II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2593 

To amend the FLAME Act of 2009 to provide for additional wildfire suppression activities, to provide for the conduct of certain forest treatment 

projects, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 10, 2014 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. BARRASSO, and Mr. FLAKE) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the FLAME Act of 2009 to provide for additional 

wildfire suppression activities, to provide for the conduct 

of certain forest treatment projects, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘FLAME Act Amendments Act of 2014’’. 

6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

7 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 


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TITLE I—FLAME ACT AMENDMENTS 

Sec. 101. Findings. 

Sec. 102. FLAME Act amendments. 

Sec. 103. Wildfire disaster funding authority. 

TITLE II—FOREST TREATMENT PROJECTS 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Projects in Forest Management Emphasis Areas. 

Sec. 203. Administrative review; arbitration. 

Sec. 204. Distribution of revenue. 

Sec. 205. Performance measures; reporting. 

Sec. 206. Termination. 

TITLE III—FOREST STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING 

Sec. 301. Cancellation ceilings. 

1 TITLE I—FLAME ACT 

2 AMENDMENTS 

3 SEC. 101. FINDINGS. 

4 Congress finds that— 

5 (1) over the past 2 decades, wildfires have in6 creased dramatically in size and costs; 

7 (2) existing budget mechanisms for estimating 

8 the costs of wildfire suppression are not keeping 

9 pace with the actual costs for wildfire suppression 

10 due in part to improper budget estimation method11 ology; 

12 (3) the FLAME Funds have not been adequate 

13 in supplementing wildland fire management funds in 

14 cases in which wildland fire management accounts 

15 are exhausted; and 

16 (4) the practice of transferring funds from 

17 other agency funds (including the hazardous fuels 


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1 treatment accounts) by the Secretary of Agriculture 

2 or the Secretary of the Interior to pay for wildfire 

3 suppression activities, commonly known as ‘‘fire-bor4 rowing’’, does not support the missions of the Forest 

5 Service and the Department of the Interior with re6 spect to protecting human life and property from the 

7 threat of wildfires. 

8 SEC. 102. FLAME ACT AMENDMENTS. 

9 (a) FUNDING.—Section 502(d) of the FLAME Act 

10 of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(d)) is amended— 

11 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

12 (A) by striking ‘‘shall consist of’’ and all 

13 that follows through ‘‘appropriated to’’ in sub14 paragraph (A) and inserting ‘‘shall consist of 

15 such amounts as are appropriated to’’; and 

16 (B) by striking subparagraph (B); and 

17 (2) by striking paragraphs (4) and (5). 

18 (b) USE OF FLAME FUND.—Section 502(e) of the 

19 FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(e)) is amended 

20 by striking paragraphs (1) and (2) and inserting the fol21 lowing: 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts appropriated to a 

23 FLAME Fund, in accordance with section 

24 251(b)(2)(E) of the Balanced Budget and Emer25 gency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 


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1 902(b)(2)(E)), shall be available to the Secretary 

2 concerned for wildfire suppression operations if the 

3 Secretary concerned issues a declaration and notifies 

4 the relevant congressional committees that a wildfire 

5 suppression event is eligible for funding from the 

6 FLAME Fund. 

7 ‘‘(2) DECLARATION CRITERIA.—A declaration 

8 by the Secretary concerned under paragraph (1) 

9 may be issued only if— 

10 ‘‘(A) an individual wildfire incident meets 

11 the objective indicators of an extraordinary 

12 wildfire situation, including— 

13 ‘‘(i) a wildfire that the Secretary con14 cerned determines has required an emer15 gency Federal response based on the sig16 nificant complexity, severity, or threat 

17 posed by the fire to human life, property, 

18 or a resource; 

19 ‘‘(ii) a wildfire that covers 1,000 or 

20 more acres; or 

21 ‘‘(iii) a wildfire that is within 10 miles 

22 of an urbanized area (as defined in section 

23 134(b) of title 23, United States Code); or 

24 ‘‘(B) the cumulative costs of wildfire sup25 pression and Federal emergency response activiVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:51 Jul 15, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2593.IS S2593

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1 ties, as determined by the Secretary concerned, 

2 would exceed, within 30 days, all of the 

3 amounts otherwise previously appropriated (in4 cluding amounts appropriated under an emer5 gency designation, but excluding amounts ap6 propriated to the FLAME Fund) to the Sec7 retary concerned for wildfire suppression and 

8 Federal emergency response.’’. 

9 (c) TREATMENT OF ANTICIPATED AND PREDICTED

10 ACTIVITIES.—Section 502(f) of the FLAME Act of 2009 

11 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(f)) is amended by striking 

12 ‘‘(e)(2)(B)(i)’’ and inserting ‘‘(e)(2)(A)’’. 

