812
TITLE XVII—RENEWABLE
ENERGY —RESOURCES
SEC. 1701. GRANTS TO IMPROVE THE COMMERCIAL VALUE
OF FOREST BIOMASS FOR ELECTRIC ENERGY,
USEFUL HEAT, TRANSPORTATION FUELS, PE-
TROLEUM-BASED 
PRODUCT 
SUBSTITUTES,
AND OTHER COMMERCIAL PURPOSES.
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following:
(1) Thousands of communities in the United
States, many located near Federal lands, are at risk
to wildfire. Approximately 190,000,000 acres of land
managed by the Secretary of Agriculture and the
Secretary of the Interior are at risk of catastrophic
fire in the near future. The accumulation of heavy
forest fuel loads continues to increase as a result of
disease, insect infestations, and drought, further
raising the risk of fire each year.
(2) In addition, more than 70,000,000 acres
across all land ownerships are at risk to higher than
normal mortality over the next 15 years from insect
infestation and disease. High levels of tree mortality
from insects and disease result in increased fire risk,
loss of old growth, degraded watershed conditions,
and changes in species diversity and productivity, as
813
well as diminished fish and wildlife habitat and de-
creased timber values.
(3) Preventive treatments such as removing fuel
loading, ladder fuels, and hazard trees, planting
proper species mix and restoring and protecting
early successional habitat, and other specific restora-
tion treatments designed to reduce the susceptibility
of forest land, woodland, and rangeland to insect
outbreaks, disease, and catastrophic fire present the
greatest opportunity for long-term forest health by
creating a mosaic of species-mix and age distribu-
tion. Such prevention treatments are widely acknowl-
edged to be more successful and cost effective than
suppression treatments in the case of insects, dis-
ease, and fire.
(4) The byproducts of preventive treatment
(wood, brush, thinnings, chips, slash, and other haz-
ardous fuels) removed from forest lands, woodlands
and rangelands represent an abundant supply of bio-
mass for biomass-to-energy facilities and raw mate-
rial for business. There are currently few markets
for the extraordinary volumes of byproducts being
generated as a result of the necessary large-scale
preventive treatment activities.
(5) The United States should—
814
(A) promote economic and entrepreneurial
opportunities in using byproducts removed
through preventive treatment activities related
to hazardous fuels reduction, disease, and insect
infestation; and
(B) develop and expand markets for tradi-
tionally underused wood and biomass as an out-
let for byproducts of preventive treatment ac-
tivities.
(b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
(1) BIOMASS.—The term ‘‘biomass’’ means
trees and woody plants, including limbs, tops, nee-
dles, and other woody parts, and byproducts of pre-
ventive treatment, such as wood, brush, thinnings,
chips, and slash, that are removed—
(A) to reduce hazardous fuels; or
(B) to reduce the risk of or to contain dis-
ease or insect infestation.
(2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian tribe’’
has the meaning given the term in section 4(e) of
the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assist-
ance Act (25 U.S.C. 450b(e)).
(3) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ includes—
(A) an individual;
815
(B) a community (as determined by the
Secretary concerned);
(C) an Indian tribe;
(D) a small business, micro-business, or a
corporation that is incorporated in the United
States; and
(E) a nonprofit organization.
(4) PREFERRED COMMUNITY.—The term ‘‘pre-
ferred community’’ means—
(A) any town, township, municipality, or
other similar unit of local government (as deter-
mined by the Secretary concerned) that—
(i) has a population of not more than
50,000 individuals; and
(ii) the Secretary concerned, in the
sole discretion of the Secretary concerned,
determines contains or is located near
land, the condition of which is at signifi-
cant risk of catastrophic wildfire, disease,
or insect infestation or which suffers from
disease or insect infestation; or
(B) any county that—
(i) is not contained within a metro-
politan statistical area; and