I 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7315 

To protect American communities from wildfire, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

DECEMBER 13, 2018 

Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Ms. CHENEY, Mr. GIANFORTE, Mr. GOSAR, 

and Mr. LAMALFA) introduced the following bill; which was referred to 

the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committee 

on Agriculture, 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 committee concerned 

A BILL 

To protect American communities from wildfire, 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 ‘‘Protecting American 

5 Communities from Wildfire Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds that— 

8 (1) catastrophic wildfire represents a major 

9 threat to American lives, properties, and livelihoods; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
2 

•HR 7315 IH

1 (2) more and more Americans are living within 

2 the wildland-urban interface, and thus living closer 

3 to unmanaged, overgrown Federal forests; and 

4 (3) a lack of large-scale forest management 

5 practices has increased the risk of catastrophic wild6 fire within the wildland-urban interface. 

7 (b) PURPOSE.—The purposes of this Act are as fol8 lows: 

9 (1) To provide the Forest Service with the clear 

10 authority to protect lives, homes, and businesses 

11 within the wildland-urban interface by authorizing 

12 forest management projects in the wildland-urban 

13 interface. 

14 (2) To provide State, local, and Tribal entities 

15 the authority to collaboratively manage the forests 

16 within the wildland-urban interface. 

17 (3) To provide additional resources for existing 

18 disaster mitigation and educational programs for 

19 communities located in the wildland-urban interface. 

20 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

21 In this Act: 

22 (1) AT-RISK COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘at-risk 

23 community’’ has the meaning given the term in sec24 tion 101 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

25 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
3 

•HR 7315 IH

1 (2) AT-RISK WATERSHED.—The term ‘‘at-risk 

2 watershed’’ means any watershed supplying an at3 risk community. 

4 (3) FEDERAL LAND.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Federal 

6 land’’ means— 

7 (i) public lands (as defined in section 

8 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Man9 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

10 (ii) land held in trust for Indian 

11 Tribes; or 

12 (iii) National Forest System land. 

13 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Federal 

14 land’’ does not include— 

15 (i) a component of the National Wil16 derness Preservation System; 

17 (ii) Federal land on which the removal 

18 of vegetation is prohibited or restricted by 

19 Act of Congress or Presidential proclama20 tion (including the applicable implementa21 tion plan); or 

22 (iii) a wilderness study area. 

23 (4) GOVERNORS CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Gov24 ernors concerned’’ means the respective Governors 

25 who have entered into good neighbor agreements (as 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
4 

•HR 7315 IH

1 defined in section 8206 of the Agricultural Act of 

2 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a)). 

3 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec4 retary concerned’’ means— 

5 (A) the Secretary of the Interior, with re6 spect to public lands; and 

7 (B) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re8 spect to National Forest System lands. 

9 (6) TREATMENT PROGRAMS.—The term ‘‘treat10 ment programs’’ means any removal or modification 

11 of flammable vegetation including, but not limited 

12 to, prescribed fire, mechanical thinning, timber 

13 sales, mastication, pruning, slash treatment, or a 

14 combination of those methods. 

15 (7) WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE.—The term 

16 ‘‘wildland-urban interface’’ has the meaning given 

17 the term in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Res18 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511). 

19 SEC. 4. CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION FOR ACCELERATED 

20 TREATMENT PROGRAMS FOR THE 

21 WILDLAND-URBAN INTERFACE. 

22 (a) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION ESTABLISHED.— 

23 Treatment programs described in subsection (b) are a cat24 egory of actions designated as categorically excluded from 

25 the preparation of an environmental assessment or an enVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:23 Dec 19, 2018 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7315.IH H7315

pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
5 

•HR 7315 IH

1 vironmental impact statement under section 102 of the 

2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

3 4332). 

4 (b) TREATMENT PROGRAM DESCRIBED.—The treat5 ment programs described in this subsection are forest 

6 management activities carried out by the Secretary con7 cerned to— 

8 (1) reduce the risk of wildfire to at-risk commu9 nities and at-risk watersheds by prescribing treat10 ment programs in the wildland-urban interface 

11 which remove overstocked timber; and 

12 (2) subject to subsection (c), remove or modify 

13 woody vegetation and ground material to reduce can14 opy closure, ground fuels, and ladder fuels to achieve 

15 a forest composition that maximizes low-intensity 

16 fires and ease of suppression, establish fire breaks, 

17 and access for fire suppression. 