13 (d) PROHIBITION ON OTHER TRANSFERS.—Section 

14 502 of the FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a) is 

15 amended by striking subsection (g) and inserting the fol16 lowing: 

17 ‘‘(g) PROHIBITION ON OTHER TRANSFERS.—The 

18 Secretary concerned shall not transfer funds provided for 

19 activities other than wildfire suppression operations to pay 

20 for any wildfire suppression operations.’’. 

21 (e) ACCOUNTING AND REPORTS.—Section 502(h) of 

22 the FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(h)) is amend23 ed by striking paragraphs (2) and (3) and inserting the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(2) ESTIMATES OF WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION

2 OPERATIONS COSTS TO IMPROVE BUDGETING AND

3 FUNDING.— 

4 ‘‘(A) BUDGET SUBMISSION.—Consistent 

5 with section 1105(a) of title 31, United States 

6 Code, the President shall include in each budget 

7 for the Department of Agriculture and the De8 partment of the Interior information on esti9 mates of appropriations for wildfire suppression 

10 costs based on an out-year forecast that uses a 

11 statistically valid regression model. 

12 ‘‘(B) REQUIREMENTS.—The estimate of 

13 anticipated wildfire suppression costs under 

14 subparagraph (A) shall be developed using the 

15 best available— 

16 ‘‘(i) climate, weather, and other rel17 evant data; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) models and other analytic tools. 

19 ‘‘(C) INDEPENDENT REVIEW.—The meth20 odology for developing the estimates of wildfire 

21 suppression costs under subparagraph (A) shall 

22 be subject to periodic independent review to en23 sure compliance with subparagraph (B). 

24 ‘‘(D) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Consistent with 

2 the schedule described in clause (ii) and in 

3 accordance with subparagraphs (B) and 

4 (C), the Secretary concerned shall submit 

5 to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

6 Resources of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on Natural Resources of the House 

8 of Representatives an updated estimate of 

9 wildfire suppression costs for the applica10 ble fiscal year. 

11 ‘‘(ii) SCHEDULE.—The Secretary con12 cerned shall submit the updated estimates 

13 under clause (i) during— 

14 ‘‘(I) March of each year; 

15 ‘‘(II) May of each year; 

16 ‘‘(III) July of each year; and 

17 ‘‘(IV) if a bill making appropria18 tions for the Department of the Inte19 rior and the Forest Service for the 

20 following fiscal year has not been en21 acted by September 1, September of 

22 each year. 

23 ‘‘(3) REPORTS.—Annually, the Secretary of Ag24 riculture and the Secretary of the Interior shall 

25 jointly submit to the Committee on Energy and NatVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:51 Jul 15, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2593.IS S2593

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1 ural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on 

2 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, 

3 and the Committees on Appropriations of the Senate 

4 and the House of Representatives a report that— 

5 ‘‘(A) provides a summary of the amount of 

6 appropriations made available during the pre7 vious fiscal year, which specifies the source of 

8 the amounts and the commitments and obliga9 tions made under this section; 

10 ‘‘(B) describes the amounts obligated to in11 dividual wildfire events that meet the criteria 

12 specified in subsection (e)(2); and 

13 ‘‘(C) includes any recommendations that 

14 the Secretary of Agriculture or the Secretary of 

15 the Interior may have to improve the adminis16 trative control and oversight of the FLAME 

17 Fund.’’. 

18 SEC. 103. WILDFIRE DISASTER FUNDING AUTHORITY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 251(b)(2) of the Balanced 

20 Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 

21 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the 

22 following: 

23 ‘‘(E) FLAME WILDFIRE SUPPRESSION.— 


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1 ‘‘(i)(I) The adjustments for a fiscal 

2 year shall be in accordance with clause (ii) 

3 if— 

4 ‘‘(aa) a bill or joint resolution 

5 making appropriations for a fiscal 

6 year is enacted that— 

7 ‘‘(AA) specifies an amount 

8 for wildfire suppression oper9 ations in the Wildland Fire Man10 agement accounts at the Depart11 ment of Agriculture or the De12 partment of the Interior; and 

13 ‘‘(BB) specifies a total 

14 amount to be used for the pur15 poses described in subclause (II) 

16 in the Wildland Fire Manage17 ment accounts at the Department 

18 of Agriculture or the Department 

19 of the Interior that is not less 

20 than 50 percent of the amount 

21 described in subitem (AA); and 

22 ‘‘(bb) as of the day before the 

23 date of enactment of the bill or joint 

24 resolution all amounts in the FLAME 

25 Fund established under section 502 of 


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1 the FLAME Act of 2009 (43 U.S.C. 

