II 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 508 

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 

FEBRUARY 12, 2015 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. FLAKE, and Mr. BARRASSO) 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 of 2015’’. 

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. Stewardship end result contracting projects. 

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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1 901(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 activimstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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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 Natmstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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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 ‘‘(bb) forest restoration and fuel 

13 reduction activities carried out outside 

14 of the wildland urban interface that 

15 are on condition class 3 Federal land 

16 or condition class 2 Federal land lo17 cated within fire regime I, fire regime 

18 II, or fire regime III; and 

19 ‘‘(cc) timber sales, pre-commer20 cial thinning, and wood salvage har21 vests carried out by the Chief of the 

22 Forest Service in accordance with sec23 tion 14 of the National Forest Man24 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 

25 472a). 

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1 ‘‘(ii) If the requirements under clause 

2 (i)(I) are met for a fiscal year, the adjust3 ments for that fiscal year shall be the 

4 amount of additional new budget authority 

5 provided in the bill or joint resolution de6 scribed in clause (i)(I)(aa) for wildfire sup7 pression operations for that fiscal year, but 

8 shall not exceed $1,000,000,000 in addi9 tional new budget authority in each of fis10 cal years 2016 through 2022. 

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

12 ‘‘(I) the term ‘additional new 

13 budget authority’ means the amount 

14 provided for a fiscal year in an appro15 priation Act and specified to pay for 

16 the costs of wildfire suppression oper17 ations that is equal to the greater of 

18 the amount in excess of— 

19 ‘‘(aa) 100 percent of the av20 erage costs for wildfire suppres21 sion operations over the previous 

22 5 years; or 

23 ‘‘(bb) the estimated amount 

24 of anticipated wildfire suppres25 sion costs at the upper bound of 

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1 the 90 percent confidence inter2 val for that fiscal year calculated 

3 in accordance with section 

4 502(h)(2) of the FLAME Act of 

5 2009 (43 U.S.C. 1748a(h)(2)); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(II) the term ‘wildfire suppres8 sion operations’ means the emergency 

9 and unpredictable aspects of wildland 

10 firefighting including support, re11 sponse, and emergency stabilization 

12 activities; other emergency manage13 ment activities; and funds necessary 

14 to repay any transfers needed for 

15 these costs. 

16 ‘‘(iv) The average costs for wildfire 

17 suppression operations over the previous 5 

18 years shall be calculated annually and re19 ported in the President’s Budget submis20 sion under section 1105(a) of title 31, 

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

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

23 the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 

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

25 (1) in clause (i)— 

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

2 inserting ‘‘plus’’; 

3 (B) in subclause (II), by striking the pe4 riod and inserting ‘‘; less’’; and 

5 (C) by adding the following: 

6 ‘‘(III) the additional new budget 

7 authority provided in an appropriation 

8 Act for wildfire suppression operations 

9 pursuant to subparagraph (E) for the 

10 preceding fiscal year.’’; and 

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

12 ‘‘(v) Beginning in fiscal year 2017 

13 and in subsequent fiscal years, the calcula14 tion of the ‘average funding provided for 

15 disaster relief over the previous 10 years’ 

16 shall not include the additional new budget 

17 authority provided in an appropriation Act 

18 for wildfire suppression operations pursu19 ant to subparagraph (E).’’. 

20 TITLE II—FOREST TREATMENT 

21 PROJECTS 

22 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

23 In this title: 

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

25 project’’ means a project that involves the managemstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 ment or sale of national forest material within a 

2 Forest Management Emphasis Area. 

3 (2) FOREST MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS AREA.— 

4 (A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘‘Forest 

5 Management Emphasis Area’’ means National 

6 Forest System land identified as suitable for 

7 timber production in a forest management plan 

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

9 (B) EXCLUSIONS.—The term ‘‘Forest 

10 Management Emphasis Area’’ does not include 

11 National Forest System land— 

12 (i) that is a component of the Na13 tional Wilderness Preservation System; or 

14 (ii) on which removal of vegetation is 

15 specifically prohibited by Federal law. 

16 (3) NATIONAL FOREST MATERIAL.—The term 

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

18 trees, or forest products, with an emphasis on 

19 sawtimber and pulpwood, derived from National 

20 Forest System land. 

21 (4) NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

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

23 Forest System’’ has the meaning given the term 

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

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1 Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (16 

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

3 (B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘‘National 

4 Forest System’’ does not include— 

5 (i) the national grasslands and land 

6 utilization projects administered under title 

7 III of the Bankhead-Jones Farm Tenant 

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

9 (ii) National Forest System land east 

10 of the 100th meridian. 

