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. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Wildfire Prevention 
Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. MITIGATION ASSISTANCE. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 420 of the Robert T. 
Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act 
(42 U.S.C. 5187) is amended— 
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SEC. 3. ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES. 
Section 404 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief 
and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170c) is 
amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(f) USE
OF ASSISTANCE.—Recipients of hazard 
mitigation assistance provided under this section and sec-
tion 203 may use the assistance to conduct the following 
activities to help reduce the risk of future damage, hard-
ship, loss, or suffering in any area affected by a wildfire, 
including— 
‘‘(1) reseeding ground cover with quick-growing 
or native species; 
‘‘(2) mulching with straw or chipped wood; 
‘‘(3) constructing straw, rock, or log dams in 
small tributaries to prevent flooding; 
‘‘(4) placing logs and other erosion barriers to 
catch sediment on hill slopes; 
‘‘(5) installing debris traps to modify road and 
trail drainage mechanisms; 
‘‘(6) modifying or removing culverts to allow 
drainage to flow freely; 
‘‘(7) adding drainage dips and constructing 
emergency spillways to keep roads and bridges from 
washing out during floods; 
‘‘(8) planting grass to prevent the spread of 
noxious weeds; 
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‘‘(9) installing warning signs; 
‘‘(10) establishing defensible space measures; 
and 
‘‘(11) reducing hazardous fuels.’’. 
SEC. 4. REPORTING REQUIREMENT. 
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment 
of this Act and annually thereafter, the Administrator of 
the Federal Emergency Management Agency shall submit 
to the Committee on Homeland Security and Govern-
mental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on Transpor-
tation and Infrastructure of the House of Representatives, 
and the Appropriations Committees of the Senate and the 
House of Representatives a report containing a summary 
of any projects carried out, and any funding provided to 
those projects, under subsection (d) of section 420 of the 
Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assist-
ance Act (42 U.S.C. 5187) (as amended by section 
1(a)(2)). 
Æ 
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