II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1997 

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

Act to provide for wildfire mitigation grants and financial assistance 

in certain areas affected by wildfires. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

AUGUST 5, 2015 

Mr. BENNET (for himself and Mr. CRAPO) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and 

Governmental Affairs 

A BILL 

To amend the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act to provide for wildfire mitigation 

grants and financial assistance in certain areas affected 

by wildfires. 

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 ‘‘Prepare, Ready, 

5 Equip, and Prevent Areas at Risk of Emergency Wildfires 

6 Act of 2015’’ or the ‘‘PREPARE Act of 2015’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. WILDFIRE MITIGATION. 

2 Title II of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and 

3 Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5131 et seq.) is 

4 amended by inserting after section 203 the following: 

5 ‘‘SEC. 203A. WILDFIRE MITIGATION. 

6 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

7 ‘‘(1) the term ‘Administrator’ means the Ad8 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management 

9 Agency; 

10 ‘‘(2) the term ‘community wildfire protection 

11 plan’ has the meaning given the term in section 101 

12 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 

13 U.S.C. 6511); 

14 ‘‘(3) the term ‘eligible recipient’ means a State 

15 or an Indian tribal government; 

16 ‘‘(4) the term ‘local multi-hazard mitigation 

17 plan’ means a mitigation plan developed by a local 

18 government under section 322(b) that addresses 

19 wildfire mitigation; 

20 ‘‘(5) the term ‘State mitigation plan’ means a 

21 mitigation plan developed by a State under section 

22 322(c) that addresses wildfire mitigation; and 

23 ‘‘(6) the term ‘tribal mitigation plan’ means a 

24 mitigation plan developed by a tribal government 

25 under section 322(b) that addresses wildfire mitiga26 tion. 


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1 ‘‘(b) ESTABLISHMENT OF WILDFIRE MITIGATION

2 GRANT PROGRAM.—The President, acting through the 

3 Administrator, shall establish a pilot program to make 

4 grants to eligible recipients for wildfire mitigation. 

5 ‘‘(c) USE OF FUNDS.—A grant under this section 

6 may be used by an eligible recipient— 

7 ‘‘(1) to reduce the hazardous fuel load by re8 ducing the use of fuels that may contribute to cata9 strophic wildfires in high-risk areas; 

10 ‘‘(2) to invest in personnel and organizations to 

11 conduct wildfire mitigation; 

12 ‘‘(3) to invest in vehicles and other equipment 

13 to conduct wildfire mitigation; 

14 ‘‘(4) to mitigate against damage from runoff 

15 into waterways and floods caused by erosion from 

16 wildfires; 

17 ‘‘(5) to build essential community collaboration 

18 and outline the necessary groundwork systems in an19 ticipation of future fires; and 

20 ‘‘(6) at the discretion of the Governor of a 

21 State or the Chief Executive of an Indian tribal gov22 ernment, and in consultation with the Administrator, 

23 for any other wildfire mitigation activities in the 

24 State or area under the jurisdiction of the Indian 


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1 tribal government, as applicable, unless otherwise 

2 prohibited by law. 

3 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBILITY FOR ASSISTANCE.— 

4 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

5 ‘‘(A) ELIGIBILITY.—An eligible recipient 

6 shall be eligible for assistance under this section 

7 if the section 420 grant ratio for the eligible re8 cipient is equal to or greater than 125 percent 

9 of the population ratio of the eligible recipient. 

10 ‘‘(B) RATIOS.—For purposes of subpara11 graph (A)— 

12 ‘‘(i) the section 420 grant ratio shall 

13 be equal to the quotient of— 

14 ‘‘(I) the number of declarations 

15 for a grant under section 420 received 

16 by the eligible recipient during the 10 

17 years prior to the date on which an 

18 application for assistance is submitted 

19 under this section, divided by 

20 ‘‘(II) the total number of declara21 tions for a grant under section 420 in 

22 the United States during the 10 years 

23 prior to the date on which an applica24 tion for assistance is submitted under 

25 this section; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the population ratio of the eligi2 ble recipient shall be equal to the quotient 

3 of— 

4 ‘‘(I) the population of the State 

5 or the area under the jurisdiction of 

6 the Indian tribal government, as ap7 plicable, based on the most recent 

8 data available from the Bureau of the 

9 Census on the date on which an appli10 cation for assistance is submitted 

11 under this section, divided by 

12 ‘‘(II) the population of the 

13 United States, based on the most re14 cent data available from the Bureau 

15 of the Census on the date on which an 

16 application for assistance is submitted 

17 under this section. 

18 ‘‘(2) WAIVER.—The President may waive the 

19 requirement of paragraph (1) if an eligible recipi20 ent— 

21 ‘‘(A) files a petition for waiver of the re22 quirement of paragraph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(B) demonstrates that significant envi24 ronmental changes or shifts in forest health put 

25 the eligible recipient at an elevated risk for catVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997

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1 astrophic wildfires, as determined by the Presi2 dent. 

3 ‘‘(3) LOCAL ASSISTANCE.—The Governor of a 

4 State may award funds received under this section, 

5 to be used solely for the purposes set forth under 

6 subsection (c), to— 

7 ‘‘(A) any county or municipality in that 

8 State with a community wildfire protection plan 

9 or a local multi-hazard mitigation plan; 

10 ‘‘(B) any Indian tribal government in that 

11 State with a tribal mitigation plan; or 

12 ‘‘(C) any other entity that is explicitly ref13 erenced in and central to, in the determination 

14 of the Governor, the design of a community 

15 wildfire protection plan or a local multi-hazard 

16 mitigation plan. 