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

12 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

13 SEC. 202. PROJECTS IN FOREST MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS 

14 AREAS. 

15 (a) CONDUCT OF COVERED PROJECTS WITHIN FOR16 EST MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS AREAS.— 

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

18 covered projects in Forest Management Emphasis 

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

20 (2) DESIGNATING TIMBER FOR CUTTING.— 

21 (A) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding sec22 tion 14(g) of the National Forest Management 

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

24 may use designation by prescription or designamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 tion by description in conducting covered 

2 projects under this title. 

3 (B) REQUIREMENT.—The designation 

4 methods authorized under subparagraph (A) 

5 shall be used in a manner that ensures that the 

6 quantity of national forest material that is re7 moved from the Forest Management Emphasis 

8 Area is verifiable and accountable. 

9 (3) CONTRACTING METHODS.— 

10 (A) IN GENERAL.—Timber sale contracts 

11 under section 14 of the National Forest Man12 agement Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a) shall be 

13 the primary means of carrying out covered 

14 projects under this title. 

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

16 use a timber sale contract under section 14 of 

17 the National Forest Management Act of 1976 

18 (16 U.S.C. 472a) to carry out a covered project 

19 under this title, the Secretary shall provide a 

20 written record specifying the reasons that dif21 ferent contracting methods were used. 

22 (4) ACREAGE TREATMENT REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 (A) TOTAL ACREAGE REQUIREMENTS.— 

24 The Secretary shall identify, prioritize, and 

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1 ment Emphasis Areas that mechanically treat a 

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

3 Management Emphasis Areas during the 15- 

4 year period beginning on the date that is 60 

5 days after the date on which the Secretary as6 signs the acreage treatment requirements under 

7 subparagraph (B). 

8 (B) ASSIGNMENT OF ACREAGE TREAT9 MENT REQUIREMENTS TO INDIVIDUAL UNITS

10 OF THE NATIONAL FOREST SYSTEM.— 

11 (i) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 

12 days after the date of enactment of this 

13 Act and subject to clause (ii), the Sec14 retary, in the sole discretion of the Sec15 retary, shall assign the acreage treatment 

16 requirements that shall apply to the Forest 

17 Management Emphasis Areas of each unit 

18 of the National Forest System. 

19 (ii) LIMITATION.—Notwithstanding 

20 clause (i), the acreage treatment require21 ments assigned to a specific unit of the 

22 National Forest System under that clause 

23 may not apply to more than 25 percent of 

24 the acreage to be treated in any unit of the 

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1 agement Emphasis Area during the 15- 

2 year period described in subparagraph (A). 

3 (b) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS AND PUBLIC RE4 VIEW PROCESS FOR COVERED PROJECTS IN FOREST

5 MANAGEMENT EMPHASIS AREAS.— 

6 (1) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—The Sec7 retary shall comply with the National Environmental 

8 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) by com9 pleting an environmental assessment that assesses 

10 the direct environmental effects of each covered 

11 project proposed to be conducted within a Forest 

12 Management Emphasis Area, except that the Sec13 retary shall not be required to study, develop, or de14 scribe more than the proposed agency action and 1 

15 alternative to the proposed agency action for pur16 poses of that Act. 

17 (2) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COMMENT.—In pre18 paring an environmental assessment for a covered 

19 project under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall pro20 vide— 

21 (A) public notice of the covered project; 

22 and 

23 (B) an opportunity for public comment on 

24 the covered project. 

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1 (3) LENGTH.—The environmental assessment 

2 prepared for a covered project under paragraph (1) 

3 shall not exceed 100 pages in length. 

4 (4) INCLUSION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS.—The 

5 Secretary may incorporate, by reference, into an en6 vironmental assessment any documents that the Sec7 retary, in the sole discretion of the Secretary, deter8 mines are relevant to the assessment of the environ9 mental effects of the covered project. 

10 (5) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not later 

11 than 180 days after the date on which the Secretary 

12 has published notice of a covered project in accord13 ance with paragraph (2), the Secretary shall com14 plete the environmental assessment for the covered 

15 project. 

16 (c) COMPLIANCE WITH ENDANGERED SPECIES

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

18 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Secretary shall use 

19 qualified professionals on the staff of the Forest Service 

20 to make determinations required under section 7 of that 

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

22 (d) LIMITATION ON REVISION OF NATIONAL FOREST

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

24 forest plan under section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland 

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

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1 1604), reduce the acres designated as suitable for timber 

2 harvest under a covered project, unless the Secretary de3 termines, in consultation with the Secretary of the Inte4 rior, that the reduction in acreage is necessary to prevent 

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

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

7 SEC. 203. ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW; ARBITRATION. 

8 (a) ADMINISTRATIVE REVIEW.—Administrative re9 view of a covered project shall occur only in accordance 

10 with the special administrative review process established 

11 by section 105 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 

12 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6515). 

