Title: Emergency Fuel Reduction Act of 2017
Policy area: Public Lands and Natural Resources

Summary:
Emergency Fuel Reduction Act of 2017
This bill amends the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to categorically exclude an authorized hazardous fuel reduction project from the environmental review requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 if the project:
The bill does not apply to federal land that is wilderness, on which the removal of vegetation is specifically prohibited, or that is within a national monument.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1752 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                S. 1752

   To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expedite 
wildfire prevention projects to reduce the risk of wildfire on certain 
            high-risk Federal land, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             August 3, 2017

     Mr. Heller (for himself, Mr. Flake, Mr. Risch, and Mr. Hatch) 
introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 
           Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To amend the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 to expedite 
wildfire prevention projects to reduce the risk of wildfire on certain 
            high-risk Federal land, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Emergency Fuel Reduction Act of 
2017''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSES.

    The purposes of this Act are--
            (1) to expedite wildfire prevention projects to reduce the 
        risk of wildfire on certain high-risk Federal land adjacent to 
        communities, private property, and critical infrastructure;
            (2) to improve forest and wildland health; and
            (3) to promote the recovery of threatened or endangered 
        species or other species under consideration to be listed under 
        the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), 
        including the sage-grouse species, the habitat of which is 
        negatively impacted by wildland fire.

SEC. 3. EXPEDITED REVIEW OF PROJECTS ON FEDERAL LAND.

    Section 104 of the Healthy Forests Restoration Act of 2003 (16 
U.S.C. 6514) is amended--
            (1) by redesignating subsections (e) through (h) as 
        subsections (f) through (i), respectively;
            (2) in subsection (c)(1)(C)(i), by striking ``subsection 
        (f)'' and inserting ``subsection (g)''; and
            (3) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
    ``(e) Categorical Exclusion of Certain Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--An authorized hazardous fuel reduction 
        project shall be categorically excluded from the requirements 
        of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 
        4321 et seq.) if the project--
                    ``(A) involves the removal of--
                            ``(i) insect-infected trees;
                            ``(ii) dead or dying trees;
                            ``(iii) trees presenting a threat to public 
                        safety; or
                            ``(iv) other hazardous fuels threatening--
                                    ``(I) utility or communications 
                                infrastructure;
                                    ``(II) municipal water supply 
                                systems;
                                    ``(III) campgrounds;
                                    ``(IV) roadsides;
                                    ``(V) schools; or
                                    ``(VI) other infrastructure;
                    ``(B) is conducted on Federal land that--
                            ``(i) is not located in the wildland-urban 
                        interface;
                            ``(ii) is located within not more than 1.5 
                        miles of non-Federal land; and
                            ``(iii) on which the Secretary determines 
                        that conditions, such as the risk of wildfire, 
                        an insect or disease epidemic, or the presence 
                        of invasive species, pose a risk to adjacent 
                        non-Federal land; or
                    ``(C) treats 10,000 acres or less of Federal land 
                that--
                            ``(i) is at particular risk for wildfire;
                            ``(ii) contains threatened and endangered 
                        species habitat; or
                            ``(iii) provides conservation benefits to--
                                    ``(I) a species that is not listed 
                                as an endangered species or a 
                                threatened species under section 4 of 
                                the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 
                                U.S.C. 1533), but is under 
                                consideration to be listed;
                                    ``(II) a State-listed species; or
                                    ``(III) a special concern species.
            ``(2) Applicability.--This subsection shall not apply to 
        Federal land--
                    ``(A) that is a component of the National 
                Wilderness Preservation System;
                    ``(B) on which the removal of vegetation is 
                specifically prohibited by Federal statute; or
                    ``(C) that is within a National Monument as of the 
                date of enactment of this subsection.''.
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