18 (c) LIMITATION OF TREATMENT PROGRAMS.—The 

19 Secretary concerned may only carry out vegetation treat20 ments necessary to achieve conditions that support low21 intensity fire and allow for direct suppression. 

22 (d) JUDICIAL REVIEW.—Treatment programs de23 scribed in subsection (b) shall not be subject to judicial 

24 review. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
6 

•HR 7315 IH

1 SEC. 5. GOOD NEIGHBOR AGREEMENTS FOR AT-RISK 

2 AREAS. 

3 Section 8206(a)(3)(B) of the Agricultural Act of 

4 2014 (16 U.S.C. 2113a(a)(3)(B)) is amended— 

5 (1) in clause (i)(II)(bb), by striking ‘‘or’’; 

6 (2) in clause (ii), by striking the period at the 

7 end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

8 (3) by inserting after clause (ii) the following 

9 new clause: 

10 ‘‘(iii) activities to reduce hazardous 

11 fuels and risk for loss of human life and 

12 property within the wildland-urban inter13 face (as defined in section 101 of the 

14 Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

15 (16 U.S.C. 6511)).’’. 

16 SEC. 6. SUPPLEMENTAL STATE FIRE ASSISTANCE FUND17 ING. 

18 Section 10A of the Cooperative Forestry Assistance 

19 Act of 1978 (16 U.S.C. 2106c) is amended— 

20 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘may’’ and in21 serting ‘‘shall’’; 

22 (2) in subsection (b)— 

23 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

24 (i) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

25 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
7 

•HR 7315 IH

1 (ii) in subparagraph (D), by striking 

2 ‘‘wildfires.’’ and inserting ‘‘wildfires; and’’; 

3 and 

4 (iii) by adding at the end the fol5 lowing new subparagraph: 

6 ‘‘(E) to incentivize State, local, tribal, and 

7 private landowners within the wildland-urban 

8 interface to implement cooperative land man9 agement plans and treatment programs which 

10 reduce the risk of wildfire.’’; and 

11 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

12 (i) by striking ‘‘The Program’’ and in13 serting the following: 

14 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The program’’; and 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘State foresters or 

16 equivalent State officials’’ and inserting 

17 ‘‘appropriate stakeholders’’; and 

18 (iii) by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(B) PREFERRED CONSIDERATION.— 

21 State, local, tribal, and private landowners with 

22 preexisting, collaborative wildland-urban inter23 face fire mitigation plan shall receive preferred 

24 consideration when applying for competitive, 

25 cost-sharing grants.’’; 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
8 

•HR 7315 IH

1 (C) in paragraph (3)— 

2 (i) in subparagraph (G), by striking 

3 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

4 (ii) in subparagraph (H), by striking 

5 ‘‘projects.’’ and inserting ‘‘projects; and’’; 

6 and 

7 (iii) by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(J) community and landowner forest 

10 management incentive programs.’’; and 

11 (3) by amending subsection (d) to read as fol12 lows: 

13 ‘‘(d) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.— 

14 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be 

15 appropriated to carry out this section— 

16 ‘‘(A) $100,000,000 for each of fiscal years 

17 2019 through 2024; and 

18 ‘‘(B) such sums as may be necessary for 

19 fiscal year 2025 and each fiscal year thereafter. 

20 ‘‘(2) RESERVATION.—Of the funds appro21 priated under paragraph (1), 25 percent shall be re22 served to carry out wildfire mitigation and fuels re23 duction within the wildland-urban interface (as de24 fined in section 101 of the Healthy Forests Restora25 tion Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6511)).’’. 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS
9 

•HR 7315 IH

1 SEC. 7. SAVINGS PROVISION. 

2 Nothing in this Act shall provide the Secretary con3 cerned or Governors concerned the authority to prescribe 

4 clear cutting as part of a treatment plan. 

Æ 


pbinns on DSK79D2C42PROD with BILLS