13 (b) ARBITRATION.— 

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

15 Department of Agriculture a pilot program that— 

16 (A) authorizes the use of arbitration in17 stead of judicial review of a decision made fol18 lowing the special administrative review process 

19 for a covered project described in subsection 

20 (a); and 

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

22 covered project in a Forest Management Em23 phasis Area during the 15-year period begin24 ning on the date that is 60 days after the date 

25 on which the Secretary assigns the acreage 

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1 treatment requirements under section 

2 202(a)(4)(B). 

3 (2) ARBITRATION PROCESS PROCEDURES.— 

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

5 administrative review for a covered project in 

6 accordance with subsection (a) and who is not 

7 satisfied with the decision made under the ad8 ministrative review process may file a demand 

9 for arbitration in accordance with— 

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

11 Code; and 

12 (ii) this paragraph. 

13 (B) REQUIREMENTS FOR DEMAND.—A de14 mand for arbitration under subparagraph (A) 

15 shall— 

16 (i) be filed not more than 30 days 

17 after the date on which the special admin18 istrative review decision is issued under 

19 subsection (a); and 

20 (ii) include a proposal containing the 

21 modifications sought to the covered 

22 project. 

23 (C) INTERVENING PARTIES.— 

24 (i) DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION; RE25 QUIREMENTS.—Any person that submitted 

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1 a public comment on the covered project 

2 subject to the demand for arbitration may 

3 intervene in the arbitration under this sub4 section by submitting a proposal endorsing 

5 or modifying the covered project by the 

6 date that is 30 days after the date on 

7 which the demand for arbitration is filed 

8 under subparagraph (A). 

9 (ii) MULTIPLE PARTIES.—Multiple ob10 jectors or intervening parties that meet the 

11 requirements of clause (i) may submit a 

12 joint proposal under that clause. 

13 (D) APPOINTMENT OF ARBITRATOR.—The 

14 United States District Court in the district in 

15 which a covered project subject to a demand for 

16 arbitration filed under subparagraph (A) is lo17 cated shall appoint an arbitrator to conduct the 

18 arbitration proceedings in accordance with this 

19 subsection. 

20 (E) SELECTION OF PROPOSALS.— 

21 (i) IN GENERAL.—An arbitrator ap22 pointed under subparagraph (D)— 

23 (I) may not modify any of the 

24 proposals submitted under this para25 graph; and 

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1 (II) shall select to be con2 ducted— 

3 (aa) a proposal submitted by 

4 an objector under subparagraph 

5 (B)(ii) or an intervening party 

6 under subparagraph (C); or 

7 (bb) the covered project, as 

8 approved by the Secretary. 

9 (ii) SELECTION CRITERIA.—An arbi10 trator shall select the proposal that best 

11 meets the purpose and needs described in 

12 the environmental assessment conducted 

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

14 project. 

15 (iii) EFFECT.—The decision of an ar16 bitrator with respect to a selection under 

17 clause (i)(II)— 

18 (I) shall not be considered a 

19 major Federal action; 

20 (II) shall be binding; and 

21 (III) shall not be subject to judi22 cial review. 

23 (F) DEADLINE FOR COMPLETION.—Not 

24 later than 90 days after the date on which a de25 mand for arbitration is filed under subparamstockstill on DSK4VPTVN1PROD with BILLS

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1 graph (A), the arbitration process shall be com2 pleted. 

3 SEC. 204. DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE. 

4 (a) PAYMENTS TO COUNTIES.— 

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

6 2016 and each fiscal year thereafter until the termi7 nation date under section 206, the Secretary shall 

8 provide to each county in which a covered project is 

9 carried out annual payments in an amount equal to 

10 25 percent of the amounts received for the applica11 ble fiscal year by the Secretary from the covered 

12 project. 

13 (2) LIMITATION.—A payment made under para14 graph (1) shall be in addition to any payments the 

15 county receives under the payment to States re16 quired by the sixth paragraph under the heading 

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

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

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

20 (b) DEPOSIT IN KNUTSON-VANDENBERG AND SAL21 VAGE SALE FUNDS.—After compliance with subsection 

22 (a), the Secretary shall use amounts received by the Sec23 retary from covered projects during each of the fiscal 

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

25 make deposits into the fund established under section 3 

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

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

3 fund established under section 14(h) of the National For4 est Management Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 472a(h)) in con5 tributions equal to the amounts otherwise collected under 

6 those Acts for projects conducted on National Forest Sys7 tem land. 