17 ‘‘(e) CRITERIA FOR ASSISTANCE.—In determining 

18 whether to award a grant to an eligible recipient under 

19 this section, the President shall— 

20 ‘‘(1) give preference to— 

21 ‘‘(A) an eligible recipient with a high level 

22 of need for assistance based on the best sci23 entific data available; 

24 ‘‘(B) an eligible recipient that previously 

25 received a grant under this section and effecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997

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1 tively used the Federal funds for wildfire miti2 gation activities in the State or area under the 

3 jurisdiction of the Indian tribal government, as 

4 applicable, as determined by the President; and 

5 ‘‘(2) consider environmental conditions in a 

6 State or an area under the jurisdiction of an Indian 

7 tribal government, as applicable, including environ8 mental changes, deteriorating forest health, and 

9 overall wildfire risk. 

10 ‘‘(f) APPLICATION FOR ASSISTANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—To request a grant under 

12 this section, an eligible recipient shall submit an ap13 plication to the Administrator in such form, in such 

14 manner, and containing such information as the Ad15 ministrator may reasonably require. 

16 ‘‘(2) CONTENTS.—In addition to any other re17 quirements that may be specified by the Adminis18 trator, an eligible recipient submitting an application 

19 for a grant under this section shall demonstrate 

20 that— 

21 ‘‘(A) in the case of an eligible recipient 

22 that is a State— 

23 ‘‘(i) the State has a State mitigation 

24 plan; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) the State shall provide matching 

2 non-Federal funds equal to not less than 

3 25 percent of the amount of Federal funds 

4 made available under this subsection; 

5 ‘‘(iii) a county or municipality that 

6 may receive funds from the grant has a 

7 community wildfire protection plan or a 

8 local multi-hazard mitigation plan; and 

9 ‘‘(iv) an Indian tribal government that 

10 may receive funds from the grant has a 

11 tribal mitigation plan; and 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case of an eligible recipient 

13 that is an Indian tribal government— 

14 ‘‘(i) the Indian tribal government has 

15 a tribal mitigation plan; and 

16 ‘‘(ii) the Indian tribal government 

17 shall— 

18 ‘‘(I) provide matching non-Fed19 eral funds equal to not less than 25 

20 percent of the amount of Federal 

21 funds made available under this sub22 section; or 

23 ‘‘(II) if the Indian tribal govern24 ment is a small impoverished commu25 nity, as defined in section 203(a), proVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:38 Aug 13, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1997.IS S1997

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1 vide non-matching Federal funds 

2 equal to not less than 10 percent of 

3 the amount of Federal funds made 

4 available under this subsection. 

5 ‘‘(g) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date 

6 of receipt of a grant under this section, the recipient shall 

7 submit to the Administrator a report, which shall be made 

8 publically available, on the use of funds made available 

9 under the grant. 

10 ‘‘(h) FUNDING FOR ASSISTANCE.— 

11 ‘‘(1) PREDISASTER MITIGATION FUND.—Sub12 ject to the availability of funds in the National 

13 Predisaster Mitigation Fund established under sec14 tion 203(i), the Administrator shall use not less than 

15 $20,000,000 and not more than $30,000,000 from 

16 unobligated amounts in the National Predisaster 

17 Mitigation Fund for each of fiscal years 2016 

18 through 2021 in carrying out this section. 

19 ‘‘(2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in 

20 this section shall be construed to increase the 

21 amount of appropriations authorized for the Depart22 ment of Homeland Security in any given fiscal 

23 year.’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. WILDFIRE MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 

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

3 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

4 (42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended— 

5 (1) by redesignating subsection (d) as sub6 section (e); and 

7 (2) by inserting after subsection (c) the fol8 lowing: 

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

10 or not a major disaster is declared, the President may pro11 vide hazard mitigation assistance in accordance with sec12 tion 404 in any area affected by a fire for which assistance 

13 was provided under this section.’’. 

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

15 Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 

16 (42 U.S.C. 5121 et seq.) is amended— 

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

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

19 or any area in which assistance was provided 

20 under section 420’’; and 

21 (B) in the third sentence, by inserting ‘‘or 

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

23 each place that term appears; and 

24 (2) in section 322 (e)(1) (42 U.S.C. 

25 5165(e)(1)), by inserting ‘‘or event under section 


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1 420’’ after ‘‘major disaster’’ each place that term 

2 appears. 

3 SEC. 4. FACTORS TO CONSIDER FOR MAJOR DISASTER DEC4 LARATION. 

5 Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment 

6 of this Act, the Administrator of the Federal Emergency 

7 Management Agency shall amend subsection (a) of section 

8 206.48 of title 44, Code of Federal Regulations, to require 

9 the Federal Emergency Management Agency to consider, 

10 in evaluating a Governor’s request for major disaster as11 sistance under the Public Assistance Program, whether— 

12 (1) post-fire flooding occurred within 5 years, 

13 and as a result, of a single wildfire event in the 

14 State; and 

15 (2) the State received fire management assist16 ance under section 420 of the Robert T. Stafford 

17 Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 

18 U.S.C. 5187) related to the major disaster for which 

19 the Governor is requesting assistance under the 

20 Public Assistance Program. 

21 SEC. 5. POST-FIRE FUNDING GUIDE. 

22 (a) CREATION AND DISTRIBUTION.—Not later than 

23 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Admin24 istrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency 


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1 shall create and make publically available a post-fire recov2 ery funding and resource guide for local communities. 

3 (b) INVOLVEMENT BY LOCAL LEADERS.—The Ad4 ministrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agen5 cy shall create the guide under subsection (a) in collabora6 tion with local leaders who have experienced wildfires in 

7 their communities and who understand the requirements 

8 for the use of Federal disaster funds. 

9 (c) UPDATES.—The Administrator of the Federal 

10 Emergency Management Agency shall update the guide 

11 under subsection (a) as programs and resources change. 

Æ 


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