment; and 

21 (4) supplies and materials procured on a reg22 ular basis. 

23 SEC. 4. FIREWOOD BANKS PILOT PROGRAM. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Energy, in col25 laboration with the Secretary of the Interior and the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 Oct 04, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4944.IS S4944

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1 retary of Agriculture, acting through the Chief of the For2 est Service, shall establish and carry out a pilot program 

3 (referred to in this section as the ‘‘pilot program’’) to pro4 vide heat energy for residences of low-income and disabled 

5 individuals with wood-burning stoves. 

6 (b) FIREWOOD BANKS ON FEDERAL LAND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the pilot program, 

8 the Secretary concerned may authorize 1 or more 

9 firewood banks to be established and operated on 

10 Federal land. 

11 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—A firewood bank de12 scribed in paragraph (1)— 

13 (A) shall occupy an area of not less than 

1 14 ⁄2 acre and not more than 6 acres; 

15 (B) shall be able to store not fewer than 

16 20 cords of firewood; and 

17 (C) may have privately or publicly owned 

18 equipment on site to process logs into firewood. 

19 (3) COOPERATING PARTIES.—The Secretary 

20 concerned may authorize or consult with cooperating 

21 parties— 

22 (A) to maintain the Federal land on which 

23 a firewood bank is established under this sub24 section; and 

25 (B) to operate the firewood bank. 


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1 (4) USE OF FEDERAL LAND.—The Secretary 

2 concerned, or a cooperating party, as applicable, 

3 shall use the Federal land on which a firewood bank 

4 is established under this subsection exclusively as a 

5 firewood bank. 

6 (5) PERMITS.—The Secretary concerned may 

7 require a cooperating party to apply for and obtain 

8 a special use permit to establish and operate a fire9 wood bank on Federal land under this subsection. 

10 (6) LIABILITY.—The Secretary concerned shall 

11 not— 

12 (A) be liable for any action taken by the 

13 Secretary concerned or a cooperating party in 

14 establishing or operating a firewood bank on 

15 Federal land under this subsection; or 

16 (B) require a cooperating party to main17 tain a general liability insurance policy to estab18 lish and operate a firewood bank on Federal 

19 land under this subsection. 

20 (c) SECURING SUPPLIES OF FIREWOOD FOR FIRE21 WOOD BANKS.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under the pilot program, 

23 the Secretary concerned shall— 

24 (A) designate trees for cutting and removal 

25 on Federal land by marking; and 


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1 (B) make those trees available to firewood 

2 banks, consistent with this subsection. 

3 (2) DESIGNATION.—The Secretary concerned 

4 shall designate trees under paragraph (1)(A)— 

5 (A) in an area located within 10 miles of 

6 each firewood bank established under sub7 section (b); and 

8 (B) in other areas that the Secretary con9 cerned determines to be appropriate. 

10 (3) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary concerned 

11 shall designate trees under paragraph (1)(A) in a 

12 sufficient quantity to provide not less than 100 

13 cords of firewood continuously to each firewood bank 

14 established under subsection (b). 

15 (4) NO FEE REQUIRED.— 

16 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any Federal employee 

17 or party designated by a cooperating party may 

18 cut, remove, and transport to a firewood bank 

19 a tree designated under paragraph (1)(A) with20 out the cooperating party incurring any fee. 

21 (B) LIMITATIONS.— 

22 (i) PERMITS.—The Secretary con23 cerned may require a cooperating party to 

24 apply for and obtain a permit for the cutVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:44 Oct 04, 2022 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4944.IS S4944

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1 ting and removal of a tree designated 

2 under paragraph (1)(A). 

3 (ii) NO SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO RE4 SOURCES.—A Federal employee or a co5 operating party shall not be permitted to 

6 significantly damage any resource while 

7 cutting or removing a tree designated 

8 under paragraph (1)(A). 

9 (5) CLOSED ENTRY.—The Secretary concerned 

10 may close to entry an area with trees designated 

11 under paragraph (1)(A), or make that entry subject 

12 to such conditions as the Secretary concerned deter13 mines are necessary— 

14 (A) for periods of not longer than 60 con15 secutive calendar days; and 

16 (B) for not longer than 150 calendar days 

17 during any 1 calendar year. 

18 (d) DURATION.—The authority to carry out the pilot 

19 program terminates on the date that is 10 years after the 

20 date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 5. REPORT. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after the 

23 date of enactment of this Act, and 5 years thereafter, the 

24 Secretaries shall prepare a report describing the imple25 mentation of this Act. 


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1 (b) SUBMISSION.—On completion of each report de2 scribed in subsection (a), the Secretaries shall submit the 

3 report to— 

4 (1) the Committee on Energy and Natural Re5 sources of the Senate; and 

6 (2) the Committee on Natural Resources of the 

7 House of Representatives. 

Æ 


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