2 1748a) have been expended. 

3 ‘‘(II) The purposes described in this 

4 subclause are— 

5 ‘‘(aa) hazardous fuels reduction 

6 projects and other activities of the 

7 Secretary of the Interior, as author8 ized under the Healthy Forests Res9 toration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6501 

10 et seq.) and the Tribal Forest Protec11 tion Act of 2004 (25 U.S.C. 3115a); 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(bb) forest restoration and fuel 

14 reduction activities carried out outside 

15 of the wildland urban interface that 

16 are on condition class 3 Federal land 

17 or condition class 2 Federal land lo18 cated within fire regime I, fire regime 

19 II, or fire regime III. 

20 ‘‘(ii) If the requirements under clause 

21 (i)(I) are met for a fiscal year, the adjust22 ments for that fiscal year shall be the 

23 amount of additional new budget authority 

24 provided in the bill or joint resolution de25 scribed in clause (i)(I)(aa) for wildfire supVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:51 Jul 15, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2593.IS S2593

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1 pression operations for that fiscal year, but 

2 shall not exceed $1,000,000,000 in addi3 tional new budget authority in each of fis4 cal years 2015 through 2021. 

5 ‘‘(iii) As used in this subparagraph— 

6 ‘‘(I) the term ‘additional new 

7 budget authority’ means the amount 

8 provided for a fiscal year in an appro9 priation Act and specified to pay for 

10 the costs of wildfire suppression oper11 ations that is equal to the greater of 

12 the amount in excess of— 

13 ‘‘(aa) 100 percent of the av14 erage costs for wildfire suppres15 sion operations over the previous 

16 5 years; or 

17 ‘‘(bb) the estimated amount 

18 of anticipated wildfire suppres19 sion costs at the upper bound of 

20 the 90 percent confidence inter21 val for that fiscal year calculated 

22 in accordance with section 

23 502(h)(3) of the FLAME Act of 

24 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(h)(3)); 

25 and 


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1 ‘‘(II) the term ‘wildfire suppres2 sion operations’ means the emergency 

3 and unpredictable aspects of wildland 

4 firefighting including support, re5 sponse, and emergency stabilization 

6 activities; other emergency manage7 ment activities; and funds necessary 

8 to repay any transfers needed for 

9 these costs. 

10 ‘‘(iv) The average costs for wildfire 

11 suppression operations over the previous 5 

12 years shall be calculated annually and re13 ported in the President’s Budget submis14 sion under section 1105(a) of title 31, 

15 United States Code, for each fiscal year.’’. 

16 (b) DISASTER FUNDING.—Section 251(b)(2)(D) of 

17 the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 

18 of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 901(b)(2)(D)) is amended— 

19 (1) in clause (i)— 

20 (A) in subclause (I), by striking ‘‘and’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘plus’’; 

22 (B) in subclause (II), by striking the pe23 riod and inserting ‘‘; less’’; and 

24 (C) by adding the following: 


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1 ‘‘(III) the additional new budget 

2 authority provided in an appropriation 

3 Act for wildfire suppression operations 

4 pursuant to subparagraph (E) for the 

5 preceding fiscal year.’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(v) Beginning in fiscal year 2016 

8 and in subsequent fiscal years, the calcula9 tion of the ‘average funding provided for 

10 disaster relief over the previous 10 years’ 

11 shall not include the additional new budget 

12 authority provided in an appropriation Act 

13 for wildfire suppression operations pursu14 ant to subparagraph (E).’’. 

15 TITLE II—FOREST TREATMENT 

16 PROJECTS 

17 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

18 In this title: 

19 (1) COVERED PROJECT.—The term ‘‘covered 

20 project’’ means a project that involves the manage21 ment or sale of national forest material within a 

22 Forest Management Emphasis Area. 

23 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS AREA.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Forest 

25 Management Emphasis Area’’ means National 


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1 Forest System land identified as suitable for 

2 timber production in a forest management plan 

3 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act. 

4 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Forest 

5 Management Emphasis Area’’ does not include 

6 National Forest System land— 

7 (i) that is a component of the Na8 tional Wilderness Preservation System; or 

9 (ii) on which removal of vegetation is 

10 specifically prohibited by Federal law. 

