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[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 745 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                 S. 745

To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to provide for the 
        designation of treatment areas, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             April 17, 2013

   Mr. Bennet (for himself, Mr. Baucus, Mr. Wyden, and Mr. Udall of 
   Colorado) 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 provide for the 
        designation of treatment areas, and for other purposes.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``National Forest Insect and Disease 
Treatment Act of 2013''.

SEC. 2. DESIGNATION OF TREATMENT AREAS.

    Title VI of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 
6591 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 602. DESIGNATION OF TREATMENT AREAS.

    ``(a) Designation of Treatment Areas.--
            ``(1) Initial areas.--Not later than 60 days after the date 
        of enactment of the National Forest Insect and Disease 
        Treatment Act of 2013, the Secretary shall, in consultation 
        with the Governor of the State, designate as part of an insect 
        and disease treatment program 1 or more subwatersheds (sixth-
        level hydrologic units, according to the System of Hydrologic 
        Unit Codes of the United States Geological Survey) in at least 
        1 national forest in each State that is experiencing an insect 
        or disease epidemic.
            ``(2) Additional areas.--After the end of the 60-day period 
        described in paragraph (1), the Secretary may designate 
        additional subwatersheds under this section as needed to 
        address insect and disease threats.
    ``(b) Requirements.--A subwatershed designated under subsection (a) 
shall be--
            ``(1) experiencing substantially increased tree mortality 
        due to insect or disease infestation, based on annual forest 
        health surveys conducted by the Secretary;
            ``(2) at risk of experiencing substantially increased tree 
        mortality over the next 15 years due to insect or disease 
        infestation, based on the most recent National Insect and 
        Disease Risk Map published by the Forest Service; or
            ``(3) in an area in which the risk of hazard trees poses an 
        imminent risk to public infrastructure, health, or safety.
    ``(c) Treatment of Areas.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Secretary may carry out priority 
        projects on Federal land in the subwatersheds designated under 
        subsection (a) to reduce the risk or extent of, or increase the 
        resilience to, insect or disease infestation in the 
        subwatersheds.
            ``(2) Authority.--Any project under paragraph (1) for which 
        a public notice to initiate scoping is issued on or before 
        September 30, 2018, may be carried out in accordance with 
        subsections (b), (c), (d), and (g) (other than paragraph (4)) 
        of section 102, and sections 104, 105, and 106.
            ``(3) Effect.--Projects carried out under this subsection 
        shall be considered `authorized hazardous fuel reduction 
        projects' for purposes of the authorities described in 
        paragraph (2).
            ``(4) Report.--Not later than September 30, 2018, the 
        Secretary shall issue a report that includes--
                    ``(A) an evaluation of the progress towards project 
                goals; and
                    ``(B) recommendations for modifications to the 
                projects and management treatments.
    ``(d) Tree Retention.--The Secretary shall carry out projects under 
subsection (b) in a manner that maximizes the retention of old-growth 
and large trees, as appropriate for the forest type, to the extent that 
the trees promote stands that are resilient to insects and disease.
    ``(e) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $200,000,000 for each of fiscal 
years 2014 through 2018.''.
                                 <all>
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