II 

113TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 661 

To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to promote timely 

emergency rehabilitation and restoration of Federal forest land impacted 

by catastrophic events, to redirect for a 5-year-period funding normally 

made available for land acquisition to mechanical forest treatment and 

salvage operations due to catastrophic events, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 22, 2013 

Mr. THUNE introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry 

A BILL 

To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 

to promote timely emergency rehabilitation and restoration of Federal forest land impacted by catastrophic 

events, to redirect for a 5-year-period funding normally 

made available for land acquisition to mechanical forest 

treatment and salvage operations due to catastrophic 

events, 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. EMERGENCY FOREST REHABILITATION AND 

2 RESTORATION. 

3 Title VI of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

4 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591) is amended by adding at the end 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 602. EMERGENCY FOREST REHABILITATION AND 

7 RESTORATION. 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITION.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) CATASTROPHIC EVENT.— 

10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘cata11 strophic event’ means any natural disaster or 

12 any fire, flood, or explosion, regardless of cause, 

13 that the Secretary determines has caused or 

14 has the potential to cause damage of significant 

15 severity and magnitude to Federal land. 

16 ‘‘(B) NATURAL DISASTER.—For purposes 

17 of subparagraph (A), a natural disaster, as de18 termined by the Secretary, may include a hurri19 cane, tornado, windstorm, snow or ice storm, 

20 rain storm, high water, wind-driven water, tidal 

21 wave, earthquake, volcanic eruption, landslide, 

22 mudslide, drought, or insect or disease out23 break. 

24 ‘‘(2) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ has 

25 the meaning given term in section 101. 

26 ‘‘(b) MECHANICAL FOREST TREATMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall imple2 ment such procedures as are necessary to ensure 

3 that not less than 600,000 acres of Federal land 

4 each fiscal year are treated with mechanical treat5 ments intended to produce merchantable wood. 

6 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use to 

7 carry out paragraph (1)— 

8 ‘‘(A) funds described in subsection (f)(3); 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(B) any other funds made available for 

11 the purposes described in paragraph (1). 

12 ‘‘(c) EMERGENCY CIRCUMSTANCES.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall— 

14 ‘‘(A) declare that emergency circumstances 

15 exist for all Federal land subject to the effects 

16 of a catastrophic event, including on Federal 

17 land outside urban interface areas; and 

18 ‘‘(B) as soon as practicable, take all ac19 tions necessary for the rehabilitation or restora20 tion of the Federal land, with highest priority 

21 given to Federal land impacted by large-scale 

22 beetle infestations. 

23 ‘‘(2) EMERGENCY ALTERNATIVE ARRANGE24 MENTS.—In accordance with section 220.4 of title 

25 36, Code of Federal Regulations and section 


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1 1506.11 of title 40, Code of Federal Regulations (or 

2 successor regulations), for any Federal land for 

3 which the Secretary declares the existence of emer4 gency circumstances under paragraph (1), the Sec5 retary may use emergency alternative arrangements 

6 to comply with the National Environmental Policy 

7 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

8 ‘‘(3) LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE AP9 PEALS.—Notwithstanding any other provision of 

10 law, no administrative appeal shall be allowed for 

11 any action classified as an emergency alternative ar12 rangement under paragraph (2) or a categorical ex13 clusion under the National Environmental Policy Act 

14 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) due to emergency 

15 circumstances declared under paragraph (1). 

16 ‘‘(d) CATASTROPHIC EVENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—As soon as practicable dur18 ing but not later than 30 days after the conclusion 

19 of a catastrophic event, the Secretary shall initiate 

20 timely salvage activities on the Federal land affected 

21 by the catastrophic event so as to prevent significant 

22 deterioration of timber values, development of sig23 nificant fire hazard, or other forest mortality that 

24 would prevent the Federal land from regenerating to 

25 forest within 5 years. 


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1 ‘‘(2) FUNDING.—The Secretary shall use to 

2 carry out paragraph (1)— 

3 ‘‘(A) funds described in subsection (f)(3); 

4 and 

5 ‘‘(B) any other funds made available for 

6 the purposes described in paragraph (1). 

7 ‘‘(e) EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND.— 

8 This section shall not apply to— 

9 ‘‘(1) a component of the National Wilderness 

10 Preservation System; 

11 ‘‘(2) Federal land on which the removal of vege12 tation is prohibited or restricted by Act of Congress, 

13 Presidential proclamation, or the applicable land 

14 management plan; or 

15 ‘‘(3) a wilderness study area. 

16 ‘‘(f) LIMITATION ON ACQUISITION.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of law, except as provided in paragraph 

19 (2), beginning on the date of enactment of this sec20 tion and during each of the subsequent 5 full fiscal 

21 years, none of the funds made available to the Sec22 retary under any law may be used— 

23 ‘‘(A) to survey land for future acquisition 

24 as Federal land; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) to enter into discussions with non2 Federal landowners to identify land for acquisi3 tion as Federal land. 

4 ‘‘(2) EXCEPTION.—Paragraph (1) does not 

5 apply to the use of funds— 

6 ‘‘(A) to complete land transactions under7 way on the date of enactment of this section; 

8 ‘‘(B) to exchange Federal land for non9 Federal land; or 

10 ‘‘(C) to accept donations of non-Federal 

11 land as Federal land. 

12 ‘‘(3) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary shall use 

13 funds that would otherwise have been used for pur14 chase of non-Federal land by the Forest Service to 

15 carry out— 

16 ‘‘(A) mechanical forest treatments de17 scribed in subsection (b); and 

18 ‘‘(B) salvage activities described in sub19 section (d).’’. 

Æ 


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