11 (3) NATIONAL FOREST MATERIAL.—The term 

12 ‘‘national forest material’’ means trees, portions of 

13 trees, or forest products, with an emphasis on 

14 sawtimber and pulpwood, derived from National 

15 Forest System land. 

16 (4) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

17 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘National 

18 Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term 

19 in section 11(a) of the Forest and Rangeland 

20 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

21 U.S.C. 1609(a)). 

22 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National 

23 Forest System’’ does not include— 

24 (i) the national grasslands and land 

25 utilization projects administered under title 


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1 III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant 

2 Act (7 U.S.C. 1010 et seq.); or 

3 (ii) National Forest System land east 

4 of the 100th meridian. 

5 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

6 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

7 SEC. 202. PROJECTS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS 

8 AREAS. 

9 (a) CONDUCT OF COVERED PROJECTS WITHIN FOR10 EST MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS AREAS.— 

11 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may conduct 

12 covered projects in Forest Management Emphasis 

13 Areas, subject to paragraphs (2) through (4). 

14 (2) DESIGNATING TIMBER FOR CUTTING.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec16 tion 14(g) of the National Forest Management 

17 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(g)), the Secretary 

18 may use designation by prescription or designa19 tion by description in conducting covered 

20 projects under this title. 

21 (B) REQUIREMENT.—The designation 

22 methods authorized under subparagraph (A) 

23 shall be used in a manner that ensures that the 

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1 moved from the Forest Management Emphasis 

2 Area is verifiable and accountable. 

3 (3) CONTRACTING METHODS.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—Timber sale contracts 

5 under section 14 of the National Forest Man6 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) shall be 

7 the primary means of carrying out covered 

8 projects under this title. 

9 (B) RECORD.—If the Secretary does not 

10 use a timber sale contract under section 14 of 

11 the National Forest Management Act of 1976 

12 (16 U.S.C. 472a) to carry out a covered project 

13 under this title, the Secretary shall provide a 

14 written record specifying the reasons that dif15 ferent contracting methods were used. 

16 (4) ACREAGE TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 (A) TOTAL ACREAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 

18 The Secretary shall identify, prioritize, and 

19 carry out covered projects in Forest Manage20 ment Emphasis Areas that mechanically treat a 

21 total of at least 7,500,000 acres in the Forest 

22 Management Emphasis Areas during the 15- 

23 year period beginning on the date that is 60 

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1 signs the acreage treatment requirements under 

2 subparagraph (B). 

3 (B) ASSIGNMENT OF ACREAGE TREAT4 MENT REQUIREMENTS TO INDIVIDUAL UNITS

5 OF THE NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

6 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

7 days after the date of enactment of this 

8 Act and subject to clause (ii), the Sec9 retary, in the sole discretion of the Sec10 retary, shall assign the acreage treatment 

11 requirements that shall apply to the Forest 

12 Management Emphasis Areas of each unit 

13 of the National Forest System. 

14 (ii) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 

15 clause (i), the acreage treatment require16 ments assigned to a specific unit of the 

17 National Forest System under that clause 

18 may not apply to more than 25 percent of 

19 the acreage to be treated in any unit of the 

20 National Forest System in a Forest Man21 agement Emphasis Area during the 15- 

22 year period described in subparagraph (A). 

23 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC RE24 VIEW PROCESS FOR COVERED PROJECTS IN FOREST

25 MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS AREAS.— 


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1 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—The Sec2 retary shall comply with the National Environmental 

3 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by com4 pleting an environmental assessment that assesses 

5 the direct environmental effects of each covered 

6 project proposed to be conducted within a Forest 

7 Management Emphasis Area, except that the Sec8 retary shall not be required to study, develop, or de9 scribe more than the proposed agency action and 1 

10 alternative to the proposed agency action for pur11 poses of that Act. 

12 (2) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—In pre13 paring an environmental assessment for a covered 

14 project under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro15 vide— 

16 (A) public notice of the covered project; 

17 and 

18 (B) an opportunity for public comment on 

19 the covered project. 

20 (3) LENGTH.—The environmental assessment 

21 prepared for a covered project under paragraph (1) 

22 shall not exceed 100 pages in length. 

23 (4) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—The 

24 Secretary may incorporate, by reference, into an en25 vironmental assessment any documents that the SecVerDate Mar 15 2010 00:51 Jul 15, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2593.IS S2593

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1 retary, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, deter2 mines are relevant to the assessment of the environ3 mental effects of the covered project. 