8 (c) DEPOSIT IN GENERAL FUND OF THE TREAS9 URY.—After compliance with subsections (a) and (b), the 

10 Secretary shall deposit into the general fund of the Treas11 ury any remaining amounts received by the Secretary for 

12 each of the fiscal years referred to in those subsections 

13 from covered projects. 

14 SEC. 205. PERFORMANCE MEASURES; REPORTING. 

15 (a) PERFORMANCE MEASURES.—The Secretary shall 

16 develop performance measures that evaluate the degree to 

17 which the Secretary is achieving— 

18 (1) the purposes of this title; and 

19 (2) the minimum acreage requirements estab20 lished under section 202(a)(4). 

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

22 shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Re23 sources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Re24 sources of the House of Representatives— 

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1 (1) a report that describes the results of evalua2 tions using the performance measures developed 

3 under subsection (a); and 

4 (2) a report that describes— 

5 (A) the number and substance of the cov6 ered projects that are subject to administrative 

7 review and arbitration under section 203; and 

8 (B) the outcomes of the administrative re9 view and arbitration under that section. 

10 SEC. 206. TERMINATION. 

11 The authority of this title terminates on the date that 

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

13 TITLE III—FOREST 

14 STEWARDSHIP CONTRACTING 

15 SEC. 301. STEWARDSHIP END RESULT CONTRACTING 

16 PROJECTS. 

17 (a) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.—Section 604(d) of 

18 the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

19 6591c(d)) is amended— 

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

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

22 (2) by inserting after paragraph (4) the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(5) CANCELLATION CEILINGS.— 

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1 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Chief and the Di2 rector may obligate funds to cover any potential 

3 cancellation or termination costs for an agree4 ment or contract under subsection (b) in stages 

5 that are economically or programmatically via6 ble. 

7 ‘‘(B) NOTICE.— 

8 ‘‘(i) SUBMISSION TO CONGRESS.—Not 

9 later than 30 days before entering into a 

10 multiyear agreement or contract under 

11 subsection (b) that includes a cancellation 

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

13 not include proposed funding for the costs 

14 of cancelling the agreement or contract up 

15 to the cancellation ceiling established in 

16 the agreement or contract, the Chief and 

17 the Director shall submit to the Commit18 tees on Energy and Natural Resources and 

19 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the 

20 Senate and the Committees on Natural Re21 sources and Agriculture of the House of 

22 Representatives a written notice that in23 cludes— 

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

25 amounts proposed for each program 

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1 year in the agreement or contract; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(bb) the reasons for the can4 cellation ceiling amounts proposed 

5 under item (aa); 

6 ‘‘(II) the extent to which the 

7 costs of contract cancellation are not 

8 included in the budget for the agree9 ment or contract; and 

10 ‘‘(III) a financial risk assessment 

11 of not including budgeting for the 

12 costs of agreement or contract can13 cellation. 

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

15 14 days before the date on which the Chief 

16 and Director enter into an agreement or 

17 contract under subsection (b), the Chief 

18 and Director shall transmit to the Director 

19 of the Office of Management and Budget 

20 a copy of the written notice submitted 

21 under clause (i).’’; and 

22 (3) in paragraph (6) (as redesignated by para23 graph (1)), by striking ‘‘, the Chief may’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘and section 2(a)(1) of the Act of July 31, 1947 

25 (commonly known as the ‘Materials Act of 1947’) 

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1 (30 U.S.C. 602(a)(1)), the Chief and the Director 

2 may’’. 

3 (b) EXCESS OFFSET VALUE.—Section 604(g)(2) of 

4 the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 

5 6591c(g)(2)) is amended by striking subparagraphs (A) 

6 and (B) and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) use the excess to satisfy any out8 standing liabilities for cancelled agreements or 

9 contracts; or 

10 ‘‘(B) if there are no outstanding liabilities 

11 under subparagraph (A), apply the excess to 

12 other authorized stewardship projects.’’. 

13 (c) REPORTING.—Section 604(i) of the Healthy For14 ests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 U.S.C. 6591c(i)) is 

15 amended by striking ‘‘Committee on Agriculture, Nutri16 tion, and Forestry of the Senate and the Committee on 

17 Agriculture of the House of Representatives’’ and insert18 ing ‘‘Committees on Energy and Natural Resources and 

19 Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry of the Senate and the 

20 Committees on Natural Resources and Agriculture of the 

21 House of Representatives’’. 

Æ 

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