I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1183 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance 

Act to improve mitigation assistance. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 16, 2017 

Mr. RUIZ (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. COOK, Mr. O’HALLERAN, Mr. POCAN, 

Mr. PETERS, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. BLUMENAUER, Mr. GARAMENDI, Mrs. 

NAPOLITANO, and Ms. SINEMA) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

Emergency Assistance Act to improve mitigation assistance. 

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 ‘‘Wildfire Prevention 

5 Act of 2017’’. 

6 SEC. 2. MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 420 of the Robert T. 

8 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

9 (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub2 section (e); and 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol4 lowing: 

5 ‘‘(d) HAZARD MITIGATION ASSISTANCE.—Whether 

6 or not a major disaster is declared, the President may pro7 vide hazard mitigation assistance in accordance with sec8 tion 404 in any area affected by a fire for which assistance 

9 was provided under this section.’’. 

10 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—The Robert T. 

11 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

12 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended— 

13 (1) in section 404(a) (42 U.S.C. 5170c(a))— 

14 (A) by inserting before the first period ‘‘, 

15 or any area affected by a fire for which assist16 ance was provided under section 420’’; and 

17 (B) in the third sentence by inserting ‘‘or 

18 event under section 420’’ after ‘‘major disaster’’ 

19 each place it appears; and 

20 (2) in section 322(e)(1) (42 U.S.C. 5165(e)(1)), 

21 by inserting ‘‘or event under section 420’’ after 

22 ‘‘major disaster’’ each place it appears. 


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1 SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES. 

2 Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 

3 and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is 

4 amended by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(f) USE OF ASSISTANCE.—Recipients of hazard 

6 mitigation assistance provided under this section and sec7 tion 203 may use the assistance to conduct the following 

8 activities to help reduce the risk of future damage, hard9 ship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a wildfire, 

10 including— 

11 ‘‘(1) reseeding ground cover with quick-growing 

12 or native species; 

13 ‘‘(2) mulching with straw or chipped wood; 

14 ‘‘(3) constructing straw, rock, or log dams in 

15 small tributaries to prevent flooding; 

16 ‘‘(4) placing logs and other erosion barriers to 

17 catch sediment on hill slopes; 

18 ‘‘(5) installing debris traps to modify road and 

19 trail drainage mechanisms; 

20 ‘‘(6) modifying or removing culverts to allow 

21 drainage to flow freely; 

22 ‘‘(7) adding drainage dips and constructing 

23 emergency spillways to keep roads and bridges from 

24 washing out during floods; 

25 ‘‘(8) planting grass to prevent the spread of 

26 noxious weeds; 


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1 ‘‘(9) installing warning signs; 

2 ‘‘(10) establishing defensible space measures; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(11) reducing hazardous fuels.’’. 

5 SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 

6 Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 

7 of this Act and annually thereafter, the Administrator of 

8 the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit 

9 to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern10 mental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Transpor11 tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, 

12 and the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the 

13 House of Representatives a report containing a summary 

14 of any projects carried out, and any funding provided to 

15 those projects, under subsection (d) of section 420 of the 

16 Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist17 ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) (as amended by section 

18 1(a)(2)). 

Æ 


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