4 (5) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not later 

5 than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary 

6 has published notice of a covered project in accord7 ance with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall com8 plete the environmental assessment for the covered 

9 project. 

10 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES

11 ACT.—To comply with the Endangered Species Act of 

12 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Secretary shall use 

13 qualified professionals on the staff of the Forest Service 

14 to make determinations required under section 7 of that 

15 Act (16 U.S.C. 1536). 

16 (d) LIMITATION ON REVISION OF NATIONAL FOREST

17 PLANS.—The Secretary may not, during a revision of a 

18 forest plan under section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland 

19 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 

20 1604), reduce the acres designated as suitable for timber 

21 harvest under a covered project, unless the Secretary de22 termines, in consultation with the Secretary of the Inte23 rior, that the reduction in acreage is necessary to prevent 

24 a jeopardy finding under section 7(b) of the Endangered 

25 Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536(b)). 


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1 SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW; ARBITRATION. 

2 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—Administrative re3 view of a covered project shall occur only in accordance 

4 with the special administrative review process established 

5 by section 105 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

6 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6515). 

7 (b) ARBITRATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

9 Department of Agriculture a pilot program that— 

10 (A) authorizes the use of arbitration in11 stead of judicial review of a decision made fol12 lowing the special administrative review process 

13 for a covered project described in subsection 

14 (a); and 

15 (B) shall be the sole means to challenge a 

16 covered project in a Forest Management Em17 phasis Area during the 15-year period begin18 ning on the date that is 60 days after the date 

19 on which the Secretary assigns the acreage 

20 treatment requirements under section 

21 202(a)(4)(B). 

22 (2) ARBITRATION PROCESS PROCEDURES.— 

23 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any person who sought 

24 administrative review for a covered project in 

25 accordance with subsection (a) and who is not 

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1 ministrative review process may file a demand 

2 for arbitration in accordance with— 

3 (i) chapter 1 of title 9, United States 

4 Code; and 

5 (ii) this paragraph. 

6 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DEMAND.—A de7 mand for arbitration under subparagraph (A) 

8 shall— 

9 (i) be filed not more than 30 days 

10 after the date on which the special admin11 istrative review decision is issued under 

12 subsection (a); and 

13 (ii) include a proposal containing the 

14 modifications sought to the covered 

15 project. 

16 (C) INTERVENING PARTIES.— 

17 (i) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION; RE18 QUIREMENTS.—Any person that submitted 

19 a public comment on the covered project 

20 subject to the demand for arbitration may 

21 intervene in the arbitration under this sub22 section by submitting a proposal endorsing 

23 or modifying the covered project by the 

24 date that is 30 days after the date on 


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1 which the demand for arbitration is filed 

2 under subparagraph (A). 

3 (ii) MULTIPLE PARTIES.—Multiple ob4 jectors or intervening parties that meet the 

5 requirements of clause (i) may submit a 

6 joint proposal under that clause. 

7 (D) APPOINTMENT OF ARBITRATOR.—The 

8 United States District Court in the district in 

9 which a covered project subject to a demand for 

10 arbitration filed under subparagraph (A) is lo11 cated shall appoint an arbitrator to conduct the 

12 arbitration proceedings in accordance with this 

13 subsection. 

14 (E) SELECTION OF PROPOSALS.— 

15 (i) IN GENERAL.—An arbitrator ap16 pointed under subparagraph (D)— 

17 (I) may not modify any of the 

18 proposals submitted under this para19 graph; and 

20 (II) shall select to be con21 ducted— 

22 (aa) a proposal submitted by 

23 an objector under subparagraph 

24 (B)(ii) or an intervening party 

25 under subparagraph (C); or 


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1 (bb) the covered project, as 

2 approved by the Secretary. 

3 (ii) SELECTION CRITERIA.—An arbi4 trator shall select the proposal that best 

5 meets the purpose and needs described in 

6 the environmental assessment conducted 

7 under section 202(b)(1) for the covered 

8 project. 

9 (iii) EFFECT.—The decision of an ar10 bitrator with respect to a selection under 

11 clause (i)(II)— 

12 (I) shall not be considered a 

13 major Federal action; 

14 (II) shall be binding; and 

15 (III) shall not be subject to judi16 cial review. 

17 (F) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not 

18 later than 90 days after the date on which a de19 mand for arbitration is filed under subpara20 graph (A), the arbitration process shall be com21 pleted. 

22 SEC. 204. DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE. 

23 (a) PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Effective for fiscal year 

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1 nation date under section 206, the Secretary shall 

2 provide to each county in which a covered project is 

3 carried out annual payments in an amount equal to 

4 25 percent of the amounts received for the applica5 ble fiscal year by the Secretary from the covered 

6 project. 

7 (2) LIMITATION.—A payment made under para8 graph (1) shall be in addition to any payments the 

9 county receives under the payment to States re10 quired by the sixth paragraph under the heading 

11 ‘‘FOREST SERVICE’’ in the Act of May 23, 1908 (35 

12 Stat. 260; 16 U.S.C. 500), and section 13 of the Act 

13 of March 1, 1911 (36 Stat. 963; 16 U.S.C. 500). 

14 (b) DEPOSIT IN KNUTSON-VANDENBERG AND SAL15 VAGE SALE FUNDS.—After compliance with subsection 

16 (a), the Secretary shall use amounts received by the Sec17 retary from covered projects during each of the fiscal 

18 years during the period described in subsection (a) to 

19 make deposits into the fund established under section 3 

20 of the Act of June 9, 1930 (commonly known as the 

21 ‘‘Knutson-Vandenberg Act’’) (16 U.S.C. 576b), and the 

22 fund established under section 14(h) of the National For23 est Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(h)) in con24 tributions equal to the amounts otherwise collected under 


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1 those Acts for projects conducted on National Forest Sys2 tem land. 

3 (c) DEPOSIT IN GENERAL FUND OF THE TREAS4 URY.—After compliance with subsections (a) and (b), the 

5 Secretary shall deposit into the general fund of the Treas6 ury any remaining amounts received by the Secretary for 

7 each of the fiscal years referred to in those subsections 

8 from covered projects. 

9 SEC. 205. PERFORMANCE MEASURES; REPORTING. 

10 (a) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Secretary shall 

11 develop performance measures that evaluate the degree to 

12 which the Secretary is achieving— 

13 (1) the purposes of this title; and 

14 (2) the minimum acreage requirements estab15 lished under section 202(a)(4). 

16 (b) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Annually, the Secretary 

17 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re18 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re19 sources of the House of Representatives— 

20 (1) a report that describes the results of evalua21 tions using the performance measures developed 

22 under subsection (a); and 

23 (2) a report that describes— 


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1 (A) the number and substance of the cov2 ered projects that are subject to administrative 

3 review and arbitration under section 203; and 

4 (B) the outcomes of the administrative re5 view and arbitration under that section. 

6 SEC. 206. TERMINATION. 

7 The authority of this title terminates on the date that 

8 is 15 years after the date of enactment of this Act. 

9 TITLE III—FOREST 

10 STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING 

11 SEC. 301. CANCELLATION CEILINGS. 

12 Section 604(d) of the Healthy Forests Restoration 

13 Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(d)) is amended— 

14 (1) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and 

15 (7) as paragraphs (6), (7), and (8), respectively; and 

16 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol17 lowing: 

18 ‘‘(5) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.— 

19 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief and the Di20 rector may obligate funds to cover any potential 

21 cancellation or termination costs for an agree22 ment or contract under subsection (b) in stages 

23 that are economically or programmatically via24 ble. 

25 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not 

2 later than 30 days before entering into a 

3 multiyear agreement or contract under 

4 subsection (b) that includes a cancellation 

5 ceiling in excess of $25,000,000, but does 

6 not include proposed funding for the costs 

7 of cancelling the agreement or contract up 

8 to the cancellation ceiling established in 

9 the agreement or contract, the Chief and 

10 the Director shall submit to the Committee 

11 on Energy and Natural Resources of the 

12 Senate and the Committee on Natural Re13 sources of the House of Representatives a 

14 written notice that includes— 

15 ‘‘(I)(aa) the cancellation ceiling 

16 amounts proposed for each program 

17 year in the agreement or contract; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(bb) the reasons for the can20 cellation ceiling amounts proposed 

21 under item (aa); 

22 ‘‘(II) the extent to which the 

23 costs of contract cancellation are not 

24 included in the budget for the agree25 ment or contract; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) a financial risk assessment 

2 of not including budgeting for the 

3 costs of agreement or contract can4 cellation. 

5 ‘‘(ii) TRANSMITTAL TO OMB.—At least 

6 14 days before the date on which the Chief 

7 and Director enter into an agreement or 

8 contract under subsection (b), the Chief 

9 and Director shall transmit to the Director 

10 of the Office of Management and Budget 

11 a copy of the written notice submitted 

12 under clause (i).’’. 

Æ 


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